Quick Guide | Clone Windows 10/11 to USB Drive (Bootable)

User case: Can I clone Windows 10 to USB drive?

I have a 32 GB flash drive that I have used for various things. I noticed that Windows 10 is only ~22 GB and many tablets running Windows 10 are using 32 GB of data. I am curious if I can clone Windows 10 to the flash drive.

- Question from tomshardware.com

USB drives contain flash drives and external hard drives connected via USB, and yes you can clone Windows to a USB drive as long as the capacity is sufficient. But is it a good idea to do this?

• If your internal hard drive is running out of space or performing poorly, you may move the OS to a USB drive and boot from it to get better speed;
• Given the instability of Windows, it also seems a good idea to keep an intact copy as a backup. Thus when a hard drive fails or system errors arise, you can continue to work via the USB device.

Whichever case you are in, you can clone Windows 11/10 to a USB drive for convenience. Keep reading to learn how to do it successfully.

Why Clone Windows to a USB Drive?

In today's fast-paced world, flexibility and security are paramount. Cloning Windows to a USB drive allows you to:

• Create a Portable OS: Access your customized operating system on any compatible computer.
• Secure a Backup: Protect your system from crashes or data loss by keeping a full OS backup on a USB drive.
• Improve Performance: Move your OS to a USB drive when your internal hard drive is running low on space or performing poorly.

How to move installed Windows to a USB drive

This really depends on your purpose to clone Windows to a USB drive.

▶ If you want to create a portable OS that can be accessed on multiple computers, and can be booted from a USB-connected external drive, there's a Windows To Go feature integrated in Windows 10 Enterprise/Education.

However, Windows To Go has been removed since Windows 10 version 2004. It doesn’t support feature updates and also requires a specific type of USB that is no longer supported by many OEMs.

If you are running earlier versions of Windows 10, and still want to create a Windows To Go workspace, you can refer to this Microsoft tutorial. For newer OS such as Windows 11, please check this Windows To Go Creator.

▶▶ If you simply want to clone Windows to USB drive as an intact copy for backup, or want to use it on a single computer, I would recommend using specialized disk clone software, because it’s much easier and much less restrictive (all Windows OS are supported).

You can also choose to clone the entire disk, or only operating system to the USB.

Preparations before cloning Windows 10/11 to USB

• Install disk cloning software

The software I will use here is AOMEI Backupper Professional, it has some significant advantages:

▪ It contains a powerful Disk Clone feature to help you migrate data and OS between disks of different sizes. For instances, you can clone larger drive to smaller drive, or clone SSD to larger external hard drive.

▪ If you want to clone only operating system to USB drive and make other data partitions stay in the source disk, you can also use the System Clone feature.

▪ It supports any laptop or desktop running Windows 11/10/8.1/8/7/Vista/XP, and USB 3.0/2.0/1.0 devices. The operation is also very simple, you don’t need any expertise to operate it.

If the target disk is an external solid state drive, you can use the SSD Alignment feature to improve its reading & writing speed and prolong its life span.

Download the software and install it on your PC for further operation.

AOMEI Backupper

Easiest hard drive clone software for Windows PC.

FREE Download
Windows 11/10/8.1/8/7

• Delete unwanted files and apps

Before cloning, it’s recommended to clean up the source disk.

• Connect the USB drive

Make sure your USB flash drive or external hard drive has sufficient space and can be detected normally. Note the cloning will overwrite the USB, you can run AOMEI Backupper and choose "Backup" > "File Backup" to back up any important files in advance.

• Compatibility issue

AOMEI Backupper supports cloning both MBR and GPT partition styles, you can clone MBR to MBR/MBR to GPT or GPT to GPT/GPT to MBR. Just make sure the boot mode of the computer is compatible with the patition style of the USB (Legacy BIOS for MBR and UEFI for GPT).

As for operating system, this software works with all Windows Client OS, including Windows 11, 10, 8.1/8, 7, Vista, XP and Windows Server.

Tutorial: Clone Windows 10/11 to USB drive and make it bootable

If your USB drive is large enough to save all the data in your current hard drive, you could use Disk Clone to copy the entire disk, and the operating system will be included. But if your USB drive has limited space, or you want to clone only operating system, please use System Clone instead.

Here I will show you how to clone Windows 10 disk as an example.

How to clone system disk to USB drive:

1. Launch the software, go to Clone tab and choose Disk Clone.

2. Select the source disk with Windows installed, and specify the connected USB drive as the destination. Click Next.

3. Click Start Clone and wait for it to complete.

👉 Helpful features for cloning:

SSD Alignment: Accelerate the reading and writing speed or the target SSD.
Sector By Sector Clone: Copy all the sectors, including unused and bad sectors to a larger or equal-sized drive.
Edit Partitions: Adjust partition size and drive letter, allocate unused space of the target disk.

👉 And it's suggested to use the last feature if you are in one of the following situations. It helps you resolve them completely.

#1: The cloned drive not show full capacity.

By default, all the cloning software makes an exact copy of source disk, as a result, the clone drive does not show full capacity after cloning. If the target disk is larger, please try the following 2 options in "Edit Partitions":

• Add unused space to all partitions: Reallocate unused space to each partition of the target disk appropriately.
• Manually adjust partition size: Extend unallocated space to any partition on the destination disk you want.

#2: The cloned drive is not bootable after cloning.

One common issue is that the boot mode is not compatible with your cloned drive. To fix this, make sure to boot an MBR disk in the legacy MBR mode and a GPT drive in UEFI mode. If you've cloned an MBR drive to GPT or vice versa, you'll need to change the boot mode accordingly.

If you prefer not to adjust the boot mode, you can modify the partition style of your target drive beforehand. Go to "Edit Partitions" and select the option to convert the destination disk to match the partition style of your source drive.

After the cloning process is complete, restart your computer and access the BIOS by pressing the required key. Set the USB drive as the primary boot option, save the changes, and exit. Your PC should now boot from the USB drive.

📑Tips: If you want to clone a USB bootable drive to other locations, just select the source and target disk accordingly.

FAQs About Cloning Windows to a USB Drive

Q 1: Can I clone Windows 10 to any USB drive?

A 1: Yes, you can clone Windows 10 to any USB drive with sufficient capacity. However, it's recommended to use a high-quality USB drive with at least 32GB of storage.

Q 2: Will my cloned Windows 10 boot on any computer?

A 2: The cloned Windows 10 on a USB drive can be booted on any computer that supports the boot mode of the USB drive (Legacy BIOS for MBR or UEFI for GPT). Ensure the hardware is compatible.

Q 3: What is the difference between cloning and imaging?

A 3: Cloning creates an exact, bootable copy of your OS, while imaging compresses your system into a file for backup purposes. Cloning is better for creating a portable OS, while imaging is ideal for backups.

Tips for a Successful Cloning Process

• Use High-Quality USB Drives: Ensure your USB drive is reliable and has sufficient space. Poor-quality drives may lead to cloning errors or data loss.

• Backup Important Files: Before cloning, back up any important files on your USB drive, as the process will overwrite existing data.

• Test the Clone: After cloning, test the USB drive on another computer to ensure that it boots and functions correctly.

Conclusion

It’s not difficult to clone Windows to a USB drive and boot from it. You just need an effective disk clone software, and AOMEI Backupper is an example. It enables you to clone the disk or only the operating system to another internal/USB drive, and the operation is really simple.

In daily use, you can use AOMEI Backupper to schedule automatic backup and therefore protect important data or OS on a regular basis. If you want to troubleshoot Windows errors even when the computer fails to start, you can create a bootable media, which can be used to boot the PC into WinPE and restore the system to an earlier state.