Clone an external hard drive to another external hard drive in a simple way

How to Clone an External Hard Drive the Fastest Way

Question: How can I quickly clone an external drive to another external drive in Windows 10?

"A friend of mine complained that he spent three hours in front of his computer copying a 500GB external hard drive to another 1TB external hard drive for backup. He used Ctrl C + Ctrl V to copy an external hard drive to another! No wonder it took so long. So, is there a faster way to clone an external hard drive?"

This is a good way to transfer data from one external hard drive to another. However, if the files on the external drive you're moving and the programs you've installed are large, this could take quite a while, depending on the above factors.

Then, what is the fastest way to clone an external hard drive (HDD or SSD) to another external HDD? Simply put, it's to use the best external hard drive cloning tool - Disk Copy. It's an ultra-fast SSD/HDD raw copy tool for disk duplication, cloning, upgrading, replacing, or simple backup.

It allows you to clone external hard drive to another external hard drive on Windows 11/10/8.1/8/7 with just a few clicks, whether it's HDD to HDD, HDD to SSD, or SSD to SSD. You can also use it to help you repair bad sectors on HDD and transfer files/data from one computer to another.

Disk cloning software is an easy-to-use program that duplicates or copies an external hard drive to another external hard drive. Download it for free to your computer and clone an external hard drive or copy from one external hard drive to another easily and quickly.

How to Clone an External Drive to Another Drive Using Disk Utility

Make sure both external hard drives are connected to the computer and recognized before you begin.

Preparation:

Connect both external hard drives to your computer ahead of time. Download and install a disk cloning utility.

Step 1: In the "Disk Mode," select the external hard drive as the source disk.

Step 2: Choose another external drive as the destination.

Step 3: Edit the disk layout if needed, and click “Continue” to proceed with cloning to the external drive.

Step 4: A warning will appear, alerting you that all data on the target disk will be erased. Click “OK” to proceed.

Step 5: Wait for the process to complete.

Cloning an external hard drive is so easy, right? Download a disk cloning tool now to make the process a breeze!

#3 Why Would You Need to Clone an External Hard Drive to Another Hard Drive?

"I have an external hard drive that I want to back up to another external drive before doing some file system operations on it. But all the issues and articles I found on Google are about cloning an external drive to another external drive. It has multiple partitions with different file systems. I plan to clone it entirely to the second external drive. How do I clone an external hard drive to another, or transfer files from one external disk to another?"

Many users opt to clone an external hard drive to another for backup purposes, which can provide an extra layer of protection for the external drive. That way, if your external disk gets damaged or lost, you still have a copy. However, cloning an external drive is not quite the same as backing up an external hard drive.

Backing up an external hard drive means copying the files from one external hard drive to another. You end up with an image file, which is compressed and not bootable. Cloning a hard drive means that your target disk will be an exact replica of your source disk, including data and disk layout. You might want to clone a hard drive for several reasons.

• Create backups. Disk cloning can help create a new copy of your hard drive, which can serve as a backup in case of hard drive failure or data loss.
• Migrate an operating system. If you want to transfer your operating system to a new hard drive, you can clone your old one. Cloning helps move everything from one hard drive to another.
• Transfer data from an old hard drive to a new computer. When using a new computer, you can clone your old hard drive to the new one. This way, your data and settings will be the same as on the old drive.

If you enjoyed this article, please share it on your social media platforms to help more people.

Conclusion

With the help of AOMEI Backupper, you can easily clone external hard drive to another external hard drive, clone system disk to new SSD or HDD, or clone hard drive in WinPE. Plus, this user-friendly and powerful hard drive cloning software allows you to clone OS partition to SSD, transfer files/data from one hard drive to another, etc. It's also perfect for you if you want to replace the laptop hard drive and reinstall the OS. Download it for free to your computer now and explore its fantastic features!

Frequently Asked Questions About Cloning an External Hard Drive to Another External Hard Drive

Here are three relevant questions about how to clone an external hard drive. Please refer to the answers below.

How do I backup an external hard drive to another external hard drive?

Detailed steps to clone an external drive:

1. On the main screen, you'll see two copying methods. Click on Disk Clone Mode. 2. Select your external hard drive as the source, then click the Next icon. 3. Choose the destination external hard drive, and then click Next. 4. Adjust the disk layout if needed, then click Continue to clone the external hard drive. Wait for the process to complete.

2. Can I clone a hard drive?

Yes, you can use professional disk cloning software, such as Disk Copy tool, to clone your hard drive in an easy way. It allows you to clone the hard drive on Windows 10/8.1/8/7/XP/Vista and clone a failing hard drive in WinPE mode.

How can I clone my entire hard drive?

Steps to Clone a Hard Drive:

1. Launch the disk cloning software and click "Clone". Then, select the source hard drive you want to clone. 2. Choose the target disk. 3. Preview the disk layout after cloning. Finally, you can click "Start" to clone one hard drive to another with just one click.

How do I clone my hard drive to an external one?

1. Right-click on "This PC" or "My Computer," select "Manage," and then choose "Disk Management." 2. Right-click on the primary drive containing your data and choose "Add Mirror." 3. Select the drive that will be used as the copy. 4. Click "Add Mirror."