AOMEI Backupper
How to Clone Disk Partition with Freeware (Max 4 Steps)
Get the free version of AOMEI Backupper to free clone disk partition in Windows 10 or 11 easily.
By Ivy Updated on October 9, 2024
🧠The key takeaway:
- AOMEI Backupper has a free edition for cloning.
- Disk or Partition clone is a simple and efficient method to transfer a large amount of data or create backup copies of them.
Download FREE Disk Partition Cloning Software
As the best free disk partition cloning software, AOMEI Backupper Standard can help you clone disk partition to another one easily and quickly. It can be an HDD with bigger capacity, or an SSD with higher performance.
AOMEI Backupper- No bundled software and 100% clean.
- FREE clone disk or partition in Windows 7, 8, 10, and 11 in up to 4 steps.
- Clone disk or partition without booting Windows.
- Intelligent clone disk or partition, such as clone 1TB HDD to 500GB SSD, greatly saving time and space.
- Optimize SSD disk performance to boost your computer faster.
- Backup and restore backup image to a new disk free, even with OS.
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100% SecureHow to Clone Disk Partition with Freeware Quickly
If you want to clone disk or partition to transfer a large amount of data or create backup copies of them, try the FREE edition of AOMEI Backupper.
What do you need?
√ Be sure both disks use the same disk type (MBR or GPT). You can go to Disk Management, right the old hard disk or new one and choose Properties>Volume>Partition Style, then you will see MBR or GPT on the right side.
√ Check disk capacity of both disks in case the cloned hard drive unallocated space left issue.
√ Download FREE version of AOMEI Backupper. It offers you two cloning methods in the following:
- Disk Clone: It clones the entire disk at a time, even with multiple partitions.
- Partition Clone: It clones only one partition at once.
Steps to clone disk partition in Windows 10 or 11
Step 1. Select a cloning method.
Open AOMEI Backupper Standard, click Clone and Disk Clone in order.
Step 2. Select the source disk.
Select the old disk you want to clone (here is Disk0) and click Next.
Step 3. Select the destination disk.
Select the new SSD to save everything on the old disk (Here is Disk1) and click Next.
Step 4. Specify the cloning settings and clone it.
Tick SSD Alignment to gain peak performance of the SSD if you are cloning disk partition to SSD. Then, click Start Clone to begin the cloning process.
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By default, this software will use the intelligent clone method to clone only used sectors of a disk. You can also check the Sector by sector clone" method to clone all sectors.
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Optionally, the Edit Partitions (available on the Professional version) feature helps to convert disk type (e.g. from MBR to GPT) or adjust partition size of the destination disk. So you can use it to clone MBR to GPT disk without losing data.
After cloning, boot the computer from the cloned hard drive and check if all the content is correct. If the computer is a laptop, please swap hard drive first.
😕Why cloned drive won't boot?
Some users may complain the cloned hard drive won't boot. For this issue, you need to be sure of the following things and try to boot from it.
- The new SSD is a primary partition and marked as active.
- The new SSD is the first boot option.
If your computer boots as normal, you can plug the old drive into the computer again. If not, it's likely that the system reserved partition is on the wrong drive, you need to move system served partition to SSD. For more info, click the given link to learn more.
Another Way to Clone Disk Partition for Free (including OS)
Except for the cloning method, AOMEI Backupper Standard also offers you the Disk Backup feature and Disk Restore feature to help you clone disk partition for free, even with the operating system.
By using this method, you need to make some preparations to ensure the process is smooth.
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Prepare two hard drives. One is to store backup image temporarily and the other isto receive the image filefrom the backup disk.
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Be sure the new hard drive is equal to or larger than the backup drive, here is the used space, otherwise the process will fail eventually.
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Prepare a USB-to-SATA cable or adapter (If your computeris a laptop).
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All data on the new hard drive will be overwritten finally, so please backup files ahead of time.
Steps to backup and restore disk image in Windows 10 or 11
First, open AOMEI Backupper Standard after installing. Select Backup -> Disk Backup. Then, follow the instructions to create a copy of your disk and data on it.
With a disk image, you can easily restore backup image to new SSD and boot from it successfully. If you are worried about computer failure, you can choose to create bootable media for your computer. Here are two ways in the following:
#1: Use the Create Bootable Media feature. It requires a USB or CD/DVD to store boot files required to start Windows. It supports booting any Windows system (both 32 bit and 64 bit), whether it's based on BIOS or UEFI.
#2: Use the Recovery Environment feature in the advanced edition. If you don't have any extra storage device, it's suggested to create a recovery environment for your current computer. It allows you to access this software without booting into Windows.
To restore disk image, the easiest way is to directly open this software and then restore. If your computer is unbootable, you need to connect the bootable media you created for it and boot it first. And the process may be a little different:
#1: You create a bootable USB or CD/DVD
Restart your computer and press a specific key to access BIOS, it is usually F2, ESC, F11, etc, go to the Boot tab and set it as first boot option, save changes and boot from it.
#2: You create a recovery environment
Restart your computer, and you will see two boot options, namely Windows 10 or 11 and Enter into AOMEI Backupper, select the second one as instead if your computer is not working.
Then, you can continue to restore disk image to new hard drive (HDD or SSD) for free.
Step 1. Connect external drive containing system image as well as new SSD to your computer. On the main page of AOMEI Backupper Standard, click Restore > Select Image File and find your backup image.
Step 2. Tick Restore the entire disk and click Next. By default, this software will use the latest backup image. If you want to use a different image, click the inverted triangle next to the time point you currently see.
Step 3. Select your new hard drive or SSD as destination location to receive the backup image and click Next.
Step 4. Tick SSD Alignment to improve SSD disk performance, such as reading and writing speed, and click Start Restore to restore disk image to new SSD.
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✔ Edit Partitions: It is used to adjust partition size on the larger destination disk, so you can make full use of its disk space.
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✔ Universal Restore: It helps install all drivers required to boot Windows and it is checked by default if you restore image to dissimilar hardware. You will be asked to upgrade to the professional version of this software after clicking Start Restore.
Wait until the process ends, and click Finish to close this window. Switch the old drive and new SSD, and let your computer boot from it.
In sum
AOMEI Backupper Standard is a free disk partition cloning software that can help you clone disk and partition as you like. It provides you with an easy and fast cloning method as well as free backup and restore method (including the operating system ).
AOMEI BackupperBest free disk partition cloning software for Windows PCs
The cloning method is recommended if you want to transfer lots of data or backup your disk or partition quickly, i.e. clone hard drive with different size, whether to larger HDD or smaller SSD. In the advanced version, it helps prevent unallocated space after cloning, migrate OS to smaller SSD, etc.
