How to clone a hard drive - EASY step by step walk-thru!

[@Browean]

As someone who just wants to simply swap the original HDD to a bigger SSD in his old windows 7 laptop (Dell 1545) without losing anything, but not knowing a single thing about the process of doing so, you made a very clear informative video sir.

[@AskYourComputerGuy]

I appreciate that so much! Thank you! Glad it helped

[@EVOLLOVEx]

THIS HAS TO BE ONE OF THE MOST CLEAR SPOKEN AND TO THE POINT VIDEOS IVE EVER WATCHED. 10/10 AND SUBSCRIBED.

[@AskYourComputerGuy]

Wow, thank you so much for the compliment! That means a lot!!! 👍💪

[@EVOLLOVEx]

@@AskYourComputerGuy keep up the excellent work. Great video :).

[@AskYourComputerGuy]

💪

[@lenny108]

Could you boot from the cloned hard drive?

[@AskYourComputerGuy]

@lenny108 absolutely! That's the whole reason for cloning to begin with 👍

[@alessandrobianchin9947]

ALL YOU NEED IS HERE. Best Backup Video Ever - If like me you have spent weeks reading blogs and watching videos on KZbin to understand how to back up your data this is all you need. Thank you, Computer Guy.

[@AskYourComputerGuy]

My pleasure! Thanks for the support 👍

[@sleepwalker6825]

Tip before cloning :: Always do a disk cleanup then optimize/defrag the old drive before cloning .. This will tidy up all the file system before Cloning

[@AskYourComputerGuy]

Great tip! 👍

[@erojohn2]

Hearing that Ssd shouldn’t be defragged. Don’t know if this is right?

[@AskYourComputerGuy]

@erojohn2 100% correct - never defrag an SSD. Windows uses TRIM technology to keep your SSD optimized 💪👍

[@melvinklassen]

I disagree with a preparatory defragging. First, do the cloning, to make a copy BEFORE the source "fails". Note that Windows automatically defragments your disk-drive, once per week. So, no real need to repeat what Windows has already done. Also, never try to defragment an SSD, because the SSD "load-balances" the wear on each "cell" of storage. If you read from a cell, and then try to rewrite that cell, the "smarts" inside the SSD will write to a different (and hopefully less-worn-out) cell, thus prolonging the life of every cell. So, defragmenting an SSD does nothing useful.

[@dukeweber723]

Note. There is no need to defrag an NVME.

[@kiymakid]

My laptop crashed just before Christmas on the day I was supposed to run a year end bonus payroll.... The repair shop was closed until the new year. I spent the better part of two days replacing Windows 11, downloading programs and replacing files from backups. My laptop seems to be running OK again but I wish I'd seen this video before all this happened. Thank you for a clear, easily understood explanation of my options. I've been using computers for 45 years and it's hard to keep up at times!

[@AskYourComputerGuy]

Sorry to hear what happened, but you're very welcome 👍

[@_J.F_]

After watching this video I went ahead and bought additional 8GB RAM (my Dell desktop will run max 16GB) and a Kingston KC600 drive with an upgrade kit included. It cost me round about $100 and using Acronis, which I had on my desktop already, and following your 'how-to' video the total upgrade was super simple and only took a few hours of which my actual work time was probably around 20 minutes. The old desktop is now running like a rocket so I couldn't be more happy with going ahead and doing this very affordable and easy upgrade. I have actually ordered an additional Kingston KC600 drive now that I know how easy it is, so I can do e.g. monthly backups using the cloning method. Thanks for a great series of videos on the subject I was looking for 👍

[@NicholasBarber-ov4iv]

No fooling around, clear easy to watch and easy to follow. I don't subscribe to much but I'm in. Nice job. Cloning my new 3d laptop now it's set up perfect, ready for that rainy day. Thanks

[@AskYourComputerGuy]

Awesome! Thank you for the support :)

[@lycanthrope8979]

Thanks Scott. I've made copies of files for years, but never cloned. My last laptop was an HP, which died twice, lost a lot of the hard drive stuff, other than Windows. My new laptop is about 7 years old and I figured I needed to upgrade to an SSD to speed it up, and also to clone for the first time. Thanks to your YT video, I got the Sabrent, followed this video and finally cloned my first drive directly from the hard drive to the new SSD, and then I cloned that using the offline cloning to a second SSD. I put the second SSD in as the new drive and it worked flawlessly. Thanks for the recommendations and great explanation to make the first time process as simple as possible.

[@AskYourComputerGuy]

Fantastic! Glad to hear you got good results! 💪👍❤️

[@terryshipe609]

After watching multiple videos about preparing for the worst to save my desktop, you are the only one to confirmed what I thought. Cloning is a lot simpler than doing backups where the os has to be installed plus using the backup media and restoration of settings. Thanks and great video.

[@AskYourComputerGuy]

Thanks!

[@thomas1699]

That presentation was nicely done. Clear and simple instructions, a minimum of technical jargon, well documented sources, spoken at a reasonable pace, (no meandering tales). Nicely done! After seeing this presentation, I think I will give it a try on both of my laptops.

[@AskYourComputerGuy]

Thank you, I appreciate that! Good luck! 💪

[@1990Kronic]

I am absolutely blown away with how good Macrium reflect is, especially for free. thank you so much for this tutorial.

