Cloned Hard Drive Showing Wrong Size | Solution Here

Numerous computer users complain about the issue of wrong hard drive size after cloning. So why does cloned HDD show wrong size and how to fix it?

This article, brought to you by the tool, will explain the common reasons behind the cloned hard drive shows wrong size or cloned drive not showing full capacity issue and how to fix these problems. Let's dive in.

Why does a cloned hard drive show the wrong size?

To understand the reason for the wrong size when cloning a hard drive, you first need to know the cloning principle. Cloning duplicates the original structure and data of a disk. In other words, the old hard drive and the cloned one are exactly the same.

When you upgrade to a larger hard drive, you may find that the partition size on the target disk remains the same. In other words, the cloned drive doesn't show its full capacity.

This is because when you clone a hard drive, you not only copy the data on it but also the partition size. So, if the target disk is larger than the source disk, most cloning software will leave the extra space on the target disk unallocated. Besides, the cloning process might not have been performed correctly. As a result, you encounter the issue that the hard drive shows wrong capacity.

However, since this unallocated space is not visible in the Windows File Explorer, you cannot access the stored data or add new data to it. This is why a cloned hard drive appears smaller in File Explorer than in Disk Management.

How to Fix Cloned Hard Drive Showing Wrong Size Issue

To make "File Explorer" display the full capacity of the cloned HDD, you need to shrink, extend, or move the current disk partition to unallocated space. But how to resize or move partition on your computer?

Fortunately, you can use built-in Windows programs, such as Disk Management or Diskpart, to help you out. Let's see how these can assist you in fixing the “Cloned drive showing wrong size” error.

Solution 1: Use Disk Management

If the cloned drive appears to be the wrong size in File Explorer, you can try using Disk Management to shrink the current partition, which should make the unallocated space visible, and then expand it to take up the entire drive. Here are the steps to adjust or extend a partition with Disk Management in Windows 10 or 11.

How to shrink a disk partition

Step 1: Press Windows + R to open the "Run" dialog box. Type in diskmgmt.msc and press Enter.

Step 2. Right-click the partition you want to shrink, and select "Shrink Volume."

Step 3: In the prompt, enter the amount of space you want to shrink by (such as 200), and click Shrink.

How to Extend a Disk Partition

Step 1: Right-click the partition you want to extend, and select “Extend Volume.”

Step 2. Click Next, then select the disk to clone.

Step 3: Resize the target volume you want to extend. Click Next > Finish.

However, some users reported that they were unable to extend volume because the “Extend Volume” option was grayed out. In this case, you can try the solutions below.

Solution 2: Use Diskpart

The built-in Windows tool, Diskpart, can also shrink/enlarge partitions. It's a command-line utility that enables you to manage volumes, virtual hard disks, partitions, and disks. Here's how to use Diskpart to fix the "cloned hard drive showing wrong size" issue.

Step 1. Open the Run dialog again and type diskpart, then hit Enter.

Step 2: Type each of the following commands in the terminal, pressing Enter after each one.

• list disk
• select disk X (replace "X" with the number of the target cloned disk, for example, select disk 2)
• select partition X (replace "X" with the number of the partition on the disk you want to shrink, for example, select partition 2)
• shrink desired=X (replace "X" with the amount of space you want to shrink in MB, for example, shrink desired=100)

Step 3. After shrinking the partition, you can extend it. Type the following command:

• Select Partition 2
• Resize/Move size to = X (where X is the maximum available unallocated space in MB)

Step 4: Type exit to close and exit Diskpart.

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How to Avoid Cloning a Hard Drive with Incorrect Size

To avoid cloned hard drive showing wrong size, you can turn to more efficient and powerful cloning software for help. AOMEI Backupper is such a tool that can clone hard drives of different sizes without displaying the wrong size.

Disk Clone Tool is a practical and versatile disk cloning software compatible with Windows 7/8/10/11. It enables you to clone your system, disks, and partitions. If you plan to replace your laptop's hard drive and reinstall the operating system, it will be of great assistance.

It also allows you to clone various types of SD cards, such as navigation SD cards, and HDD to SSD. In addition, it lets you upgrade your hard drive without losing data and move the C drive to a new SSD.

Why recommend this cloning software?

• Migrate the operating system from HDD to SSD or from SSD to SSD
• Clone M.2 SSD with only one slot
• Clone a hard drive for backup and restoration purposes
• Clone a hard drive with bad sectors
• Faster cloning speed and superior technical support

Here's how to clone a hard drive using a disk cloning tool.

Advance Notice:

• Sector-by-sector copy requires the target disk to be the same size or larger than the source disk. Do not select this if you are cloning a larger drive to a smaller one. • All data on the target disk will be erased. Proceed with caution.

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

Step 2. Select another disk as the target disk.

Step 3: Check the disk layout of the two disks. You can choose to "Automatically adjust the target disk size," "Keep the same as source disk," or "Edit disk layout" to manage the disk layout of the target disk.

• "Auto-adjust disk" will make some changes to the manually configured layout in order to optimize it. • "Copy as is" won't change anything on the target disk, and the layout will be identical to the source. • "Edit disk layout" lets you manually adjust/move partitions on the target disk.

Check the “Optimize for SSD” box to get the best performance from your SSD.

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

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

In short

How to fix the "cloned SSD showing wrong size" issue? This usually occurs due to the default unchanged partition size on the target disk. In this article, you can find the answer to how to fix the cloned SSD showing incorrect capacity error. Generally, you can utilize built-in Windows tools, including Disk Management and Diskpart, to assist you in shrinking and expanding partition volumes.

However, sometimes these two utilities might not work as expected. Therefore, you can use other cloning software like a disk cloning tool to help you upgrade to a larger hard drive or clone a hard drive. This powerful yet user-friendly cloning utility can assist you in installing Windows 7 on an NVMe SSD and cloning system C drive to an external drive. There are more practical features waiting for you to explore and utilize.

Frequently Asked Questions About Cloning a Hard Drive with Incorrect Size

< strong > 1. Why is the cloned hard drive smaller than the original one?

This is because when you clone a drive, you're not just copying the data on it, but also the partition size. As such, if your destination drive is larger than your source drive, most cloning software will leave the extra room on the destination unallocated.

2. Must cloned hard drives be the same size?

No, they don't need to be the same size. You can clone HDD to smaller SSD/HDD. You just need to make sure the target disk is large enough to hold all data on the source disk.

3. Why won't my SSD boot after cloning?

"The cloned SSD won't boot" issue could be attributed to several factors. Here are some possible reasons:

• The cloned SSD is not set as the boot disk.
• The SSD is incompatible with the BIOS boot mode.
• The disk cloning process failed or was interrupted.
• A boot partition or boot component is missing, resulting in an incomplete clone.