Updated by

Tracy King

Last updated on April 22, 2024

Key Points for Free System Clone Software:

    • System cloning is a non-destructive process that duplicates everything on your system drive to a new disk drive.
    • This page offers reliable system cloning software that you can download for free and use to successfully clone Windows to a new drive.

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In this article, you will learn:

  • Best System Clone Software for Free Download & Reviews [Your 2024 Checklist]
  • How to Clone Your System with the Best System Clone Software [Step-by-Step Guide]
  • What is System Clone Software?
  • Can System Clone Software Be Free?

Free System Clone Software Download

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Note: Cloning an operating system to a new drive can be both safe and risky for the average user. To ensure a smooth and successful OS cloning and migration process, it's advisable to rely on reliable system cloning software.

So how do you get the best system cloning software? Or how do I know that the system cloning software I have is what I need?

Refer to the next section for more detailed information on how to choose the best or most suitable system cloning software for yourself.

Best System Clone Software for Free Download and Review [Your Must-Have List for 2024]

How can you determine the best system cloning software for your needs? Here's a checklist to help you choose the optimal cloning tool: 1. **Compatibility**: Ensure the software is compatible with your operating system version. For instance, if you use Windows 10, pick a cloning tool that supports it. 2. **Ease of Use**: The software should have an intuitive user interface, making setup and the cloning process straightforward. 3. **Comprehensive Features**: An ideal cloning software should offer options for system cloning, disk cloning, and partition cloning. 4. **Security**: Data safety is crucial during cloning. Make sure the software won't damage or lose your files. 5. **Speed**: A fast cloning speed will save you time. Look for software that completes tasks swiftly while maintaining data integrity. 6. **Reliability**: Check user reviews and professional evaluations to confirm the software's reliability. Software with a high success rate in cloning is more trustworthy. 7. **Free or Paid**: Depending on your budget, decide whether to opt for a free or paid software. Remember, paid software often offers more features and technical support. 8. **Customer Support**: Ensure the software vendor provides good customer service and technical support for prompt assistance when issues arise. 9. **Updates and Upgrades**: The software should be regularly updated to accommodate new operating systems and hardware environments. 10. **Cross-Platform**: If you need to work across different types of devices, choose software that supports multiple operating systems. By evaluating these factors, you should be able to find the most suitable system cloning software for your requirements.

List of the Best System Cloning Software for 2024:

    • User-friendly: A reliable system cloning software should allow you to easily utilize its cloning features.
    • High OS compatibility: It should fully support and be compatible with your current operating system.
    • Virus and malware-free: It should be 100% clean and safe to use, free from viruses or malware infections.
    • Safe and secure: It should be secure and dependable, causing no harm to your operating system or data even if the cloning process is interrupted.
    • Feature-rich: A reliable system cloning software should cater to your diverse needs in OS migration or system cloning.
    • Reasonable price: The cost of the system cloning software should fall within your budget. If it's too high, you can opt for a more affordable alternative with similar features.

"Best System Cloning Software for Free Download and Its Pros and Cons"

Aside from being a primary disk partition manager helper tool to help Windows users manage and optimize disk performance, AOMEI Partition Assistant is also a reliable system cloning software that you can fully trust.

With just a few simple steps, it lets you successfully switch operating system disks and clone your system to another drive.

Pros and Cons of System Clone Software - Partition Master Tool:

Here's a comprehensive list of pros and cons that can help you evaluate if this system cloning software meets your system cloning or OS migration needs:

01

Advantages:

  • 1. User-friendly
  • 2. Supports migration of the operating system to a new HDD/SSD
  • 3. Supports cloning the entire operating system disk and data to another disk
  • 4. Allows cloning the operating system drive to a new drive
02

Disadvantages:

  • 1. Offers 24*7 technical support
  • 2. No Mac version available
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Please note that, in addition to system cloning or OS migration, users can perform other disk management operations with the Partition Master tool, such as:

    • Create, delete, format, wipe, merge, split, extend or shrink partitions.
    • Convert between MBR/GPT, dynamic and basic disks.
    • Convert between primary and logical partitions, as well as NTFS and FAT32.
    • Check and fix existing file system errors, bad sectors, and rebuild MBR, etc.
    • Check disk health status, optimize SSD performance, remove write protection from USB/SD cards, etc.

How to Use the Best System Clone Software to Clone Your System [Step-by-Step Guide]

Well, how can I use this software tool Partition Master to clone OS to another hard drive? There are three different tutorials for you to choose from to successfully clone your system:

#1. Clone the system with full disk data to a new HDD/SSD

    • Scope: Replace the data on an entire operating system disk with that of another drive, or copy a Windows system and data to a new computer.
    • Preparation: Connect the new disk to the source PC and initialize it as the same type as the OS disk (MBR - MBR, GPT - GPT).