[@AskYourComputerGuy]

I agree, and you're very welcome! 👍

[@maryjane9842]

YOU are so right, same here, used it from MAJORGEEK and I am a PETITIONMAGIC from a few years back, hehehehe dont want to date myself too much, my first system, one stick of MEM/1 MB's = $100, not kidding, now ya get GB's for less then that, much less! I think I could right now put an entire system together, that would be awesome for around $500. I remember a co-worked spending like $2,500 or so on a DESKTOP back then, WOW......I think there is much more supply out there then demand, most dont know how to build a PC let alone want to even try! and the free software back then, i used FILEHIPPO I think it was called, they still around I think! SO then, everyone have an awesome and great PC day!!! and again, thank you for the videos! HHO

[@GustavoEduardoMenaPonce]

Thank you so much!!!!! I was suffering for two days and even paying EaseUS for nothing. You rock!

[@path6641]

Great video, I followed your instructions and cloned and replaced my 256g ssd source drive with a 2tb ssd within my laptop with no issues so far whatsoever! Currently commenting through same laptop right now. Thank you very much!!!

[@AskYourComputerGuy]

Boom!!!! 🎉 💪 👍 party time! ❤️

[@makemyday365ed]

I bought a SSD drive yesterday for a laptop that has been sitting for 5 years. Dowloaded the Macrium software and cloned the Hard Drive to the SSD overnight. Woke up and the clone was done, disconnected hard drive and installed the SSD and it booted right up. Now I have a SSD W10 laptop that booted up very fast! I just have to finish putting it back together. Thank you!

[@AskYourComputerGuy]

Fantastic!!!

[@fullsavage2743]

Just an update. All is working thanks to your helpful video and feed back. Truly appreciate everything you’ve done for me with this video and response truly is easier than it seemed!!

[@AskYourComputerGuy]

So glad to hear that! Thanks for the update 👍

[@floridaredneck]

All your videos are useful and easy to comprehend, thank you. For those afraid by the terms, "take apart" or "disassemble" your PC or laptop, that's an unintentional exaggeration and not exactly how it is. The way he says, "You'll have to take apart your computer", sounds daunting, but it's not like that. What he really means more simply is, you'll have to open it. That's like hearing you're taking your car apart, when you're really only opening your trunk, removing a spare, unbolting and removing a tire, and then putting the another one on. The simplistic term is, changing a tire. So, you're changing your hard drive, not taking your computer apart. There's usually 1 screw on a PC and a few on a laptop to easily remove the cover. There's a couple screws at most that hold the hard drive you remove, then unplug it as you would a lamp, then reverse the operation and put the other one in (after cloning, or as an additional drive). If it's smaller, you'll be acquainted with adaptors that are also easy to screw in. You're not rebuilding a transmission, you're simply removing a component and replacing it with another, or just adding another one next to it. You're not really taking anything "apart" as you are merely switching out, or adding to your existing hardware. It is less invasive and less complicated than it sounds. My procedure to prevent static discharge is after I unplug it, I press the power button to release the residual power left and I remove the coin battery (especially when installing RAM). If it's a laptop, I unplug the main battery, and also the small coin battery backup also. I use rubber gloves because I'm an auto detailer and have boxes of them, but they aren't necessary. Touching the case as he said is good, but I go a bit further because I have carpet and cats. Unlike our host, I have fried a motherboard by touching it many years ago. It blew the board and every RAM stick I had attached to it. I've been extra careful since then and if you use advice that I didn't have then, you should be fine.

[@usablellc6735]

Very well done introduction to disc cloning. Straight, to the point, and a minimal amount of jargon. I also very much appreciated the recommendation of which software to use.

[@AskYourComputerGuy]

Thank you! Been working on making my videos more "user-friendly". I appreciate the support 👍

[@mosesrodriguez1494]

Thank you for your post. I have been contemplating moving from a HHD to a SSD on my PC. I now have a resource to review as I take the plunge.

[@AskYourComputerGuy]

Glad it was helpful!

[@lixarion1885]

MAN, all of the questions that I have on my mind, u were able to answer it in the video, awesome!

[@AskYourComputerGuy]

Thanks, I try!

[@user-ji8qt9sz1z]

Thank you very much, this video made the cloning process so easy I can't belive it!! I watched your video about 2 hours ago and here I am using the cloned drive! Can't thank you enough.

[@AskYourComputerGuy]

Fantastic! Glsf to hear it 👍

[@Razor-gx2dq]

My SSD was showing signs of failure three days ago, this video was very helpful in the cloning process. My motherboard has two NVME slots so it was easy for me.

[@AskYourComputerGuy]

Glad to hear it! 👍

[@joewenzel5142]

You are so thorough and easy to understand. I appreciate it.

[@AskYourComputerGuy]

Thank you so much! I really appreciate that! 💪

[@swagedelic]

@@AskYourComputerGuy Will Macrium clone the "Recovery Partition" along with the C: and System Reserve partitions? I used Samsung Data Migration which did not clone the Recovery Partition and was told I didn't need it anyway.

[@AskYourComputerGuy]

@swagedelic yes it will clone the entire drive, all partitions 👍

[@3459jason]

Thank you for you two videos on updating hard drivers. My laptop has been slow from the day I bought it. I don't have alot of knowledge about computers but from your videos I was able to get the right hard drive, clone it and just installed it today. My laptop is now a usable devices with speeds nearly equal to my phone. Thanks

[@AskYourComputerGuy]

Wow, awesome to hear!!!

