Linda Updated on November 8, 2021 to Disk/Partition Clone | How-to Guides
Acronis True Image is one of the best cloning software available today. There are several reasons to clone a disk, but mainly to protect your data. This way, if your computer fails to boot, you can use the clone to start it up again. You can also use a cloned hard drive to set up multiple computers with the same copy. Additionally, you can use a disk clone for a disk upgrade. All in all, disk cloning is very useful when all else fails in terms of recovery options.
While Acronis has a high success rate, failures can still occur under certain circumstances. A typical scenario might involve cloning a drive that is part of an OEM system or restoring from a clone of such a drive. This is because some of the partitions in an OEM system may be locked or have restricted access. This is quite common with recovery partitions found in OEM systems. Recovery partitions can be used in various situations. For example, if the operating system fails to boot to the desktop, it may be corrupted. In this case, a repair can be performed from the recovery drive. Similarly, if the computer boots to a blue or black screen, the only option is to recover from the recovery partition.
One of the common scenarios when Acronis Disk Clone fails is when users cannot resize the recovery partition while cloning from a large HDD to a smaller SSD. Actually, it is possible to clone a large HDD to a smaller SSD. As long as the used space on the HDD is less than the storage capacity of the SSD, you can clone between the two disks without issues.
One of the fundamental steps we can try is to reinstall the entire software package. This will help refresh and clean up any corrupted files and could also resolve some unknown issues. Reinstalling Acronis is pretty straightforward, and here are the detailed steps to do so.
Step 1: First, uninstall Acronis from your computer.
Step 2. Download and install the latest version of Acronis. To install the backup agent, log in to the Acronis portal. Use the correct credentials to log in.
Step 3: After logging in, click “Tools” > “Clone Disk”, and try cloning the hard drive again.
Check if the disk is still unclonable, and try other methods if the issue persists.
If reinstallation doesn't help, you can try one of the best Acronis alternatives – a disk cloning software. Designed specifically for disk cloning, it allows sector-by-sector copying, disk layout adjustment, and cloning only selected partitions.
If you're interested in Disk Copy, download the tool below and follow our guide to learn how to clone your disk using the application.
Launch the utility "Disk Clone" for a smooth disk copying or cloning process.
1. Download, install, and run the Disk Copy utility on your computer.
Click on "Disk Mode," then select the source disk that you want to copy or clone. Click "Next" to proceed.
2. Select the target disk to clone/copy to, then click “Next” to proceed.
3. Review and edit the disk layout, selecting either "Autofit to disk," "Copy as much as possible," or "Edit disk layout." Choose "Autofit to disk" for the best results.
Click Continue to begin the disk clone or disk copy process.
While Acronis Disk Clone is indeed feature-rich, its multitude of options might be a bit overwhelming for novice users, despite Acronis' claims of a user-friendly interface. On the other hand, the Disk Copy utility is very easy to use, with disk cloning starting with a single click. As such, we can consider the Disk Copy utility to be more user-friendly and less prone to errors.