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As shown in the question from Reddit, many Windows users will encounter a problem: they cannot clone dynamic disks directly. Instead, you must convert the dynamic disk to a basic one and then clone the basic drive to another one.
Clone dynamic disk to SSD
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Cloning is the best way to help you transfer data from a dynamic disk to an HDD/SSD. This article will tell how to clone dynamic disk to SSD without converting or losing data.
| Key Takeaways: How to Clone Dynamic Disk | |
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1️⃣Step 1. Download & install EaseUS Disk Copy. 2️⃣Step 2. Connect the SSD to your PC via the USB-to-SATA cable. 3️⃣Step 3. Run EaseUS clone software and select Disk Mode. 4️⃣Step 4. Select the source and target disk and start cloning. 5️⃣Step 5. Verify whether all your files and programs are on the new SSD. |
What Is a Dynamic Disk & Why Need to Clone It
Dynamic disk and basic disk are 2 disk types for Windows to save data and support GPT and MBR partition styles. A dynamic drive can create 5 types of dynamic volumes: simple volume, striped volume, spanned volume, mirrored volume, and RAID-5 volume.
The dynamic disk can provide features that a basic disk doesn't have, including improving data's read-write speed efficiency, creating new volumes that span multiple disks, creating fault-tolerant volumes, etc.
Reasons to clone a dynamic disk vary but are not different from cloning a basic drive.
- For more storage space. In most circumstances, your hard drive is out of space, and you need to upgrade to a larger drive, be it an HDD or SSD.
- For an improved performance. Your dynamic drive may not perform well after a long time of use, and you need to clone the dynamic disk to SSD for better performance.
- For data protection. If you want to save your dynamic disk from any data loss risks, a simple way is to clone the dynamic disk to another drive.
However, it is not easy to manage your dynamic disk. Worse still, most partition or cloning tools don't support dynamic disk management. Fortunately, this is no longer the case with the help of powerful cloning software EaseUS Disk Copy, which can help you clone your dynamic hard drive to another drive without converting it to basic.
Free Download
Windows 11/10/8/7
What You'll Need to Copy or Clone Dynamic Disk in Windows
To clone your dynamic disk to another drive successfully, you need to make some preparations:
- Download a reliable disk cloning tool. Since Windows lacks disk cloning features, you must use third-party cloning software to perform disk cloning. EaseUS Disk Copy can suit your needs in this regard.
- Buy a new SSD. You must purchase an SSD to hold saved data and the installed OS on your hard drive. Generally, an SSD with a capacity of above 512G is recommended.
- Prepare a connection cable. You need to use a USB-to-SATA cable to help you connect your SSD to your PC during the cloning process.
- Manage source disk before cloning. You can clean up your source drive to free up the used space, thus reducing cloning time.
How to Clone Dynamic Disk in Windows 11/10/8/7
EaseUS Disk Copy can help you directly clone your entire dynamic hard drive without trouble. That is why it is selected among the disk cloning software, free and paid, such as Clonezilla.
EaseUS disk cloning software can help you clone the system, partition, etc., and clone a hard drive with multiple partitions. In addition, it can also help you transfer Windows SSD to a new computer easily and quickly.
Whether you want to clone your dynamic disk or upgrade it to a larger one, EaseUS Disk Copy can meet your demands. Ensure to download it to your computer to help you copy data from one hard drive to another without data loss and OS reinstallation.
Free Download
Windows 11/10/8/7
- Notice:
- 1️⃣EaseUS Disk Copy can clone the entire dynamic disk without converting, not the dynamic volume.
- 2️⃣EaseUS disk clone software can recognize the SSD even if you do not initialize it.
Here is how to clone a dynamic disk Using EaseUS Disk Copy on Windows 11/10/8/7
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.
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To Wrap Things Up
This is how to clone dynamic disk to SSD in Windows. After reading this blog, you may find it easy to clone/copy dynamic disk to HDD or SSD with the help of EaseUS disk cloning software. EaseUS Disk Copy can clone a dynamic disk to SSD without converting it to a basic disk or considering its disk type. It can also let you fix the cloned hard drive showing the wrong size and resize your disk during cloning. Just download it and explore it!
Free Download
Windows 11/10/8/7
FAQs on How to Clone Dynamic Disk to SSD
1. Can you clone a dynamic disk?
Yes, you can clone a dynamic disk, but you need to use third-party cloning software like EaseUS Disk Copy. Such a tool can help you clone your entire dynamic drive to another drive without losing data and reinstalling Windows.
2. Can I clone a dynamic disk to a smaller SSD?
Yes, you can clone a dynamic disk to a smaller SSD as long as the target SSD is larger enough to hold the used space on the source drive. You can also delete temporary data, caches, duplicate files, corrupted files, or rarely used programs to reduce the space on your source disk.
3. Can Clonezilla clone dynamic disk?
Generally, Clonezilla can help you clone a dynamic disk. However, a user said that the rest of the space on the target drive cannot be used after cloning a dynamic drive. Acronis has the same result. Under such circumstances, you can try the EaseUS disk cloning tool.
4. Can I convert a dynamic disk to a basic disk?
Yes, you can convert a dynamic disk to a basic one using the Disk Management tool, but you will lose all your data.
Steps to convert a dynamic disk to a basic one in Disk Management:
- Back up data on the disk.
- In Disk Management, right-click each volume on the dynamic disk, then click Delete Volume.
- Click Yes.
- When all volumes on the dynamic disk are deleted, right-click the disk and click Convert to Basic Disk.
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