Clonezilla Won't Clone to a Smaller Disk

Before cloning, I have confirmed that Clonezilla supports cloning to a smaller disk using the option -icds. So I tried to transfer OS and programs from the failing system drive to a smaller SSD. However, the process stops with an error. How can I deal with that?

Using Clonezilla to clone to a smaller disk is feasible. But it stops with an error that may be caused by the following factors:

• Insufficient storage capacity: Cloning to a smaller SSD is only possible if the data on the source disk is the same or smaller than the data on the target disk. If the data on the source drive is larger than the data on the target disk, the cloning will fail.
• Partition size and layout: If the source disk has multiple partitions(maybe with hidden partitions), the total size of these partitions should be the same or smaller than the target disk. Otherwise, the cloning will stuck or fail.

While Clonezilla has the feature of cloning to a smaller disk, you may encounter the issue of failing disk cloning. To ensure a smooth and successful HDD/SSD cloning to a smaller one, EaseUS Disk Copy is the best choice. Rather than using complex steps like Conezilla, it has a user-friendly interface and only requires simple clicks to finish the cloning task. It also has the following benefits to ensure a successful cloning to a smaller disk:

#️⃣Automatically partition layout: It will automatically distribute the partition layout to fit into the target disk.

#️⃣Smart storage capacity monitoring: Before cloning, it will monitor the whole size of the target disk and source disk. If the source disk is larger than the target disk, it will notify you, and clone only system partitions.

#️⃣Sector-by-sector cloning: It allows you to clone only used space to save storage on the target disk.

With the above features, you don't need to worry about a failing hard drive cloning. Follow the steps to clone your hard drive to a smaller one:

🔗Related Article: Clone Larger HDD to Smaller SSD (Windows 11 Support)