[Windows Cloning] How to Clone Operating System in Windows 11/10/8/7

SuppressLint by Tracy King on September 14, 2021 to Disk/Partition Clone | How-to Guides

This article is for users who have the following questions:

• How to clone OS to SSD without reinstalling Windows?
• How to clone OS to a larger HDD in Windows 10?
• How to clone system disk with no boot issues?

Is your system drive running out of space? Do you want to upgrade to a larger hard drive or a new SSD for better PC performance? Or are you planning to back up a personalized system with multiple licensed applications and settings in case of unexpected system crashes? If so, one of the most effective ways to achieve this is to clone Windows 10/8/7 OS to HDD or SSD with a disk cloning software.

Download Free OS Clone Software - Disk Copy Tools

How can you clone an operating system to a new hard drive without reinstalling it and make sure it boots correctly? Cloning an operating system is not the same as copying data, so you can't accomplish this with a simple copy and paste. Don't worry, though – there are operating system cloning programs that can help. You just need to choose a professional and trustworthy one.

Disk Clone Tool features a disk cloning function that lets you easily clone your files, operating system, and applications to another HDD or SSD without data loss. You can use this Windows cloning tool to:

• Migrate OS to SSD or HDD without reinstalling the system and all apps
• Transfer Windows 10 to a USB flash drive
• Clone OS from HDD to a smaller SSD
• Backup Windows operating system for future use

Now, download the free software and check out the steps below to clone your system.

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Video Tutorial: How to Clone Your OS Drive to a New HDD/SSD

Here, you will learn how to clone an operating system disk to another new HDD or SSD under boot issues. Let's check it out:

Step-by-step Guide to Clone Hard Disk/SSD in Windows 10/8/7 OS

Follow the step-by-step guide below to quickly clone your operating system to a new hard drive using a disk cloning tool. To boot from the cloned hard drive, you'll need to restart your computer, enter the BIOS, change the boot order, and set the new hard drive as the first boot device.

Click on the button below to activate the Clone Tool System in advance.

1. Use an operating system cloning software to clone the system disk to the new hard drive Using an operating system cloning tool, such as Acronis True Image, Clonezilla, or AOMEI Backupper, to copy your system disk to a new hard drive is a common method. Here's a general outline of the steps: 1. Purchase a new hard drive with equal or greater capacity than the original system disk. 2. Install the new hard drive in your computer, either internally as a replacement or externally via an external hard drive enclosure. 3. Boot up the cloning software. Make sure your computer starts from the boot media provided by the software, which might require creating a USB boot drive or DVD. 4. In the software interface, select the "Clone" or "System Migration" option. 5. Choose the source disk, which is typically the current system disk containing the operating system. 6. Select the target disk, which is the newly purchased hard drive. 7. Verify the cloning settings and initiate the cloning process when ready. This can take some time, depending on the size and speed of both hard drives. 8. Once the cloning is complete, shut down your computer, disconnect the original disk, and ensure the new one is the only bootable disk. 9. Restart your computer and enter the BIOS/UEFI settings. Set the new hard drive as the primary boot device. 10. Save and exit the settings. Your computer should now boot from the new hard drive, and the system should function normally. Please note that specific steps may vary depending on the software used. Consult the software's help documentation or online tutorials for detailed guidance.

Advance Notice:

• Sector-by-sector clone 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 completely erased. Proceed with caution.

Step 1: To start copying/cloning an entire disk to another, you need to select the disk as the "Source Disk" in "Disk Mode", and then click "Next".

Step 2. Select another disk as the target disk.

A warning message appears, alerting you to the fact that you will lose your data. Confirm this by clicking OK, and then click Next.

Step 3: Check the disk layout of both source and target disks. You can choose to "Adapt to Disk", "Keep as Source", or "Edit Disk Layout" to manage the target disk layout.

• "Fit to destination disk" makes some changes to the target disk layout for optimal performance by default. • "Copy as is" leaves the target disk unmodified, with the same layout as the source disk. • "Edit disk layout" allows you to manually adjust/move partitions on the target disk.

Check the “Perform this check if the target is an SSD” option for optimal performance from your SSD.

Step 4: Click “Proceed” to start the task.

2. Boot the Windows operating system from the cloned hard drive

After the clone is complete, you must perform additional steps to ensure a smooth startup.

Step 1: Restart your computer and press F2/F12/Delete to enter BIOS.

Step 2. Choose the boot options, change the boot order, and set to boot the operating system from the new disk.

Step 3. Save your changes, exit the BIOS, and restart your computer.

Conclusions

"OS Clone" function offers you the easiest solution to clone Windows OS to a new hard drive, including a larger HDD or a smaller SSD. It also supports cloning a partition to migrate data from an old disk to a new one, or cloning MBR disk to GPT disk or GPT disk to MBR disk.

If you encounter any issues while using the tools, feel free to reach out to our technical support via live chat or email at support@tools.com.

Frequently Asked Questions about Cloning Your Operating System

Here are a few issues that can occur with Windows cloning. If you're experiencing these issues, you can find the solutions here.

Can operating systems be cloned?

You can use a powerful disk partition cloning software (like the disk cloning tool) to clone the Windows operating system. This drive cloning utility lets you migrate your OS and apps to another hard drive without needing to reinstall.

Can I clone only the operating system?

To clone an operating system, you need to clone both the system partition and the boot partition. To avoid the issue that the computer fails to start up normally after cloning when the system partition and the boot partition are not on the same disk, it's recommended to use disk cloning to clone the Windows OS.

Does cloning a hard drive copy the operating system?

By using a professional disk cloning software, you can easily clone operating system in Windows 10, 8, and 7 by selecting to clone the system disk drive.

How do I clone my operating system drive?

Download and install a disk cloning tool on your Windows computer, then:

Step1: Run the program and select the system disk as the source disk in "Disk Mode", then click "Next".

Step 2. Select the target disk to which you want to copy.

Step 3: Review the layout of both disks. Click Continue to proceed with the task.

Step 4. Boot the Windows operating system from the cloned hard drive.

What is the best free cloning software?

You can use free disk cloning software to help you clone a disk or partition. It can easily upgrade your hard drive from an old disk to a new one, or clone MBR disk to GPT disk, or clone GPT disk to MBR disk.

How do I clone my operating system to a new SSD?

To improve performance, clone your operating system to an SSD or clone from an HDD to an SSD by following these steps:

Step 1: In the Disk Mode, select the operating system disk that you want to clone.

Step 2. Select the SSD as the target disk.

Step 3. Once you have confirmed the disk layout, click on “Continue” to proceed.