Best 10 Disk Cloning Software. Disk cloning software is the best tool to help in cloning hard drive without any loss. There are many excellent disk cloning programs, some of them even support for both Windows OS and Mac OS. In this article, we will take a look at 10 disk cloning software that can help you in cloning your computer's HDD or SDD. A clone also comes in handy for troubleshooting, because you can use it to run third-party utilities on your ailing drive. (Your Mac's built-in OS X Recovery features include Disk Utility, but. Acronis True Image WD Edition Software is another good hard drive cloner software for Windows. The clone hard drive option is available under Tools menu. Click on Clone Disk option to open a new pop up window to choose manual or automatic cloning. This Mac disk cloning software will copy the source drive to the destination drive. Step 3: Clone the hard drive. Click on Copy Now button to clone the source drive to the destination drive. DoYourClone for Mac is 100% safe disk cloning software for Mac OS. It offers very simple way to clone hard drive on Mac.
Summary :
What is the best free drive copy software? MiniTool Partition Wizard is the best hard drive cloning software which can be used to clone hard drive easily and safely. Download the free cloning software now and have a try!
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Why Clone Hard Drive?
Disk cloning is very useful in hard drive management. Simply put, disk cloning copies the complete contents of a hard drive, including the files, the partition tables and the MBR to another location.
It is worth mentioning that when you clone a hard drive, both the source disk and the target disk can be used directly, which is regarded as a simple, direct duplicate (however, cloning is different from copy & paste, check Clone VS. Copy & Paste for the detail).
In the following situations, you may consider hard drive cloning:
- To upgrade to larger hard drivewhen the current hard drive is too small and cannot meet your data storage requirements any longer. For example, you meet the 'low disk space' issue but all partitions are almost full.
- To upgrade hard drive to more advanced SSD to enjoy smooth computer performance. This is extremely useful for those who want to upgrade system disk, as SSD offers faster read-write speed.
- You have a batch of computers (with the same configuration) to be installed. To avoid installing all computers one by one, you can install only one at first and then turn to hard drive cloning software to save effort and time.
- To make an exact hard drive backup. Through free disk cloning, you get a copy of disk backup and avoid the trouble of data restoration when the backup copy is needed.
So the conclusion here is that if you are upgrading your hard drive to a larger one, or replacing it due to a physical failure, cloning hard drive is the easiest method to complete that task. Besides, doing hard drive cloning reduces the risk of any accidental data loss.
Recommended Hard Drive Cloning Utility
Since hard drive cloning is significant, you must be wondering: which is the best free drive copy software? In my opinion, MiniTool Partition Wizard is the top recommendation. I will give you my explanation.
Clone Apple Drive
Developed by MiniTool Solution Ltd., MiniTool Partition Wizard is regarded as the best disk cloning software for Windows users, including those who are running 32/64 bits Windows 10, Windows 8, and Windows7.
As free hard drive cloning software, MiniTool Partition Wizard offers two ways to clone hard drives for hard drive upgrade or data backup, including 'Copy Disk' and 'Migrate OS to SSD/HD' (if you only want to clone the system).
All you have to do is put the new drive in the computer as a slave or secondary drive and use this disk cloning software to clone the old drive to the new one. Once the process is complete, switch the new drive to the primary and then you are good to go (for hard drive upgrade).
Just press the button to have free hard drive cloning software downloaded! The free edition is flexible to copy any non-system disk; while to copy your system disk, you will need to upgrade to a more advanced edition.
Knowing what MiniTool Partition Wizard is, let's have a look on how to clone a hard drive by using MiniTool Partition Wizard. Here we just take clone hard drive Windows 10 for example, and MiniTool Partition Wizard Free Edition should be the right choice.
Note:- To use 'Copy Disk Wizard', both the source disk and target disk must be basic disks.
- The target disk will be cleaned during the cloning process. Please make sure it can be cleaned; otherwise transfer data out at first.
Step 1. Run MiniTool Partition Wizard to the main interface, then you can see all your hard drives connected to this PC are shown in the middle panel and some operable features are listed in the left panel. Now, select Copy Disk feature to clone hard drive.
Step 2. Here you need to select the target disk (must be basic disk) and click Next to continue. Make sure you know which drive you are cloning to so you do not overwrite the wrong drive.
Step 3. Here come the copy options. If you are copying from a GPT disk, you are able to see 2 options. (4 options when you are cloning an MBR disk, see details here.)
- Fit partitions to entire disk: all partitions will be cloned to the target disk and take up its full capacity according to the partition size proportion.
