How to Clone Internal Hard Drive in Windows 11/10/8/7

Why Clone Internal Hard Drive

There are different purposes for hard drive cloning under different situations. The need of cloning internal hard drive varies from situation to situation. Here are two of the most common purposes: 

☛ For Data Protection

You can simply clone an internal hard drive to an external one besides creating a backup. Unlike backup strategies, which need to restore or mount the backup before you can use or view the files in a backup, cloning a drive is relatively simple and straightforward because all the data on the source disk will be cloned to the destination disk including hidden partitions.

By the way, throughout the cloning process, the source disk that needs cloning stays intact, so you do not need to worry about losing data for cloning a hard disk. If the source disk is a boot disk, then the cloned disk stays bootable.

☛ Upgrade Hard Drive to a Larger or Faster One

You can use a cloned drive (destination disk) to replace the source disk, and since solid state drives (SSDs) provide enormous speed and are growingly cheap, many users decide to clone hard disk drives to SSDs to get better performance. As there is no guarantee that a hard drive will fail, it is always a good shot to make a clone of your hard drive as a precaution.

Best Hard Drive Cloning Software for Windows OS

If you search the internet, you can find much software that can clone HDD to SSD or another HDD. Here AOMEI Backupper Professional is recommended for its intuitive interface, reliable performance, and multiple functions to manage hard drives.

You can use this software and launch the clone task within Windows, and of course, it also allows you to copy a hard drive from bootable media. When you want to clone a large disk to a smaller one (SSD in most cases), AOMEI Backupper will automatically shrink the partition on the clone drive to ensure all partitions including hidden recovery partitions are cloned, leaving no changes to your original disk.

For SSDs, it has an extra choice to optimize the performance of SSD. Besides, AOMEI Backupper also allows you to clone a system disk to another with a different partition style while keeping the clone disk bootable, which means that you can use it to clone the MBR disk to the GPT disk and vice versa.

Note: If you do want to clone boot disk between MBR and GPT, be aware that you must change boot mode before you can boot the clone disk since MBR disk requires Legacy-BISO based mode and GPT disk requires UEFI boot mode.

How to Clone the Internal Hard Drive Step-by-Step?

To clone a hard drive in Windows 10/8/7, you only need a few clicks with AOMEI Backupper.

1. Download and run this best hard drive cloning software.

2. Under the “Clone” tab, select “Disk Clone”, which will clone the entire hard drive.

3. Click on the hard drive that needs cloning and click “Next” to continue.

4. Click the hard drive to receive the hard drive clone and click “Next”.

5. Check the "SSD Alignment" option if the target disk is an SSD. Then, click on “Start Clone” to start the cloning process.

Tips: If you want to clone OS only to the destination hard drive, you can use the System Clone feature.

The cloning process typically takes about an hour, but the exact time depends on the amount of data being transferred. During this process, you can still use your computer for other tasks.

In addition to cloning internal hard drives for data protection or upgrades, AOMEI Backupper also offers Backup and Restore features that can give similar results. With its backup functionality, you can easily restore backup to dissimilar hardware without facing booting problems.

What do You Need to Prepare for Internal HDD Cloning

To perform a hard drive clone, firstly, you need a computer running Windows 10/8/7. Secondly, you must prepare another drive SSD or HDD as the internal hard drive replacement to receive the clone.

Thirdly, you must connect the destination disk to your computer. If it is a desktop, you can install it on your computer, so you need a SATA cable and a SATA power cable.

If it is a laptop that does not have a second drive bay, you need a SATA-to-USB adapter to connect the drive externally. Of course, if your laptop has a second drive bay, then you can install a second HDD or SSD on your laptop or connect it externally via a USB port.

Next, you'll need reliable hard drive cloning software to perform the clone. Choosing the right tool can save you a lot of time and effort. Lastly, if you're opening your computer to install the destination disk, you'll need a screwdriver and some screws.

That's all. While it's often said that cloning a hard drive requires a bootable disk and partition adjustments, the software we recommend eliminates the need for these extra steps. You can complete the cloning process without needing a bootable CD or USB drive.

Common Cloning Issues

While cloning your internal hard drive is generally straightforward, there are a few issues that users often encounter:

Issue 1: The Cloned Drive Isn’t Booting

• The cloning software properly cloned the system partitions.
• The BIOS/UEFI settings are correctly configured to boot from the new drive.
• You may need to use a repair disk to fix boot issues.

Issue 2: Data Doesn’t Appear on the Cloned Drive

• Incorrect partition resizing during the cloning process.
• Check the disk management tool to ensure all partitions are visible and accessible.

Issue 3: Slow Cloning Process

• A slow USB connection when using external drives.
• Insufficient storage on the destination drive. Ensure there’s enough free space for the clone.

Conclusion

Cloning your internal hard drive is a powerful way to protect your data, upgrade your system, or prepare for disaster recovery. By following the right steps and using the appropriate software, you can ensure that your cloning process goes smoothly and efficiently. Try AOMEI Backupper, the key to success lies in preparation, careful execution, and testing.