What Is A Benefit of Cloning A Hard Drive Versus Installing from Installation Media

Rel updated on Jan 31, 2024 to Data Backup Questions Answered | How-to Articles

My friend and I are discussing a problem. I think a clean installation is better than a cloned disk, but he holds the opposite opinion. What is the benefit of cloning a hard drive versus installing from installation media? 

Personally, I agree with you that I prefer a clean install. The clean install will put my computer into a brand-new state, just like when I first bought it. This operation can solve the hidden dangers in my computer and eliminate unknown security threats. At the same time, the clean installed system has no incidental problems, and the computer's performance dragged by garbage files will also be improved.

The cloning disk means I will transfer all the data on the old one to the new one, including programs I no longer need and redundant files.

It seems that cloning disk has no advantage, but it is not true. Cloning hard drives can copy all my personal data, files, preferences, etc. If these data are very important to me, I will prioritize Cloning hard drives. This is its advantage over the new installation. With its help, I can copy the exact configuration of the original device on another PC, which is impossible for a clean install.

In a word, the disagreement between your views and those of your friends is probably due to the different goals you and his pursue. Is it better to clone a hard drive when replacing it or to do a clean install? This is a question that has no standard answer.

If the content stored in this hard disk is very important to you, I suggest you use EaseUS Disk Copy, a practical and powerful cloning software, to clone your hard disk to ensure you will not lose any important data.

Related article: Clone vs Clean Install: Which Suites You Better