Proxmox VE : Upgrade existing OS HDD (LVM)

Proxmox VE, upgrade existing OS HDD.

A single SATA HDD with LVM (ext4), OS drive configurations, without losing any PVE configurations & data. This methods only works with LVM type, not ZFS type.

Firstly, you need to have CloneZilla downloaded and ready (refer here for more info https://danielcheah.blogspot.com/2023/08/clonezilla-backup-restore-computer-disk.html).

You also need a "Blank" external HDD/SSD or any storage with sufficient capacity to store the backup image, recommended to have at least 1TB. But if your existing OS drive is already 1TB then you need a larger capacity such as 2TB. The storage of the backup must always be larger than the size of the HDD you want to backup.

Let's get started :-

1. Backup the existing PVE OS drive into an image via CloneZilla (more info here https://danielcheah.blogspot.com/2023/08/clonezilla-backup-restore-computer-disk.html).

2. Replace the OS drive with a brand new drive, in this case a larger capacity (eg. from 256GB to 1TB).

3. Restore the image into the new drive using CloneZilla. Ensure you select "Use partition table & size from the image" option during restore.

4. Boot-up the system with the new drive, there should not be any problems because PVE will recognized it as the same drive as before.

5. Login to the PVE server, now we need to truncate8 the systemd journal log files to the last 50MB, open --> Shell

journalctl --vacuum-size=50M

6. Next, is to delete the .deb cached installation packages.

apt-get clean

7. Next, is to clear all temporary files.

rm -rf /tmp/* /var/tmp/*

8. To delete old system log files.

rm -f /var/log/*.gz /var/log/*.1 /var/log/*.[0-9]

9. To delete old or unused ISO files (eg. ubutnu.iso). This step is optional but recommended.

rm -f /var/lib/vz/template/iso/ubuntu.iso

10. Remove backup files generated locally by PVE.

rm -f /var/lib/vz/dump/*

11. Then we need to update the repositories.

apt update

12. Next, we need to install a utility to extend the space of the newly added drive.

apt install cloud-guest-utils -y

13. First, relocate the GPT Backup Header.

sgdisk -e /dev/sda

14. Extend the Third Partition (the physical LVM Volume) to use the 100% capacity of the remaining unallocated disk space.

growpart /dev/sda 3

15. Resize the LVM Physical Volume.

pvresize /dev/sda3

16. Finally is to verify the expansion.

lvs

OR

df -h

OR

df -T

17. Reboot the system and double check again for confirmation.

18. End.

!!! HAPPY COMPUTING !!!

Windows 11 : Installing from Scratch, My Way (COE).

Many of you know that I've used to managed a very large quantity of Computers including Desktops, Laptops and Network printers in a large companies.

There is one common problems in managing such a large scale of computers, is the consistency and quality of deploying Windows 7 or 10 (back in those days). Its a very time consuming process whereby the Engineer needs to perform formatting, installing Windows, install Drivers, install Software, join to Domain, install Printers, configure Scanners, customized Corporate Wallpaper, Screensaver, Fonts etc. All those steps consumed roughly 3-4 hours and maybe more, mind you we didn't have the luxury of SSD during that era and it was an expensive component back then.

To cut short all these time consuming steps, it make sense to create a "Master Image" and use a cloning procedures to clone to all Computers, including the settings and configurations. But mind you that not all installations, configurations and settings are still intact after "Sysprep" process.

So some steps still required an Engineer's intervention or input, but we managed to cut short from 3-4 hours or more into just a mere 1-1.5 hours.

This what we called "Consistent Operating Environment (COE)" where all computers have the same Operating System, same Updates, same version of Drivers, same version/edition of Software, same configuration of Policy, and same Settings of Wallpaper etc.

So I'm sharing on how to create the COE image, but instead of using Windows 7 or 10, I'm going to use the latest Windows 11. To be more specific it will be Windows 11 Pro edition. Also note that this is for "Advanced User" or "Advanced Engineer" as there will not be any screenshots available.

Preparation.

1. Download the latest version of Windows 11 Media Creation Tool from Microsoft website.

2. Download the latest version Rufus (a utility to create a bootable USB drive).

3. Create an "ei.cfg" file using notepad. Refer here for more information.

4. A minimum of 8GB USB Flash Drive, ensure its blank as Data will be wiped.

Create Bootable USB Drive.

1. Run "Media Creation Tool", it may take some time to load and ensure your computer is connected to     the Internet.

2. Select "ISO" when prompted and ensure to "Untick: Use recommended settings of this PC" to avoid       the ISO file created with the current computer's settings.

3. Run "Rufus" tool, select the newly downloaded ISO file and click "Start" button, you will be                   prompted for Windows 11 setup (eg. remove requirements for Secure Boot & TPM2.0). Select at your     own discretion. Just the simple remove TPM2.0 and Microsoft Online Account will suffice. Others        will be based on your own requirements.

4. Copy the "ei.cfg" file into the newly created Bootable USB Drive, assuming the drive is mounted as        [D:] drive then copy the file into "D:\sources\*.*"

5. You can now remove the drive from this computer.

Installing Windows 11.

1. Boot the computer from the newly created Bootable USB Drive, on some computer you may need to      invoke DEL, F2, F8 or F10 to select the boot medium.

2. Continue the installation wizard as shown on the screen until you see "Use previous version of                Setup"  under the dialog box. Where you will return back to good old and familiar Windows 10 like        setup wizard screen.

