How to Copy Windows 11, 10, 8, 7 OS from Laptop to Pen Drive

Why copy OS from laptop to pen drive

As we know, the process of reinstalling the OS is more complicated than recovering the OS. First, the time required to install the operating system from scratch is usually longer. Second, after installing the OS, we also need to install hardware drivers and applications, so that the computer can work properly. Therefore, many users choose to backup the operating system in case of recovery needs.

Copying OS from a laptop to other storage such as a pen drive (also known as memory disk or USB disk) is a good way to backup Windows 11/10/8/7. It's independent of your local drive, so the backup will not be affected by system errors. Meanwhile, it's lighter and more portable than other external devices.

If you've got a pen drive, you can easily copy OS to it, and carry it around in case the laptop system crashes and requires a full recovery. In the following article, I will show you how to do it.

How to copy OS from laptop to pen drive

Generally, there 2 scenarios where you want to copy OS from a laptop to a pen drive:

For most people, the process of copying an operating system from a laptop to a pen drive is complicated, a small mistake could lead to the loss of important data. Fortunately, with professional backup & clone software like AOMEI Backupper Professional, you can copy the OS from your laptop to a pen drive easily.

✍It enables you to create backup images of Files & Folders, Systems, Partitions, or entire Disk.

✍If you want to perform a complete duplication without restoring process, you could use the System Clone or Disk Clone feature. The intelligent-sector technology also empowers you to copy larger drives to smaller drives.

✍It could create a bootable pen drive that can be used to start a crashed computer of HP, Lenovo, Acer, ASUS, Dell, etc. as long as it runs Windows OS. The created media is compatible with both BIOS and UEFI modes.

Then, let's learn how to copy OS with both methods below. First of all, download and install AOMEI Backupper on your Windows PC. Then, Connect the pen drive to your computer, and make sure it can be detected by your PC.

Method 1. Copy OS from laptop to pen drive by system clone or backup

Cloning system with AOMEI Backupper is an easy and effective way to copy the operating system from laptop to pen drive. The specific steps are as follows:

Step 1. Install and run AOMEI Backupper Pro, click “Clone” on the left sidebar, and then select “System Clone”.

Step 2. In the pop-up window, select your pen drive as the destination partition, and then click “Next”.

Step 3. There is an operation preview showing the operating system drives will be migrated to your pen drive. Review the operation summary and you can go back if you find something wrong. Then click “Start Clone” to perform the operation.

* At the bottom of the window, you have three options. Check them per your situation.

• Make full use of disk space: This option allows you to extend the system partition size automatically by the adjacent unallocated space.
• Sector by Sector Clone: This option will clone all the space on the system partition no matter whether it is used or not, so it will take a longer time.
• SSD Alignment: If the destination is an SSD, you can click “SSD Alignment” to improve the performance.

Step 4. When the system clone progress reaches to 100%, click “Finish” to exit the interface.

💬In addition to system clone, you can also use the completely free AOMEI Backupper Standard to perform system backup and restore.

This software helps you back up the system and boot partitions to an image file conveniently. Besides, it provides the function of compression to the image file so as to reduce the storage space required by the image file to the largest extent. It also provides advanced-level users with the function of incremental backup so as to improve the backup efficiency and further reduce the storage space required by the image file.

Method 2. Create a bootable pen drive to start a faulty laptop

You can also create bootable media with the pen drive with AOMEI Backupper. Once the system crashes, you can use this bootable pen drive to boot your laptop and restore the system from the backup image you created before.

What's more, you can also use the bootable pen drive to start another problematic Windows PC when needed.

*To recover the system with the bootable drive, you still need to create a system backup first.

Step 1. Launch AOMEI Backupper. Select "Tools" -> "Create Bootable Media".

Step 2. Next, choose "Windows PE - Create bootable disc based on Windows PE", it's the recommended option because it provides more flexible and convenient operations.

Step 3. Make sure your pen drive is connected properly, and select "USB Boot Device". Then click "Next".

Step 4. When the creation is complete, click "Finish" to exit the interface.

Now you've got a bootable USB that can boot your computer into WinPE, and perform backup & restore or even clone operation there. You can even use it to restore system image to a different computer using the Universal Restore feature.

Conclusion

Follow these simple methods, you can effectively copy OS from laptop to pen drive. AOMEI Backupper should be the best operating system copy tool. Besides system clone and system backup, it has many other powerful features, such as Backup and Restoring dynamic disk volume, disk clone, and so on.