Best Free Disk Cloning Software for Windows 11, 10, 8, 7

It’s a common case that your computer is getting slower and slower. If the computer has been used for years, you may replace it with a new one. If the computer is not that old, you could consider getting a new hard drive instead of a new device. Either a hard drive with bigger capacity or better performance can help to speed up your computer.

When it comes to replacing the old hard drive with a new one, the most important part is to transfer data between two drives. It’s easy to transfer personal files from one hard drive to another. The copy-paste way would work. What about the operating system? Can you move OS by copying and pasting it? The answer is negative.

Windows is likely to be unbootable after you copy the entire C: drive. That can be caused by the missing boot loader or some hidden installation files. Luckily, you won’t be bothered by the boot issue if you transfer OS to a new drive via specialized disk cloning software.

Free Disk Clone Software to Transfer OS and Data

If you are seeking for reliable disk clone software that is free of charge, AOMEI Backupper Standard is on the top of the list. Learn the main features of this freeware as follows:

◉ Clone Types

The free edition of AOMEI Backupper offers you two clone types: Disk Clone and Partition Clone. If you’d like to copy everything on one hard drive, Disk Clone can meet your need. It will transfer the operating system, installed applications and all your files from the old hard drive to the new drive. You don’t need to reinstall OS and programs on the new drive, which is really labor-saving.

If you only want to copy a particular partition on one hard drive, then choose Partition Clone. It allows you to copy one partition to another partition on the same disk or on a new disk.

◉ Clone Options

There are two clone options available in AOMEI Backupper Standard: SSD Alignment and Sector By Sector Clone. If you are cloning the old hard drive to an SSD, then use the SSD Alignment option to accelerate the reading and writing speed of the SSD.

By default, the program copies only the used sectors on the source disk. If you’d like to copy both used and unused sectors on the source disk, check the Sector By Sector Clone option. However, there is a precondition of using this option: you need a destination disk that is at least with the same capacity of the source disk.

◉ Supported OS and devices

AOMEI Backupper works well on all Windows PC systems, including Windows 11, 10, 8.1/8, 7, Vista and XP. Also, it is compatible with various disk types, such as HDDs, SATA SSDs, M.2 SSDs, USB flash drives, SD cards, CompactFlash cards, etc.

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How to Clone One Hard Drive to Another

First, prepare a new drive that is compatible with your computer. You may check your PC manual to find out what disk interfaces are supported by your computer. Then, use the following steps to transfer OS and data between two drives.

• Step 1. Connect the hard drive your prepared to your computer. It is suggested to connect it internally if there is an extra slot inside your computer. Besides, backup files on the target drive because the cloning process will delete all files on it.
• Step 2. Download the free cloning software on your PC. Install and launch it. Then click Clone and select Disk Clone.

• Step 3. When you enter the Source Disk page, click on the old hard drive on your computer and click Next.
• Step 4. When you are at the Destination Disk page, click on the new drive and click Next.
• Step 5. If the destination disk is an SSD, check the SSD Alignment option to optimize its performance. You can also check the Sector By Sector Clone option based on your need. Confirm your settings and click Start Clone.
• Step 6. Leave the program alone to finish the cloning process. When the progress bar shows 100%, click Finish.
• Step 7. To make your computer boot from the cloned hard drive, you can change boot sequence in BIOS or swap out the old hard drive and install the new drive there.

The process of cloning one hard drive to another is quite simple with the help of AOMEI Backupper. Moreover, AOMEI Backupper is the best backup software that can help you set up all-around data protection for your computer. You are allowed to create a system image or disk image using AOMEI Backupper.