As we are always surrounded by the risk of losing our data, it is better advised to keep your data backed up. There are different ways of copying your data and HDD Cloning is one such way to do so. This technique is very efficient as it copies every single piece of information on your hard drive and then replicates it onto another drive. As complicated as it may seem, it is rather a simple process that can easily duplicate data from one drive to another. HDD clone software come in very handy while cloning your hard disk and copying it onto the targeted drive.
Best HDD Cloning Software
Have you bought a new HDD and are in dire need of a method to transfer/clone your data from your current drive to new one. This article will guide you at every step to easily perform this procedure with the help of various methods mentioned in this article. Also, the article will enlighten you on a few HDD Clone software free.
Why Should You Clone HDD to SDD on Windows 10?
- Capacity: Capacity wise SSD tend to lose in comparison with HDD
- Durability: HDD are damaged frequently as they have less shock and temperature-resistant capabilities.
- Security: SSD are way secure because of their physical formation
- Affordability: SSD is costlier as compared to HDD in the same size category.
- Speed: An SSD has proved to be much smoother than HDD in executing multiple tasks simultaneously.
Also Read: SSD Vs HDD: Which one is Better and Why
How to Clone HDD to SSD Windows 10
Cloning HDD to SSD usually requires the help of software for an easy backup but first let us go through a method that doesn’t require the usage of one. This process can be alternatively done by creating a backup by developing a System Image and copying the drive data which you want to clone. This system image is then used to recover your data at the time when you use recovery mode with the new SSD. To follow this process please read Create Full Backup of your Windows 10 (System Image)
What is HDD clone Software?
HDD cloning can at times become a hectic procedure to follow and there is always a slight possibility of you committing a mistake in backing up all important files onto your new drive. This is where an HDD cloning software comes in handy letting the software do all important transfers with precision for you. These HDD clone software come with several features that help a user selectively clone a part of the HDD to the new SSD in case the size of the new SSD is smaller than the past drive. Some software also provides options to only clone the operating system.
Best HDD Clone Software for Free
Following is the list of HDD clone software that you can use for free.
1. Stellar Drive Monitor
Stellar Drive Monitor is in its essence an HDD and SSD health monitor. Here you can scan and view bad sectors on your HDD and SSD. The disk cloning option lets you backup and recovers data from your old or bad drive to clone HDD to SSD windows 10
- Disk Scan to identify bad sectors on your hard drive displaying them in form of a block table.
- Drive Cloning to secure your data by copying it onto another drive in-case of drive failure.
- Fitness level checker to identify any potential disk failure in the near future.
- Health check of drives to monitor basic stats like temperature and performance of the drive.
- Pricing: Free basic version and $19.99 for paid.
2. Acronis
Acronis Cyber Protect Home Office is an HDD cloning software that claims to save you from cyber-attacks and hard disk failure with an abundance of features the software is much more than cloning software.
- Anti-malware technology to block attacks from cryptojackers and ransomware.
- Flexible Backup of system image as well as individual files in local drive as well as on cloud.
- Active disc cloning: Make a replica of Windows 10 even while it’s in use without reboot.
- Pricing: Essential ($49.99), Advanced ($84.99), Premium ($189.99), with a 30-day free trial.
Also Read: 9 Best Free Data Recovery Software (2022 )
3. Paragon Software
Paragon Hard Disk Manager is a great tool in case your internal drive runs low on current disk space with an abundance of easy-to-use features.
- Data Migration to clone operating system, entire disk, and copy partition.
- Basic and advanced partitioning with create, format, and delete options and several other features.
- Disk wipe to wipe the entire trim SSD or clear the HDD partition.
- Windows support for Windows 7 SP1, Windows 8, Windows 8.1, Windows 10, and Windows 11.
- Pricing: $79.95 with a 30-day free trial.
4. AOMEI Backupper
AOMEI Backupper Professional 7.1.1 is a one-stop solution for Windows PC Backup software that is reliable and fast to clone HDD to SSD windows 10.
- Backup of system, disk, partition, or an individual file, etc.
- System and disk cloning to perform OS migration to SSD from HDD.
- Bootable rescue media creation to recover if your system cannot boot.
