How to Clone a Failing Hard Drive in Windows 10 Without Losing Data

As you know, the hard drive on your desktop or laptop is what stores all of your data. But what if that hard drive fails? This article, brought to you by wikiHow Tech, will teach you how to clone a failing hard drive to a new SSD/HDD. Let's get started.

Before diving into the details of the subject, let's first see what you need to prepare.

Download this excellent disk cloning software right here.

How to clone a failing hard drive and transfer data to a new one? Hard drives can fail or reach their lifespan, necessitating the safe transfer of your data to a new one. Here's a simple step-by-step guide to help you clone a failing hard drive and move your data: 1. **Purchase a new hard drive**: First, acquire a new hard drive with equal or greater capacity that is compatible with your computer. 2. **Gather tools**: You may need a SATA/IDE to USB adapter or a hard drive enclosure to connect both old and new drives to your computer. If your PC has an extra internal bay, you can install the new drive directly. 3. **Backup essential data**: Before starting, it's wise to copy all important files to an external storage device as a backup in case of any issues during cloning. 4. **Connect the drives**: Attach both the old and new hard drives to your computer using the adapter or enclosure, ensuring they're recognized as separate drives. 5. **Download cloning software**: There are various free and paid options available, such as Clonezilla, Acronis True Image, or tools Todo Backup. We'll use tools Todo Backup as an example: - Visit the tools website and download the Todo Backup Free version. - Install the software and launch it. 6. **Clone the hard drive**: - In the Todo Backup main interface, choose the "Disk Clone" option. - Select your old hard drive as the source disk and the new one as the target disk. - Confirm the settings and click "Start Clone." Wait for the cloning process to finish, which might take some time depending on the size and speed of the drives. 7. **Verify the clone**: After cloning, check the data on the new drive for completeness and accuracy. If everything is fine, disconnect the old drive. 8. **Replace the hard drive**: If supported by your computer, install the new drive internally. Otherwise, keep the new drive connected and remove the old drive from your system. 9. **Reinstall the operating system**: If the cloning included the OS, the new drive should boot directly. However, you might need to reactivate the OS or install necessary drivers. 10. **Update system settings**: Modify BIOS settings, typically accessed by pressing F2, F10, Delete, or another key during startup, to set the new drive as the primary boot device. 11. **Maintain backups**: To protect against future data loss, remember to regularly back up important files on your new hard drive. That's how you clone a failing hard drive and transfer data to a new one. Exercise caution throughout the process to avoid losing data.

"Hey, does anyone know how to transfer a failing hard drive to a new HDD or SSD? I have an issue with my secondary hard drive on the computer, which constantly fails, and I often can't access the files and data saved on the drive. Some friends suggested that I clone all the saved data and transfer it to a new disk. But the thing is, how do I clone a failing hard drive to a new one? I have no idea about disk cloning. So if you have any simple methods that could help me out, please let me know, thanks."

Most electronic storage devices – including hard drives – fail from time to time, owing to any number of causes, such as

• Sudden power failure during startup or shutdown
• Misuse of partitions
• Physical bad sectors
• Damaged head assembly
• Excessive usage leading to limited lifespan
• ...

At best, a hard drive fails gradually, giving you time to react, copy your data, and replace the device before a fatal breakdown.

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5 Signs of a Failing Hard Drive

There are five main signs of a failing hard drive.

• The computer runs slowly, freezes frequently, or experiences blue screen errors.
• The computer won't turn on.
• It makes strange noises.
• Files won't open or contain corrupted data.
• You notice an accumulation of bad sectors.

When computers and hard drives exhibit these issues, your top priority when dealing with a failing hard drive should be to extract the data from it as soon as possible to ensure its safety, and cloning the hard drive is an excellent option for doing so.

The problem is, how to clone a failed hard drive when the computer won't boot or can't access the hard drive? That's where a powerful disk cloning software comes in to help you out.

Best hard drive cloning software: Clone a failing drive

The Disk Copy tool is one of the best disk cloning software available. It enables you to clone a disk with bad sectors, clone a small disk to a larger one, clone HDD to SSD, clone operating systems, clone partitions, and more. Additionally, it allows you to resize partitions during cloning, create a WinPE bootable disc, and transfer the C drive to a new SSD.

Depending on the hard drive failure, the Disk Copy utility offers different solutions to clone a failed hard drive in Windows 10.

