All of which cost more than a 100000 dollars but were still somehow bought on a whim for that one experiment that one time…

Well…they 'how’l all the fricken time without being asked!

Clonezilla is the tool I use after all else has failed. I agree that it is difficult to use, but it can do things others can’t. I saved quite a few of my drives with this thing. So while I try to avoid having to use it, it still belongs in my toolkit.