Freeware: Clone Hard Drive in Windows 11, 10, 8 And 7

Why clone hard drive?

Clone hard disk is the process of migrating all data from one hard drive to another hard drive. In other words, it is a copy of the old hard drive. Cloning a hard drive keeps all data intact and saves a lot of time and effort compared to a fresh installation.

Usually, people want to clone hard drive in Windows 10 or Windows 11 for the following reasons:
✦ Replace Hard Drive with SSD for faster reading and writing speed.
✦ Replace the failed hard drive with a good one.
✦ Transfer all data from one hard drive to another for backup.

What do you need to prepare for cloning hard drive?

 Before cloning, we need to do some preparations to make sure that cloning can be worked successfully.

▶ Download partition magic to clone hard drive for free

To clone a hard drive to SSD or HDD, excellent cloning software is necessary. I suggest you use AOMEI Partition Assistant Standard, which is the market-leading cloning freeware on Windows 11, 10, 8, and 7.

It is not only completely free but also very easy to use, which is very suitable for beginners. It provides two cloning methods: Clone Disk Quickly and Sector-by-Sector Cloning. The former only clones the used space on the hard drive, while the latter clones all sectors on the hard disk.

In addition, it has many other popular features. For example, merge partitions to extend the size of partitions, wipe hard drives for reuse, convert data disk from MBR to GPT, and more.

★Tips:

For cloning a system disk, please upgrade to Professional edition.

If the PC you are going to clone cannot start normally, you can even clone hard drive from boot.

If you are running with Windows Server, you can turn to Server Edition, which is designed for Windows Server 2022, 2019, 2016, 2012(R2), 2008(R2), 2003 users. 

▶ Install the new hard drive

Then, you need to connect the new hard drive to the computer. Here, we take install M.2 SSD as an example:

- If your computer has only one M.2 SSD slot, connect it to the computer via an M.2 SSD to USB adapter and make sure it is connected correctly.

- If your PC has multiple M.2 SSD slots, do the following:

◥ How to install M.2 SSD on the desktop

Step 1. Use a screwdriver to open the case. Once you find the location of the M.2 slot, insert the M.2 SSD.

Step 2. After inspection, replace the cover.

◥ How to install M.2 SSD on the laptop

Step 1. Use a screwdriver to remove the laptop back cover.

Step 2. Find the location of the M.2 SSD slot, insert the M.2 SSD into the corresponding connector, and make sure the connection is firm.

Step 3. Set screws. Then install the back cover.

▶ Initialize the hard drive

After connecting the hard drive to the PC, you need to initialize the hard drive if it is new. Otherwise, it will not be recognized by Windows.

Step 1. Download and install AOMEI Partition Assistant first. After opening it, right-click the new hard drive and select "Initialize Disk".

Step 2.  To avoid changing the boot mode, set the partition style (MBR or GPT) to be the same as the old hard drive.

How to clone hard drive and boot from it successfully

In this part, I will show you the specific steps of cloning hard drive to SSD with AOMEI Partition Assistant. 

Warning: All data on the destination disk will be erased during the clone, so please back up anything required before clone.

Step 1. Click the "Clone" button at the top panel.  Then select "Clone Disk".

Step 2. In the pop-up window, select disk clone method and click "Next" to continue. In our case, we choose "Clone Disk Quickly".

Step 3. Disk 1 is selected as the source disk by default. Choose the target disk (a new hard drive or SSD to receive clone contents of the source disk) and click "Next" to continue.

Step 4. The next page tells you how to boot the operating system from the destination disk. Then, edit partitions on the destination disk if you want to.

Step 5. You can preview the operations you did. To save the changes, you must click "Apply" on the toolbar.

Step 6. After clicking Apply, a window will pop up, listing the "Pending Operations". Confirm the operations you did and click "Proceed" to execute.

If cloned the system disk, you should boot Windows from the new hard drive. If there is only one slot, you can boot the computer after replacing the old hard drive with a new hard drive. But if you want to keep both the old hard drive and the new hard drive, you should change the boot drive.

FAQs

Does cloning a hard drive copy the OS?

Certainly! When you clone an SSD, you copy all the data from the original drive, including the operating system (OS), installed programs, files, and configuration. The process produces an exact copy of the source drive on the designated SSD, guaranteeing seamless transfer of everything including the operating system.

Is it a good idea to clone a hard drive?

Cloning a hard drive is generally safe, especially when using third-party applications to perform the task. However, choosing traditional tools to clone a hard drive may carry the risk of misconfiguration, which may lead to file loss.

Can I clone a hard drive and use it in a different computer?

Of course, your cloning software must accurately copy all partitions and handle any differences in drive size between the old and new drives to ensure a successful transfer.

Conclusion

This is how we do to clone hard drives to HDD or SSD easily and safely. No matter whether you need to upgrade to a larger storage capacity, safeguard crucial data, or seamlessly transfer your system to a new drive, AOMEI Partition Assistant always provides a reliable solution. You can download it to try more advanced features like resizing/moving partitions, recovering lost data or partitions, bypassing administrator passwords, etc.