Best WD Disk Cloning Software for Windows 10/11 (Safe Boot)
About Western Digital Drives
Western Digital (WD) is a leading hard drive manufacturer, producing internal and external disks used in various computer brands, including HP and Acer, for both laptops and PCs.
Western Digital's WD Blue 4TB drives are popular for their high capacity, while the WD Black 6TB drives are known for their speed. For those on a budget, the WD Blue 1TB drives are a cost-effective option.
Users often discuss Western Digital clone-related topics, such as the best free cloning software, whether WD SSD comes with cloning software, and how to clone a WD hard drive, among other popular questions.
Does Western Digital Have Cloning Software?
Western Digital SSD does not come with Western Digital cloning software, but a suggested tool on their official website is Acronis True Image for Western Digital, an integrated software suite that provides both backup and clone functions.
To clone a WD hard drive using Acronis True Image for Western Digital, click on "Tools" on the sidebar and select "Clone Disk". This will take you through the Clone Disk Wizard, where you can easily follow the steps to complete the process, which is not complicated.
However, there are some limitations you need to know.
First, WD cloning software requires a WD hard drive to be installed in the system to function, otherwise it fails and displays an error message.
Second, Even if you connect one WD hard drive or SSD to your computer, you may still encounter issues with Acronis True Image not cloning as per your needs, even with just one disk connected.
Best Western Digital Cloning Software in Windows
Cloning a disk involves creating an exact copy of the original disk, including the operating system, settings, applications, and personal data, onto a new hard drive. This process allows users to duplicate the entire contents of one disk onto another.
You may need to clone a hard drive in situations like upgrading to a new disk, replacing a small hard drive with a larger one, transferring to a smaller drive, or creating a duplicate for an emergency environment.
The motivation behind choosing a Western Digital clone software for an SSD is less important than selecting the best option to achieve the desired outcome and have peace of mind.
Fortunately, you can try all-Qiling Disk Master Professional is a disk cloning software that offers powerful features.
✪ You can not only clone disk but also clone partition/volume. Besides, you can transfer only OS to another drive with the “System Clone” feature.
✪ It runs intelligent clone by default to help you clone larger drive to smaller drive as long as the smaller drive could store all the data from the larger disk.
✪ It uses 4K partition alignment technology to improve the performance of SSD disk.
✪ You can create a bootable USB to clone a hard drive without booting into Windows. (i.e. cold clone)
✪ This WD cloning software supports the latest Windows 11 and supports nearly all SSDs, including WD SSD, Samsung SSD, HP SSD, Acer SSD, etc.
Feel free to download Qiling Disk Master on your PC. Have a try with the Clone demo part.
How to Perform WD Drive Clone in Windows 7/8/10/11
Preparations:
- The target hard drive should be properly connected to the PC. If the WD SSD clone software, such as Qiling Disk Master, doesn't recognize the new disk, initializing the new WD drive to MBR or GPT in Disk Management may resolve the issue.
- Be sure to backup any important files on the destination hard drive before proceeding, as it will be completely overwritten.
Step-by-step guide of WD clone HDD to SSD
1. To clone a disk using WD cloning software - Qiling Disk Master, you can follow these steps: Launch the software, then select the option for Disk Clone in the Clone tab. This will initiate the cloning process.
2. Select the Western Digital hard drive (HDD) as Source Disk.
3. Select the larger SSD as Destination Disk.
4. Check the SSD alignment option to optimize the SSD's speed and lifespan, and then click Proceed to confirm the Western Digital hard drive clone.
✍ Helpful Tips:
1. This WD clone software only clones the used space by default, but can be set to clone unused space by checking the "Sector by sector clone" option.
2. When cloning a smaller disk to a larger one, it's highly recommended to use the "Edit Partitions" option to fully utilize the storage space on the destination disk. This ensures that the entire capacity of the larger disk is utilized, making the most of the available space.
- Copy without resizing partitions (Do not do any changes).
- Add unused space to all partitions The cloned partitions will be automatically resized to fit the entire destination disk, based on its size.
- Manually adjust partition size Manually adjust the partition size and location by dragging a slider bar to resize and reposition the partition on the disk.
3. Qiling Disk Master supports cloning MBR to GPT disk, GPT to MBR disk, and GPT to GPT disk with an operating system installed.
4. Qiling Disk Master is a software that not only clones WD disks but also offers backup and restore features, allowing users to create disk images and compress them as needed.
How to Make the Cloned System Disk Boot Successfully
If you've cloned the system disk, you have two methods to ensure secure boot. Firstly, you can use the UEFI firmware settings to configure the Secure Boot settings on the cloned system, which will allow it to boot securely.
1. To safely switch to a new SSD, you should first shut down your machine. Next, use screwdrivers to disconnect the current hard drive and keep only the cloned SSD connected.
2. Reboot your PC and repeatedly press a specific key, such as F2, F10, F12, DEL, or ESC, to enter the BIOS. There, adjust the boot priority to boot from the cloned SSD.
Western Digital Disk Cloning Software FAQs
1. Does WD Black come with cloning software?
The WD Black SSD does not come with cloning software, but you can clone it using a reliable third-party cloning program.
2. Is WD disk cloning software free?
If you download Acronis True Image for Western Digital from the WD website, you'll get a 5-year license to use the software with your compatible drive. Alternatively, you can use Qiling Disk Master, which offers a free version to clone a WD data disk and a paid version to clone a WD system disk.
Verdict
The WD disk cloning software, Qiling Disk Master, enables users to clone WD HDD/SSD in just four steps, offering additional features beyond cloning.
You can use this software to create backups of your Windows system, including Windows 7, 8, 10, 11, XP, and Vista, as well as a Windows boot disk backup. Additionally, it allows for automatic or scheduled backups, block level incremental backups, and file synchronization.
You can protect unlimited computers within your company by using Qiling Disk Master Technician, which also allows you to deploy system image files to multiple computers over a network using its built-in Qiling Image Deploy tool.
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