Clone SSD to NVMe SSD with Clonezilla: No Data Loss Guide

Can Clonezilla clone to an NVMe drive?

Clonezilla, a free and open-source disk cloning software, that allows you to create an exact copy of your hard drive, including the operating system, applications, and personal data.

It is available for free and runs on various systems including Linux, Mac OS, Windows, FreeBSD, NetBSD, OpenBSD, and more. With Clonezilla, users can complete the task of system backup, full drive clone, system deployment, etc. According to some users, when they use the latest Clonezilla, the clone process is really painless.

This tutorial aims at solving the task of how to clone SATA SSD to NVMe with Clonezilla and its best alternative due to it has some limitations.

How to use Clonezilla clone SSD to NVMe SSD

1. Create a Clonezilla bootable USB drive or CD/DVD. Insert it into your computer and boot from it.

2. Select Clonezilla Live from the menu and press Enter.

3. Select your preferred language and keyboard layout and press Enter.

4. Select Start Clonezilla and press Enter.

5. Select device-device, choose Beginner mode if you're new to Clonezilla to accept the default options, and press Enter. 

6. Choose the source disk (your SSD) and press Enter.

7. Choose the destination disk (your NVMe SSD) and press Enter.

8. Choose the action to perform after the cloning. The default option is Choose reboot/shutdown/etc when everything is finished.

9. Review the disk layout and confirm that you want to proceed with the cloning process. Wait for the cloning process to complete.

Clonezilla does have some limitations

While Clonezilla is a popular and effective disk-copying software, it does have some limitations.

👉 As you can see, the whole Clonezilla SSD to NVMe clone process needs lots of steps, which can be complicated and time-consuming for beginners.
👉 Many users have encountered that Clonezilla failed to clone bad sectors. Where there’s a bad sector on your disk, there’s a high probability that you will encounter this problem.
👉 When you use Clonezilla to clone HDD to a smaller SSD, you are asked that the target SSD needs to be the same or larger size as your drive. Therefore, if you want to clone to a smaller SSD, this process may fail.
👉Unable to mount Clonezilla imageto restore a single file.

Therefore, you should try the best Clonezilla alternative. AOMEI Backupper Professional is an excellent disk cloning software designed for Windows 11/10/8.1/8/7, It supports cloning large SSDs to smaller ones, as long as all data on the source SSD can be transferred to the smaller SSD.

Best alternative to Clonezilla to clone SSD to NVMe

AOMEI Backupper is the perfect solution, breaking the limitations of Clonezilla with its advanced features and user-friendly design. Unlike Clonezilla’s complex text-based interface, AOMEI Backupper offers an intuitive graphical user interface (GUI), making it accessible for both beginners and advanced users.

This cloning software offers:

• Seamless NVMe Cloning: Fully supports cloning from SSD to NVMe drives, ensuring a smooth transition without data loss. It works seamlessly with all major SSD and NVMe brands, including Samsung, WD, Crucial, and more.
• Intelligent Sector Cloning: Only copies used sectors, skipping bad or unused ones. This not only speeds up the cloning process but also ensures optimal performance for your new NVMe drive.
• Flexible Disk Cloning Options: Unlike Clonezilla, AOMEI Backupper allows you to clone larger disks to smaller ones, as long as the data fits. This is especially useful when upgrading to a smaller but faster NVMe SSD.
• User-Friendly Interface: It’s straightforward GUI makes the cloning process simple and hassle-free, even for non-technical users.

Steps to clone SATA SSD to NVMe with AOMEI Backupper:

Tip: As the destination NVMe SSD will be overwritten in the cloning process, backup important files beforehand if there are some important files on it.

1. Download and install this powerful disk cloning software on your PC.

2. Launch the software, go to Clone tab, and choose Disk Clone. If you only want to clone Windows 10 to NVMe SSD, you can also use the System Clone feature.

3. Select the SATA SSD as the source disk, and click Next. Then select the NVMe SSD as the destination disk, and hit Next to continue.

4. Tick SSD Alignment to improve the performance of the NVMe SSD, then click Start Clone to execute the operation.

✍ More advanced features you may need:

◍ Sector By Sector Clone: Clone all the sectors, including the blank and logically bad sectors. You can tick this option if the target NVMe SSD is larger. It will take a longer time accordingly.
◍ Wipe the source SSD: As for the SATA SSD drive, you could use the Disk Wipe feature to wipe the hard drive if you still want to use it as the secondary storage.
◍ For computers with different hardware, you can use the Universal Restore feature to ensure your computer can boot successfully. 

Crucial FAQs on NVMe SSD Cloning

1. Can I clone an NVMe SSD to a SATA SSD?

Yes, you can clone an NVMe SSD to a SATA SSD, but the target SATA SSD must have enough capacity to hold all the data. Note that the performance of the SATA SSD will be slower compared to the NVMe drive.

2. How do I ensure my cloned NVMe SSD is bootable?

To ensure the cloned NVMe SSD is bootable, verify that the EFI partition (if applicable) is cloned correctly. After cloning, set the cloned NVMe SSD as the primary boot device in the BIOS/UEFI.

3. Can I clone an NVMe SSD with bad sectors?

Cloning an NVMe SSD with bad sectors can be risky. Use software like AOMEI Backupper with a sector-by-sector cloning feature to copy all data, including bad sectors. However, this may result in errors or performance issues on the cloned drive.

4. Can I clone an NVMe SSD with an OEM recovery partition (e.g., from Dell or HP)?

Yes, but you must use cloning software that supports OEM recovery partitions. Ensure the target drive has enough space for the recovery partition, as it’s critical for system restoration.

5. Can I clone an NVMe SSD with a BitLocker-encrypted partition?

Yes, but you must suspend BitLocker protection before cloning. After cloning, re-enable BitLocker on the target drive. Failure to suspend BitLocker may result in an unbootable drive.

Moreover, if your NVMe SSD uses hardware encryption, you may need to disable encryption temporarily before cloning. After cloning, re-enable encryption on the target drive.

Conclusion

That’s all for Clonezilla SSD to NVMe cloning details and process. It can be a useful tool for cloning your SSD to an NVMe SSD, but it does have some limitations and can be difficult to use for beginners.

If you're looking for a more user-friendly and reliable alternative, we recommend using AOMEI Backupper’s clone feature. This feature can also help you enable HP Omen 15 SSD upgrade.

Besides, it is more than a powerful alternative to Clonezilla. It is also regarded as the best alternative to SyncToy on Windows 11, a free backup and restore software, which offers various options to keep your data safe.