Step 1. Run AOMEI Partition Assistant, click on "Disk Clone" tab, select "Clone System to SSD" and then click "Next".

Select the system disk to clone

Step 2. Select the new drive you want to clone your operating system to, then click Next.

Select the target drive to clone to

Click “Yes” to confirm that you want to proceed with the system disk cloning process.

Confirm cloning the system to a new disk partition

Step 3. Review the disk layout, and click Start to begin the OS cloning process.

Clone system to new disk

Step 4. When it's done, you'll see a confirmation message asking if you want to boot from the clone disk.

    Restart Now: Restart your computer immediately and set the computer to boot the operating system from the new disk. • Finish: Make the change later.
Confirm cloning the system to the new disk partition

#2. Migrate the Operating System to an HDD/SSD

    - **Applies to:** Cloning the system and switching the OS to a new HDD or SSD. - **Prerequisites:** Install the new disk and initialize it with the same disk type as the OS drive (MBR – MBR, GPT – GPT).

If the source disk is MBR but the new disk is GPT, you can use the Disk Conversion feature in Partition Master to convert GPT to MBR with just a few clicks. Alternatively, you can also use it to convert MBR to GPT without losing data.

Here are the steps to migrate your Windows operating system to a new HDD or SSD without reinstalling:

Steps to migrate an operating system to an HDD/SSD:

    1. Run the Partition Master software, and then select the "Clone" option from the left-side menu. 2. Check "Migrate OS" and click "Next." 3. Choose the SSD or HDD as the target disk, then click "Next." 4. Note the warning: All data and partitions on the target disk will be deleted. Make sure you have backed up your important data beforehand. If not, please do so now. 5. Confirm and click "Yes." 6. Preview the layout of the target disk, and then click "Start" to begin migrating the operating system to the new disk.

    4. Click “Restart Now” or “Finish” to decide whether you want to restart your computer from the new disk immediately.

“Reboot Now” means to save the changes immediately, while “Done” means you will need to manually restart your computer later.

Select the boot option after migrating the system to a new disk

Note: If there is not enough unallocated space on the target disk, the OS migration to SSD or HDD will delete existing partitions and data on the destination disk. Back up any important data to an external hard drive beforehand if it's stored there.

#3. Clone system and boot partitions to another drive for free

    • When to use: Replace an operating system disk on a small old hard drive with a new, larger partition, for example, cloning C drive to D drive.
    • Before you begin: Back up and wipe data from the new drive, then convert it to the same disk type as the source OS disk.

If you want to change system drive letter for free, like from C to D (on a separate new disk) or clone C to E, you can try a tool with “Clone Partition” feature – AOMEI Partition Assistant Free to help.

    • If the target partition is on the same disk as the system drive, you just need to clone System C drive. • If the target partition is on the second disk, you need to repeat the following steps to clone both the operating system and system partition to the new disk.

Step 1. In the left menu, choose "Clone." Click "Clone Partition" and then "Next."

Step 2: Select the source partition, and click Next.

Step 3: Select the partition from which you wish to recover and click on “Next” to proceed.

    If you clone a partition to an existing one, you should move or back up your data first to avoid overwriting it. Review the warning and confirm with Yes.

Step 4: Click “Start,” and wait for the cloning process to complete.

You can see how to clone a partition or the System Reserved Partition in this video tutorial.

Extra tip: Make the system bootable on a new disk or drive

TIP: Replace the operating system disk and configure the computer to boot from the new disk

Please note that if you used Method 1 - Clone OS Disk or Method 2 - Migrate OS to HDD/SSD, you need to change the Boot Order in BIOS settings to boot the operating system from the new disk:

    • Restart your computer and press F2, F8, F10, or Del to enter BIOS settings.
    • Navigate to the Boot menu and set the new cloned disk as the boot drive.
    • Save the changes and restart your computer.

Wait patiently, and your computer should then boot successfully from the cloned system on the new drive.

TIP 2: Set up the system to boot from a new drive with the cloned operating system

If you used Method 3 to clone the system C: drive to local D: or E: drive, you need to modify the boot information and configure your computer to boot from the new drive:

    1. Restart your PC from the Windows installation media or CD.
    2. Navigate to the Windows setup screen, and choose "Repair your computer."
    3. Select "Troubleshoot," then "Advanced options," and then "Command Prompt."
    4. Type in each of the following commands one by one, and hit Enter after each:

If your computer uses the traditional BIOS boot mode, type the following command:

    • bcdedit /store x:\boot\bcd /set {default} device partition=d:
    • bcdedit /store x:\boot\bcd /set {default} osdevice partition=d:

If your computer boots in UEFI mode, type the following command:

    These two commands translate to: 1. Set the default boot entry device in the BCD store (at x:\efi\microsoft\boot\bcd) to partition d: 2. Set the default operating system device in the BCD store (at x:\efi\microsoft\boot\bcd) to partition d:

Note: You should replace X: with the drive letter of your system partition, and D: with the drive letter of the new operating system drive to which you cloned the system partition.