[@danbromberg]

The entire clone has to be dedicated to one backup whereas many backups (i.e., non-clone) can be installed on one dedicated drive (from which you can pick and choose which one you want). I prefer cloning for its convenience as well, so nicely done!

[@AskYourComputerGuy]

Thanks!

[@itstheweirdguy]

Windows backup (called windows 7 backup in control panel in win 10-11) does a bare metal backup of your system, and also can be incremental. It's not quite a clone but it kind of is too. It does like to fail sometimes because of delays in starting VSS, might want to set it's schedule to try retrying a few times if it fails, but that's the only issue with it. Most third party backup programs that work inside windows really just use this anyways, microsoft has a VSS API that they can use for their software, but why not get it straight from MS? for free

[@AskYourComputerGuy]

@itstheweirdguy good question - as long as it's FREE and actually works with minimal tech skills, I'm all about it 💪

[@IndellableHatesHandles]

@@itstheweirdguy The only problem is that for some reason you can only have one backup of your computer at a time, even if you have enough space for multiple.

[@itstheweirdguy]

Yeah, it's incremental. The bare metal image is a base image with additionally added files added incrementally. You want that so it's not too big.@@IndellableHatesHandles It's not perfect that's why there's paid software. Windows 7 backup you might as well blow it all out and start a new backup every once in a while so you know the image backup is relevant. It's just a copy of your computer it shouldn't matter to just blow it out and start it over every once in a while. Or buy a new drive and start it over every few years external mechanical hdd's are cheap.

[@specialkcitizen6263]

Excellent! 1: I refused to pay $30 for a one time use software to clone my drive. I tried four which said FREE - and nothing of the sort. Such companies would get my business if they offered a monthly sub of around $8. I use once, unsub, maybe use again and have to sub. They get some money. 2. So I looked around and came across this video. Downloaded, follow instructions, cloned drive and as soon as it was done, plugged in, fired up the PC and it worked brilliantly. 3: Literally every other video on YT about this is a sneak promotion. The youtubers know very well the software they are using isn't free. Their getting kick back income. Nothing wrong with that, but see point 1. So, this works. I'm a PC amateur and I managed to do this.

[@AskYourComputerGuy]

Fantastic! Thx for the support and affirmation. I try to be 100% honest with my viewers at all times, good or bad. If I get incentivized by a recommendation, I always disclose that 🫡

[@George10767]

I have *three* backup drives and use them in sequence, one every week. You need at least two backup drives. Otherwise with only one backup drive, suppose that during backing-up the system crashes and the operating drive gets corrupted. I agree with the Computer Guy about the concept of *simplicity* . Otherwise its like having a fire alarm notice that says: "In case of fire, consult manual". Also, after backing-up *ALWAYS* physically disconnect the backup drive from the computer. A virus attack will wreak havoc on every drive it can find.

[@AskYourComputerGuy]

100% yes 👍

[@berongkun]

What an amazing tutorial guide. No BS, just 100% help. I can't thank you enough! I was able to clone my current 500gb Nvme to my new 1tb Nvme through this. Not only that it also provided all answers to my concerns. Thank you so much!

[@richardnorris4522]

I have the wavlink cloner (from Amazon) and it works with 3.5 in hard drives and SSDs in any combination. The only limitation is the target drive must be at least as big as the source drive. It can also be plugged into a USB port on your computer and used as a remote drive.

[@AskYourComputerGuy]

👍

[@EMusyk]

Amazing video, been avoiding this for YEARS! and so happy this is a lot easier no than it has been in the past.

[@DavidM2002]

I cloned my drive a few months ago, just as you describe. And then everything hit the fan and I needed that clone. In my case, I was trying to create a virtual machine with the clone. Unfortunately, the clone file(s) were about 500 Gb because they included all of my data. That made the whole process far more difficult and time consuming than it might otherwise have been. Since that episode, on my new computer, I partitioned the drive so that the operating system took up about 50 Gb on a small partition and my data took up residence on the Drive D: partition. Since I regularly make several data backups, I don't need a clone that includes data. Now my clones are far smaller and easier to manage for future use and can be stored on far smaller media.

[@AskYourComputerGuy]

Smart. That's why I made this video below, even though for different reasons, same result! 👍 How to guarantee ZERO data loss if Windows crashes kzbin.info/www/bejne/enS0mWqqndCMrKs

[@thechampagneco]

I can't say thank you enough. My laptop died on me. I've been working in information technology for over 30 years. However I am far removed from desktop and laptop systems and applications. So when my laptop which is also my main machine for work, died and I needed to rebuild it, I ran into the usual problems with installing from a corrupted hard drive. I spun my wheels for almost a week trying to get Windows loaded on the laptop running into a myriad of problems. It never dawned on me until I ran across your channel that I could take a clone from another machine and utilize that. Excellent video, wonderful content, clear concise easy to follow and accurate. Can't thank you enough

[@AskYourComputerGuy]

Wonderful! Glad you're up and running again!

[@energy-tunes]

3 minutes 23 seconds in he still hasn't started the process

[@AskYourComputerGuy]

Many people need to understand the "why" and "what" before the "how". That's what I do on this channel. You can always skip ahead if you already know the basics 👍

[@shawnkeys4963]

You took the time to go into alot of details in this video and i am thankful because I'm not computer savvy so the extra details helped me to FULLY understand this process, so thanks again sir.

