Is It Possible to Clone C Drive?

Is it possible to clone the C drive to another disk? If you wish to install Windows on a bigger drive, here's a fast way to help you.

Posted by @Lucas December 17, 2024 Updated By @Lucas June 6, 2024

Can C drive be cloned?

Is it possible to clone C drive?

Certainly, it is entirely feasible to clone the C drive, a process that involves duplicating all the contents of the C drive onto another disk partition, creating an exact 1-to-1 replica of the original hard drive. This clone of the C drive encompasses everything, from the operating system to installed applications, ensuring that they function as they did on the original drive, without the need to reinstall the OS or other software.

Cloning C drive can also prevent data loss in the future, simplify back up process compared to manual file-by-file copying, help you upgrade disk to enhance system performance.

If you're unsure about how to go about cloning your C drive, don't fret. This concise guide provides assistance by introducing a professional cloning tool and offering a step-by-step walkthrough to help you accomplish this task seamlessly.

How to clone C drive

The most practical and effective technique to clone C drive is to utilize the reputable hard disk cloning application, AOMEI Partition Assistant Standard. It comprises the disk clone and partition clone capabilities, which were designed for copying a hard drive/solid-state drive/partition to another drive/partition in all Windows versions.

Step 1.Install and launch AOMEI Partition Assistant, 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 2. Choose the hard disk that you need to clone as the source disk and click "Next".

Step 3. Select the destination disk to put the data of the source disk on, and then click "Next".

Step 4. 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 5. You can preview the disk cloning operating by viewing the "Pending Operations". To commit the "Pending Operations", please click "Apply" and "Proceed".

Step 6. The cloning process will start and you can check the cloning process.

Warning: Copying C drive to another disk won’t make the target disk bootable.

If you want to make a bootable disk via cloning C drive, you can upgrade to the Professional Edition of this tool to employ the “Migrate OS to SSD” feature.