When it comes to disk cloning and partition backups, Clonezilla is often the go-to tool. But under the hood, Clonezilla relies on several open-source utilities — one of the most important being Partclone. You can use Partclone directly on Linux to back up and restore partitions, which is especially handy if you want a simple command-line approach without booting into Clonezilla.
Installing Partclone on Fedora
First, make sure Partclone is installed. Fedora includes it in its repositories, so you just need:
sudo dnf install partclone
You can verify the installation with:
partclone.ntfs -v
Backing Up an NTFS Partition
Suppose you want to back up an NTFS partition (for example, /dev/nvme0n1p3) to an external drive. The syntax looks like this:
sudo partclone.ntfs -c \
-s /dev/nvme0n1p3 \
-o /path/to/backup/nvme0n1p3.img
Breakdown of the command:
-c→ copy mode (create a backup)-s→ source partition-o→ output image file location
This creates an image file containing the used blocks of your NTFS partition.
Restoring the Partition
If you ever need to restore the partition, reverse the process:
sudo partclone.ntfs -r \
-s /path/to/backup/nvme0n1p3.img \
-o /dev/nvme0n1p3
⚠️ Warning: The restore command will overwrite the target partition, so double-check the device path before running it.
Optional: Save Space with Compression
You can combine Partclone with gzip or xz to compress your backup on the fly:
sudo partclone.ntfs -c -s /dev/nvme0n1p3 | gzip -c > /path/to/backup/nvme0n1p3.img.gz
And to restore:
gzip -dc /path/to/backup/nvme0n1p3.img.gz | sudo partclone.ntfs -r -o /dev/nvme0n1p3
Final Thoughts
Partclone is a powerful tool on its own, not just something tucked inside Clonezilla. If you’re looking for a straightforward way to clone or back up NTFS partitions on Fedora Linux, the commands above will get you started.