[@AskYourComputerGuy]

I appreciate that very much 👍

[@oldeenglish8058]

Great video! Your how to videos are expertly presented (I have little patience for some of the failed comedy that I see that really distracts from the content!) I already have used Macrium Reflect Free to clone my two desktops and laptop. I cloned the laptop to an SSD hard drive then removed the old 1Tb HDD from the laptop (which now adds storage in my desktop) and plugged the SSD into my laptop. The laptop start up was flawless and performance speed was really noticeable! Again, grateful for the time and effort you put in to make these priceless "how to's"

[@AskYourComputerGuy]

Thanks! Glad it was helpful for you 👍

[@RUAGoodNurse]

Yay I figured it out! Perfect clone and perfect movement and of recovery partition and then re-sizing of the system partition to the unallocated space. The key was NOT to create a partition of the unallocated space. I have learned so many fun things from you: have upgraded ram from 4GB to 16 and cloned and properly handled transition from 128 SSD to 500 GB SSD. Yahoo!! Thank you

[@AskYourComputerGuy]

Awesomeness! 💪

[@addaai]

Thank you so much sir for this easy step by step guide. You helped me a lot ❤. May God bless you and the others who make the internet a wonderful place 🙏

[@RVincents]

Finally I learned how to do this! I feel so much safer now. It's cloning as we speak. I appreciate this video so much. It saved me from buying another 'just in case' laptop for my work.... It really gives me peace of mind...

[@AskYourComputerGuy]

Awesome! And thank you for the Super! I appreciate the support 👍

[@Mr-qt4xr]

I didn't even know external drive readers were a thing. I have an old MB with just one m.2. and I've been worrying about how to clone this old 500gb drive for months. Thank you!!

[@AskYourComputerGuy]

You're so welcome! Glad I could teach you something new 👍

[@revoxjazz8317]

All I can do is thank you for the explanations you provided on the issue of cloning, something that until now I never needed (or thought I didn't need). Specifically, an opportunity came to me and that's why I came to your channel. Greetings from Portugal. Macedo Pinto

[@videodude8137]

Fortunately, I have four drives in my PC. Drives D, E & F are where I store all of my Data. So if drive C dies, I only have to replace it with the Cloned drive. That also dramatically reduces the cloning time. GR8 video. Thanks

[@AskYourComputerGuy]

Nice! And thanks! 👍💪

[@tedjohnson64]

Thanks for the tip on the location of the free Macrium install package! I've been looking for that for weeks (had to build a new PC from scratch).

[@AskYourComputerGuy]

Glad I could help!

[@knightrohan1]

I was pestered with an excrutiating problem for my OS on my failing 128gb ssd for about 2 months. It was filled to the brim with 2-3 free gb of space, had its system partitions strewn across multiple other hard drives, it was a hassle and a half. With your help plus some from Minitool, I can finally enjoy my same OS on a breathy 2tb ssd without a new install, restoration, nada. Thanks heaps

[@AskYourComputerGuy]

Awesomeness!!!!!!! 🎉 🎉 🎉

[@thomas1699]

I got a "round-tuit" (continued). I cloned and installed a Samsung 980 Pro in my Acer Predator Helios 300 (etc., etc.) to replace the OEM drive. I used the same Macrium Software provided by SK Hynix. It seemed less complex than the version you suggested. Gonna have to get a new PC now. I am out of things to upgrade. 😅 Muchas Gracious. Keep up the good work.

[@floridaredneck]

Is that under their "Data Migration Tool"? I see that and "Drive Manager", but there is no description, only the download buttons. Thanks for the tip!

[@mjgrealtyandcontractingsol811]

Haven't tried it yet, but details are straight forward and on point. Very good stuff, will be back with another comment shortly

[@AskYourComputerGuy]

👍

[@jimbo44cc13]

OMG, I so wish I had found your channel and Macrium software earlier. After having Acronis fail so many times on different computers for different stupid reasons, this cloning software worked like a charm, first time. Your instructions were clear and flawless. Can't thank you enough. !

[@AskYourComputerGuy]

I appreciate that so much, it's really warming to hear viewers actually find value in your content. Thank YOU!

[@hdwood76fxe]

Used your link to Amazon. Ordered the Sabrent 1 port & M2, plus a Sabrent 4 Port C plus M2. 👍😊 Thanks for the info. I will be cloning upon arrival. 👍😊

[@AskYourComputerGuy]

Thank you, good luck 👍

[@ryanraynor3248]

I did this for my Dell Inspiron 5570 and your instructions worked well. I had to google a few other things and needed a minute to wrap my head around a couple others but your video was for a guy that only dives as deep as he has to to fix his own laptop. For my new M.2 drive to be recognized I had to remove the old HDD (in my case it was a newer 3.5 SSD in that spot) Than you.

[@AskYourComputerGuy]

Glad it worked out for you!

[@HideOut55007]

What an awesome video! I've been an IT professional for over 35 years & use a lot of hardware disk cloners. Unfortunately with the advent of so many flavors of NVMe type SSD dives, this cloning method is far easier & cost effective. The way you go through this lesson & even explain Disk Manager, is the best I've ever seen.

[@AskYourComputerGuy]

Wow, HUGE compliment! Thank you so much...truly appreciate it! ❤️

[@genecan8045]

Excellent guidance. I had already bought an external case for an SSD with a C connector to back up my laptop's SSD (laptop has 2 C conenctors) to have in case of disaster to just be able to swap drives. This gave me the confidence to proceed, with the video showing all of the screens that I would see. It's proceeding nicely. Thanks also for the Macrium link.

