How to Copy/Clone a Bootable USB Drive in Windows 11/10/8/7

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How to Clone a Bootable USB Drive to Another Drive

Copy bootable USB to another USB

bootable USB drive

How to Make an Exact Copy of a Bootable USB Flash Drive

From Superuser.com

"If I copy a bootable USB drive to another USB drive, will it create a duplicate bootable drive? The question might sound silly, but Google searches seem to indicate that you can't even copy/paste the data from a bootable drive to another USB. But even if we could, why wouldn't it work? (That is, create a duplicate bootable drive.)"

"I have a bootable USB flash drive with the Windows 7 installer on it, and I'd like to try copying it to another flash drive for backup. Can't just copy and paste in File Explorer, any good suggestions?"

Indeed, simply doing a “Ctrl C + Ctrl V” (copy and paste) of the contents of a bootable USB flash drive to another drive won't cut it. You see, a bootable operating system is installed as an installer on the USB, and you need that OS ISO image to install on another USB drive. In other words, you need to clone a bootable USB drive.

Why Clone Bootable USB Drive in Windows 10/8/7?

As we explained, you can't simply copy and paste a bootable USB to another USB. Instead, you can achieve this goal easily by cloning. Generally, to back up a bootable USB drive and for disaster recovery, we need another copy of the bootable drive. Besides, USB flash drives and USB drives are convenient and portable. With a bootable USB drive, you can fix unbootable issues anytime and anywhere.

So, how do you go about it? A lot of people want to back up their USB drives. But this can be time-consuming and inconvenient. The answer is to use a USB cloning tool to copy a bootable USB drive.

How to quickly clone a bootable USB drive? Cloning a bootable USB drive can be useful for backing up important data, installing an operating system on multiple computers, or ensuring you always have a reliable recovery tool at hand. Here are some quick methods to clone a bootable USB drive: ### Using open-source tool: `dd` (for Linux) In a Linux system, you can use the built-in `dd` command to clone a USB drive. Open a terminal and run the following command (make sure to replace `/dev/sdc` with the actual path of your source USB drive and `/dev/sdd` with the actual path of your target USB drive): ```bash sudo dd if=/dev/sdc of=/dev/sdd bs=4M status=progress oflag=sync ``` ### Using Win32 Disk Imager (for Windows) 1. Download and install [Win32 Disk Imager](https://sourceforge.net/projects/win32diskimager/). 2. Connect the source USB drive and the target USB drive. 3. Launch Win32 Disk Imager, select the source USB drive's letter from the dropdown, and choose where to save the image file (skip this step if you're only cloning to another USB drive). 4. Select the target USB drive's letter, then click "Write" to start the cloning process. ### Using Apple Disk Utility (for macOS) 1. Connect the source USB drive and the target USB drive. 2. Open "Disk Utility" (found in "Applications" > "Utilities"). 3. In the left-hand list, select the source USB drive, then click the "Clone" button. 4. In the popup, choose the target USB drive, then click "Clone." ### Using AOMEI Backupper (for Windows) 1. Download and install [AOMEI Backupper Standard](https://www.aomeitech.com/ab/standard.html). 2. Launch the program, click "Clone." 3. Choose "Disk Clone," then select the source USB drive. 4. Click "Next," select the target USB drive, and click "Start Clone." Make sure to correctly identify both the source and target drives to avoid data loss. Do not remove the USB drives during the cloning process, and only disconnect them after the process is complete.

Windows does not provide a direct disk cloning method, so there are many third-party disk cloning utilities to offer great disk copying and disk cloning experiences. For instance, among dozens of well-reputed software, Disk Copy Tool is chosen as the fastest USB imaging tool, and SSD cloning software that supports cloning one USB drive to another (including bootable USB drives).

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Transfer data from one SSD to another
Backup Windows system and user settings
Set new SSD as C drive
Clone disk or partition in Windows 11/10/8/7

How to Copy/Clone a Bootable USB Drive in Windows

To clone a bootable USB drive to another device, you'll need to have both USB drives connected to your computer. From there, you can begin following the instructions.

Advance notice:

• Sector-by-sector clone requires the target disk to be the same size or larger than the source disk. Uncheck it if you want to clone a larger hard drive to a smaller one. • All data on the target disk will be erased. Please proceed with caution.

Step 1: To start cloning/copying the entire disk to another, select it in Disk Mode and click Next.

Step 2: Choose another disk as the target disk.

Step 3: Check the disk layout of both disks. You can manage the target disk's layout by choosing “Adapt to disk,” “Same as source,” or “Edit disk layout.”

When a warning message appears, click OK.

"Automatically adjust partitions" makes some modifications to the layout of the target disk by default, so it's optimized for best performance.
"Copy disk as is" doesn't change anything on the target disk, and its layout will be identical to the source disk.
"Edit partition layout" lets you manually adjust/move the partition layout of the target disk.

Check Optimize for SSD to ensure best performance if the target is an SSD.

A warning message will appear, telling you that your data will be lost. Click “OK” to confirm, and then click “Next.”

Step 4: Click “Proceed” to actually carry out the task.

Conclusions

In short, you can easily clone a bootable USB drive to another USB or hard drive with the Disk Copy feature. It also offers many other advanced functions, like migrating Windows 10 to SSD, creating an emergency disk, and so on. If you encounter any issues when cloning a bootable USB drive, please contact us as soon as possible.

