This article describes how to copy a bootable USB to another USB with boot files in simple steps. Scroll down to explore more.
Nowadays, an increasing number of users create a bootable USB to start their computers when they refuse to boot or struggle in trouble. But this kind of storage is vulnerable. Many users wish to copy USB to USB with boot files. Continue to read more.
“I thought it's kind of a dumb question but a search with Google seems to indicate that it is not even possible to copy/paste data on a bootable drive to another USB. But even if we were able to copy it, why should it not work? (that is creating a duplicate bootable drive). Then, how do I copy bootable USB drive to another USB free?" – Superuser forum
Considering the particularity of bootable USB, users can’t directly take the traditional copy-paste method to copy bootable USB to another USB, which is time-consuming and may lead to corrupted program or unbootable OS.
You need to use professional cloning software to finish this work. Most of all, the cloned drive is bootable.
It's disappointing that Windows doesn’t offer you a direct way to clone bootable USB drives. But you still can use the best bootable USB clone tool - AOMEI Backupper Professional to copy bootable USB to another USB in Windows 11/10/8.1/8/7/XP/Vista.
In addition, you can use it to replace laptop HDD with SSD, clone dell hard drive to SSD, clone SSD to larger SSD etc.
Please download the best USB clone tool! Thanks to its intuitive interface, even novices can complete the cloning process easily and quickly.
Here's how to clone bootable USB to another USB step by step.
Step 1. Insert two USB drives into your computer via USB ports, and make sure they can be detected by Windows. Then, launch this software and you will see its deep-blue interface. Click Clone and Disk Clone subsequently.
Step 2. Select the bootable USB drive (here is Disk 1) as the source disk. Then click Next.
Step 3. Select the destination disk (here is Disk 2) as the destination disk. Then click Next.
Step 4. On the Operation Summary window, confirm the operations and click Start Clone to copy USB to USB with boot files. By default, this software will only clone the used sectors of the USB drive.
Sector by sector clone: clone all sectors whether it's used or not. Remember that the target disk must be equal to or larger than the source disk.
Edit Partitions: adjust partition size of the target USB; convert disk partition style, from MBR to GPT, or vice versa.
SSD Alignment: improve SSD disk performance, i.e. reading & writing speed.
After cloning, you need to check if bootable USB drive is working. If so, you can reformat old USB drive to store data or as a backup drive.
It's necessary to copy USB to USB with boot files and there are 4 main reasons below.
Upgrade to a large one. With lots of times plug in and plug out, the flash drive is vulnerable and likely to go wrong, or due to insufficient space, you may replace it finally.
Backup USB drive with boot files. USB drives are very small and easy to lose. So a wise user will backup bootable USB just in case.
Share data. Instead of copying files manually, tedious and time-consuming, it's a wise choice to clone USB to another one. Or share the same operating system with others.
Quick Setup. Copying USB to USB with boot files will be a good choice to help you install multiple computers with the same operating system and settings instead of one by one.
That's all for how to copy USB to USB with boot files. Try the best USB clone tool - AOMEI Backupper Professional. With it, you can easily and quickly complete this process. Why not download it to have a try right now?
Also, you can use it to create bootable media, and create backup tasks, such as file backup, disk backup, incremental & differential backup, etc., to help you protect data well.