[@AskYourComputerGuy]

Awesome, thanks! LMK how it works out 👍

[@davecundari]

Awsome to the point directions. I hadn't cloned a drive in years. You just saved me a lot of hassle.

[@AskYourComputerGuy]

You're very welcome! Good luck

[@TheSoundmanPete]

Your method was easy to follow. Didn't end up quite how I expected it but I'm still thrilled. I replaced a 500g HDD to a 1t SSD. The old drive was getting tired. I only had around 200g on the drive. Now after the clone I'm seeing 1) system reserved (T) 28.2 out of 100 used.... and 2) primary (C) 148 of 465 used. A 3rd box on the right is grayed out and shows 465g

[@danielzee]

My new 2 TB ended up being the same as my source 1 TB?? How do I access my other TB?

[@AskYourComputerGuy]

@danielzee you can either expand the drive to full capacity using Windows disc management or use Aomei Partition Assistant free to do it, guaranteed no data loss: REAL-TALK review of AOMEI FREE Partition Assistant | FREE disk cloning and no data loss software kzbin.info/www/bejne/i3PQlYB-oredeK8

[@danielzee]

Thank you for your quick reply, I'll try that out right now.@@AskYourComputerGuy

[@commanderchlorella5268]

Both easy to follow and comprehensive! Very good tutorial

[@AskYourComputerGuy]

Glad it was helpful!

[@TheNebulousBrother]

Thank you for the most derect answer to cloning without all the filler fluff!

[@AskYourComputerGuy]

I appreciate that very much 👍

[@TheNebulousBrother]

All the previous videos wanna talk to much and not get to the point. You info was direct on the how to. I appreciated that cause you didn't speak like to were talking to idiots@@AskYourComputerGuy

[@AskYourComputerGuy]

@TheNebulousBrother thanks! I try to not waste my viewers' time and address quirks and questions via the comments 👍

[@TheNebulousBrother]

Those are the answers i like, and the only channels i like and subscribe to when it comes to learning.@@AskYourComputerGuy

[@AskYourComputerGuy]

Awesome, thanks for the support! 💪

[@thomas1699]

I finally got a "round-tuit." I cloned and installed an SK Hynix Gold 31 in my Aspire 5. Used the free Macrium software provided. It was very easy. The hardest part was getting the back of the laptop open. Thanks again.

[@AskYourComputerGuy]

Good deal! 👍

[@michealodrisceoil6595]

Well done! With the help of your tutorial just got done replacing the default HP 128G SSD drive with a 1TB SSD. Pretty smooth process!

[@AskYourComputerGuy]

Nice work!

[@Robert8455]

Great video and an important topic. The only thing I would add is adding an external label to your disk that would include what it is and the date. Perhaps obvious but if you have several copies, it might be nice to know which one is what. I've watched several of your videos and you provide good content that is easy to follow and understand. You also provide links and chapters and really make a nice effort to organize things. So thank you for doing what you are doing. Another topic you might consider covering is how to best setup a new drive to more easily allow a separation of o/s files & programs and personal content like documents, photos, videos etc.

[@AskYourComputerGuy]

Did that! How to guarantee ZERO data loss if Windows crashes kzbin.info/www/bejne/enS0mWqqndCMrKs

[@GGruba]

Superb!!! I wish I could see this video earlier before wasting time reading and trying methods and software recommended in different resources. I am really appreciate you created and posted this video.

[@AskYourComputerGuy]

Welcome 👍

[@danielthommen8243]

Awesome video! I will do exactly that... Have basically two identical hard drives... Also will use it to clone from my HDD to a new SSD to have faster start up time after swapping it out. Then I will have my old HDD as backup in case the SSD goes bad... Plus also need a backup for all you files in case the whole PC goes bad and you need a completely new PC...

[@AskYourComputerGuy]

Awesome! Well done and happy weekend to you 👍

[@jeymslorenz7349]

Thank you, sir, for this video. I've been looking for a tutorial on how to transfer my OS to a new drive since my old HDD is failing. Most of the videos I've watched are confusing and add unnecessary steps. Your video has been a great help to me. Now, I'm waiting for my drives to clone for 5 hours.

[@AskYourComputerGuy]

Glad I could help

[@tac73]

A few days ago, I cloned a 256GB M.2 NVMe SSD boot drive, with a 2TB NVMe, using a USB adapter. The cloning process completed successfully. However, after swapping the drives, the system wouldn't boot. Turns out (long story, short), my Dell T5820 doesn't like the much larger 2TB boot drive. So, I tried cloning a spare 256GB drive, swapped it in, and it worked. My point is, making a clone of a boot drive is great. But, if at all possible, make sure it's going to work by testing it. Also, to avoid bit-rot, I use SpinRite on at least level 3, to refresh the data written to my stored drives, about once a year.

[@irshadwahab]

Thank you for the clear and simple instructions! I was able to successfully clone a 240GB SSD to a 1TBSSD.

[@AskYourComputerGuy]

Heck yeah!!!

[@billsmith147]

Very excellent presentation and preparation of these video

[@AskYourComputerGuy]

I appreciate that so much! 👍

[@vanbilly8387]

I cloned my OEM WD 256g to a new 2TB Samsung 980 Pro using Samsung Magician and it was super simple. I put the OEM away in case of emergencies. It was my first time cloning and I was amazed at how simple it was.

[@AskYourComputerGuy]

Awesome, good deal!