- Copy partitions without resize: all partitions will be cloned to the target disk according to the original partition size. This option is available when the target disk is large enough to hold all partitions on the source disk.
After you have made the copy options, you can customize each partition size according to your own preference. Then click Next to go on.
Step 4. Then you can see a note which reads 'To boot from the new disk, please configure computer BIOS settings. Make sure the new disk is configured as the default boot disk.' Please keep this in mind if you are cloning the system disk before you click Finish.
Itunes software free for pc windows 7. Step 5. Finally, you need to press the Apply button located on the toolbar to start hard drive cloning.
For a more intuitive guidance, please watch this video:
Don't hesitate to have a try on this free cloning software now!
RECOMMEND:
Want to know more information about how to successfully boot computer from the new hard drive? Now, you can find answers from our previous post: 2 Ways to Boot from New Hard Drive after Copying Disk or Migrating OS.
In fact, MiniTool also puts forward another free cloning software to clone hard drives which is called MiniTool ShadowMaker. Although it is mainly designed for Windows backup, it also comes with useful Clone Disk feature. To get the details of how to use this disk cloning software, you are suggested to read Clone OS from HDD to SSD.
Tips for Cloning Your Hard Drive
Now you know how to clone hard drive by using MiniTool free cloning software. Here I would like to put forward some tips to help you deal with cloning issue better.
- Don't just copy & paste files to another location on your hard disk if you are leading the operating system. Use professional disk cloning software like MiniTool Partition Wizard to help you.
- Use another hard drive, especially an external hard drive for your backup copies, because there is less chance of losing/damaging computer and external hard drive at the same time.
- At least one cloning copy should be kept well. Don't erase the current backup unless you are going to create a new one.
- If you use your computer frequently, back up your data often. Having a recent backup is always good for data recovery. Apart from hard drive cloning software, professional disk imaging software is also recommended to save effort.
Further Reading: Cloning VS. Imaging
When dealing with backup issue, cloning or imaging is always the question asked by many users. Many people choose to make a disk image, while many prefer hard drive cloning. Before I state my opinion, I would like to start with cloning VS. imaging.
One may ask, 'what the heck is the difference between cloning and imaging?'
Imaging is frequently used for preventative backup, which means you never know when you need the backup image for data restoration. Today most disk imaging software offer schedule backup feature, and you can set to back up daily, weekly, or monthly. Besides, incremental backup and differential backup are provided, making it possible to save hard disk space.
Adobe acrobat oem software. If something bad happens, you can have the original image for restoration purposes without having to reinstall Windows and other applications.
Disk cloning is more significant for hard drive replacement or hard drive upgrading, which means probably you will use the destination disk right away. When you clone a hard drive, actually you are cloning the entire contents of the drive instead of creating an image file.
The only issue you need to concern is that you need to have another physical hard drive that is large enough to contain all data in the original drive. During the cloning process, all contents on the target disk will be cleaned so be sure that you are operating the right disk.
The conclusion here is: although cloning and imaging both back up and restore data, whether to choose cloning or imaging all depends on what you want to accomplish. In a word, for frequent backup issue, imaging software is better; for hard drive upgrading issue, free hard drive cloning software should be given the priority.
Summary
Battlefield hardline size. In this post, I mainly tell why you need to clone hard drive, which tool is the best disk cloning software, how to use it to clone hard drive, the differences between cloning and imaging, and several tips on hard drive cloning. Hope all these information is helpful in dealing with your hard drive cloning issues.
Now it's your turn to have a try. Just download the best free drive copy software and start cloning hard drive. I believe you can do everything smoothly as long as you follow this guide correctly. For any suggestions or questions towards using MiniTool software, please contact [email protected] or leave us comments below. Much appreciated!
Sep 28, 2020 • Filed to: Solve Mac Problems • Proven solutions
Apple claims that its Mac OS is fully equipped to assist its users for day-to-day PC activities, and they seem to have proven the same over the years. Since Mac users save a lot of important data on it, it is necessary to keep all such information secure. Mac Disk Utility does exactly that with the help of its 'Restore' option. This function teaches you how to Clone a Mac's Drive with Disk Utility.
In this article, learn how to copy all the data and clone a Mac's Drive (internal/external) easily. Read and know more about Mac Disk Utility, its 'Restore' function, how to clone a Mac's Drive with Disk Utility, and a simple way torecover your Mac's Drive.
Part 1: Why You Need to Clone a Mac's Drive?