3. Ensure you are NOT CONNECTED TO INTERNET to avoid Windows 11 downloading Updates      & Drivers during the installation. As this will increase the speed of installation.

4. When prompted to connect to WiFi, just click "I don't have internet" option to continue. It may               automatically restart the computer & re-prompt the same question again, just proceed with the same        answer.

5. You will be prompted to key-in a Username, create any Username you deemed fit such as "PC                 Master" or similar. Leave the password blank for now.

6. When prompted for Privacy & Security settings, just "Untick" all available options and continue.

Windows 11 - Basic Configuration.

The following configurations although is Basic, but its also depends on your environment. Some configurations or settings may not apply to you or with changes that reflect to your environment.

1. Control Panel --> File Explorer Options --> General :-

    1.1 Open File Explorer to: This PC.

    1.2 Untick --> Show recently used files, Show frequently used folders, Show files from Office.com.

    1.3 Click --> "Clear" button.

2. Control Panel --> File Explorer Options --> View :-

    2.1 Untick --> Hide extensions for known file types.

3. Control Panel --> Power Options --> Power Plan :-

    3.1 Select either "Balanced" or "High Performance" depending on machine type.

Note: Suggest "Balanced" for Laptops and "High Performance" for Desktop or Workstation.

4. Control Panel --> Power Options --> System Settings:-

    4.1 Configure to your needs --> Power and sleep buttons and lid settings.

    4.2 Disable / Untick --> Turn on fast startup (recommended).

5. Control Panel --> Program and Features :-

    5.1 Uninstall --> Microsoft OneDrive.          (optional)

6. Settings --> Privacy & security :-

    6.1 Disabled --> Recommendations & offers.

    6.2 Disabled --> Inking & typing personalization.

    6.3 Disabled --> Diagnostics & feedback.

    6.4 Disabled --> Location.

    6.5 Disabled --> Voice activation.

    6.6 Disabled --> Account info.

    6.7 Disabled --> Contacts.

    6.8 Disabled --> Calendar.

    6.9 Disabled --> Phone calls.

    6.10 Disabled --> Call history.

    6.11 Disabled --> Email.

    6.12 Disabled --> Tasks.

    6.13 Disabled --> Messaging.

    6.14 Disabled --> Other devices.

    6.15 Disabled --> App diagnostics.

7. Settings --> Personalization :-

    7.1 Change --> Background Wallpaper.

    7.2 Change --> Lock screen background and behavior.

    7.3 Change --> Start button behavior.

    7.4 Change --> Taskbar look and behavior.

    7.5 Change --> Themes and Enabled "Desktop icons".

8. Open --> Local Group Policy Editor (gpedit.msc).

    8.1 Computer Configuration --> Administrative Templates --> Windows Components --> AutoPlay              Policies :-

            8.1.1 Enabled --> Turn off Autoplay : All drives.

            8.1.2 Enabled --> Prevent AutoPlay from remembering user choices.

            8.1.3 Enabled --> Disallow Autoplay for non-volume devices.

            8.1.4 Enabled --> Set the default behavior for Autorun : Do not execute any autorun commands.

    8.2 Computer Configuration --> Administrative Templates --> Windows Components --> Cloud                  Content :-

            8.2.1 Enabled --> Turn off cloud optimized content.

            8.2.2 Enabled --> Turn off cloud consumer account state content.

            8.2.3 Enabled --> Do not show Windows tips.

            8.2.4 Enabled --> Turn off Microsoft consumer experiences.

    8.3 Computer Configuration --> Administrative Templates --> Windows Components --> Connect :-

            8.3.1 Enabled --> Don't allow this PC to be projected to.

            8.3.2 Enabled --> Require pin for pairing : Always.

    8.4 Computer Configuration --> Administrative Templates --> Windows Components --> Maps :-

            8.4.1 Enabled --> Turn off unsolicited network traffic on the Offline Maps settings page.

            8.4.2 Enabled --> Turn off Automatic Download and Update of Map Data.

    8.5 Computer Configuration --> Administrative Templates --> Windows Components --> OneDrive :-

            8.5.1 Disabled --> Save documents to OneDrive by default.

            8.5.2 Enabled --> Prevent OneDrive from generating network traffic until the user signs in to                         OneDrive.

            8.5.3 Enabled --> Prevent OneDrive files from syncing over metered connections.

            8.5.4 Enabled --> Prevent the usage of OneDrive for file storage.

            8.5.5 Enabled --> Prevent the usage of OneDrive for file storage on Windows 8.1.

    8.6 Computer Configuration --> Administrative Templates --> Windows Components --> Online                  Assistance :-

            8.6.1 Enabled --> Turn off Active Help.

Windows 11 - Extended Configuration.

The following is the Extended configuration, usually this are optional but recommended and highly depends on your environment. The following scripts must be REVIEW and MODIFY according to your needs.

