AOMEI Backupper
Easiest Way to Clone HDD to SSD via USB (Secure Boot)
How to clone HDD to SSD via USB easily and safely? Don't worry about it much and we'll cover the preparations, cloning tool, stepwise guide, etc. Scroll down to get details!
By Ivy Updated on May 29, 2025
AOMEI BackupperIf you want to skip the basics of cloning HDD to SSD via USB, you can directly go to the step-by-step guide below.
The advantages of cloning HDD to SSD via USB
Cloning HDD to SSD via USB actually means connecting the SSD as an external drive using a USB to SATA or M.2 adapter and then cloning your drive to it. It's commonly used in a laptop with only one slot. Here are the advantages of it:
#2: No need to use transit media. With a USB to SATA or M.2 adapter, you can directly clone HDD to SSD for a duplicate copy, eliminating the need for a third medium. The process is time-consuming and tedious.
In addition, you can still connect the failed drive to another computer and try to copy files from the hard disk to the new SSD, thus avoiding data loss to some extent.
What do you need?
Except for USB adapter, you need to check or prepare some other things. If your computer is a desktop, things will be much easier. If your computer is a laptop, please think it over seriously.
1. Get secure access to internal hard drive. This is the first key factor in cloning. You can only replace laptop HDD and SSD if it has easy access. Consult with laptop manual or contact with computer manufacturer for support.
2. Choose the right SSD for replacement. Most laptops have 2.5-inch drives with 7 or 9.5mm thickness, and different interfaces, such as SATA and NVMe. Check the hardware in the disk properties first.
3. Create a disk backup for disaster recovery. If you have done in-depth research online, you may already know that many examples of cloned SSDs won't boot. To avoid this situation, a backup is necessary.
Free download HDD to SSD cloning software
To clone HDD to SSD using USB adapter, a reliable cloning software is needed. Here, AOMEI Backupper Professional is highly recommended. It's simple and easy to understand, even for a novice, without any technical skills.
(PS: This software supports Windows 11/10/8/7/XP/Vista. For server users, try AOMEI Backupper Server.)
Also, it has many outstanding features in the following:
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🖥💻 Flexible cloning options |
You can clone the entire hard drive or only selected partitions (e.g. system clone) as per your needs. |
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💡 Intelligent cloning |
It copies only the used space of the hard drive, which can ensure a secure boot when cloning large HDD to smaller SSD. You can also tick "Sector by sector clone" to clone all sectors, whether used or not, if the destination disk is larger than or equal to source disk. |
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🚀 SSD Alignment |
It helps align and accelerate the reading and writing speed of SSDs as well as extends SSD’s lifespan, especially useful when cloning hard drive to SSD or cloning SSD to larger SSD. Hard disks and SSDs are structured differently. |
| ✅ Bootable USB clone | Embedded with the Create Bootable Media feature, it allows you to create a bootable USB first and then clone hard drive with bootable USB if your computer malfunctions. |
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👍User-friendly GUI |
An intuitive interface can help you clone disk easily and quickly without extra skills required. |
How to clone HDD to SSD over USB in 5 steps
Follow the steps below to clone HDD to SSD over USB adapter with the HDD to SSD cloning software - AOMEI Backupper. Note that the Clone feature in the trial version can only be demonstrated.
Step 1. Connect the target SSD via a USB adapter and ensure it can be detected on your computer. Then,
Step 2. Launch AOMEI Backupper after installing. Then, select “Disk Clone” under the “Clone” tab.
Step 3. Select your HDD as the source disk, then click “Next”.
Step 4. Select the new SSD as the destination disk, then click “Next” to continue.
Step 5. In this window, you can preview the operation result. Then, tick "SSD Alignment" and click on “Start Clone” to clone HDD to SSD via USB. In the following situations, try the Edit Partitions feature for smooth cloning.
- The target SSD drive is larger. Select “Add unused space to all partitions or “Manually adjust partition size. It helps avoid unallocated space left after cloning disk to larger disk(HDDs/SSDs).
- Clone GPT system disk to MBR, or vice versa. Check the option “Convert the destination disk from MBR to GPT or vice versa to make them identical.
Wait for the process to complete and then click “Finish”. With it, you can clone hard drive to SSD with different brands and types, e.g., clone hard drive to Samsung SSD, clone PCIe SSD, clone M.2 SSD, and more.
What else does AOMEI Backupper do?
- Image Windows 10 to SSD with Backup and Restore feature.
- Clone hard drive with bootable USB
- Clone external hard drive to another external hard drive
- ...
Conclusion
As you can see, AOMEI Backupper Professional can help you clone HDD to SSD via USB effortlessly. It also supports cloning HDD to Samsung SSD, replace hard drive in ASUS laptop, clone hard drive in Windows 10, etc.
By the way, it's also an excellent backup and restore tool, which can achieve the same effect as the clone feature. Just give it a try!
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