Freeware Hard Drive Clone Software
'What is the need to clone a Mac's Drive?' This thought must have crossed your mind atlas once while using Mac. To be precise, cloning of hard drives protects your important data which is under possible risk of physical destruction, loss, etc.
No matter how new or of what quality your hard drive is, you cannot say for sure that it will last forever and never crash or suffer from a system failure. Old hard drive or one suffering from mechanical, firmware, or electrical error can permanently destroy your data, such as photos, documents, videos, music, and other files. Also, if important personal documents and business files are misplaced in the process, retrieving them is next to impossible.
Therefore, to prevent these and many more situations that may arise due to data loss, we recommend that you always know how to Clone a Mac's Drive using Disk Utility. Mac Disk Utility and its 'Restore' functions can keep your data, important information, and files secure by literally copying it from your Mac Drive.
Apple Hard Drive Clone Software Upgrade
Difference Between Time Machine Backup and Cloning Hard Drive
If you're wondering whether to use Time Machine or Mac Disk Utility to clone a Mac's Drive, let us clear the confusion for you. Time Machine is a built-in application to back up and make an up-to-date copy of the data you save on the Mac. Its unique feature is that it makes real-time backups to recover files easily whenever needed. When set-up for the first time, Time Machine performs a full backup of the Mac and its contents. Time Machine keeps, hourly, daily and monthly backups all categorized separately.
If Time Machine can do so much, then why consider using Mac Disk Utility?
To start the discussion, Mac Disk Utility is free and also comes built-in with every Mac OS version. It has various new features that make it more suitable than the Time Machine. Say, for example, its 'Restore' option does something what is called block copy and make the entire cloning process swifter. It is also capable of making an almost cut to cut an exact copy of the contents of the Drive. No important files, documents, or data are left behind using Mac Disk Utility. It works in blocks and does not involve file to file transfer.
Some changes have been introduced in the Mac Disk Utility toolkit which makes more accurate cloning and copying data from the Drive.
Part 2: How to Clone Mac's Drive using Disk Utility?
Curious to know how to clone a Mac's Drive with Disk Utility? Follow these simple steps and you're good to go:
- Open Mac Disk Utility on your Mac from Utilities or Applications.
- Click 'Erase' from the top of the Disk Utility interface.
- Now chose a media on the left panel to make it your backup drive.
- At the drop-down list which has 'Format' options, choose Mac OS Extended (Journaled). Then hit 'Erase' again and wait for the drive to remount on Mac.
- Then at the Mac Disk Utility interface, click 'Restore'.
- Now comes the tricky bit. Select the target drive, drag it and drop it at the 'Source' field.
- Now drag and drop the destination Disk/Drive and leave it at the 'Destination' field.
- Hit 'Restore' once and for all. The contents of the drive will be copied and saved on the destination drive.
Part 3: How to Recover Mac's Drive Data?
What does one do if some data is lost during cloning the mac's Drive? Don't worry. The loss isn't permanent and the destroyed data can be recovered with the help ofRecoverit for Mac. It is a recovery tool for MacBook, iMac, Hard Drives, Flash Drives, Memory Cards, phones, cameras, and camcorders. It can instantly retrieve the lost contents from the Mac Drive and provide reliable data recovery solutions. It can recover documents, images, videos, audio files, emails and archives files.
The steps given below will help you use Recoverit for Mac to recover Mac's Drive: https://portfoliodagor165.weebly.com/liquivid-video-improve-2-3-0.html.
- Download, install and launch Recoverit hard drive recovery software. Now choose the target drive where the data gets lost, and click 'Start' to recover lost data.
- And then the data recovery tool will set in motion an all-around scan to search the lost files.
- Finally, you can preview the whole scanned results, select the ones which need to be restored, click 'Recover' as shown below, and save the recovered data in another drive/disk to keep it secure for future.
Conclusion
Knowing what MiniTool Partition Wizard is, let's have a look on how to clone a hard drive by using MiniTool Partition Wizard. Here we just take clone hard drive Windows 10 for example, and MiniTool Partition Wizard Free Edition should be the right choice.
Note:- To use 'Copy Disk Wizard', both the source disk and target disk must be basic disks.
- The target disk will be cleaned during the cloning process. Please make sure it can be cleaned; otherwise transfer data out at first.
Step 1. Run MiniTool Partition Wizard to the main interface, then you can see all your hard drives connected to this PC are shown in the middle panel and some operable features are listed in the left panel. Now, select Copy Disk feature to clone hard drive.
Step 2. Here you need to select the target disk (must be basic disk) and click Next to continue. Make sure you know which drive you are cloning to so you do not overwrite the wrong drive.
