Free Bootable USB Clone Tool: Copy Bootable USB in Windows 11, 10, 8, 7
- Can you clone a bootable USB drive in Windows 10?
- How to choose the best bootable USB clone tool?
- What's the best bootable USB clone tool?
- Steps to clone bootable USB to another USB free in Windows 11/10/8/7
- Summary
Clone of a bootable USB will not Boot
I attempted to make a clone of a bootable flash drive containing the Windows 10 operating system boot files via some bootable USB clone software. The clone seems to seems the same contents as the original, but the drive is not bootable. Am I missing something? Possibly bcdboot; See How to make cloned USB drive bootable? Is there a reliable bootable USB clone tool recommended? Thanks a lot.
- Question from tenforums
Can you clone a bootable USB drive in Windows 10?
Nowadays, more and more computer users copy Windows ISO to USB to make it a bootable drive for rescuing a computer that won't boot due to hard drive failure.
Since the bootable USB drive is important, you might want to clone it for a backup. However, the "Ctrl +C & Ctrl+ V" (copy and paste) method is not working for copying a bootable USB flash drive. Even if you successfully transfer all data from the bootable USB drive to another USB, the pasted boot files might become invalidated and the new drive won't boot later. Thus, you might wonder how can you clone a bootable USB drive in Windows 11, 10, 8, 7 computers with secure boot afterward. This is exactly what we will talk about next.
How to choose the best bootable USB clone tool?
Choosing the right USB cloning tool becomes crucial for those who seek to copy USB drives effectively. Several key factors must be considered in this decision-making process.
◤ Easy to use: The main motivation for choosing a USB cloning tool is usually its user-friendliness. Even those unfamiliar with USB cloning can perform the process seamlessly. Hence, give preference to tools with an intuitive interface to ensure a hassle-free experience.
◤ Compatibility: Before making a selection, verify that the chosen cloning tool is compatible with your operating system. Some tools are unique to specific OS platforms, so compatibility checks are essential to avoid any inconvenience after purchase.
◤ Function: Determine the intended use of the cloned USB drive. Will it serve personal or business goals? For commercial use, versatility and additional features become crucial. Find a cloning tool that not only copies USBs, but also expands its capabilities to clone SD cards, SSDs, and various storage devices to suit your specific needs.
◤ Price: Cloning tools vary widely in price range. To make an informed decision, consider your budget constraints and look for a tool that strikes a balance between cost and features.
What's the best bootable USB clone tool?
As mentioned above, cloning bootable USB drive requires the use of a bootable drive cloning tool. But countless similar software might make you feel totally puzzled about which one to choose. To clone bootable drive without boot failure, we highly recommend using Qiling Disk Master Standard. It has the following highlights:
- Fully compatible with all editions of Windows 11, 10, 8, 7, XP and Vista (32-bit & 64-bit);
- "Disk Clone Wizard" is able to copy a (bootable) USB drive to another USB in Windows PC;
- Two clone methods available for you to clone either all sectors (used or not used) or only used sectors to another device;
- Ensure a complete clone without data missing and successful boot after clone;
- Also proper for cloning SD card, SSD drive and HDD.
Steps to clone bootable USB to another USB free in Windows 11/10/8/7
To clone a bootable USB drive, first of all, please download the free bootable USB clone software and install it on your Windows computer. Then follow the steps to clone bootable USB stick in Windows PC.
- Notes:✎...
- This cloning process will delete all data on the destination disk, so back up everything necessary in advance.
- The free version just supports cloning copying an MBR disk to another MBR disk when it comes to cloning data hard drive, if you plan to clone MBR to GPT, GPT to MBR, GPT to GPT, or clone system disks between MBR and GPT, please upgrade to the Professional version.
Step 1.Install and launch Qiling Disk Master, 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.
In lower left corner of the window, you can 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.
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 and please click "Proceed".
Step 6. The cloning process will start and you can check the cloning process.
Summary
This powerful bootable USB clone tool makes it as easy as possible to clone bootable disk in Windows 11/10/8/7computers. Besides, it also enables you to transfer only OS drive to SSD. More amazing functions including converting boot disk from MBR to GPT, or GPT to MBR without data loss, splitting a large partition into smaller partitions, extending system drive without reboot are available in the Professional version. If you are running Windows Server, you can make use of Qiling Disk Master Server.
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- Freeware to Clone/Copy Partition to Another Drive (SSD/HDD) in Windows 10/8/7
With the free Qiling Disk Master Standard, you can easily clone partition to another drive or disk in Windows 11, 10, 8, 7. It also allows you to clone C drive to another drive effectively.