Why Clone Hard Drive to SSD
Along with technology, you may notice the increased demand for faster and more effective computer systems. Switching to an SSD from an HDD or M.2 SSD/NVMe SSD from an old SSD will be one of the best ways to improve PC performance and speed. This is why you clone hard drive to SSD.
You can benefit much from migrating Windows 10/11 to an SSD, such as faster boot times, shorter program launch times, faster system response speed, improved system reliability, and more. This is because an SSD now can offer large storage capacity and bring a faster speed compared with an HDD.
For a gamer, playing a large game on a PC with an SSD installed is a good experience since this can help avoid lag in the middle of a heated online match. Also, an SSD brings high speed and efficiency for video editors, engineers, and other creative pros.
Let’s see 2 possible scenarios in which you need to clone hard drive to SSD.
- Use a new SSD to replace an HDD: That way, everything on the old system is moved to the new disk so that you retain important data and Windows 11/10.
- Upgrade SSD to a larger SSD: If the old SSD uses up disk space, go to clone the smaller SSD to a larger SSD.
So how to clone a hard drive to SSD for fast speed or more storage space? The tutorial will tell you all you need to know including HDD to SSD freeware and a comprehensive stepwise guide.
What to Prepare Before Proceeding
Before you clone HDD to SSD Windows 11/10 or clone hard drive to smaller SSD/larger SSD, you should do something to ensure a successful cloning process.
1. Get an SSD with Enough Space
First, you should purchase a new SSD that offers enough space to store the contents from your old HDD or SSD. Or else, boot issues or data loss will occur after cloning. For instance, your old hard drive has 255.1 GB of used disk space, the SSD should have at least 256 GB of space.
2. Prepare a USB to SATA Cable
When it comes to “clone HDD to SSD via USB”, USB means a USB to SATA cable that allows you to plug your hard drive or SSD with a SATA interface to the computer’s USB port so that you can seamlessly clone hard drive to SSD easily. For other types of SSDs such as NVMe or M.2 SSDs, use an adapter to build a connection.
3. A Screwdriver
If you plan to replace the old hard drive using a new cloned SSD or install a new SSD to your computer, prepare a screwdriver to open the PC back and complete the installation.
4. Free HDD to SSD Cloning Software
Last but not least, whether you can effectively clone hard drive to SSD in Windows 11/10 depends on outstanding free disk cloning software. The tool should help you save time and effort and you don’t need to reinstall Windows and applications from scratch.
Beyond the ability to backup files , disks, systems, and partitions, MiniTool ShadowMaker, can serve as a piece of powerful disk cloning software. In moving Windows to another drive and cloning HDD to SSD, this utility does wonders. Without technical knowledge, only a few clicks help to move everything from a hard drive to an SSD.
In terms of data disk cloning, MiniTool ShadowMaker supports a 30-day free trial. Just free download it for cloning HDD to SSD/cloning SSD to SSD. Note that for system disk cloning, you are required to register the tool before applying the last cloning operation.
MiniTool ShadowMaker TrialClick to Download100%Clean & Safe
How to Clone Hard Drive to SSD via USB
Everything has got ready and now let’s take a deep delve into the step-by-step instructions on “how to clone HDD to SSD via USB” or “how to clone a hard drive to SSD without losing data”.
Step 1: Connect an SSD to a PC
As stated above, connect your new SSD to a laptop or desktop first using a USB cable as per your SSD factor and make sure the device recognizes that solid-state drive.
Step 2: Open MiniTool ShadowMaker
A piece of powerful HDD to SSD cloning software can ensure a successful cloning process. Now, install and launch MiniTool ShadowMaker and hit Keep Trial to proceed after loading the app.
Step 3: Clone Hard Drive to SSD
To clone HDD to SSD without losing data or clone hard drive to smaller SSD/larger SSD:
1. Move to the Tools tab from the left side and hit Clone Disk to continue.
2. Choose a source disk to clone. Here choose your old SSD or HDD and hit Next.
3. Select the connected SSD as the destination disk and then click Start.
4. Since you are cloning Windows 11/10 to an SSD, a window will pop up to prompt you to register MiniTool ShadowMaker via a license. Just do it and the cloning process begins.
Step 4: Boot Windows 11/10 from Cloned SSD
Depending on different cases, what you should do after cloning a hard drive to an SSD varies.