[@HartmutWSager]

I have a further refinement to the idea of two partitions (Windows OS+apps partition and a data partition). Same two partitions, but use Dropbox, OneDrive, GoogleDrive, etc, synced cloud storage to have an automatic up-to-the-minute files and folders copy (not partition image) of the data partition. That way, the much more frequently changing data partition is always backed up in real time, and furthermore, operations like file or folder renames and deletes (the bane of one-way copy backups) are also properly synced.

[@AskYourComputerGuy]

👍👍👍

[@songsan807]

This is a very good video tutorial on cloning drives. Personally either because I am impatient, too cautious, or experience many cloning failures before, I would clone the main drive as an image on another internal drive. Depending on the size of the filled drive, it would take 30 mins to an hour and half. Would then use the image to clone into the new blank drive. This way if the cloning process fail toward the end you would not need to restart from the beginning for another 5 hours or so. Plus you now have an image that you can use for additional cloning or as another backup.

[@AskYourComputerGuy]

Good tips! 👍

[@theclearsounds3911]

This doesn't account for 2 scenarios: physical or electrical trauma to your PC that both your system drive AND your backup will succumb to, and the possibility of being infected by a virus while in your PC. Plus, longer term, it's wearing itself out being on all the time. Inconvenient as it sounds, you should get a USB drive and store it as described in this video.

[@jonstokes21]

Great video. Very informative, no fluff, straight to the point, and imo makes the process easy enough for anyone to understand. Also thanks for the links to Marirum

[@AskYourComputerGuy]

Thanks, I appreciate that! 💪

[@fog152]

Came back to say thank you, it worked! your recommendation and walkthrough are highly appreciated👌🙏

[@AskYourComputerGuy]

Fantastic! Glad I could help :)

[@user-gg2fc6gy7t]

thank you for your step by step instructions i was ready to get rid of my computer since i am not a computer guy. the last one i had a problem and i junked it since a computer repair said it cost to much to repair and again i was at that point again . i got a new hard drive copied the os to the new drive and the computer would not start i knew that there was something wrong with what i was doing and got to you video and said i will give it one more try before the dump. i id the steps as you showed and took the new hard drive and replaced it after cloning it and the windows started and stopped for a minute. then adjusted and started and works just like the old drive. thank you for your help.

[@AskYourComputerGuy]

Awesome! Great job!!! 🎉 💪

[@DJaquithFL]

I'm up and running as fast as I can reboot/ F8 from internal cloned M.2 SSD using Macrium Reflect. The M.2 SSD is cloned every 3 days, it's done that way in case there's a corruption or other similar problem. For about the last 10 plus years I've been using a boot OS SSD and separate RAID 1 data drives plus backups. In my PC everything's solid state. M.2 and SSDs in general have become relatively affordable. My personal data is copied to both a local NAS and a NAS off premises. An idea is to share a NAS with a friend or have it at your parents or family's home. In either case I recommend encrypting it to avoid problems.

[@AskYourComputerGuy]

Smart! 💪

[@TheRynovision]

My dude was thorough af! Liked & Subscribed!

[@haydenmurray9696]

Thank you so much! Finally a software that you don't need to pay for!

[@AskYourComputerGuy]

And it works pretty well, too! User friendly and FREE! 💪

[@wandelust]

I think this is the best video ive watched re. backing up. So clearly explained and easy to understand. You've convinced me to clone as the best method. New subscriber btw. Great channel 👍. Looking forward to getting through all the rest of your videos Scott.

[@AskYourComputerGuy]

Thank you so much! I appreciate that! 💪

[@deathvalleybro9320]

@@AskYourComputerGuy brilliant video. brilliant channel.

[@AskYourComputerGuy]

Wow, thank you! I appreciate that! 💪 ❤️

[@deathvalleybro9320]

@@AskYourComputerGuy fast becoming my favourite i.t / pc guy channel.

[@AskYourComputerGuy]

@deathvalleybro9320 thank you! Much appreciated 👍

[@RONBONIX]

That information was worth its weight in GOLD!! Thanks! Hugs from Okinawa! :)

[@robertcartier5088]

For 2.5" laptop drives, there is an even cheaper solution: The HDD dock has it's own advantages for advanced users, of course. But for the average person who just needs an emergency backup, or to clone a HDD to SSD as a replacement, a USB 3 to SATA dongle will do just fine for the occasional, temporary connection of 2.5" laptop drives -- all for about 20-25% the price of that dock. There are even external drives that have removable clip-on interfaces that can temporarily accommodate a naked drive... indeed, check to see if you might already have one of those before you buy anything else. For a few dollars more, but still less than a dock, you can get a USB dongle with an AC adaptor that lets you use it on larger, 3.5" drives that require more power, as well as the 2.5" drives. Docks are brilliant, particularly because they often have more than one bay... But unless you do this cloning thing a lot, or want to easily swap out drives of different types (2.5"/3.5") for storage, in a desktop environment, then I do not see the need to invest in a docking station when a simple dongle will do the job for much less.

[@AskYourComputerGuy]

👍👍👍

[@ramjetejmar8143]

I ran into a problem. All was done according to your instructions which were clean and easy to follow by the way. The cloning process was completed successfully. When the SSD was installed in the computer, I went in BIOS and made the new drive primary but it doesn't boot windows. I tried unplugging the old 'C' drive and that didn't work. I guess my question would be, How do I make the clone bootable. I thank you in advance for any assistance you may provide.

