Download Clonezilla Alternatives for Windows 11/10/8/7 for Easy Cloning

Updated by Linda on Oct 29, 2021, categorized in Disk/Partition Clone | How-to Guides

Clonezilla is a free and open-source disk cloning and backup tool that efficiently clones hard disk drives (HDDs) or solid-state drives (SSDs). Here are the basic steps to clone an HDD or SSD using Clonezilla: 1. **Download and prepare Clonezilla:** - Visit the official Clonezilla website (https://clonezilla.org/) to download the latest ISO image. - Create a Clonezilla bootable media: Use tools like Rufus, Etcher, or UNetbootin to write the ISO file to a USB or CD/DVD. 2. **Set up your computer:** - Configure your computer to boot from USB or CD/DVD. This is typically done in the BIOS or UEFI settings. - Insert the Clonezilla boot media and restart your computer. 3. **Boot into Clonezilla:** - The computer will boot from the Clonezilla media and enter the Clonezilla Live environment. - Choose your language and keyboard layout, then follow on-screen instructions. 4. **Select mode:** - In the Clonezilla main menu, choose the "device-device" mode to clone one disk to another. 5. **Source and target devices:** - Select the source HDD or SSD (the one to be copied) and the target HDD or SSD (the new drive). - Ensure the target drive has a capacity equal to or greater than the source drive. 6. **Start the cloning process:** - Choose the cloning option, such as "partimage" (partition cloning) or "ddrescue" (full disk cloning). - If desired, check the "check" option to verify the health of the source disk before cloning. - Initiate the cloning process. This may take some time depending on the size and speed of the source drive. 7. **Completion and verification:** - Once cloning is finished, you'll receive a prompt. Remove the Clonezilla boot media and restart your computer. - Verify that the data on the target drive matches the source drive. Please note that the cloning operation will erase all data on the target drive, so ensure you have backed up important information beforehand. Additionally, while Clonezilla offers advanced options, it might be somewhat complex for beginners, so proceed with caution.

Clonezilla offers both “device to image” and “device to device” cloning modes, both of which are command-line based. As a free and open-source disk imaging and cloning software, Clonezilla appears robust enough for most people's needs to clone a hard drive or partition for free.

Let's take a look at how to use Clonezilla to clone your hard drive with a simple guide.

Step 1. Download Clonezilla Live and prepare your boot media.

Step 2: Connect the second hard drive to your computer and boot from the Clonezilla Live USB or DVD you created. When Clonezilla first loads, hit Enter to accept the default settings.

Step 3. To start the cloning wizard, you will need to go through a series of setups. Choose your language, when asked select the default option for “Do not change keyboard mapping,” and when asked if you want to “Start Clonezilla” or “Enter shell,” choose “Start Clonezilla.”

Step 4. Choose the clone mode between Device-Image and Device-Device.

Choose the device to clone or image

Step 5. Press Enter again to start the wizard. Clonezilla will prompt you to choose between "Simple mode" or "Expert mode." Since this is a command-line program, you'll only have access to advanced options in "Expert mode." For the sake of simplicity, we'll be showing the wizard for the Simple mode in the next steps.

Step 6: Choose how to clone your disk. The first option clones everything on the hard drive; the second clones just one partition to an external drive.

Step 7: Select the source drive to clone. The disk name is the device name from GNV/Linux. The first hard drive in your system is "hda" or "sda", the second is "hdb" or "sdb", and so on. It can be difficult to identify your drives this way, but make sure you select the correct one.

Step 8. Select the target disk according to its name. All data on the source disk will be copied to this disk.

Select the target disk to clone

Step 9. In the final step, choose whether to restart the computer immediately or later after the cloning process, and then launch the Clone Wizard when the setup is finished.

3 Reasons to Download Clonezilla Alternative Software

- No graphical UI for design, which is not beginner-friendly at all.

A single glimpse at a screenshot of the Clonezilla disk cloning process is enough to scare away beginners. It's all text and command-line, which would be cumbersome to illustrate in a tutorial. More importantly, without a solid background in IT, it's easy to mess up. Cloning the wrong disk or failing halfway through can have disastrous consequences for your system and data!

- Separate downloads for Legacy BIOS and UEFI-based machines.

Choosing the right Clonezilla version for your computer can be confusing. All versions of Clonezilla live should work on computers with a traditional BIOS. If your machine has UEFI Secure Boot enabled, you must use the AMD64 (X86-64) version of Clonezilla live (based on Debian or Ubuntu). Most users would have a hard time knowing which BIOS mode they are using.

- Free and open-source software, with no customer support.

You will have to search the forums for answers and solutions to any problems you encounter with Clonezilla, as they offer no customer support. So, unless you are confident about handling any issues that may arise, you might want to steer clear of Clonezilla, as it is not a guaranteed way to image or clone your hard drive.

What are the best alternatives to Clonezilla for simple cloning?

It would be perfect to have a Clonezilla alternative that makes up for all its shortcomings. Disk Copy Home Edition is a reliable disk cloning software for Windows users. You can regard it as a full Clonezilla alternative that simplifies the entire cloning process with just a few clicks. In fact, apart from being user-friendly, it outperforms Clonezilla in many other ways.

- First, it's easy to download and install.

Clicking the Download button will allow you to install the Disk Copy tool on any version of Windows. It's fully compatible with Windows 11, and it doesn't matter whether your computer boots in BIOS or UEFI mode.

- Cloning a hard drive or individual partition is easy. It takes just a few steps.

You don't need to do anything or make any settings for the clone to work; Disk Copy takes care of everything.

Advance Notice:

• "Clone by Sector" requires the target disk to be the same size or larger than the source disk. Do not check 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 an entire disk to another, select the disk in Disk Mode and click Next.

Step 2. Select another disk as the target disk.

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

Step 3. Review the layout of both source and target disks. You can choose to “Adapt to disk size”, “Keep as source” or “Edit partition size” to customize the layout of the target disk.

• "Auto-adjust disk" will make some changes to the layout on the target disk to optimize it. • "Copy as is" will not change anything on the target disk, which will have the same layout as the source disk. • "Edit disk layout" allows you to manually adjust/move partitions on this target disk.

Check Optimize for SSD if your target drive is an SSD for best performance.

Step 4: Click on “Proceed” to start the process officially.