How to Clone C Drive to External Hard Drive with the Best Disk Clone Software

Key takeaways:

Copying a system drive or cloning the C drive is not as straightforward as copying files or folders. You have to copy everything, including the partition that Windows uses to boot from. This cannot be done manually by copying and pasting. But don't worry. This post from Tools will show you how to clone C drive to external hard drive.

Before delving into the details of this topic, let's first look at what you need to prepare.

First of all, download this fantastic disk cloning software here to prepare for the following operations.

Why would you need to copy the C drive to another disk? There can be various reasons for needing to copy the contents of the C drive (the system drive) to another disk in your daily computer use. Some common scenarios include: 1. **System upgrade or migration**: When planning to move from an old computer to a new one, or when installing a new version of the operating system on your existing setup, copying the C drive ensures that all applications, settings, and personalizations are retained. 2. **Backup and recovery**: To protect against system crashes, virus attacks, or hardware failures, it's crucial to regularly back up your C drive. In case of issues, you can quickly restore to a functional state without reinstalling everything. 3. **Disk space management**: The C drive often runs out of storage space quickly. Copying its contents to another drive can free up space while preserving all important files and system information. 4. **Performance optimization**: In some cases, moving programs and data to different disks can enhance system performance. For instance, relocating large games or applications to a dedicated data drive can reduce the read/write load on the C drive. 5. **Multi-system environment**: If you want to install multiple operating systems on the same computer, copying the C drive content helps create multiple system partitions for testing or comparing different OS versions. 6. **Data loss prevention**: Accidental deletion, formatting, or damage to the C drive can result in significant data loss. Backing up the C drive beforehand minimizes this risk. To accomplish this task, you can use professional disk cloning tools like tools Todo Backup, Acronis True Image, etc. These tools enable you to safely and completely copy the C drive to another disk without affecting the running system.

Drive C, also known as the system drive, is the primary hard disk partition that contains the operating system (OS), applications, and related system files. When you plan to clone C drive to an external hard drive, it means you want to clone the Windows C drive to an external storage device for an exact 1:1 copy of your system drive, which you can then use to boot on other devices.

For various reasons, you need to clone or transfer C drive to an external hard drive. Here are the benefits of copying a system drive to another drive.

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Best Free Windows Disk Cloning Software to Download

Cloning C drive is more challenging than backing up or copying files or folders. You have to clone everything on the drive. Doing it manually would be quite time-consuming since there's a lot of data on the system drive. But don't worry; there's a way around this. There are dedicated disk cloning software - Disk Copy tools that can clone C drive to an external hard drive easily and quickly.

Disk Clone Software is a user-friendly hard drive cloning tool for Windows 11/10/8/7. It helps you to clone hard drive, OS, disk, and partition. It supports upgrading hard drive to a larger one and cloning HDD to SSD for better performance.

In addition, it can adjust partition sizes and order during the cloning process. It's an ideal tool for anyone looking for a reliable way to migrate an existing Windows installation to a new drive – for example, a larger capacity hard disk or an SSD.

Please check out the main features of this excellent cloning tool:

• Upgrade to a larger hard drive without reinstalling Windows
• Transfer data from one SSD to another
• Support for cloning at both disk and partition levels
• Resize partitions while cloning a disk
• Clone a hard drive with bad sectors
• Create a WinPE bootable disk
• Clone a hard drive before replacing it
• Faster cloning speeds result in shorter cloning times

It will suit you in every way if you want to clone C drive to an external hard drive.

If you like this article, share it on your social media platform to help others clone the C drive to another disk.

How to Clone a System Drive to an External Hard Drive

In addition to those features, Disk Copy is also very easy to use; with just a few clicks, you can clone a disk.

Bottom line:

Here are the steps to clone your C drive to another drive using a disk cloning tool:

Preparing for the Clone:

• A screwdriver, a power adapter cable, an SATA cable, or a USB-to-SATA adapter. • Ensure the target HDD/SSD has a capacity equal to or greater than the space used on the old system. • Check if the new drive's style is the same as the old one. If not, initialize the new HDD/SSD and set it to MBR or GPT. • Download a disk cloning tool, such as Disk Copy.

Step 2: Adjust the target disk layout to fit the new disk. Check "Optimize for SSD if target is SSD" to get the best performance from your SSD.

• Automatically adjust partitions: By default, makes some changes to the target disk layout for optimal performance.
• Copy as source disk: Leaves the target disk unchanged and has the same layout as the source disk.
• Edit partition layout: Allows you to manually adjust/move the partition layout on the target disk.

Step 3: Click the Continue button, and a warning message will appear, telling you that your data will be lost. Confirm this by clicking Continue.

Figure 4: Warning Message

Step 4. Wait for the process to complete, and then check the cloned drive for integrity and make sure that the operating system has migrated over.

Bottom line

Now you know how to clone C drive to external hard drive. After reading this post, it will be a piece of cake for you to clone C drive to an external hard drive with a disk cloning tool.

Disk Clone Tool is a top-notch cloning tool suitable for all computer users to clone various storage devices, such as navigation SD cards, USB drives, external drives, SSDs, and more. Additionally, it enables you to clone NVMe SSD to SATA SSD. With its sleek design and user-friendly interface, you can start using it immediately, regardless of your technical expertise. Give Disk Clone Tool a try now; it won't disappoint you.

Frequently Asked Questions on How to Clone C Drive to External Hard Drive

1. How do I transfer everything from my computer to an external hard drive?

Transferring data from your computer to an external hard drive is easy. Simply connect the hard drive to your computer, select the files you want to move, and copy them to the external hard drive.

2. Can you clone your C drive?

Of course, you can copy Disk C. Open "My Computer", unfold the plus sign, select "Disk C", right-click on "Disk C", and then click "Copy". If there isn't enough space, you can choose to copy the entire Disk C or just certain files.

3. How to back up C drive?

Click “Start,” type “backup” into the search box, and then click “Backup and Restore.” Under “Back up your files or your entire computer,” click “Back up your files.” After you choose where to save your backup, click “Next.”

4. Is there no software that can clone a hard drive?

If you're planning on cloning a hard drive without software, it's almost impossible. Microsoft doesn't include any tools in its operating system for creating a disk image within Windows. You could manually copy all the files from one drive to another, but that would be very time-consuming.