1. Run --> Powershell (as admin), Remove Appx Packages for All Users :-

Write-Host Write-Host Write-Host "**************************" Write-Host "* Removing Appx Packages *" Write-Host "**************************" Write-Host Start-Sleep -s 5 Write-Host "Removing MS Teams..." Get-AppxPackage -AllUsers *MSTeams* | Remove-AppxPackage Start-Sleep -s 5 Write-Host "Removing ZuneMusic..." Get-AppxPackage -AllUsers *ZuneMusic* | Remove-AppxPackage Start-Sleep -s 5 Write-Host "Removing YourPhone..." Get-AppxPackage -AllUsers *YourPhone* | Remove-AppxPackage Start-Sleep -s 5 Write-Host "Removing XboxSpeechToTextOverlay..." Get-AppxPackage -AllUsers *XboxSpeechToTextOverlay* | Remove-AppxPackage Start-Sleep -s 5 Write-Host "Removing XboxIdentityProvider..." Get-AppxPackage -AllUsers *XboxIdentityProvider* | Remove-AppxPackage Start-Sleep -s 5 Write-Host "Removing XboxGamingOverlay..." Get-AppxPackage -AllUsers *XboxGamingOverlay* | Remove-AppxPackage Start-Sleep -s 5 Write-Host "Removing Xbox.TCUI..." Get-AppxPackage -AllUsers *Xbox.TCUI* | Remove-AppxPackage Start-Sleep -s 5 Write-Host "Removing WindowsFeedbackHub..." Get-AppxPackage -AllUsers *WindowsFeedbackHub* | Remove-AppxPackage Start-Sleep -s 5 Write-Host "Removing OutlookForWindows..." Get-AppxPackage -AllUsers *OutlookForWindows* | Remove-AppxPackage Start-Sleep -s 5 Write-Host "Removing MicrosoftSolitaireCollection..." Get-AppxPackage -AllUsers *MicrosoftSolitaireCollection* | Remove-AppxPackage Start-Sleep -s 5 Write-Host "Removing MicrosoftOfficeHub..." Get-AppxPackage -AllUsers *MicrosoftOfficeHub* | Remove-AppxPackage Start-Sleep -s 5 Write-Host "Removing GamingApp..." Get-AppxPackage -AllUsers *GamingApp* | Remove-AppxPackage Start-Sleep -s 5 Write-Host "Removing BingWeather..." Get-AppxPackage -AllUsers *BingWeather* | Remove-AppxPackage Start-Sleep -s 5 Write-Host "Removing BingNews..." Get-AppxPackage -AllUsers *BingNews* | Remove-AppxPackage Start-Sleep -s 5 Write-Host "Removing QuickAssist..." Get-AppxPackage -AllUsers *QuickAssist* | Remove-AppxPackage Start-Sleep -s 5 Write-Host "Removing GetHelp..." Get-AppxPackage -AllUsers *GetHelp* | Remove-AppxPackage Start-Sleep -s 5 Write-Host "Removing BingSearch..." Get-AppxPackage -AllUsers *BingSearch* | Remove-AppxPackage Start-Sleep -s 5 Write-Host "Removing WindowsTerminal..." Get-AppxPackage -AllUsers *WindowsTerminal* | Remove-AppxPackage Start-Sleep -s 5 Write-Host "Removing WindowsAlarms..." Get-AppxPackage -AllUsers *WindowsAlarms* | Remove-AppxPackage Start-Sleep -s 5 Write-Host "Removing Todos..." Get-AppxPackage -AllUsers *Todos* | Remove-AppxPackage Start-Sleep -s 5 Write-Host "Removing ScreenSketch..." Get-AppxPackage -AllUsers *ScreenSketch* | Remove-AppxPackage Start-Sleep -s 5 Write-Host "Removing PowerAutomateDesktop..." Get-AppxPackage -AllUsers *PowerAutomateDesktop* | Remove-AppxPackage Start-Sleep -s 5 Write-Host "Removing Clipchamp..." Get-AppxPackage -AllUsers *Clipchamp* | Remove-AppxPackage Start-Sleep -s 5 Write-Host Write-Host "Uninstallation of AppxPackages Completed." Start-Sleep -s 5