Step 3. Here come the copy options. If you are copying from a GPT disk, you are able to see 2 options. (4 options when you are cloning an MBR disk, see details here.)
- Fit partitions to entire disk: all partitions will be cloned to the target disk and take up its full capacity according to the partition size proportion.
- Copy partitions without resize: all partitions will be cloned to the target disk according to the original partition size. This option is available when the target disk is large enough to hold all partitions on the source disk.
After you have made the copy options, you can customize each partition size according to your own preference. Then click Next to go on.
Step 4. Then you can see a note which reads 'To boot from the new disk, please configure computer BIOS settings. Make sure the new disk is configured as the default boot disk.' Please keep this in mind if you are cloning the system disk before you click Finish.
Itunes software free for pc windows 7. Step 5. Finally, you need to press the Apply button located on the toolbar to start hard drive cloning.
For a more intuitive guidance, please watch this video:
Don't hesitate to have a try on this free cloning software now!
RECOMMEND:
Want to know more information about how to successfully boot computer from the new hard drive? Now, you can find answers from our previous post: 2 Ways to Boot from New Hard Drive after Copying Disk or Migrating OS.
In fact, MiniTool also puts forward another free cloning software to clone hard drives which is called MiniTool ShadowMaker. Although it is mainly designed for Windows backup, it also comes with useful Clone Disk feature. To get the details of how to use this disk cloning software, you are suggested to read Clone OS from HDD to SSD.
Tips for Cloning Your Hard Drive
Now you know how to clone hard drive by using MiniTool free cloning software. Here I would like to put forward some tips to help you deal with cloning issue better.
- Don't just copy & paste files to another location on your hard disk if you are leading the operating system. Use professional disk cloning software like MiniTool Partition Wizard to help you.
- Use another hard drive, especially an external hard drive for your backup copies, because there is less chance of losing/damaging computer and external hard drive at the same time.
- At least one cloning copy should be kept well. Don't erase the current backup unless you are going to create a new one.
- If you use your computer frequently, back up your data often. Having a recent backup is always good for data recovery. Apart from hard drive cloning software, professional disk imaging software is also recommended to save effort.
Further Reading: Cloning VS. Imaging
When dealing with backup issue, cloning or imaging is always the question asked by many users. Many people choose to make a disk image, while many prefer hard drive cloning. Before I state my opinion, I would like to start with cloning VS. imaging.
One may ask, 'what the heck is the difference between cloning and imaging?'
Imaging is frequently used for preventative backup, which means you never know when you need the backup image for data restoration. Today most disk imaging software offer schedule backup feature, and you can set to back up daily, weekly, or monthly. Besides, incremental backup and differential backup are provided, making it possible to save hard disk space.
Adobe acrobat oem software. If something bad happens, you can have the original image for restoration purposes without having to reinstall Windows and other applications.
Disk cloning is more significant for hard drive replacement or hard drive upgrading, which means probably you will use the destination disk right away. When you clone a hard drive, actually you are cloning the entire contents of the drive instead of creating an image file.
The only issue you need to concern is that you need to have another physical hard drive that is large enough to contain all data in the original drive. During the cloning process, all contents on the target disk will be cleaned so be sure that you are operating the right disk.
The conclusion here is: although cloning and imaging both back up and restore data, whether to choose cloning or imaging all depends on what you want to accomplish. In a word, for frequent backup issue, imaging software is better; for hard drive upgrading issue, free hard drive cloning software should be given the priority.
Summary
Battlefield hardline size. In this post, I mainly tell why you need to clone hard drive, which tool is the best disk cloning software, how to use it to clone hard drive, the differences between cloning and imaging, and several tips on hard drive cloning. Hope all these information is helpful in dealing with your hard drive cloning issues.
Now it's your turn to have a try. Just download the best free drive copy software and start cloning hard drive. I believe you can do everything smoothly as long as you follow this guide correctly. For any suggestions or questions towards using MiniTool software, please contact [email protected] or leave us comments below. Much appreciated!
Sep 28, 2020 • Filed to: Solve Mac Problems • Proven solutions
Apple claims that its Mac OS is fully equipped to assist its users for day-to-day PC activities, and they seem to have proven the same over the years. Since Mac users save a lot of important data on it, it is necessary to keep all such information secure. Mac Disk Utility does exactly that with the help of its 'Restore' option. This function teaches you how to Clone a Mac's Drive with Disk Utility.