Case 1: Keep Both Old and New Disks on Laptops/Desktops
1. Restart your computer and press F2, Del, or another boot key to access the BIOS settings.
2. In the Boot tab or a similar one, set the cloned SSD as the first boot drive and save the made changes.
3. Windows 11/10 will start up with the SSD now.
4. For the old HDD or SSD, you can erase all the disk data and make room for new data. If necessary, repartition it.
Case 2: Keep One Disk
On a laptop with only one slot for your solid-state drive, you can retain one disk. So after you clone hard drive to SSD, you need to:
1. Power off your laptop.
2. Use a screwdriver to remove the back of the PC and unplug your old HDD or SSD.
3. Put the new SSD in the original place.
4. Restart Windows 11/10 and the laptop will automatically boot from the cloned solid-state drive.
Can You Clone Hard Drive to Smaller SSD
Of course, the answer is Yes, just as mentioned above. Whether to succeed in cloning a hard drive to an SSD that is smaller than your old HDD or SSD depends on the data size of the old disk rather than the target disk size. That is, make sure the data size on the original disk doesn’t exceed the smaller SSD’s capacity. Or else, you may face a failed cloning process.
Before beginning to clone your hard drive to a smaller SSD on Windows 11/10, you can take some measures to delete or clean some useless or unnecessary large files. Don’t know how to find large files? See this guide – How to Find Large Files Taking up Hard Drive Space on Windows 10.
Later, use MiniTool ShadowMaker and follow the above instructions to complete disk cloning. Besides, another HDD to SSD cloning software – MiniTool Partition Wizard favors cloning a hard drive. Find details from this post – How to Clone HDD to Smaller SSD in Two Ways.
How to Clone HDD to SSD Without Cable
Sometimes you purchase a new SSD but it doesn’t come with a cable. In most cases, a cable is required, so you may wonder: is it possible to clone HDD to SSD without a cable or an adapter? Or is there a feasible way to migrate all the contents including the system, settings, installed apps, personal data, and more from an HDD to SSD?
You bet. Let’s explore how to clone a hard drive to SSD without cable in 2 cases.
Case 1: Your Laptop or Desktop Has More than One SSD Slot
Suppose that your laptop or desktop has two SSD slots, it is absolutely possible to directly clone your hard drive to an SSD without a cable after installing a new SSD to your PC. This keeps all the disk data intact and the process is greatly straightforward.
You should download, install, and run MiniTool ShadowMaker, use its Clone Disk feature, and implement hard drive clone as per the instructions given in the part of How to Clone Hard Drive to SSD via USB.
Case 2: Use an Indirect Clone Method
To transfer all the contents from an HDD to an SSD without a cable, you can try an indirect way – backing up the entire operating system or system disk and restoring the system image to a new SSD.
For this task, the best backup software, MiniTool ShadowMaker also works. Designed for Windows 11/10/8/7, this utility offers a comprehensive solution for system backup, disk backup, and data backup. Free download it for a trial.
MiniTool ShadowMaker TrialClick to Download100%Clean & Safe
Step 1: Connect an external drive to a PC. After running MiniTool ShadowMaker, go to its Backup page.
Step 2: By default, system partitions have been selected as the backup source. To back up the entire system disk, hit SOURCE > Disk and Partitions, tick all the partitions on your system disk, and hit OK.
Step 3: Choose a target path like an external drive under DESTINATION.
Step 4: Begin system backup or hard drive backup by clicking Back Up Now.
Step 5: Navigate to Tools > Media Builder and create a bootable USB drive.
Step 6: Boot the PC from USB, run MiniTool ShadowMaker, and hit Restore, choose the system backup or system disk backup to begin a system recovery operation to an SSD.
In this manner, all the contents from your old hard drive will be backed up to an external drive and restored to your new SSD from that external drive.
Final Words
“How to clone a hard drive to SSD Windows 11/10” is a very hot topic. If your PC runs slowly or has insufficient disk space, you may consider upgrading the hard drive/HDD to SSD and cloning facilitates the update effectively.
MiniTool ShadowMaker, an all-in-one solution, is strongly recommended. Get it now to clone HDD to SSD via USB or migrate hard drive to SSD without losing data. Without a cable, also run this utility to perform an indirect cloning operation.
About The Author
Position: Columnist
Vera is an editor of the MiniTool Team since 2016 who has more than 7 years’ writing experiences in the field of technical articles. Her articles mainly focus on disk & partition management, PC data recovery, video conversion, as well as PC backup & restore, helping users to solve some errors and issues when using their computers. In her spare times, she likes shopping, playing games and reading some articles.