Aeomi Backuper is a nice way to backup Windows, can that be done for Linux. Incase you have a new drive with nothing where you can’t just timeshift it back. It would be nice to just beable to .iso the current install ^ beable to put it back just like it was.
You can try Clonezilla to backup drives or partitions and also create iso’s
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I don’t know about ISOs, maybe Rescuezilla can do it. But I made a full disk backup adound 2 months ago now with Foxclone, of my Manjaro-install. And the big KDE6 update messed up my system. My fault for not reading the update notes fully. Either way, I went back to that backup which I had saved on a USB external drive. It was 400 gigs so it took 1 hour 20 mins to restore it. My system is fine now.
I didn’t look around but Foxclone for me created a number of files. I see 7 files, 2 of them are .gz, so compressed. Those 2 files take up 220 gigs. The rest are tiny, so the total is 220 gigs. I had to go to Settings in order to save to a partition, on my external drive. Default, IIRC, it only handles whole disks.
When I restored that backup, I just had to select a file from external drive, think it was a 1-file choice. Could be that .backup-file I see. And the rest it did for me, didn’t have to choose drive to restore it to. Then I just clicked OK and waited. I have Foxclone on a USB-stick formatted with Ventoy.
Since it was a whole disk backup, it restored the Manjaro install and EFI partition. I keep swap-partition elsewhere.
I should also mention I tried Clonezilla first. It didn’t want to work. I don’t remember details. I learned about Rescuezilla later, after I had cloned with Foxclone. So that is an unknown to me. But supposed to be better than Clonezilla.
I use Rescuezilla, it has an easy enough to understand UI and has been very reliable for me during the three years I’ve been using it. AFAIK it’s not possible to create an ISO-file though.
But I kind of know where you’re coming from. Being a Windows user for 25 years, one of the few things I’m missing is being able to make an image of a running system easily, I don’t think Linux has an equivalent of Volume Shadow Copy which makes this possible. I used Macrium Reflect for at least 10 years on Windows, and it never failed me once.
Personally I would advise against doing that even if it were possible (which is probably why no such utility has been written for Linux, AFAIK).
It’s not possible because of the lack of an equivalent to the Volume Shadow Copy service. This service makes this perfectly safe under Windows.
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Pneguins eggs was discussed here before…
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RescueZilla is a frontend for CloneZilla, which suggests it cannot be any better nor worse; however, the GUI might be easier to navigate for some users.
CloneZilla itself also has a GUI, albeit an ncurses style of interface. Typically the defaults will usually produce the desired results. CloneZilla is my goto for most cloning needs, but a word of warning - it’s easy to mess something up in inexperienced hands.
A downside to using CloneZilla is that an image must be restored only to a disk or partition that is at least the same size as the original source. This limitation has existed for many years; the only workaround requires some manual intervention; editing of files.
The PartedMagic bootable ISO is something I’ve kept at hand for many years. GParted, CloneZilla (and RescueZilla) are available by default; plus other tools; which are usable from the comfort of a Live Linux environment. I typically add this ISO to my Ventoy USB.
There are many backup type applications with varying degrees of sophistication; and reliability.
Ultimately, only a clone of the disk (or partition) would seem to satisfy the requirement as defined by the OP. In whichever case, adequate storage will usually be required to house the generated image files.
This typically means that additional disks are needed specifically for the purpose - an image can’t be stored on the same disk that is being imaged, for example. A portable USB disk might be sufficient, if large enough.
I hope this has been helpful. Cheers.
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If we are talking ISOs with tools on them then there is MaceR which has clonezilla, manjaro-architect, borg, rclone, etc.
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Remember what defines your currently running system
- The packages
- Your home folder
Thus to make a new system look like the old one
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See? You have a few choices. Now, see which of those is available in the Manjaro repositories, and focus only on those; nothing foreign.
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I have found that utilizing two backup utilities; BackInTime and Timeshift works fantastic.
BIT (BackInTIme) is perfect for user files and TimeShift is for system files.
BackInTime is, in my opinion, better than Apple’s TimeMachine and superior to anything Windows has.
I use Balena Etcher for cloning my system disk. It creates a bootable clone of the system disk, which means it clones /boot/efi and /efi partitions as well.
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For those who are reading this thread, do you know any backup utility able to backup a root btrfs partition with all the snapshots and respecting COW principle ? Indeed, Timeshift does not include the snapshots, which is a requirement for me.
Assuming, i will do nothing during a backup, do you know such backup tool reliable on a live system ? (e.g without having to do a cold backup)
Thanks 
If something like snapper or btrfs-assistant would fit your needs they are in MaceR.
Full package lists can be found with the automated releases.
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