5 Best Disk Cloning Software For Windows 11, 10, 8, 7 PC | Paid & Free

Whether you want to create a 1-to-1 copy of your hard drive for backup and file transfer purposes or simply replace your slow HDD with a fast SSD (while keeping your preferences & settings completely intact), Disk Cloning Software eases the entire task. But before you create an image of your disk, it’s important to get familiar with the whole concept.

What Is Disk Cloning?

Disk Cloning creates a functional one-to-one copy of your hard drive to an image file that can be used to keep a backup or transfer the data to another location, per users’ needs. But what makes disk cloning different from the standard copy functionality? Disk Cloning simply replicates your computer’s operating system, drives, software, settings, patches & almost every bit of information on your PC. It eliminates the technical hassle of reinstalling or reconfiguring your OS, as all you need to do is replace the cloned drive with the source drive.

Why Clone A Hard Drive?

• If you want to keep backups handy.
• Expand the small hard drive.
• Wish to upgrade the old hard drive.
• Ease the file transferring process.
• Improve disk performance.

Things To Do Before Imaging Hard Drive

Before you begin with the disk cloning process, make sure you prepare for a couple of things:

• Be ready with a secondary drive or keep your external drive handy.
• Make sure the target disk (new) is larger than the source disk (current).
• The new drive should be formatted (where you would be cloning data).
• Clean up your original drive (remove temp files, duplicate data & unwanted programs that you probably don’t need on your new drive.
• Install the best disk cloning utility on your PC/Mac. (Below, we’ve discussed the top solutions)

5 Best Disk Cloning Software To HDD/SSD (Paid & Free Choices In 2023)

Now that you’ve prepped up, it’s time to take a look at the top paid & free disk cloning programs to use in 2023.

1. EaseUS Todo Backup

EaseUS Todo Backup is one of the leading disk cloning programs that offers a perfect blend of features to perform various imaging activities such as complete system cloning, hard drive cloning, and partitioning cloning. You will also find useful tools to run full & incremental backups. When I installed the disk imaging tool, I liked the overall UI.

Features: EaseUS Todo Backup

Here’re the major highlights from all the versions:

• Backup to network drives.
• Supports command line backup.
• Build emergency WinPE or Linux Bootable disks.
• Recover image files via Cloud, Local Drive/LAN, or NAS Device.
• Select backup contents per your preference: Files, Disk, OS, or Mail.
• Supports sector-by-sector clones.
• Allows you to schedule automatic backups.
• Support backing up files to Cloud.
• Transfer system to different computers.
• Create a portable Windows USB Drive.

How To Clone Disk With EaseUS Todo Backup?

Five-step process to use EaseUS Todo Backup on Windows:

Step 1 – Launch the hard drive cloning tool.

Step 2 – Hit the Clone button on the left-side panel.

Step 3 – Select the disk or partition you want to image.

Step 4 – Tweak with Advanced options to configure the process.

Step 5 – Hit the Proceed button to start cloning your Windows disk.

Read complete review: EaseUS Todo Backup Home: Smartest Tool to Backup Data 

2. AOMEI Backupper

AOMEI Backupper is one of the best free disk cloning software for Windows 11 and older versions. Using the tool, you can copy a disk, specific partitions, and the entire OS while skipping the bad sectors and ensuring a secure boot. Regardless of the disk size, interface and brands, it supports cloning large HDD, SATA SSD, NVMe SSD, etc.

Features: AOMEI Backupper  

Here’re the major highlights from all the versions:

• Customize backup settings to schedule backup regularly.
• Create incremental backups.
• Supports compressing and splitting backup tasks.
• Clone individual partitions or volumes to another one.
• Automatically sync files and folders to local, external disk, or even clouds.
• Backup to CD/DVD.
• Supports file, system, disk, and partition restore.
• Add unallocated space accordingly.
• Allows merging backup images.
• Has a PXE Boot Tool & Command Line Utility.

How To Clone Disk With AOMEI Backupper?

Five-step process to use AOMEI Backupper Standard edition on Windows:

Step 1 – Launch the disk cloner program and hit the Clone button from the left-side menu.

Step 2 – Hit the Disk Clone option & choose the original disk you want to copy.

Step 3 – Choose the destination disk where your source disk will be copied & hit Next.

Step 4 – Preview your action & tweak the cloning, backup & partition settings.

Step 5 – Click the Start Clone button & hit the Finish button to complete the process!

3. MiniTool Partition Wizard

MiniTool Partition Wizard is one of the most popular disk cloner and management software for your Windows PC. It’s a versatile tool for performing various operations, including cloning disk, migrating OS to SSD, managing partitions, converting MBR to GPT, and more. Besides the free version with basic features, it also offers Pro, Pro Platinum & Pro Ultimate versions.

Features: MiniTool Partition Wizard

Here’re the major highlights from all the versions:

• Ability to change cluster size.
• Create, delete, format, move & resize partitions.
• Copy the entire OS Disk and Partition.
• Perform data recovery.
• Get all the essential information related to your Disks.
• Provides the ability to wipe the disk completely.
• Comes with a bootable media builder.
• Manage dynamic volumes.
• Test disk speed with Disk Benchmark utility.
• Loaded numerous disk tutorials to guide newbie users.

How To Clone Disk With MiniTool Partition Wizard?

Five-step process to use MiniTool Partition Wizard on Windows:

Step 1 – Launch the free disk cloning software on your Windows.

Step 2 –Choose the hard drive you want to clone from the available disks.

Step 3 – Hit the Copy Disk option from the Convert Disk action panel.