[@ramjetejmar8143]

Problem resolved! Re-ran the clone and re-ordered the partitions to match the source - had them in mixed order originally. Not sure if that was a factor but it did the trick; booted up A-OK on a larger drive! One weird quirk - Boot up partition created itself under a separate Drive letter for both the source and the target drives. Eg. Boot up partition is System Reserved F: with one file $WINRE_BACKUP_PARTITION.MARKER, all windows/data: on C: Boots up OK but confused as to why all partitions are not labelled C: Source drive has I: as your $WINRE file, and data is on J: Once again really appreciated your video and looking forward to tap your knowledge down the road.

[@AskYourComputerGuy]

Glad it worked out! You can also remove the drive letters from those other partitions, not necessary to boot to the main drive and they just get in the way

[@thatspamboi]

Thanks so much for the help. I tried other guides but they all recommended software that wanted me to purchase the full version even when I was using a trial version.

[@AskYourComputerGuy]

👍

[@user-ic6iu8li8d]

Thanks a bunch... I've learned a lot watching this. i upgraded my laptop with this information and this very video is the last one i needed. Now i know a bit more a about my own laptop thanks to all this research. Thanks again

[@AskYourComputerGuy]

Awesomeness!!!

[@raymondmoore8867]

Really great video and step-by-step instructions. I used your video to upgrade my son's laptop from an HDD to an SSD; it made a huge difference in his boot time and performance. I attempted to do the same for my wife's HP laptop but ran into an issue during the cloning process that I have yet to resolve. At the beginning of the cloning process using Macrium Reflect I got a message saying: You don't currently have permission to access this folder. (T:\) In the same message box, it says to Click continue to permanently get access to this folder. I hit continue, and it brings up a dialog box with tabs, but I don't know where to go from there or which tab to enter to access. Macrium Reflect continued to clone the drive in the background anyway. I just allowed it to continue cloning the drive until it finished and installed it into my wife's laptop to see if it would go around the folder. The laptop would not boot up. I attempted to restart and this time it brought up HP symbol and stopped there. Do you have any suggestions on how to address this issue?

[@AskYourComputerGuy]

Most of the time you run into a cloning issue is when either the source drive or the target drive has physical damage (ie: bad sectors). I would scan both drives for bad sectors and repair them if possible

[@mr.pigeon0]

thanks help me alot with updating my ssd to a one with over 10x the storage

[@AskYourComputerGuy]

Awesome!

[@dennissmith1469]

Awesome Video!! This video came just in time.Cause my old Toshiba has a mechanical drive and now updating to a kingston digital drive and adding ram to the old laptop your two jump drive video saved me on. Thanks aging.

[@AskYourComputerGuy]

Excellent! Great to hear 💪

[@dennissmith1469]

@@AskYourComputerGuy hey question with the cloner tool which you described and with the link! this cloning process is done first by removing old disk hard drive and putting into the cloning device then installing your new digital hard drive into Cloning device to rewrite new drive? Say for my oldToshiba satellite laptop?

[@dennissmith1469]

Awesome video! This is something i will be doing even with equipment from your links! Need the upgrades big time

[@AskYourComputerGuy]

@dennissmith1469 fantastic! 👍💪❤️

[@StarvingMorlock]

Great video worked great in my case, just a litle drawback, I did the cloning overnight but in the morning when I checked up, system wasn't copied, so I selected again the lacking partitions, it took in total 9 hours of cloning but I already installed the drive and it's working flawless even whe I did the cloning in two parts.

[@AskYourComputerGuy]

Odd, but glad it's working

[@StarvingMorlock]

@@AskYourComputerGuy My theory is an update was installed and the computer restarted, that interrupted the cloning, that's why I found my screen locked in the morning. I thought I had to format the drive and start over but no.

[@Reikoku.]

Thanks for the video, just upgraded from a 8 year old hard drive to ssd.

[@AskYourComputerGuy]

Awesome!

[@Baku-oc5fc]

Clear and excellent. I attempted to perform the steps and received an "unable to dismount volume" error. I purchased Macrium reflect workstation. I also have hard disk Sentinel. I have my primary W10 boot drive (C drive - Samsung SSD970 EVO 2TB) and a second Samsung SSD970 EVO 2TB installed on the same desktop. Hard disk Sentinel is indicating that my C drive is running hot - 55C and has 50% life left. I think that this drive is on its way out. Therefore I want to try to recover as much of it as I can. Thanks

[@AskYourComputerGuy]

Sorry about that, but better to find out sooner than later!

[@inevitable408]

Everything in this video worked perfectly for me on my 2nd try. Great vid and thank you!

[@AskYourComputerGuy]

Fantastic!

[@juanarmas86]

Gonna try it once my new hard drive arrives.

[@ozzieechemendia864]

Thank you for this video. I wish I would have come across this before I spent $20.00 on another program that didnt even work!

[@AskYourComputerGuy]

You're welcome!

[@AndyHayes1]

Thanks liked and subscribed! You have a great way to explain for the average joe like me. You could have touched on different size of drives and what to do if drives a few gigs different. Looks like you 2 drives where exactly the same sizes. However I followed along and going to bed while its cloning. I'm upgrading a hp15 to an ssd so hopefully it will boot up when it's done and installed. Great guide thank you.

[@AskYourComputerGuy]

I appreciate that. I'll probably make a similar video going more in depth about drives, types and sizes and such down the road 👍

[@johnmorse8434]

Thank you my 2011 HP is running great now!