After that, save the changes and restart your PC. Your computer should successfully boot from the new disk or partition.

What is system cloning software? System cloning software is a tool that allows you to replicate a computer's operating system, along with all its associated settings, applications, files, and data. This software enables users to create an exact copy of the original system, which can be used for backup purposes, migration to new hardware, or deployment of the same environment across multiple computers. With system cloning, you can: 1. Protect your data: Quickly restore your system to its cloned state in case of hardware failure or malicious attacks. 2. Upgrade hardware: When replacing or upgrading your computer, you can migrate the entire system to new hardware without reinstalling everything. 3. Deploy multiple systems: In enterprise or educational environments, it's easy to install and configure the same operating system and apps on numerous computers. 4. Test and debug: Developers and IT professionals can use system cloning to create testing environments, allowing experiments without affecting the production system. Popular system cloning software includes Ghost (now Acronis True Image), Clonezilla, Macrium Reflect, and Paragon Backup & Recovery, among others. These tools generally offer user-friendly interfaces and various options to cater to different user needs.

As explained by PCMag, cloning software is used to create a recovery point for your system in the future or as a temporary step while replacing an old hard drive.

System cloning software, similarly, can be understood as software that supports users in cloning an operating system to a new drive or partition, so that the OS can boot from the new drive without needing to be reinstalled on their computer.

What can system cloning software do?

Here's a list of things you can do with a reliable system cloning tool on your computer:

    • Migrate OS to another disk safely and easily
    • Clone OS to copy a computer to another new one
    • Backup OS to a new drive for easy and quick system restoration
    • Switch OS drive to make your computer run faster, like cloning OS to SSD (clone to SSD) to optimize the performance of OS on a faster SSD

Why Choose System Clone Software? Benefits You Can't Afford to Miss:

    • Safe and reliable
    • User-friendly
    • Clone the operating system and boot files in one go to a new drive
    • No harm to the source disk
    • Guarantees bootability of the cloned operating system

Can system cloning software be free?

Can system-cloning software be free? Of course it can.

Some software manufacturers offer users a 30-day free trial, during which they can use certain system-cloning software to clone their OS for free.

However, for most system cloning software, this is a premium feature that you need to activate with a serial number to unlock.

Are system cloning software available for users to download and install on their computers for free? Yes! Most system cloning software allows users to download and install it for free.

Conclusions

This article covers the best system cloning software that you can download for free and use to clone and transfer your system to a new disk or drive partition. Unlike other system cloning software, the Partition Master tool is not just a single OS cloning utility.

It even offers system cloning, partition duplication, and OS migration features to cater to different users' needs. If you're looking for an all-around OS cloning tool, don't miss this one. You can also use it for more disk partitioning and management tasks.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) About Free System Cloning Software Downloads - UTF-8 Encoding

For more questions about cloning systems or system cloning software, please refer to this page for answers.

1. How to Clone System Disk for Free?

If you want to clone system disk for free, you can search free system cloning software or free disk cloning software online, and you will get a list of similar disk cloning programs.

If you need an all-in-one and reliable system cloning software to help you successfully clone the entire OS disk to a new drive, you can use the recommended Partition Master tool above. Although it's not free, it's efficient and user-friendly for all Windows users to clone the system disk and replace it with the new drive.

**2. Can I clone SSD for free?**

Yes, if the SSD is a data disk, you can simply use Partition Master and its "Clone Data Disk" feature to help you:

    1. Launch AOMEI Partition Assistant Free, click "Disk Clone", and then select "Clone Data Disk". Click "Next".
    2. Select the SSD as the source disk, and then click "Next".
    3. Choose a new hard drive or SSD as the target disk, and then click "Next".
    4. Click "Execute Task" to start cloning SSD to a new disk for free.

How to clone an entire system?

To clone the entire system, you can follow these instructions:

  1. #1. Install a new hard drive on your computer and initialize it with the same format as your OS drive - either MBR or GPT.
  2. #2. Launch the Partition Master tool and navigate to the disk cloning section.
  3. #3. Choose the appropriate mode to use:
    • Clone System Disk - Clone an entire system disk with data to a new drive.
    • Migrate OS to HDD/SSD - Move the installed system to a new drive with ease.
  1. #4. Select the target disk to clone the system and proceed with the operation.
  2. #5. After the cloning process is finished, enter BIOS settings and set the new disk with the cloned system as the boot drive.
  3. #6. Restart your computer.