2. Run --> Powershell (as admin), Remove Appx Provisioned Packages :-

Write-Host Write-Host Write-Host "**************************************" Write-Host "* Removing Appx Provisioned Packages *" Write-Host "**************************************" Write-Host Start-Sleep -s 5 Write-Host "Removing AppxProvisioned MSTeams..." Remove-AppxProvisionedPackage -Online -PackageName MSTeams_1.0.0.0_x64__8wekyb3d8bbwe Start-Sleep -s 5 Write-Host "Removing AppxProvisioned ZuneMusic..." Remove-AppxProvisionedPackage -Online -PackageName Microsoft.ZuneMusic_11.2509.7.0_neutral_~_8wekyb3d8bbwe Start-Sleep -s 5 Write-Host "Removing AppxProvisioned YourPhone..." Remove-AppxProvisionedPackage -Online -PackageName Microsoft.YourPhone_1.25062.84.0_neutral_~_8wekyb3d8bbwe Start-Sleep -s 5 Write-Host "Removing AppxProvisioned XboxSpeechToTextOverlay..." Remove-AppxProvisionedPackage -Online -PackageName Microsoft.XboxSpeechToTextOverlay_1.117.15001.0_neutral_~_8wekyb3d8bbwe Start-Sleep -s 5 Write-Host "Removing AppxProvisioned XboxIdentityProvider..." Remove-AppxProvisionedPackage -Online -PackageName Microsoft.XboxIdentityProvider_12.130.2510.6003_neutral_~_8wekyb3d8bbwe Start-Sleep -s 5 Write-Host "Removing AppxProvisioned XboxGamingOverlay..." Remove-AppxProvisionedPackage -Online -PackageName Microsoft.XboxGamingOverlay_7.325.7221.0_neutral_~_8wekyb3d8bbwe Start-Sleep -s 5 Write-Host "Removing AppxProvisioned Xbox.TCUI..." Remove-AppxProvisionedPackage -Online -PackageName Microsoft.Xbox.TCUI_1.23.28005.0_neutral_~_8wekyb3d8bbwe Start-Sleep -s 5 Write-Host "Removing AppxProvisioned WindowsFeedbackHub..." Remove-AppxProvisionedPackage -Online -PackageName Microsoft.WindowsFeedbackHub_2024.125.1522.0_neutral_~_8wekyb3d8bbwe Start-Sleep -s 5 Write-Host "Removing AppxProvisioned OutlookForWindows..." Remove-AppxProvisionedPackage -Online -PackageName Microsoft.OutlookForWindows_1.0.0.0_neutral__8wekyb3d8bbwe Start-Sleep -s 5 Write-Host "Removing AppxProvisioned MicrosoftSolitaireCollection..." Remove-AppxProvisionedPackage -Online -PackageName Microsoft.MicrosoftSolitaireCollection_4.22.3190.0_neutral_~_8wekyb3d8bbwe Start-Sleep -s 5 Write-Host "Removing AppxProvisioned MicrosoftOfficeHub..." Remove-AppxProvisionedPackage -Online -PackageName Microsoft.MicrosoftOfficeHub_19.2506.56051.0_neutral_~_8wekyb3d8bbwe Start-Sleep -s 5 Write-Host "Removing AppxProvisioned GamingApp..." Remove-AppxProvisionedPackage -Online -PackageName Microsoft.GamingApp_2025.523.601.0_neutral_~_8wekyb3d8bbwe Start-Sleep -s 5 Write-Host "Removing AppxProvisioned BingWeather..." Remove-AppxProvisionedPackage -Online -PackageName Microsoft.BingWeather_4.54.63017.0_neutral_~_8wekyb3d8bbwe Start-Sleep -s 5 Write-Host "Removing AppxProvisioned BingNews..." Remove-AppxProvisionedPackage -Online -PackageName Microsoft.BingNews_4.1.24002.0_neutral_~_8wekyb3d8bbwe Start-Sleep -s 5 Write-Host "Removing AppxProvisioned QuickAssist..." Remove-AppxProvisionedPackage -Online -PackageName MicrosoftCorporationII.QuickAssist_2025.331.2057.0_neutral_~_8wekyb3d8bbwe Start-Sleep -s 5 Write-Host "Removing AppxProvisioned GetHelp..." Remove-AppxProvisionedPackage -Online -PackageName Microsoft.GetHelp_10.2407.22193.0_neutral_~_8wekyb3d8bbwe Start-Sleep -s 5 Write-Host "Removing AppxProvisioned BingSearch..." Remove-AppxProvisionedPackage -Online -PackageName Microsoft.BingSearch_2022.1.43.0_neutral_~_8wekyb3d8bbwe Start-Sleep -s 5 Write-Host "Removing AppxProvisioned WindowsTerminal..." Remove-AppxProvisionedPackage -Online -PackageName Microsoft.WindowsTerminal_3001.18.10301.0_neutral_~_8wekyb3d8bbwe Start-Sleep -s 5 Write-Host "Removing AppxProvisioned WindowsAlarms..." Remove-AppxProvisionedPackage -Online -PackageName Microsoft.WindowsAlarms_2021.2510.4.0_neutral_~_8wekyb3d8bbwe Start-Sleep -s 5 Write-Host "Removing AppxProvisioned Todos..." Remove-AppxProvisionedPackage -Online -PackageName Microsoft.Todos_2.120.7961.0_neutral_~_8wekyb3d8bbwe Start-Sleep -s 5 Write-Host "Removing AppxProvisioned ScreenSketch..." Remove-AppxProvisionedPackage -Online -PackageName Microsoft.ScreenSketch_2022.2307.61.0_neutral_~_8wekyb3d8bbwe Start-Sleep -s 5 Write-Host "Removing AppxProvisioned PowerAutomateDesktop..." Remove-AppxProvisionedPackage -Online -PackageName Microsoft.PowerAutomateDesktop_11.2506.143.0_neutral_~_8wekyb3d8bbwe Start-Sleep -s 5 Write-Host "Removing AppxProvisioned Clipchamp..." Remove-AppxProvisionedPackage -Online -PackageName Clipchamp.Clipchamp_4.3.10120.0_neutral_~_yxz26nhyzhsrt Start-Sleep -s 5 Write-Host Write-Host Write-Host "*******************************************************" Write-Host "* Uninstallation of AppxProvisionedPackage Completed. *" Write-Host "*******************************************************" Start-Sleep -s 5

3. Run --> CMD (as admin), install --> .NET Framework 3.5 (includes .NET 2.0 and 3.0).

dism /online /enable-feature /featurename:NetFX3 /All /Source:E:\sources\sxs /LimitAccess

Install Printer Drivers.

Majority printers can be pre-installed, but I would only recommend to only install printers that majority Users will be using. This may includes Multi-Function-Printer (MFP), Photocopier Machine (eg. FujiXerox, Canon), Dot-Matrix Printer (eg. Seikosha, Epson).

Those with desktop type Printers such as HP LaserJet P1102 series or similar are not recommended due to not all Users will have such printer thus it make sense to only install printers that are widely available to all Users.