If your data is corrupted, the hard drive makes strange noises, you can clone it directly in Windows. But if you have bad sectors, cannot boot your computer, or Windows runs slowly, it's better to use a bootable disk cloning software in WinPE to clone the failed hard drive. How? Read on.

How to Clone a Failed Hard Drive to a New HDD/SSD in Windows 11/10/8/7

"Drive Copy" is a powerful tool that lets you easily clone the data from a damaged or failing hard drive to a new one without losing any information.

You can download and install this software safely on your computer, then activate it with just a few clicks on Windows 11/10/8/7 to take full advantage of its capabilities, cloning your failed disk to a new HDD/SSD while preserving all your data.

Step-by-Step Guide to Clone a Failed Hard Drive in Windows 11/10/8/7

Step 1: Download, install, and run a disk cloning tool on your computer.

Click “Disk Mode,” then select the hard drive you want to copy or clone. Click “Next.”

Step 2: Select the target disk.

Note: If you're copying or cloning a source disk, the target disk should be at least as large as the source disk, or larger.

Step 3: Check and edit the disk layout.

If your target disk is an SSD, remember to check the “Target is SSD” option.

Step 4: If prompted, confirm that you want to erase the data on the target disk.

Step 5: Click “Proceed” to begin the hard drive cloning process.

Video Tutorial: How to Clone a Failed Hard Disk to a New HDD/SSD

Here, you will learn how to clone an operating system disk over to another new HDD or SSD for a boot problem. Let's see:

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How to Use Bootable Disk Clone in WinPE to Clone a Failed Hard Drive

When a computer won't boot, the operating system and disk controller can't access the failed drive to read from or write to it. You must use a bootable disk-imaging tool to clone the failed drive and transfer the data to a new one. Here's how.

Step 1: On a healthy Windows computer, download, install, and run a disk cloning tool. Connect an external storage device, such as a USB flash drive or an external hard drive, to the computer. Click “Create bootable disk.”

Step 2: Select your USB device and click “Create.”

Wait for it to finish, and you'll have a bootable disk.

Step 3. Connect the bootable USB disk and the new SSD/HDD to the computer whose disk you want to clone, and set the boot order in BIOS to start your computer from the bootable disk.

Step 4: In Tools > Disk Clone, click “Disk Mode,” and then select the source disk that you want to copy or clone. Click “Next” to proceed.

Step 5: Select the target disk to which you wish to clone/copy your old disk, then click “Next” to proceed. If prompted, click “OK” to erase the data on the target disk.

Step 6: Review and edit the disk layout. You can choose to “Adjust Automatically Based on Source” or “Copy Source Layout.” It's recommended that you select “Adjust Automatically Based on Source.”

• Selecting "Copy Source" will copy the partition layout of the source disk to the target disk, essentially cloning it. • Choosing "Edit Disk Layout" allows you to manually adjust the partition sizes or positions on the target disk. • If the target disk is an SSD, make sure to check the option "Target is SSD."

Click Continue to start the disk clone or disk copy immediately.

Then shut down your computer, install the new drive in your computer in place of the old one, and restart. You can now boot from the new drive and use your data.

If the replacement drive is meant to be the system drive, you'll need to set your computer to boot from the new drive in the BIOS instead of the old one. Then, restart your computer and boot from the data on the new drive once more.

Frequently Asked Questions About Cloning a Failed Hard Drive

1. Can I clone a hard drive with bad sectors?

There are two types of bad sectors on a hard drive: logical and physical. In both cases, you can clone a hard drive with bad sectors, but the solution will be different.

How do I clone a hard drive with bad sectors?

When there are logical bad sectors and the computer can access the hard drive, you can run the CHKDSK /F command line to fix bad sectors and then clone the damaged hard drive with a disk cloning tool in Windows 10. However, if your hard drive has physical bad sectors, you'll need to clone with the disk cloning tool in a WinPE environment.

How do I back up a failing hard drive?

This article will show you two ways to clone and back up a failed hard drive. If you can boot into your computer and access the hard drive normally, you can back up the failed hard drive in the Windows environment directly. If not, you need to use a bootable disk to back up the failed hard drive in WinPE.

How do I clone a bad hard drive to a new one?

Using a disk cloning tool can help you clone a damaged hard drive, whether it's an HDD or SSD, to a new one. You can clone the damaged drive on a WinPE boot disc.