Best Way to Clone Dynamic Disk to SSD without Losing Data

Key Points

1️⃣Many people use dynamic disks to store data or install Windows, due to their increasing popularity. However, for various reasons, a dynamic disk might get damaged, and it could also get fully loaded because of limited storage space. 2️⃣Therefore, you might need to replace it with a larger HDD or SSD for better performance. Cloning is the best way to transfer data from a dynamic disk to an HDD/SSD. 3️⃣Keep in mind that Windows doesn't come with a built-in cloning tool to help clone your hard drive. To clone a dynamic disk to an SSD, you'll need to rely on third-party disk cloning software, such as AOMEI Backupper Standard.

As shown in the Reddit post, many Windows users run into an issue where they can't clone a dynamic disk directly. Instead, you have to convert a dynamic disk to basic, and then clone the basic drive to another drive. This article from tools will show you how to clone dynamic disk to SSD with just a few simple steps. Hurry up and learn.

How to Prepare to Copy Dynamic Disks in Windows

To successfully clone a dynamic disk to another drive, you need to do some preparation:

How to Clone Dynamic Disk to SSD with Disk Copy Tool (UTF-8)

With the tool AOMEI Backupper Disk Clone, you can easily clone the entire dynamic disk directly. That's why we choose it among other free or paid disk cloning software like Macrium Reflect and Clonezilla.

Disk cloning software can help you clone systems, partitions, and even clone a hard drive with multiple partitions. It enables you to create a backup of your local disk effortlessly, securing your data. Moreover, it facilitates the easy and quick transfer of your Windows SSD to a new PC. Here are some highlights of such a tool's disk cloning capabilities.

Whether you need to clone a dynamic disk or upgrade it to a larger one, the Disk Copy tool can get the job done. Make sure to download it to your computer so you can copy data from one hard drive to another without losing data or reinstalling the operating system.

Here is how to clone dynamic disk in Windows 11/10/8/7 with this disk cloning tool.

Advance Notice:

• “Sector-by-sector copy” requires the target disk to be the same size or larger than the source disk. Uncheck this option if you want to clone a larger hard drive to a smaller one. • All data on the target disk will be erased. Please note this.

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

Step 2: Select another disk as the target disk.

Step 3. Check the disk layout of both disks. You can choose to "Automatically resize partitions", "Keep the same as source", or "Edit disk layout" to manage the target disk's layout.

• "Auto adjust partitioning" will modify the manual layout so that it works best.
• "Copy as is" will not change anything on the target disk, the layout will be the same as the source.
• "Edit partition layout" allows you to manually adjust/move the partitions on the target disk.

Check the “Perform a quick check if target is SSD” option for optimal performance of your SSD.

A warning message appears, indicating that you will lose your data. Confirm the information by clicking OK, and then click Next.

Click “Proceed” to execute the task officially.

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What is a Dynamic Disk and Why Would You Need to Clone It?

Dynamic Disk and Basic Disk are two types of disk formats used by Windows for data storage, supporting both GPT (GUID Partition Table) and MBR (Master Boot Record) partition styles. Dynamic Disk allows the creation of five types of dynamic volumes: Simple Volume, Stripe Volume, Spanned Volume, Mirrored Volume, and RAID-5 Volume. It offers features not available in Basic Disks, such as improved data read/write efficiency, the ability to create new volumes across multiple disks, and the creation of fault-tolerant volumes.

The reasons for cloning a dynamic disk are varied, but the process is similar to cloning a basic drive.

• For more storage space. In most cases, when your hard drive is running out of space, you need to upgrade to a larger HDD or SSD.
• To improve performance. After a long period of use, your dynamic disk may perform poorly. You can clone dynamic disk to SSD for better performance.
• For data protection. If you want to protect your dynamic disk from any risk of data loss, one simple way is to clone dynamic disk to another drive.

However, managing a dynamic disk is not an easy job. What's worse, most partition or cloning tools do not support dynamic disk management. Fortunately, with powerful PC clone software – Disk Copy tool, you can easily clone dynamic disk to another hard drive.

In summary,

Here is the way to clone dynamic disk to SSD in Windows. After reading this blog, you may find it easy to clone/duplicate dynamic disk to HDD or SSD with the help of a disk cloning software tool. The Tool - Disk Clone can clone dynamic disk to SSD without converting it to basic disk or considering its disk type. It also helps you solve the issue that the cloned hard drive shows wrong size and resize the disk during cloning. Just download and explore it!

Frequently Asked Questions About Cloning Dynamic Disk to SSD

1. Can dynamic disks be cloned?

Yes, you can clone a dynamic disk, but you'll need to use a third-party cloning software like Disk Copy. Such tools allow you to clone the entire dynamic drive to another drive without losing data or having to reinstall Windows.

How to copy files from a dynamic disk?

In most cases, you need to convert dynamic disk to basic disk so that you can copy the data to another drive. Fortunately, with a disk cloning tool, you can save time and effort. It helps you clone dynamic disk to HDD or SSD easily.

3. Can Clonezilla clone dynamic disks?

Usually, Clonezilla can help clone dynamic disk. But some users report that after cloning, the remaining space on the target drive is unallocated. Acronis will have the same result. In this case, you can try using disk cloning software.