Some printer drivers can be easily installed without network (eg. FujiXerox) while some really needs your computer to be connected to the network to detect the printer. In this case, you need to extract the drivers first into any folder and manually add the printer by manually specifying the IP Address of the printer as port.

Continue to add as many printers as needed and configure it accordingly.

Install Common Software.

Some software are very common and available to all Users or Company wide, this software can be tools such as 7Zip, Adobe DC Reader, Google Chrome Browser, Codecs, Microsoft Office, Anti-Virus etc.

Mostly I would recommend to pre-install everything but WITHOUT ACTIVATION. This is especially true if you install Microsoft Office as after Sysprep, the activation will be lost.

Some Anti-Virus may not works after Sysprep too, thus it is always recommended to only install during the actual deployment to User.

Most of the software I've encountered thus far have no issues with Sysprep, as long as the license is not activated. The below list may not be exhaustive and just to shed some lights of what I have tested to be working :-

• 7Zip
• Adobe DC Reader
• Adobe Flash Player
• Adobe Dreamweaver
• Adobe CS 6
• AutoCAD LT
• Microsoft Office
• Microsoft Silverlight
• SAP R/4
• Oracle 10g
• K-Lite Mega Codec Pack
• Google Chrome Browser
• Firefox Browser
• Microsoft SQL Client
• TeamViewer
• Java Runtime Environment (JRE)

Windows 11 - Tuning Up.

1. Manually download required Updates from (https://www.catalog.update.microsoft.com/Home.aspx).     You can check which Updates are required by comparing it to another computer. Search it by the KB     codes.

2. Install the .MSU file type via CMD (as admin).

wusa.exe [KB File Name].msu /quiet /norestart

Example:

wusa.exe windows11-kb5030219-x64.msu /quiet /norestart

3. Install the .CAB file type via CMD (as admin).

dism /online /add-package /packagepath:[Full Updates Path & KB File Name].cab /quiet /norestart

Example:

dism /online /add-package /packagepath:C:\updates\windows11-kb5030219-x64.cab /quiet /norestart

4. Run --> Disk Cleanup --> Clean up system files --> Select all available options.

5. Settings --> System --> About --> Advance system settings --> System Protection :-

    5.1 Click --> "Configure" button.

    5.2 Enable --> Turn on system protection.

    5.3 Max usage --> 10%

    5.4 If there are any snapshot created automatically, you can "Delete" those snapshot.

6. Run --> Defragment and Optimize Drives.

    6.1 Defrag and Optimize all installed Drives.

7. Do a clean Restart and Shutdown.

Windows 11 - Sysprep.

1. Run (as admin) --> C:\Windows\System32\Sysprep\sysprep.exe

2. Select --> Enter System Out-of-Box-Experience (OOBE).

3. Enable --> "Generalize" option.

4. Select --> "Shutdown" option.

Note : If the "sysprep" process failed, means there are some applications installed or drivers is not compatible or not supported with "Sysprep". You need to figure out which software are not compatible and remove it accordingly.

Capture - Master Image.

You need to prepare another round of devices, this time you will need :-

1. A 16GB USB Flash Drive.

2. A 500GB or larger External USB Hard Drive.

3. Download latest Clonezilla tools.

4. Download latest Tuxboot tools.

5. Create a Bootable USB Flash Drive for Clonezilla using Tuxboot tools. Ensure the USB flash drive is     blank as Data will be wiped.

6. Ensure the "Master PC" is in Shutdown condition or not Sleep mode, just to be sure ensure that "Fast     Boot" was disabled.

7. Boot the "Master PC" with Clonezilla tool.

8. Start the image capturing process, you may refer here for more information and guides.

9. Finally Shutdown when done.

!!! HAPPY COMPUTING !!!

CloneZilla : Backup & Restore Computer (Disk-To-Image)

 CloneZilla : Backup & Restore Computer (Disk-To-Image).

This round we will focus on How-To Backup and Restore Computer using "Disk-To-Image" method in CloneZilla.

(A) STEPS 1 OF 4.

1. Ensure the Source (Reference) Computer is in working condition, OS with up-to-date patches, installed Applications and Drivers etc.
2. It is also recommended to perform a "Disk Cleanup" and "Defragmentation" before performing any backup.
3. Firstly, is to Shutdown the computer and boot-up with CloneZilla bootable CD or External USB HDD.
4. Select --> CloneZilla live (VGA 800x600)         {recommended}
5. Select --> Preferred Language
6. Select --> Keyboard type.
7. Select --> Start CloneZilla
8. Select --> device-image
9. Select --> local_dev
10. Press --> [ENTER]
11. Plugin the External USB HDD and wait for 5 seconds.
12. Then press --> [CTRL + C]
13. Select --> the External USB HDD drive.
14. Select --> Skip checking/repairing the file system before mounting
15. Select --> the Main/Primary folder (if any) or just tab to "Done"
16. Select --> Expert mode.
17. Select --> savedisk option.
18. When prompted, key-in the preferred Image File Name (eg. PC1_[Date])
19. If there are multiple HDD in the Source Computer, ensure the correct HDD drive is selected.
20. Select --> Priority:partclone option.
21. Leave the extra parameters as default.
22. Select the appropriate compression method or select --> -z1p Use parallel gzip compression, for multicore/CPU.         {aka normal compression}
23. Leave the image splitting as default, which is "0"         {zero}
24. Select --> Skip checking/repairing source file system.
25. Select --> Yes, check the saved image.
26. Select --> Not to encrypt the image.
27. Select --> poweroff/Shutdown option.
28. When prompted, type "Y" and press [ENTER].
29. Wait until the backup process completed.
30. Once completed the computer will auto-shutdown itself.