[@AskYourComputerGuy]

Awesome!

[@BABBLEBOAR]

Thank you for the link to this great free software and for taking this subject slow and clear.

[@AskYourComputerGuy]

You're very welcome!

[@JBK63]

Tried this brand of software a few years ago to clone from a laptop hard drive to a new SSD drive and the resultant clone would not boot. Switched to Samsung magician software and it worked perfectly. So much for the company.

[@AskYourComputerGuy]

I've never had an issue with Macrium. Sorry your results weren't as good, but glad you found a solution

[@rajkay6517]

Thanks Scott, EXCELLENT and the most clearly articulated advice on anything but especially the complicated HDD cloning issue. I do have two questions: 1. If I name the target drive T: then when I swap it with my current C: drive will my computer rename it from T: to C: on it's own. How does this work? 2. I want to clone my 2TB system drive to a 6TB HDD and then swap it so I have more space. Can Macrium Free clone 2TB to 6TB WITHOUT converting my 6TB to 2TB? Because years ago I cloned a HDD and it reduced the target drive size to the source drive size. I will be MOST grateful 🙏 for your advice. Thanks so much, Barry

[@AskYourComputerGuy]

Great questions! One, don't focus on the letter (T for target is how I keep it simple), but regardless of the letter, when you swap the drives and boot to the former T drive, Windows assigns it drive C. Then the former C drive will be the next available drive letter (usually D or E if you have a Cd/DVD drive). 2) you might run into this issue, but it's a 10 second fix. You can use Windows disk management to extend the drive to the full 6TB, or use AOMEI Partition Assistant free to do the same. I made a video about it, if Windows disk management doesn't cooperate: REAL-TALK review of AOMEI FREE Partition Assistant | FREE disk cloning and no data loss software kzbin.info/www/bejne/i3PQlYB-oredeK8

[@rajkay6517]

​Thanks ever so much for a quick and complete ​response Scott. Truly grateful and will do👌👍👏🙏

[@AskYourComputerGuy]

@rajkay6517 you bet! Glad to help 👍

[@EduardQualls]

This emphasizes the usefulness of having at least 2 drives: the boot drive for the OS and installed exe's, and an alternate drive (or drives) for your personal data, projects, photos, _etc._ This way, you can clone the OS disk, and use a file-backup app to duplicate data files. Because data files change so much more frequently than OS and app files, a clone of the boot disk will remain viable for quite a while. And, at the same time, because data changes every day you use your computer, you can use a much lighter-weight backup app, scheduled for those saves, which can be written onto any attached drive [SATA or USB], or to the cloud. (I have scheduled a nightly backup of my data drive, using an app that accumulates versions without loss.)

[@AskYourComputerGuy]

👍

[@melvinklassen]

If you are going to deploy a "secondary" disk-drive, consider buying two disk-drives, and configuring a "RAID 1 (mirrored)" set -- where all the data written to the set is simultaneously written to BOTH disk-drives. Most current motherboards support RAID. Then, if one disk-drive fails, you still have 100% of your data on the non-failed disk-drive, and you can replace the dead disk-drive by a new disk-drive, and "rebuild" -- copying 100% of the "good" disk-drive's content onto the new disk-drive. Keep doing backups of this set -- one can never have one-too-many backups. 🙂

[@George10767]

@@melvinklassen But if you suffer a virus attack then BOTH drives would be attacked simultaneously. I think RAID assumes that we live in a perfect world.

[@melvinklassen]

@@George10767 -- exactly true. Using "Mirrored" RAID protects from 100% loss of your data, should your single disk-drive fail. Even with RAID, you need at least one external backup, and probably should have two independent ones. Nobody has ever been outplaced for having made too many backup images. :-)

[@wallyshaw-s5n]

GREAT JOB EXPLAINING, THANK YOU

[@PresidentArmer]

Excellent video, thanks for taking the time to record it.

[@AskYourComputerGuy]

I appreciate the support 👍

[@juriegildenhuys4336]

Very good - i would like to clone specific software on my pc where the software keys is also somewhere on the hdd

[@AskYourComputerGuy]

As far as I know, you can't clone specific programs without creating an image or cloning the drive. I would love to be corrected, because the only program I've ever seen that can do this is all PickMeApp. Not even sure it's still available

[@gummansgubbe6225]

"Same size": Would your "Disk 5" at 931.50 GB pass as being the same size as your "Disk 6" at 931.51 GB? Love the drive letter "T" concept!

[@robertpavlik7229]

@bobpavlik85 Your presentation was very clear and easy to understand up to answering questions at which time I waited for my question to be answered. Unfortunately, I still do not know if I could use the cloud to back up my laptop.

[@AskYourComputerGuy]

Depends on what you mean by cloud backup of your laptop. If you're talking about just backing up your personal files, there are tons to choose from. I don't know of any offhand that essentially backup your entire drive image to the cloud automatically, as those images would be huge and take a LONG time to upload. I'm sure they exist, but I can't recommend any. Perhaps other viewers might know of one that would work for you 🤷‍♂️

[@CrackDavidson1]

Very straight forward and easy. Thank you!

[@garageworker]

Video helped out so much, The software you point to is such a great service by them. Thank you!

[@AskYourComputerGuy]

Good deal!

[@SpiritintheSky.]

What a useful video on a subject I know too little about. Thank you very much.

[@AskYourComputerGuy]

Glad you enjoyed it 👍