Whatβs the best free disk cloning software for Windows 11, 10, 8, and 7? Scroll down to get the top 5 on the list.
Compared to traditional HDDs you get an excellent user experience when running Windows or gaming on solid-state drives (SSDs). Then, how to choose an SSD for your computer? There are three practical suggestions for you:
After getting a new SSD, the next step is to transfer all data from the old disk to SSD. Specialist disk clone software can save your time by copying everything from the old drive to the new one, whether it is SSD or HDD.
Is there free SSD migration software? The answer is YES. In this part, I'll show you 5 best free SSD cloning software - AOMEI Backupper Standard, Samsung Data Migration, Clonezilla, Macrium Reflect Free and DiskGenius. Please get details below.
AOMEI Backupper Standard free edition, developed for Windows 11/10/8.1/8/7/Vista/XP, is the best SSD cloning software for free. With many professional functions, it is perfect for transferring data from one disk to another.
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Pros |
Cons |
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√ Clone entire disk or a specific partition √ Clone only used sectors to save disk space √ 4K partition alignment for SSD √ Support all-branded SSDs (Samsung, WD, Crucial, Seagate, etc.) |
× Cannot clone a system disk. Have to pay for system migration. |
Samsung Data Migration is a disk cloning tool offered by Samsung. It can help you migrate all of your data from the current system disk to a new Samsung SSD, including the operating system, application software, user data, and so on. However, it only supports cloning to Samsung SSD disk. That's to say, you cannot use it to migrate data to other branded SSD disks.
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Pros |
Cons |
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√ Migrate OS, apps and files together √ Support excluding data when cloning to a smaller drive |
× Only clone to Samsung disks × Cannot clone a data disk |
Clonezilla is a free and open source partition and disk imaging/cloning program. It supports system deployment, bare metal backup and recovery, and single drive/partition clone in various systems, such as Linux, Mac OS, Windows, FreeBSD, NetBSD, OpenBSD, and more. There are three versions of Clonezilla available: Clonezilla live, Clonezilla lite server and Clonezilla SE (server edition).
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Pros |
Cons |
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√ Clone entire disk or a specific partition √ Compatible with various systems |
× Cannot clone to a smaller drive × No user-friendly GUI |
Macrium Reflect Free is a popular backup and disk imaging software for Windows computers. It allows users to create exact disk image copies of their hard drives, including the operating system, installed programs, and user data. It also enables users to create a bootable USB or CD/DVD, which can be used to restore the cloned image on a new computer or a replacement hard disk.
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Pros |
Cons |
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√ Direct disk cloning √ Removable media imaging and cloning √ Rapid Delta Restore (RDR) |
× Complex user interface, not for beginners × Macrium Reflect is no longer free since early 2024 |
DiskGenius is a reliable and free partition manager with a wide range of features to streamline disk-related tasks. You can use it to create, resize, clone, backup and recover partitions and files on Windows-based computers.
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Pros |
Cons |
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√ Support a wide range of file systems, including NTFS, FAT32, exFAT, and EXT √ Provide a secure data wipe feature that allows users to permanently erase sensitive data from hard drives |
× The software can be slow when scanning for lost or deleted files × Some users have reported that the software crashes or freezes during the recovery process × The software is not available for Mac or Linux users |
AOMEI Backupper supports all popular brands of solid-state drives, including Samsung, SanDisk, Kingston, PNY, WD, etc. And it supports different disk interfaces, such as SATA, IDE and PCIe. For example, you can easily clone Windows 10 to NVMe SSD with this tool. The following is detailed step on SSD cloning.
Make sure your new SSD has been correctly connected to the computer. If your computer has only one drive bay, use a USB-to-SATA adapter.
The target disk will be overwritten. Back up important files if necessary.
Download this free SSD migration software and install it.
Click on the Clone button and select Disk Clone in the next window.
π‘ Note: The free edition only supports cloning non-system disks. To clone a system disk, please upgrade to higher editions.
Select the original hard drive as the source disk and then choose the SSD as the destination disk.
Check the SSD Alignment option to optimize the performance of the destination SSD. Then, click on Start Clone to begin the HDD to SSD cloning.
Sector By Sector Clone - If you want to clone every sector (including unused sectors) on the old hard drive to your SSD, tick this option. Edit Partitions - If you are upgrading your SSD to a larger one, you can use the "Add unused space to all partitions" of this option to avoid unallocated space after cloning.
Now leave the process to complete. While you are waiting you can continue to use the PC as normal. Once the process is completed, click Finish.
Shut down your PC and remove all external devices and connections first. Then, open the case cover, take out the old hard drive and install the new SSD in the same place. You'll need screwdrivers in practical operations. It is suggested to take a picture in advance to help you revert cable connections if you're not familiar with such things.
The direct way of disk cloning is introduced above. Actually, you've got another way to move Windows OS to new SSD via AOMEI Backupper free version. Just need more manual steps. Here is a brief guide.
Step 1. Create a system backup image using AOMEI Backupper backup feature. It is suggested to store the backup image on external drive or network path, or anywhere you can access from the WinPE environment.
Step 2. Create a bootable media, usually a bootable USB flash drive, via AOMEI Backupper tools. The flash drive should better equal or greater than 16GB.
Step 3. Restore the system image in WinPE environment. Boot up your computer with the bootable media. You'll see loaded AOMEI Backupper after log in. Click Restore and follow the wizard to complete.
What is the best free SSD cloning software for Windows? You may pick a suitable tool according to your specific situation:
AOMEI Backupper enables you to easily transfer data to your SSD (e.g., clone NVMe to NVMe SSD). It also brings you backup features including file and system backups. Its amazing restoration features allow you to recover your unbootable PC either by creating rescue media or by using the AOMEI PXE boot tool.
If you're an IT technician or want to use portable cloning software anywhere and anytime, you may try AOMEI Backupper Technician or Technician Plus edition to create portable version.
Cloning is the process of copying all data from a source hard drive to a target drive, creating an exact replica of the original drive's contents, including the operating system, files, and settings.
Windows does not offer a disk cloning tool. You'll need a destination SSD with sufficient capacity, a cloning software like AOMEI Backupper, and a way to connect the target SSD to your computer (e.g., SATA-to-USB adapter).
Yes, you can clone larger drive to smaller drive. But, please note that the source hard drive's used space must be smaller than the capacity of the target SSD. You'll need to ensure that the data on the source drive fits within the available space on the SSD.
The time it takes depends on the amount of data being cloned and the speed of your hardware. Generally, it can take anywhere from 30 minutes to a few hours.
Most cloning software will handle formatting and partitioning of the SSD for you during the cloning process. You typically don't need to manually format the SSD beforehand.
"Hot Clone" does support using computer during the process. However, if there is no emergency, it's generally best to avoid using the computer to prevent any potential data corruption or interruptions. Let the cloning process complete before using your computer again.
Cloning is generally safe if done correctly. However, there's always a slight risk of data loss, so it's a good practice to back up important data before starting the cloning process.
Cloning includes the operating system, programs, and licenses. However, you might need to reactivate some software, especially if it's tied to hardware identifiers.
After successful cloning, you can disconnect the old hard drive and boot from the SSD. Check if everything works as expected. You can then repurpose the old hard drive as additional storage or keep it as a backup.