(B) STEPS 2 OF 4.

1. Verify the backup image file.
2. The image files should have the corresponding source hard drive's size.

(C) STEPS 3 OF 4.

1. Boot-up the Target (Destination) Computer with CloneZilla.
2. Ensure the Target's HDD is blank or data inside is no longer needed.
3. Follow the above steps until you see "restoredisk" option, select --> restoredisk option to continue.
4. Select --> the correct image file (if you have more than 1 image).
5. Select --> Target HDD (if you have more than 1 HDD).
6. Leave the extra parameters as default.
7. Select --> Use the partition table from the image.
8. Select --> No, skip checking the image before restoring.
9. Select --> poweroff/Shutdown option.
10. When prompted, type "Y" and press [ENTER].
11. When prompted for confirmation, type "Y" and press [ENTER].
12. You will be prompted again for confirmation, type "Y" and press [ENTER].
13. Wait until the restore process completed and the computer will auto-shutdown itself.

(D) STEPS 4 OF 4.

1. When everything is completed, you can now boot-up the Target computer to check everything such as installed applications, drivers, data etc.

!!! HAPPY COMPUTING !!!

CloneZilla : Create Bootable External USB HDD [Updated: 2023]

 CloneZilla : Create Bootable External USB HDD [Updated: 2023]

CloneZilla is a partition and disk imaging/cloning program similar to True Image® or Norton Ghost®. It helps you to do system deployment, bare metal backup and recovery. CloneZilla live is suitable for single machine backup and restore.

Many File systems are supported:

(1) ext2, ext3, ext4, reiserfs, reiser4, xfs, jfs, btrfs, f2fs and nilfs2 of GNU/Linux
(2) FAT12, FAT16, FAT32, exFAT and NTFS of MS Windows
(3) HFS+ and APFS of Mac OS
(4) UFS of FreeBSD, NetBSD, and OpenBSD
(5) minix of Minix
(6) VMFS3 and VMFS5 of VMWare ESX.

Therefore you can clone GNU/Linux, MS windows, Intel-based Mac OS, FreeBSD, NetBSD, OpenBSD, Minix, VMWare ESX and Chrome OS/Chromium OS, no matter it's 32-bit (x86) or 64-bit (x86-64) OS. 

Links :-

• Official CloneZilla Website: https://clonezilla.org/
• Official CloneZilla News: https://sourceforge.net/p/clonezilla/news/
• Official TuxBoot Website: https://tuxboot.org/about/

(A) STEPS #1 OF 5

1. Download CloneZilla ISO file.
2. Ensure you select the correct Architecture.
3. Ensure you select "ISO" file format.

(B) STEPS #2 OF 5

1. Download TuxBoot utility.

(C) STEPS #3 OF 5

1. Plugin External USB HDD, ensure capacity is 1TB or larger.
2. Ensure all data in the drive is backup, as ALL DATA WILL BE WIPED !
3. Create a First Partition with minimal 8GB or 10GB size.
4. Format the first partition as FAT32.
5. Create a Second Partition on the balance of the drive.
6. Format the second partition as NTFS.
7. Make "Active" of the First Partition.          {very important steps}

(D) STEPS #4 OF 5

1. Open TuxBoot (run as admin).
2. Select CloneZilla's ISO file.
3. Enable the Show all device          {be extra careful not to select the wrong drive letter}
4. Ensure the drive selected is the First Partition (eg. 8GB).
5. Next proceed to click the OK button to continue.

(E) STEPS #5 OF 5

1. Unplug the External USB HDD from the Computer.
2. Plugin to the Source (Reference) Computer and Boot-up via External USB HDD drive.
3. If boot-up is successful, you will be prompted with a Main Menu screen, leave the default selection and Press [ENTER] key to continue boot-up.
4. On the next screen, you will be prompted to select the Keyboard type, this means you have successfully booted up to CloneZilla.

Stay tune for Part #2, on how to backup & restore your computer.

!!! HAPPY COMPUTING !!!

CloneZilla : Restore Disk Image to Smaller Disk Size

CloneZilla restoring a "Disk Image" that are captured in larger disk size capacity to a smaller disk size must be done via another procedures.

Example : The original disk image captured size is a HDD 500GB capacity, the Destination/Target is a SSD 256GB.

You need to ensure that the captured disk albeit is 500GB, but the total usage doesn't exceed 256GB after partitioning, then the restore will be successful.

As usual, boot-up CloneZilla accordingly and follow below instructions accordingly :-

1. Select --> Device-Image

2. Select --> Local-Device

3. Select --> [The external drive that contains the captured image]

4. Select --> [Mount folder, if any]

5. Select --> Expert Mode

6. Select --> Restore-Partition

7. Select --> [Disk Image Name]

8. Select --> [All Partitions available in the Image]

9. Ignore the error message displayed, Press --> [ENTER]

10. In Advanced Page, Select --> -icds (skip checking destination disk size before creating partition table)

11. Select --> Create Partition table proportionally

12. Select --> Skip Checking image before restoring

13. Select --> Shutdown

14. Just press --> [ENTER] to all prompted messages

15. Continue to by Pressing --> [Y] to all prompted messages

Upon completion, CloneZilla will auto shutdown the computer, proceed to unplug all external devices and continue to power-on the computer. Windows wizard will automatically setup the computer with OOBE (depending on your captured image).

