Clone SSD/HDD Sector by Sector

Overview of Sector-by-Sector Clone

Most of the disk cloning software would have one feature called "sector-by-sector clone". This feature, also called bit-by-bit copy, works when users want to clone their HDD or SSD, it would clone all the sectors on a hard drive, even if the sector is blank or it is a logically bad sector. In case some users are not familiar with the term sector, it is a subdivision of a track on a disk, and each sector stores a fixed amount of user-accessible data.

Generally, a sector-by-sector clone makes no difference to a normal backup. But if your data is of vital importance, and you want to make sure that even if the hard drive has a bad sector, you can still recover data from the bad sector, then you can choose this clone mode.

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The sector-by-sector clone also has another apparent advantage. By cloning the disk, you can migrate Windows OS from HDD to SSD without reinstallation, while sector-by-sector clone ensures the target hard disk or partitions keep identical properties (drive status, drive size, drive letter, the number of volumes, etc.) with the source disk or partitions. This feature is significantly helpful when you prefer an exact look of the old disk on a new disk.

EaseUS Disk Copy is a reliable and professional disk/partition cloning program with "sector-by-sector cloning". 

Free Download

Windows 11/10/8/7

Sector-by-Sector Clone SSD/HDD Tutorial

No matter whether you want to make a sector-by-sector clone or a normal backup, there's a great tool we want to recommend - EaseUS Disk Copy. It provides all-in-one computer backup and disk cloning solutions for home and office users. With this tool, you can backup and restore everything instantly, and clone, upgrade and transfer your system easily.

The disk clone feature allows users to transfer all data, including system, personal documents, and media files, etc to an upgraded disk, like a brand new HDD, larger HDD, efficient SSD with higher performance. Once the sector-by-sector clone is checked, even if the sector on the source disk is blank or logically bad, it'll be copied to the destination disk without neglect.

Learn how to perform the sector-by-sector clone HDD/SSD with EaseUS todo clone software.

Before cloning:

• If your computer has only one slot, connect the target disk to your machine via a USB-to-SATA/NVMe adapter.
• If your computer has an extra slot, install the target disk into the empty slot properly, and make sure it is compatible.

Step 1. Launch EaseUS Disk Copy and choose Disk Mode.

Install EaseUS Disk Copy cloning software on your Windows computer, then launch it and select Disk Mode from the left panel.

Step 2. Select the source drive.

Select the drive you want to copy, then click Select.

Step 3. Choose the target disk.

Choose the disk that you want to clone data to, and click Select. Note that the used space of the source disk should be less than the target disk capacity.

*At this step, you can also click the option "Save as an image file" to store your disk as a compressed image file, which can be restored without any data loss.

Step 4. Adjust disk layout.

Specify the target disk layout as your preference. You can choose among:

• Autofit the disk: makes some changes by default on the destination disk layout so that it can work at its best.
• Copy as the source: create a 1-to-1 copy of your source disk; the layout is the same as the source disk.
• Edit disk layout: allows you to manually resize/move the partition layout on this destination disk.

*If the target disk is an SSD, the option "Auto-alignment to 4K" will be checked automatically to optimize the performance of your SSD.

Step 5. Start cloning.

Click Proceed, and a message will appear, warning you that data will be lost. Confirm the message by clicking Continue.

Now, it will start executing the cloning task.

*The time it takes to clone a hard drive depends on how much data is on the source disk, and it will also be affected by the disk types, USB connection, etc.

After the operation is done, close EaseUS todo clone software. Go to Windows Disk Management to check if the cloned disk is exactly the same as the source disk.

For Windows 7 computers, navigate to My Computer -> Manage -> Storage -> Disk Management.

For Windows 10 computers, navigate to This PC -> Manage -> Storage -> Disk Management.

Free Download

Windows 11/10/8/7

Bonus Tip: How Long Does Sector-by-Sector Clone Take?

Unlike the normal backup, a sector-by-sector clone definitely would take a longer time. According to users' feedback, cloning a 1TB disk sector-by-sector will take 20 to 30 hours. So if you want to make such a time-consuming clone, please be patient.