Best SD Card Clone Freeware on Windows | Free Download

This article will show you the best SD card clone freeware for cloning SD card to another smaller/larger card with ease.

By @Jonna Last Updated October 29, 2024

Why Do You Need SD Card Cloning Software?

SD card, short for Secure Digital card, is a small, portable storage device commonly used for storing digital data in a variety of electronic devices. It is widely utilized in digital cameras, smartphones, tablets, laptops, game consoles, music players, GPS navigation systems, and other devices that require expandable, removable storage.

In some cases, you may need SD card cloning software for copying SD card, like:

  • SD card upgrade or replacement: When you get a new SD card with a larger storage capacity or you need to replace a damaged card, cloning the old card's contents to the new one can save you the time and effort of manually transferring files.
  • Data backup: Cloning your SD card ensures that you have a copy of all the data, including photos, videos, documents, and other files stored on the card. This is essential in case the original card gets lost, damaged, or corrupted.

Whatever the reason for cloning an SD card, finding a reliable SD card clone freeware is necessary to complete the process smoothly and easily.

Best SD Card Clone Freeware to Clone SD Card to Smaller/Larger Card

There are many cloning software in the market, and AOMEI Backupper Standard should be the best free SD card clone software for Windows users. In addition to cloning SD card to another card, it also allows you to copy SD card to external hard drive, like USB flash drive. Here are some features of this best SD card cloning software:

▶Intelligent clone: It only copy the used sectors by default, which is very convenient to clone SD card to smaller card. If your target drive has sufficient space, you can also clone SD card to larger SD by copying all the sectors including the unused space using its Sector By Sector Clone feature.

▶Flexible cloning options: It offers Disk Clone to copy the entire disk, Partition Clone to copy specific partitions, as well as System Clone to copy only Windows OS.

▶Hot clone: It utilizes a hot clone feature to clone drive without interrupting any works.

AOMEI Backupper

Best free disk cloning software for personal use.

How to Clone SD Card to Another SD Card: Step-by-Step Guide

With a concise and intuitive interface, the clone SD card freeware AOMEI Backupper makes it easy for you to upgrade SD card to a larger one or replace old SD card with a new one without losing data. You can follow the guidelines below to learn how to complete the SD card clone.

Preparations: ♦ Connect your two SD cards to your computer via two SD card readers, and ensure they are recognizable. ♦ If there are important files on the target card, please backup your SD card in advance, as the cloning process will overwrite all data on the target drive.

Step 1. Run the SD card clone software AOMEI Backupper, click on Clone on the left side, and choose Disk Clone.

Tip: If there is only one partition on your old SD card, the Partition Clone option is also useful for copying data.

Step 2. Choose your original SD card as the source disk, and hit Next.

Step 3. Choose another SD card as the destination to copy files from the old one, and then press Next.

Step 4. Tap on Start Clone to copy data from one SD card to another easily.

★ More useful functions:
Edit Partitions: It enables you to automatically resize partitions when cloning to fully utilize the storage space on the target hard drive when cloning disk to a larger disk.
SSD Alignment: If you want to clone hard drive to SSD, you can check this option to speed up the reading and writing speed of your SSD and prolong its service life.
If you want to clone SD card with only one reader, you can rely on the Backup and Restore features of AOMEI Backupper. That is to backup your SD card data on your old card first, and then restore it to the new card.

FAQs about Cloning SD Card

#1. Can I make bootable USB with SD card?

Yes, it is possible to create a bootable USB drive using an SD card, but it depends on your computer's compatibility and the tools you use. The SD card clone software AOMEI Backupper allows you to create bootable SD card with its Create Bootable Media function by exporting ISO file on your SD card.

#2. Does Rufus work with SD card?

Yes, Rufus is a popular open-source utility that allows you to create bootable USB drives from various ISO files, including those for operating systems like Windows, Linux, and other tools. While it is primarily known for creating bootable USB drives, it can also work with SD cards to some extent, provided the SD card is recognized by your computer as a removable storage device.

#3. Can I install Windows in SD card?

Yes, you can install Windows on SD card, but it is not recommended to do so. Because the SD card may not be fast enough to run the Windows operating system smoothly, and since the SD card has a limited number of write cycles, its lifespan is also limited compared to traditional HDDs.

In the End

Briefly speaking, cloning an SD card can be completed effortlessly with the help of an appropriate SD card clone freeware like AOMEI Backupper. With this tool, you can not only clone SD card to larger or smaller card without losing data but also clone hard dive to SDD or HDD with ease.

Moreover, AOMEI Backupper is the best free Windows backup software. It enables you to create Windows system backup, disk backup, partition backup, and file backup to SD card, cloud storage, network drive, NAS, and various locations.