How to Clone a Hard Drive on Windows 11: Step-by-Step Guide for HDD/SSD Replacement (2025 Update)

Key Takeaways:

• Cloning will delete all data on the target disk, so please make a backup for the target disk in advance.
• This tutorial supports cloning a hard drive to SSD/HDD on Windows 11. You can even copy DVD to hard drive Windows 11 or clone a hard drive with Windows on it.
• With the help of free AOMEI disk cloning software, you can enjoy smooth cloning process without any jamming or device corruption.
• To ensure the cloning process is successful, make sure the capacity of the Hard Drive is larger than the used space of the old disk and the new Hard Drive should be initialized.

Does Windows 11 have a disk cloning tool?

Windows 11 does not have a built-in cloning tool. Fortunately, AOMEI provides reliable Windows 11 cloning software to clone Windows 11 and hard disk for free. AOMEI Partition Assistant, is an easy-to-use software that allows you to easily clone HDDs to SSDs in Windows 11. It has these highlights:

✦ It promises 100% safe downloads and does not carry any bundled software.
✦ It supports 2 different cloning methods: Sector-by-sector clone or cloning only used space.
✦ It provides the graphical user interface that is friendly to all-level users.
✦ It has many advanced features, such as, resize/format/create/merge partition, wipe hard drive, convert MBR to GPT, and more. 

In addition, the tool helps you better prepare for cloning jobs, including freeing up hard disk space, formatting a new hard disk, repairing problematic hard disks, and more. Download this tool to ensure that the cloning process can start and proceed smoothly.

How to clone a hard drive on Windows 11 -Step-by-step guide

Now, I will show you how to clone a hard drive on Windows 11 step by step.

▶ Step 1. Preparation of cloning a hard drive

① Make sure you have connected or installed the new hard drive to the Windows 11.

② Please initialize the disk, and set the partition style (MBR or GPT) as the same as the source drive. If you have installed AOMEI Partition Assistant, it will automatically recognize the new drive and remind you to initialize the drive.

③ Clean up the old hard drive and delete unnecessary files to shorten the cloning time (if available).

▶ Step 2. The process of cloning a hard drive

To clone a hard drive successfully, what you need most is a trusted disk clone tool. Try AOMEI Partition Assistant, which is a professional disk cloning software that can clone HDD or SSD without losing data. And the cloned drive can be worked well.

1. Install and launch AOMEI Partition Assistant, click "Clone" in the main interface and select "Clone Disk".

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

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

4. Then, you can check the source and destination disk in the next window or change to “Sector to Sector clone”, and click the "Confirm" button to continue if there is no problem.

Here, you can also click the "Settings" button to adjust the partition size on the destination disk or tick "4k alignment" to improve the reading and writing speed of SSD if the target disk is an SSD drive.

5. At last, click "Apply" and "Proceed" in the main interface to start cloning the hard drive.

★Tips:

If you need to clone only the system and boot partition on Windows 11, you can turn to the “Migrate OS” feature.

For Windows Server users, please upgrade to AOMEI Partition Assistant Server, which is designed for Windows Server 2025/2022/2019/2016/2012.

▶ Step 3. After cloning a hard drive on Windows 11

If it cloned the system hard drive, and there is only one slot, you can boot Windows from the new hard drive after changing the old one. But if you want to keep both the old hard drive and the new hard drive, you should change the boot drive.

● Shut down your computer: Make sure your computer is turned off before proceeding.

● Connect the cloned hard drive: Replacing the old drive with the cloned one or by connecting the cloned drive as an additional drive.

● Access UEFI Settings: Restart your computer and enter the UEFI settings. You typically need to press a specific key (e.g., F2, F10, Delete) during the startup process to access these settings. The key varies depending on your computer's manufacturer.

● Set the cloned drive as the boot device: In the UEFI settings, navigate to the "Boot" or "Boot Option" section. Select the cloned hard drive as the primary boot device. Ensure that it's listed before any other drives. Save the changes and exit the BIOS/UEFI settings.

● Restart your computer: After saving the changes, your computer will restart. It should now boot from the cloned hard drive.

Is Cloning Windows 11 Safe?

More and more users upgrade from Windows 10 to Windows 11 after Microsoft officially released it. For different reasons, users may clone a hard drive on Windows 11. Some users may also care about whether cloning Windows is safe and how to clone hard drive. Here is a typical case:

"I recently wanted to clone my laptop's original hard drive to a new disk. I would like to know if it is safe to clone the disk and will I be able to access the disk normally after cloning? What should I do! I really wish there was a way!"  - Quora

Of course, cloning is very safe. Cloning a hard disk avoids the time-consuming process of reinstalling the system and reconfiguring settings The best way to clone a hard disk to an SSD is with the help of third-party software.AOMEI Partition Assistant supports 4K alignment of SSDs after cloning. It plays an important role in managing and protecting the data.

By the way, here are some common reasons why you might want to clone a hard drive:

◥ Data Backup and Redundancy. Cloning your hard drive creates an exact replica of all data, including the operating system, applications, files, and settings. This serves as a backup in case your primary drive fails, ensuring you have a duplicate copy of everything.
◥ Replace the current hard drive with a new one. When you're running out of space on your current hard drive, you might want to replace the hard drive with SSD for better performance. Cloning allows you to seamlessly transfer all your data and settings to the new drive, avoiding the need to reinstall the operating system and applications.   

FAQs about clone a hard drive on Windows 11

Here are some frequently asked questions about clone a hard drive on Windows 11 that you can refer to:

◥ What is hard drive cloning, and why would I need to do it on Windows 11?

A: Hard drive cloning is the process of creating an exact copy of one hard drive onto another. This is useful for data backup, system migration, upgrading to a larger drive, or quickly restoring your system in case of a failure.

◥ What do I need to clone a hard drive on Windows 11?

A: You'll need a destination hard drive with sufficient space to accommodate the data from the source drive. In addition, you'll also need cloning software, such as AOMEI Partition Assistant, which can be downloaded from the link.

◥ How to clone Windows 11 to another new hard drive?

A: You can clone your entire Windows 11 operating system to a new hard drive by "Clone Disk" feature of AOMEI Partition Assistant Professional. This includes the OS, applications, files, and settings.

◥ What happens after the cloning process is complete?

A: Once the cloning is done, you can shut down your computer, replace the old drive with the newly cloned drive, and boot up. Your system should start normally with all data and settings intact.

◥ Do I need to activate Windows 11 again after cloning?

A: In most cases, Windows 11 should remain activated after cloning. However, if you encounter activation issues, you might need to reactivate using your product key.

Remember that these FAQs provide a general overview. Be sure to consult the help articles provided with AOMEI Partition Assistant for detailed step-by-step instructions tailored to your specific situation.

Conclusion

In this page, I have shown you how to clone a hard drive on Windows 11. With AOMEI Partition Assistant, you can clone disk or partition on Windows 11/10/8/7 easily and safely. If you are about to replace your hard drive but don't know what to do, following the steps provided in the tutorial is definitely a good idea.