!!! HAPPY COMPUTING !!!

VMWare : Clonning from Physical to Virtual

Recently I've encounter some problems of converting a CentOS v.5.0 into VMWare ESXi v.6.7, this is particularly due to the tool (vCenter Converter Standalone) doesn't support CentOS v.5.0

So, instead of installing a brand new CentOS v.7.0 and migrate all the Oracle database into the new VM (Virtual Machine) manually, I proceeded to "clone" the physical machine.

There are some considerations before proceeding, the physical server's hardware specifications. How much RAM was installed, how many "Logical Array" is using. This will impact the creation of the VM, as such the ESXi server (host) must have sufficient hardware to support such a move.

The process is relatively easy, as this is done through "Direct Console Login", I was not able to provide the screenshots due to security issues. But nonetheless this are the steps I've taken and was successful.

Assumption :

a) The existing physical server (CentOS 5) hardware is 2 x NICs, 8GB RAM, 300GB x 2 RAID1, 300GB x 2 RAID1, 600GB x 2 RAID1.

(Note : a total of Three (3) logical drives was present, this part is important at the later stage).

b) External USB 2TB or more HDD.


The Steps-by-Steps :

1. Download the latest version of CloneZilla. At time of writing, the latest stable version v.2.6.2-15 and the edition I've downloaded is (i686, ISO) which is compatible with the server's hardware.

2. Using your preferred ISO burner, burn a bootable CDROM disc and you might want to label it for easy references.

3. Shutdown the CentOS 5 server by running command : shutdown now -h

4. Insert the CloneZilla bootable CDROM disc and plugin the External USB HDD into the CentOS 5 server.

5. Power-up the server and Press --> [F12] key.
* Note : Your server might have different key for invoking the "Boot Menu".

6. Select booting from the CDROM drive and wait for CloneZilla to boot automatically.

7. Follow the on-screen instructions, like language & keyboard selection.

8. Next is to select --> device-image option.

9. Then select --> local_dev option, then it will prompt you to press [ENTER] key to continue.

10. At the next screen, you will be shown a list of all the local drives & external USB drives detected. Just press [CTRL] + [C] to continue. You need to ensure the external USB HDD is detected correctly.

11. Next screen is to select "Home/PartImg" location, which in this case is the external USB HDD drive.

12. Next screen when prompt, just select --> OK button to continue, then it will prompt you what is the task you wanted to perform, in this case we select --> save_disk option.

13. Next it will prompt you for the image's filename, put a name that is simple & easy to remember (eg. svr_centos5_28Jul19), next is to ensure the image file size is unlimited, type --> 1000000 to ensure Clonezilla will not split the file according to 4GB limitation.

14. Leave the compression as default at either Z0 or Z1, of course you can have higher compressions but since I have a 2TB drive... so not a problems.

15. Next is the encryption prompt, this all depends on you. But as I'm the only 1 person in-charge & I do not need to keep the image after restoring, I will not encrypt the image files.

16. When prompted, just press --> [Y] to start the clonning process, this may takes a few hours (mine took me 14 hours) and select --> Shutdown when completed.

Note : More information can be found at Clonezilla website, please do visit their website.


17. Once all is completed, we will be moving the VMWare server. First we need to create VM and all the configurations must match exactly as the CentOS 5 server, such 2 x NICs, 3 x Drives & 8GB RAM.

18. For the selection of Guest OS, I've selected --> CentOS 4/5 64-bit version.

19. Also I've configured the CDROM to use an ISO image file instead of the host's drive. I need it to boot into CloneZilla for the image restoration.

20. Next is plugged in the external USB HDD into the host server and add a "USB Device" in the VM, this is to ensure the drive is detected properly.

21. The following is boot the VM into CloneZilla and start restoring "restore_disk" process, leave everything as default will do.

Oh, you might want to select --> "Skip checking source image" option & "Shutdown" after complete.

22. Before power-on the VM, you need to remove the external USB HDD from the settings and also the ISO file.

23. Just power-on the VM like normal & look out for any irregular warnings or critical messages. But thus far I've didn't encounter any error messages or similar and everything just works as it was supposed to.


!!! HAPPY COMPUTING !!!

Windows 10 - Remove Provisioned Apps

This is my second post about Windows 10 built-in apps (Provisioned Apps), some of us just don't like the built-in apps... just like the ridiculous Xbox apps which I find it to be best at hogging system resources.

Now my last post was to remove those built-in apps, but later I found it was still in Windows 10 when another user logged-in. After much googling and studying MSDN and TechNet, I found a powershell script and I wrote some sample of my own.

First of all, you still need to run the previous powershell script to ensure that all users are not provisioned with the built-in apps, just in case I have re-posted those script here for your references.

