[Windows Clone] How to Clone OS in Windows 10/8/7

This article is for users with the following questions:

How to clone OS to SSD without reinstalling Windows operating system?
How to clone OS to a larger HDD in Windows 10?
How to clone system disk without any boot problem?

Are you running out of disk space on your system disk and want to upgrade to a larger hard drive or a new SSD for better computer performance? Or do you plan to back up your personalized system with many licensed applications and settings to prevent unexpected system crashes? If so, one of the most effective ways to achieve the goal is to clone Windows 10/8/7 operating system to HDD or SSD with disk cloning software.

Free Download OS Cloning Software - Qiling Disk Copy

How to clone OS to new hard drive without reinstalling the OS and make sure that it can boot successfully? Cloning Windows operating system and data copying is not the same, can not be done by the simple copy-and-paste method. But don't worry, there is some OS cloning programs clone out there that will do the job for you. All you have to do is choose a professional and trusted application.

Qiling Disk Copy comes with a disk cloning feature that enables you to easily clone your files, operating system, and applications to another HDD or SSD without a data loss. You can use this Windows clone tool to:

Migrate OS to SSD or HDD without the need of reinstall operating system and all applications
Transfer Windows 10 to a USB flash drive
Clone OS from HDD to smaller SSD
Back up Windows operating system for later use

Now, download the freeware and take a look at the following step-by-step guide to clone OS.

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Step-by-Step Guide to Clone OS to HDD/SSD in Windows 10/8/7

Follow the step-by-step guide below to use Qiling Disk Copy to clone OS to a new hard disk quickly. To boot your computer from the cloned hard drive, you need to restart your computer, enter BIOS, change boot order, and make the new hard drive as the first boot device.

1. Clone System Disk to New Hard Drive Using Qiling OS Cloning Software

Prior Notice:

The "Sector by sector copy" asks the size of your destination disk to be at least equal to or larger than that of the source disk. Leave this feature unchecked if you wish to clone a larger hard disk to a smaller hard disk.
All data on the destination disk will be completely erased, so take care.

Step 1. On Qiling Disk Copy, click "Disk/Partition clone" to start copying/cloning an entire disk to another.

Step 2. Choose this disk as the source disk and click "Next".

Step 3. Choose the other disk as the destination disk.

Step 4. Check the disk layout of the destination disks. You can manage the disk layout of the destination disk by moving the mouse to the edge of the partition and drag the partition to the size you want.

Sector by sector clone: Copy as the source option will copy/clone the same layout of partitions on your source disk to the destination disk.
Edit disk layout allows you to resize or move partition layout on the destination disk manually.
If your destination disk is an SSD drive, do remember to tick "Optimize for SSD" option if the target is SSD.

Step 5: Click "Proceed" to start the disk cloning or disk copying process now.

A message now appears, warning you that data will be lost. Please confirm this message by clicking "OK".

2. Set Up Windows OS Boot from the Cloned Hard Drive

After cloning, you need to do the rest operation to ensure a smooth start.

Step 1. Restart PC and press F2/F12/Del keys to enter BIOS.

Step 2. Click the boot option, change the boot order, and set OS to boot from the new disk.

Step 3. Save the changes, exit BIOS, and restart PC.

Conclusions

Qiling OS cloning feature offers you the easiest solution to clone Windows OS to a new hard drive, including bigger HDD or smaller SSD. It also supports partition clone to move data from the old disk to a new one or clone MBR disk to GPT disk or GPT disk to MBR.

For any problem using the tool, you can contact our technical support for help via email support: support@idiskhome.com.

Clone OS FAQs

Here are a few questions related to the Windows clone. If you also have any of these problems, you can find the methods here.

Can you clone an OS?

You can clone the Windows operating system with a capable disk partition cloning software, like Qiling Disk Copy. This drive cloning tool allows you to migrate your operating system and applications to another hard drive without fresh installing again.

Can I clone just the operating system?

Cloning operating system needs the cloning of system partition and boot partition. In order to solve the problem that the system partition and the boot partition are not on the same disk and the computer cannot be booted properly after cloning, you'd better use the disk cloning feature to clone Windows operating system.

Will cloning a hard drive clone the OS?

With a professional disk cloning software, by choosing to clone the system hard disk drive, you can clone OS in Windows 10, 8, and 7 with ease.

How do I clone my OS drive?

Download and install Qiling Disk Copy on your Windows computer, then:

Step 1. Run the program, choose your system disk as the source disk under disk layout and click "Next".

Step 2. Choose the target disk as the destination disk.

Step 3. Check the disk layout of the destination disks. Click "Proceed" to officially execute the task.

Step 4. Set up Windows OS boot from the cloned hard drive.

What is the best free cloning software?

You can use the free trial Qiling disk cloning to help you clone disk or partition. It can easily upgrade your hard drive from the old disk to a new one or clone MBR disk to GPT disk or GPT disk to MBR.

How do I clone my OS to a new SSD?

To clone OS to SSD or HDD to SSD for better performance, follow the steps below:

Step 1. In disk layout, select the OS disk that you want to clone.

Step 2. Select the SSD as your destination.

Step 3. Edit the disk layout and then click "Proceed" to continue.

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