In this article, learn how to copy all the data and clone a Mac's Drive (internal/external) easily. Read and know more about Mac Disk Utility, its 'Restore' function, how to clone a Mac's Drive with Disk Utility, and a simple way torecover your Mac's Drive.
Part 1: Why You Need to Clone a Mac's Drive?
Freeware Hard Drive Clone Software
'What is the need to clone a Mac's Drive?' This thought must have crossed your mind atlas once while using Mac. To be precise, cloning of hard drives protects your important data which is under possible risk of physical destruction, loss, etc.
No matter how new or of what quality your hard drive is, you cannot say for sure that it will last forever and never crash or suffer from a system failure. Old hard drive or one suffering from mechanical, firmware, or electrical error can permanently destroy your data, such as photos, documents, videos, music, and other files. Also, if important personal documents and business files are misplaced in the process, retrieving them is next to impossible.
Therefore, to prevent these and many more situations that may arise due to data loss, we recommend that you always know how to Clone a Mac's Drive using Disk Utility. Mac Disk Utility and its 'Restore' functions can keep your data, important information, and files secure by literally copying it from your Mac Drive.
Apple Hard Drive Clone Software Upgrade
Difference Between Time Machine Backup and Cloning Hard Drive
If you're wondering whether to use Time Machine or Mac Disk Utility to clone a Mac's Drive, let us clear the confusion for you. Time Machine is a built-in application to back up and make an up-to-date copy of the data you save on the Mac. Its unique feature is that it makes real-time backups to recover files easily whenever needed. When set-up for the first time, Time Machine performs a full backup of the Mac and its contents. Time Machine keeps, hourly, daily and monthly backups all categorized separately.
If Time Machine can do so much, then why consider using Mac Disk Utility?
To start the discussion, Mac Disk Utility is free and also comes built-in with every Mac OS version. It has various new features that make it more suitable than the Time Machine. Say, for example, its 'Restore' option does something what is called block copy and make the entire cloning process swifter. It is also capable of making an almost cut to cut an exact copy of the contents of the Drive. No important files, documents, or data are left behind using Mac Disk Utility. It works in blocks and does not involve file to file transfer.
Some changes have been introduced in the Mac Disk Utility toolkit which makes more accurate cloning and copying data from the Drive.
Part 2: How to Clone Mac's Drive using Disk Utility?
Curious to know how to clone a Mac's Drive with Disk Utility? Follow these simple steps and you're good to go:
- Open Mac Disk Utility on your Mac from Utilities or Applications.
- Click 'Erase' from the top of the Disk Utility interface.
- Now chose a media on the left panel to make it your backup drive.
- At the drop-down list which has 'Format' options, choose Mac OS Extended (Journaled). Then hit 'Erase' again and wait for the drive to remount on Mac.
- Then at the Mac Disk Utility interface, click 'Restore'.
- Now comes the tricky bit. Select the target drive, drag it and drop it at the 'Source' field.
- Now drag and drop the destination Disk/Drive and leave it at the 'Destination' field.
- Hit 'Restore' once and for all. The contents of the drive will be copied and saved on the destination drive.
Part 3: How to Recover Mac's Drive Data?
What does one do if some data is lost during cloning the mac's Drive? Don't worry. The loss isn't permanent and the destroyed data can be recovered with the help ofRecoverit for Mac. It is a recovery tool for MacBook, iMac, Hard Drives, Flash Drives, Memory Cards, phones, cameras, and camcorders. It can instantly retrieve the lost contents from the Mac Drive and provide reliable data recovery solutions. It can recover documents, images, videos, audio files, emails and archives files.
The steps given below will help you use Recoverit for Mac to recover Mac's Drive: https://portfoliodagor165.weebly.com/liquivid-video-improve-2-3-0.html.
- Download, install and launch Recoverit hard drive recovery software. Now choose the target drive where the data gets lost, and click 'Start' to recover lost data.
- And then the data recovery tool will set in motion an all-around scan to search the lost files.
- Finally, you can preview the whole scanned results, select the ones which need to be restored, click 'Recover' as shown below, and save the recovered data in another drive/disk to keep it secure for future.
Conclusion
The bottom line, we have attempted to answer a commonly asked question on online forums, i.e., how to clone a Mac's Drive with Disk Utility. We hope you will find this red useful and now be able to clone your Mac's drive and keeps its contents safe.
Also, the Recoverit drive data recovery toolkit is a safe, effective, and trustworthy medium to retrieve your lost documents and file. So go ahead and follow the instructions in this guide to clone Mac's drive orrecover hard drive datadeleted accidentally during its process.
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