Step 4 – Choose the target drive where you want to copy the contents.

Step 5 – Adjust the partition-related options & hit the Next button to follow on-screen instructions and complete the disk cloning process.

Read an unbiased review here: MiniTool Partition Wizard: An Ultimate Partition Manager for Windows! 

4. Macrium Reflect

Macrium Reflect is a robust backup and disk cloning solution for Windows 11, 10, 8, and 7 PC. You can create a full image of the disk with all the associated data and settings. It offers a free edition of both its personal and commercial license. The registration and installation process are a bit longer than other best disk cloning software 2023 (commercial edition).

Features: Macrium Reflect

Here’re the major highlights from all the versions:

• Create a file or folder backup.
• Upload backup to local & external storage (CD, DVD, USB stick, etc.)
• Schedule automatic backups.
• Sync multiple schedules to ensure all devices within your network get backed up.
• Allows users to create bootable drives.
• Supports compressing the size of backup files.
• Encrypt your backup files to prevent unauthorized access.
• Central console through which you can create alerts, monitor backups & schedule remote backups.

How To Clone Disk With Macrium Reflect?

Five-step process to use Macrium Reflect on Windows:

Step 1 – Navigate to the Macrium Reflect website & get the desired edition on your PC.

Step 2 – Get registered with the disk cloning software & run the same.

Step 3 – Click on the disk you want to image and hit the option ‘Clone this disk.’

Step 4 – Now head towards the option ‘Select a disk to clone to.’

Step 5 – At this point, you need to choose the destination disk & tinker with the partitions and data you want to copy. Click the Finish button, followed by OK, to complete the process!

You might want to read: How To Clone A Mac / Windows 10 Hard Drive? 

5. ManageEngine OS Deployer

As the name entails, ManageEngine OS Deployer seems like an operating system deployment solution for organizations. But in reality, it does much more, like imaging live machines, migrating user profile data, managing drivers conveniently, and more. It’s an innovative, hassle-free disk cloning and large-scale deployment tool for small, medium & large-scale organizations.

Features: ManageEngine OS Deployer.

Here’re the major highlights from all the versions:

• Create an OS clone using advanced online/offline imaging tactics.
• Customize the image for deployment according to each user.
• Automated driver management from image-captured machines.
• Single image file can be deployed to all network computers easily.
• Supports full backup of user profiles.
• Allows manual deployment of OS, drivers & configurations as well.
• Suitable disk cloning tool for administrators to create images of multiple OSes.
• Remote office deployment.
• Supports creating clones of Windows, macOS, and Linux devices.

How To Clone Disk With ManageEngine OS Deployer?

Five-step process to use ManageEngine OS Deployer on Windows:

Step 1 – Get the latest version of this disk cloning program on your device.

Step 2 – Launch it & select the computer you want to clone under the Create Image tab.

Step 3 –Set the partition and other details you want to copy.

Step 4 – You can further customize the image file under the Deployment Template head.

Step 5 – Follow the on-screen instructions to complete the cloning & deployment process!

Bottom Line | List Of Best Windows Disk Cloning Software

We hope that our review on the Top 5 hard disk cloning programs was helpful and that you can choose the most suitable application for your device. If you are looking for a free disk cloner tool with basic functionalities, we recommend using AOMEI Backupper Standard & Macrium Reflect’s Free Edition. Professional users should consider using the EaseUS Todo Backup Workstation version, which has many advanced disk management capabilities.

If you’re an IT Admin or Small/Medium/Large Business owner, you should try using the ManageEngine OS Deployer tool. It has robust tools to perform live imaging without interrupting users’ work. Moreover, it’s an excellent utility to manage multiple disk images and deploy customized OSes for multiple computers and remote devices (useful for Work From home users).

Besides these, you may consider trying tools like Paragon Drive Copy and O&O DiskImage Backup Software, which are known for simplifying backup and migration needs!

So, what would be your pick for the category of disk cloning utilities for Windows 11, 10, and older versions? Do let us know your opinion in the comments section below! You can also write to us at social@wethegeek.com or chat via our Facebook or Instagram channel!

Frequently Asked Questions:

Q1. What’s the difference between Clone & Copy?

Words like Clone and Copy are often used interchangeably. But there’s a slight difference between both the terms. For instance, when it comes to “Clone,” it means to create something new based on something already existing, while “Copy” is used to replicate something that exists to something else.

Q2. What are the advantages of disk cloning?

• To get a complete machine backup.
• Great for making hard drive upgrades.
• Helps in restoring the hard drive to its original configuration state.
• Gives you the ability to replicate the OS (with preferred settings) to a different computer.
• Enjoy complete data recovery if your PC crashes or some files are missing.
• Easily transfer files, programs & other data to a different machine.

Q3. What are the disadvantages of disk cloning?

• You need to carry a larger storage media than the current one.
• If you restore images incorrectly, you may encounter blue screen errors.
• Image backups indeed take a long time to get completed.

Q 4. How To Clone A Hard Drive?

Numerous programs can back up your files, but you often need something more bulletproof. If you want to migrate your Windows installation to another drive or keep a backup handy, in case of any mishap. Taking the help of the Best Disk Cloning Programs is probably the best bet to copy your hard drive and create an exact clone of your PC to swap in and boot up instantly.

To easily replicate your hard drive, we’ll take the help of a free disk imaging tool – Macrium Reflect. 

• Make sure the new drive is installed in or connected to your PC.
• Install and launch Macrium Reflect free edition.
• Choose the drive you wish to clone.
• Next, you need to select the cloning destination drive.
• Save your configurations & hit the Clone button!