[Answered] Does Clonezilla Work on Windows 11?

Does Clonezilla work on Windows 11?

Yes, Clonezilla works on Windows 11 and supports various operating systems and file formats, including NTFS on Windows 11/10, ext2, 3, 4 on Linux, and HFS on MacOS.

Developed by NCHC Free Software Labs, Clonezilla is a versatile imaging and cloning tool. It aids in system deployment, bare metal backup, and recovery.

Clonezilla comes in three versions: Clonezilla live, Clonezilla lite server, and Clonezilla SE (server edition). Clonezilla live is ideal for individual machine backup and restore, while Clonezilla lite server or SE enables large-scale deployment, capable of cloning multiple (40 plus!) computers simultaneously.

Whether you want to clone HDD to SSD or larger HDD, Clonezilla helps you effortlessly transfer everything on your current Windows system for disk upgrades, optimized performance, and expanded storage space.

How to download Clonezilla on Windows 11/10

Now that you know does Clonezilla work on Windows 11/10, follow these steps to download Clonezilla to your computer.

Step 1: Visit the official Clonezilla Download page.

Step 2: Choose the appropriate CPU architecture (usually amd64 for modern computers).

Step 3: Select the suitable iso/zip file.

Step 4: Keep the repository "auto".

Step 5: Click "Download" to begin.

How to use Clonezilla to clone HDD to SSD

Once you've completed the Clonezilla download, the subsequent step involves utilizing it for hard drive cloning. Although the procedure might appear intricate for beginners, with careful execution, successful hard drive cloning using Clonezilla is feasible.

There is a prerequisite before using Clonezilla to clone - create bootable media. Two ways are available here: (1) extract the Clonezilla zip file and create a 200 MB partition on the SSD as the boot partition.  (2) create a bootable USB using Diskpart and place the Clonezilla ISO file there. 

★Tips:

Ensure that the target SSD/HDD has an equal or larger storage capacity than the original drive. For migrations to smaller drives, shrink the source drive to accommodate the target drive's size. 

Ensure all essential files on the target SSD are backed up, as Clonezilla will overwrite the existing data on the hard drive.

Then you can start to copy Clonezilla HDD to SSD. Follow these steps:

Step 1: Connect your SSD to your computer.

Step 2: Boot your PC from the Clonezilla live bootable USB.

Step 3: Select Clonezilla live from the interface and press "Enter".

Step 4: Select a preferred language and press "Enter".

Step 5: Configure the keyboard layout.

Step 6: Start Clonezilla or enter the login shell (command prompt).

Step 7: Choose "device-device work directly from a disk or partition to a disk or partition", "beginner mode: Accept the default options", and "disk_to_local_disk local_disk_to_local_disk_clone" one by one.

Step 8: Choose the HDD as the source disk and designate the SSD as the target disk. You can retain the default advanced parameters or customize them according to your requirements.

Step 9: Select the preferred action upon completion of the cloning process (reboot or power off). Confirm the operations by pressing "Y" and "Enter" thrice, then patiently wait for the process to finalize.

Step 10: After cloning, power down the system, then proceed to replace the former HDD with the newly cloned SSD. Subsequently, initiate the PC startup from the SSD.

Best Clonezilla alternative for cloning disks easily

You might find it very daunting to use Clonezilla to clone disks after reviewing the comprehensive steps involved. For a simple alternative, consider AOMEI Partition Assistant Professional. This software offers a secure and much easier solution for cloning HDD to SSD or larger SSD in Windows 11, 10, 8, 7, XP, and Vista.

Compared with Clonezilla, AOMEI Partition Assistant Professional boasts various advantages:

✿ Require no commands and bootable media and provide step-by-step guides, friendly even for beginners.
✿ Support cloning larger drive to smaller drive.
✿ Safely clone hard drives without boot issues.
✿ Migrate only the OS to another SSD/HDD without reinstalling or even copy a single partition to another drive.
✿ Make 4K alignment to optimize the performance of SSD during cloning.

Connect the SSD to your computer.

Step 1. Install and launch AOMEI Partition Assistant Professional Edition.

Step 2. Click the "Clone" main tab and select "Clone Disk". (You can also right-click the Disk you want to clone and select the "Clone Disk" tool to run disk clone.)

Step 3. Choose the hard disk that you need to clone as the source disk and click "Next".

Step 4. Select the destination disk to put the data of the source disk on, and then click "Next".

Step 5. Then, you will enter the Confirm interface where you can check the source and destination disk. After all is set, you can click the "Confirm" button to continue.

In lower left corner of the window, you can click the "Settings" button to adjust the partition size on the destination disk. There are three options for you:

• Clone without resizing partitions: all partitions will be cloned to the target disk as the original partition size. It is available when the target disk is larger than the source disk. If it is smaller, this option will be grayed out.
• Fit partitions to entire disk: all partitions will be cloned to the target disk and take up its full capacity according to the original partition size proportion.
• Edit partitions on this disk: you can change every partition size on the target disk as you need.

After finishing the adjustment, please click "Save".

Notes:

• You can tick "4k alignment" to improve the reading and writing speed of SSD if the selected destination disk is an SSD storage.
• All data on this selected destination disk will be wiped out after you save the operation to physical disk. If there is important data on the destination drive, please make a backup in advance.
• If you clone to a smaller SSD, the first option is grayed out. If you select Sector-by-Sector Clone, it is unable to adjust the size on the destination disk.

Step 6. You can preview the disk cloning operating by viewing the "Pending Operations". To commit the "Pending Operations", please click "Apply" and "Proceed".

Step 7. The cloning process will start and you can check the cloning process.

Once completed, your old HDD has been successfully cloned to the new SSD.

Bottom line

Does Clonezilla work on Windows 11? You can get a positive answer from this article. However, Clonezilla comes to be a complicated clone tool, and its complexity might be daunting. If you lack experience in utilizing Clonezilla and want an easier experience, we recommend you to choose AOMEI Partition Assistant Professional. This powerful and user-friendly tool can help you clone HDD to SSD safely and easily.

Additionally, AOMEI Partition Assistant Professional includes a Server edition for Windows Server users, supporting Windows Server 2022, 2019, 2016, 2012, 2008, and 2003 (all editions, 32/64 bit).