- Price: Yearly ($39.95), Yearly + 1 TB Cloud ($59.95), and Lifetime ($69.95)
Also Read: 8 Best External Hard Drive for PC Gaming
5. EaseUS Clone Disk
EaseUS Clone Disk an HDD clone software free that supports the backup of more than a thousand types of files that are used to recover data from Hard drives and other storage devices.
- Clone hard drive HDD or SSD as the size of the drive doesn’t matter.
- Partition Cloning to clone selected partition of the hard drive.
- Create Bootable Disk to recover if your system cannot boot.
- Pricing: Disk Copy Professional ($19.90) and Disk Copy Technician ($89.00)
6. Active@ Disk Image
Active@ Disk Image has the capability of making an exact image copy of HDD, SSD, DVD, etc. which can be saved anywhere till the time there is a need for a backup restore.
- Flexible Backup of system image as well as individual files in local drive.
- Bootable rescue media creation to recover if your system cannot boot.
- Cloud Storage option in the premium version.
- Pricing: Standard ($39.00), Professional ($69)
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7. Clonezilla
Clonezilla is an open-source partition cloning and HDD cloning program software. It allows you to back up a computer’s contents or specific files whenever you like, even when the computer is in use.
- Restore numerous local devices using this free hard disc cloning software.
- AES-256 encryption for the protection of data access, storage, and transfer.
- Restore a single image to numerous local devices is possible.
- Used blocks restoration is given priority in the cloning procedure.
8. O&O Diskimage
O&O Diskimage performs cloning by creating a replica of any drive by copying all the data to the new drive. It is a great tool as it informs the user about hard drive failure beforehand and lets you clone HDD to SSD windows 10
- Backup system and hard drives, entire disks.
- Enables driver integration and system enhancement.
- Surveillance and notification of potential security threats.
- System restore onto a range of hardware (M.I.R.)
- Pricing: $49:99 with a free trial.
Also Read: What is Hard faults Per Second? How to Fix it
9. R-Drive Image
R-Drive Image is a great HDD clone software that helps you create an image file of your data. This process can be done with both partition and whole drive cloning.
- Multi-language software.
- Can backup data after a total system failure.
- Built-in partition manager.
- Hard disk failure warning.
- Pricing: $44.95 and a 30 day.
10. MiniTool Partition Wizard
MiniTool Partition Wizard is one of the finest disk management and HDD cloning tool. This disk cloning software has a space analyzer and a bootable media builder. Moreover, it can recover deleted or lost files from damaged drives, align partitions and convert disks between MBR and GPT disks.
- Easy detection of bad sectors.
- Can fix logical file system errors.
- Powerful HDD and SSD cloning tool.
- Dynamic to basic disk conversion.
- Pricing: Free version is available and the premium version starts at $199.
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11. Macrium Reflect
Macrium Reflect is available for both personal and commercial use that uses advanced disk imaging technology. The software works by creating a compressed image file that has in it all data that you want to backup.
- Protects backups from Malware.
- Partition and full drive recovery.
- High Cloning speed.
- Pricing: US $75 and a 30-day free trial.
12. ManageEngine OS Deployer
ManageEngine OS Deployer imaging and deployment software which lets you make an image of the Operating System and other partitions on disk which can then be saved for future recovery.
- Ability to shrink partition.
- User Profile Migration including OS settings.
- Driver management with automated collection and distribution.
- Pricing: 30-day free trial and premium prices depend on the number of servers and workstations.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Q1. What is disk cloning?
Ans. Disk cloning is the process where you make a clone or a system image to backup your system data comprising files and folders and in some cases the operating system. This is usually done at the time of operating system failure or changing your hard disk drive.
Q2. Can you clone a hard drive with bad sectors?
Ans. Cloning bad sectors from a hard drive is a specific feature that is not available in every software. As these are the damaged section of the hard drive therefore you should make sure before using cloning software that it supports bad sector cloning.
Q3. What is the difference between Cloning and imaging?
Ans. Cloning is when you simply take every ounce of data in one drive and make an exact copy of the same on another drive while imaging is a form of the archive where a compressed version of every file on your hard drive is saved which is then transferred to another disk until it is recovered.
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We hope that with the help of this guide you were able to learn how to do HDD Cloning. If you have any queries or, suggestions then feel free to drop them in the comments section below.