Get-AppxPackage -allusers *3dbuilder* | Remove-AppxPackage Get-AppxPackage -allusers *windowsalarms* | Remove-AppxPackage Get-AppxPackage -allusers *zunevideo* | Remove-AppxPackage Get-AppxPackage -allusers *officehub* | Remove-AppxPackage Get-AppxPackage -allusers *skypeapp* | Remove-AppxPackage Get-AppxPackage -allusers *getstarted* | Remove-AppxPackage Get-AppxPackage -allusers *zunemusic* | Remove-AppxPackage Get-AppxPackage -allusers *solitairecollection* | Remove-AppxPackage Get-AppxPackage -allusers *bingfinance* | Remove-AppxPackage Get-AppxPackage -allusers *bingnews* | Remove-AppxPackage Get-AppxPackage -allusers *people* | Remove-AppxPackage Get-AppxPackage -allusers *windowsphone* | Remove-AppxPackage Get-AppxPackage -allusers *commsphone* | Remove-AppxPackage Get-AppxPackage -allusers *bingsports* | Remove-AppxPackage Get-AppxPackage -allusers *windowsstore* | Remove-AppxPackage Get-AppxPackage -allusers *bingweather* | Remove-AppxPackage Get-AppxPackage -allusers *xboxapp* | Remove-AppxPackage Get-AppxPackage -allusers *twitter* | Remove-AppxPackage Get-AppxPackage -allusers *office.sway* | Remove-AppxPackage Get-AppxPackage -allusers *xboxonesmartglass* | Remove-AppxPackage Get-AppxPackage -allusers *messaging* | Remove-AppxPackage

Note : You can choose which apps you want to retain back. 

After you have completed the above script, now you can run the 2nd script as below, also you can choose which apps you want to retain back.

Remove-AppxProvisionedPackage -online -packagename Microsoft.3DBuilder_11.0.47.0_neutral_~_8wekyb3d8bbwe Remove-AppxProvisionedPackage -online -packagename Microsoft.BingWeather_4.9.51.0_neutral_~_8wekyb3d8bbwe Remove-AppxProvisionedPackage -online -packagename Microsoft.Getstarted_3.11.3.0_neutral_~_8wekyb3d8bbwe Remove-AppxProvisionedPackage -online -packagename Microsoft.Messaging_2.7.1001.0_neutral_~_8wekyb3d8bbwe Remove-AppxProvisionedPackage -online -packagename Microsoft.MicrosoftOfficeHub_2015.6801.23751.0_neutral_~_8wekyb3d8bbwe Remove-AppxProvisionedPackage -online -packagename Microsoft.MicrosoftSolitaireCollection_3.9.5100.0_neutral_~_8wekyb3d8bbwe Remove-AppxProvisionedPackage -online -packagename Microsoft.Office.OneNote_2015.6868.57981.0_neutral_~_8wekyb3d8bbwe Remove-AppxProvisionedPackage -online -packagename Microsoft.OneConnect_1.1605.17.0_neutral_~_8wekyb3d8bbwe Remove-AppxProvisionedPackage -online -packagename Microsoft.People_2016.709.155.0_neutral_~_8wekyb3d8bbwe Remove-AppxProvisionedPackage -online -packagename Microsoft.People_2016.709.155.0_neutral_~_8wekyb3d8bbwe Remove-AppxProvisionedPackage -online -packagename Microsoft.SkypeApp_11.4.86.0_neutral_~_kzf8qxf38zg5c Remove-AppxProvisionedPackage -online -packagename Microsoft.StorePurchaseApp_1.0.454.0_neutral_~_8wekyb3d8bbwe Remove-AppxProvisionedPackage -online -packagename Microsoft.WindowsAlarms_2016.622.2118.0_neutral_~_8wekyb3d8bbwe Remove-AppxProvisionedPackage -online -packagename microsoft.windowscommunicationsapps_2015.6868.41201.0_neutral_~_8wekyb3d8bbwe Remove-AppxProvisionedPackage -online -packagename Microsoft.WindowsFeedbackHub_1.3.1741.0_neutral_~_8wekyb3d8bbwe Remove-AppxProvisionedPackage -online -packagename Microsoft.WindowsMaps_2016.701.2235.0_neutral_~_8wekyb3d8bbwe Remove-AppxProvisionedPackage -online -packagename Microsoft.WindowsStore_11606.1001.394.0_neutral_~_8wekyb3d8bbwe Remove-AppxProvisionedPackage -online -packagename Microsoft.XboxApp_2016.623.248.0_neutral_~_8wekyb3d8bbwe Remove-AppxProvisionedPackage -online -packagename Microsoft.XboxIdentityProvider_2016.616.818.0_neutral_~_8wekyb3d8bbwe Remove-AppxProvisionedPackage -online -packagename Microsoft.ZuneMusic_2019.6.19261.0_neutral_~_8wekyb3d8bbwe Remove-AppxProvisionedPackage -online -packagename Microsoft.ZuneVideo_2019.6.19281.0_neutral_~_8wekyb3d8bbwe

 

After completion, you just need to restart the computer. Please be aware that if an apps was still provisioned to a user, you cannot remove that apps. As such it is important that you ensure no users is still requiring that apps before removing.

I find this to be useful especially when you want to create a consistent operating environment (COE) for a corporate/enterprise system.

!!! HAPPY SCRIPTING !!!
!!! HAPPY CHINESE NEW YEAR !!!

CloneZilla - Create Bootable HDD

If you know Norton Ghost then you must know CloneZilla, same functions as Ghost (cloning) but with supports on the latest UEFI system.

Now in CloneZilla official website, they only provide you a tutorials on making the USB flash drive bootable but you still need to plugin your external USB HDD for the "/Home" drive mounting (that's where you save all your images).

Well I've created a video on how to make your external USB HDD to be bootable and in the same time have the images stored.

Happy Cloning ! :)