How to Clone Laptop Hard Drive and Operating System

Hard drive cloning is the process of copying an entire hard disk, including the operating system, data drive, user files, customized settings, etc., to another SSD or HDD. The major goal is to replace the disk without losing existing data or reinstalling Windows to increase performance or capacity. This article from EaseUS will tell you can I clone my laptop to another laptop and how to clone laptop hard drive and operating system. Hurry up and learn.

Before diving into the detailed information on this topic, let's see what you need to prepare for a laptop clone.

Download this awesome disk cloning software here

What's the Standard Procedure for Cloning a Laptop

Cloning a laptop can be a severe headache if it is not done right. You need to go through some standard steps to clone your laptop's hard drive and replace it with a new one.

Below are the key steps to clone any laptop:

• Connect your new SSD/HDD device with the laptop that you wish to clone.
• Download and install disk cloning software on your laptop. It is the most crucial step because there are tons of disk cloning software out there. Don't worry. The next part of the article will help you choose the best one out there.
• Start the cloning procedure using the disk cloning software by doing the settings. It mainly includes selecting the source and the target devices.
• Remove your existing laptop's storage drive and replace it with a new one.
• Once you have the new drive installed on your laptop, you can begin booting your laptop through it.

Following the above procedure, you can clone your laptop. If you feel confused, it's no problem. The following two parts of the article will provide an in-depth guide for these steps.

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How to Choose the Best Laptop Cloning Software

If you go to Google and search for "laptop/PC cloning software", you will see tons of results. As a new user, you might feel clueless, and the odd thing is that you may choose the wrong laptop cloning software.

However, to make a choice more accessible for you, let's see some key features of good disk cloning software.

1. User Friendly

The disk cloning software should be easy to use. However, a complex user interface can be time-wasting, and you will end up with nothing but messing up the laptop.

2. Reliable and Safe

Disk cloning software works by actually manipulating your essential data. So they must be highly reliable and safe. Any accidental mistake from the software can cause massive damage to your data.

3. Compatibility

Some disk cloning software only supports a limited number of complex drive products, operating systems, or firmware settings. Make sure the software you choose at least supports all Windows versions and firmware settings.

4. MBR and GPT Clone support

HDDs and SSDs come up with MBR(Master Boot Record) or GPT(GUID Partition Table) partitioning formats. If your disk cloning software does not support both, then you will have limited laptop cloning options.

* Related Post: MBR vs. GPT: What's the Difference and Which One is Better?

5. OS Bootable Clone

A disk cloning tool should do a proper deep clone of your HDD/SSD with their installed operating system. The advantage of doing that is it allows you to do a complete OS transfer to your target drive. Hence, you can boot directly from it without needing to install OS again.

Best Laptop Cloning Software Free Download

These standards are not hard and fast but are still a good measure for disk cloning software. Therefore, considering the above criteria, our article will introduce EaseUS Disk Copy as the most capable disk cloning software to help you clone laptop to new laptop.

EaseUS Disk Copy is a practical and all-in-one cloning utility to clone your laptop from HDD to SSD. It can help you clone systems, disks, partitions, etc., and upgrade to a larger disk without reinstalling Windows. In addition, it can help you clone a C drive to an external hard drive and transfer the C drive to a new SSD.

If you want to clone a laptop hard drive or clone a laptop to another laptop, EaseUS Disk Copy can suit you well. Just feel free and safe to download and try it.

How to Clone Laptop Hard Drive to Another

In part 1, you saw the basic procedure to clone a laptop. Now let's see in detail below the process to clone a laptop hard drive to another using EaseUS Disk Copy.

1. Stage 1. Connect the new hard drive to the laptop.
2. Stage 2. Download EaseUS Disk Copy and clone the old hard drive.
3. Stage 3. Take out the old hard drive and install the new one.
4. Stage 4. Turn on your laptop. It should boot from the cloned hard drive now.

Stage 1. Connect the new hard drive to the laptop.

The first step to clone your laptop hard drive is to attach the new hard drive to your laptop. You can attach the hard drive to your laptop using the following methods:

• USB Adapter Cable: You can connect your new hard drive to your laptop using a special USB Adapter cable. Your system will detect the new hard drive as a USB device.

• External HDD Case: An external HDD enclosure case allows you to use an external hard drive with your laptop directly. All you have to do is install your new hard drive in the enclosure and then use it directly with your laptop.

Stage 2. Download EaseUS Disk Copy and clone the old hard drive.

Step 1. Download, install and run EaseUS Disk Copy on your PC.

Click "Disk Mode" and select the hard drive that you want to copy or clone. Click "Next" to continue.

Step 2. Select the destination disk.

Note: The destination disk should be at least the same big or even larger than the source disk if you want to copy or clone the source hard disk.

Step 3. Check and edit the disk layout.

If your destination disk is an SSD drive, do remember to Check the option if the target is SSD.

Step 4. Click "OK" to confirm if the program asks to erase data on the destination disk.

Step 5. Click "Proceed" to start the hard drive cloning process.

Stage 3. Take out the old hard drive and install the new one.

After attaching the new hard drive to your laptop and cloning the existing drive data into it using EaseUS Disk Copy, you need to take out the old hard drive and install the new one.

You have to turn your laptop off. Then carefully unscrew the backside of your laptop using screwdrivers. Next, depending on the hardware architecture of the laptop, find the place where your current hard drive of the laptop is installed. From there, remove the older hard drive and place the newer one.

Stage 4. Turn on your laptop. It should boot from the cloned hard drive now.

Once the newly cloned hard drive is installed into your laptop, close up the back lid of your laptop. You can now normally boot your laptop, and it will work the same as before—no need to install any new OS as EaseUS Disk Copy cloned it for you.

To Sum Up

At times you need to clone laptop. Common reasons include expanding storage, switching laptops, or replacing the older hard drive. The standard procedure for cloning a laptop is quite similar.

But, the critical choice in the laptop cloning saga is choosing disk cloning software. You can select the best one by seeing key factors such as user-friendliness, reliability, OS bootable, compatibility, and MBR and GPT support.

The best disk cloning software, according to these factors, is EaseUS Disk Copy. It makes the whole procedure simple and is absolutely 100% secure and reliable.

FAQs on How to Clone Laptop Hard Drive

1. Does cloning a hard drive copy the OS?

Your operating system will be cloned if you clone a hard drive. The OS will be cloned, and the entire contents of the source disk will be transferred to the destination drive. Therefore, you must be extremely careful while cloning since all your essential data will be destroyed if the source and target drives are selected incorrectly.

2. What is the difference between system clone and hard drive clone?

Disk clone is an act of copying the entire disk. The operating system, programs, drivers, and personal files will all be transferred together with all other material saved on the disk. While the system clone only copies the system partition and any other partitions connected to the system, such as the recovery partition and EFI system partition.

3. Can I clone a hard drive and use it on another computer?

Yes, you can clone a hard disk and use it on another PC. If you want to clone a hard drive, you need to use professional disk cloning software like EaseUS Disk Copy. It can help you clone a drive easily and quickly without Windows reinstallation.