Frequently Asked Questions about Cloning a Bootable USB Drive

Here are some common questions about cloning bootable USB drives; feel free to read on for more help.

Yes, you can copy a bootable USB drive to another USB drive. Here's a simple method to do so: 1. Backup the Bootable USB: First, make a backup of the contents of the bootable USB drive to your computer's hard drive or an external storage device. This is important in case anything goes wrong during the copying process. 2. Download Imaging Software: You'll need imaging software like `Rufus` (for Windows), `dd` (for Linux), or `Disk Utility` (for macOS) to create an image of the bootable USB. 3. Create an Image: Using the chosen software, create an image file of the bootable USB drive. In Rufus, select the source USB drive and choose the "Create a bootable disk using ISO/IMG" option. Then, browse and select the ISO file you created in step 1. For Linux and macOS, use the respective command-line tools (`dd` or Disk Utility) to create the image. 4. Format the Target USB Drive: Connect the target USB drive to your computer. Format it to the same file system as the original bootable USB (usually FAT32 or NTFS). Be careful, as formatting will erase all data on the target drive. 5. Write the Image to the Target USB: Now, using the imaging software, write the image file you created in step 3 to the target USB drive. In Rufus, select the target USB drive and click "Start." For Linux and macOS, use the respective command-line tools (`dd` or Disk Utility) to write the image to the target drive. 6. Verify the Copy: After the process completes, verify that the copied USB drive is working correctly by attempting to boot from it on a computer. Remember, the target USB drive should have a capacity equal to or greater than the original bootable USB drive to ensure successful copying.

Yes, you can use disk cloning software to copy a bootable USB drive to another USB drive. While you can't simply copy and paste the contents of a bootable flash drive to another drive, you can easily achieve this goal with cloning.

• Launch the "Disk Clone" tool. • Choose the cloning method according to your needs. • Select the bootable USB drive as the source disk. • Choose the new USB drive as the target disk. • Edit the disk partitions either now or after the cloning process.

How do I clone an SSD to a flash drive? To clone a Solid State Drive (SSD) to a USB flash drive, follow these steps: 1. Prepare tools: Make sure you have a USB flash drive with sufficient capacity, which should be larger than or equal to your SSD. You'll also need cloning software, such as Clonezilla, Acronis True Image, or macOS's Disk Utility. 2. Create a bootable media: Download and install the desktop version of the chosen cloning software. Then, follow the software's instructions to create a bootable USB flash drive. 3. Backup data: Before starting the cloning process, ensure you back up all important data on your SSD in case of any issues. 4. Boot your computer: Insert the bootable USB into your computer and change the BIOS settings to boot from USB. This typically involves pressing a specific key (like F2, F10, F12, or Delete) while restarting, entering the BIOS settings, selecting "Boot Order" or a similar option, and setting the USB as the primary device. 5. Run the cloning software: Your computer will boot from the USB and load the cloning software. Follow the on-screen prompts, selecting the source disk (your SSD) and the target disk (your USB flash drive). 6. Start the cloning process: Choose the appropriate cloning option. Some software may offer a "sector-by-sector" clone, which copies all sectors of the hard drive, including unused space. If your SSD is not full, this could waste space on the flash drive. Another option is to copy only used sectors, potentially saving some space. 7. Wait for the cloning to complete: The cloning process might take some time, depending on the size and speed of both drives. Ensure that you don't power off or remove the USB drive during this time. 8. Verify the clone: Once the cloning is complete, safely disconnect the USB drive and connect it to another computer for verification. Make sure all files are accessible and the system boots normally. Please note that different cloning software may have unique interfaces and options, so refer to the software's specific guidelines when performing the actual operation.

Clone SSD to USB Flash Drive:

Step 1: Launch Disk Clone Wizard, and click "Disk Mode". In the new window, select the SSD as the source disk, then click "Next" to continue.

Step 2. Choose the USB drive. It must have enough space to hold all of your data.

Step 3: Preview the disk layout, then click “Continue” to clone to the SSD.

Cloning: 1. Quick Usage: Cloning directly replicates the entire source hard drive to the target drive, allowing you to replace the original immediately without further setup. 2. Real-time Updates: Any changes made to the source drive during the cloning process are also copied to the target drive. 3. Limited Flexibility: Cloning typically requires the target drive to be at least as large or larger than the source drive to accommodate all data. Imaging: 1. Space-Saving: Disk images can be compressed, taking up less storage space than the actual hard drive size. 2. Multiple Recovery Points: Multiple image files can be created, representing different points in time for data states, facilitating version control. 3. Flexible Restoration: Image files can be restored onto any sufficiently large hard drive, without needing the target drive to be the same size as the source. 4. Additional Steps: Restoring an image requires decompressing it onto the target drive, which may necessitate extra software tools. The choice between these methods depends on your specific needs. If you require an exact replica of your original drive for immediate replacement, cloning is likely the better option. If you are concerned about storage space, wish to restore to drives of different sizes, or want to manage multiple backup versions, creating a disk image would be more suitable.

Cloning is great for quick restores, but images offer more backup options. Taking incremental backup snapshots lets you save multiple images without taking up too much space. This can come in handy if you download a virus and need to roll back to an earlier disk image.

Is cloning faster than copying?

Cloning just reads and writes bits. Nothing about it should be slower than that, except for disk usage. In my experience, copying all the files from one drive to another is always faster than cloning the drive.