How to Create Image of USB Drive on Windows 11/10/8/7

Making an image of your USB is important, as it can help duplicate a USB drive to keep data safe. Learn how to create image of USB drive on Windows 11/10/8/7 with step-by-step guides, tools, and tips.

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Windows 11/10/8/7

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Jerry

Updated: Dec 31, 2025

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Creating an image of your USB flash drive can help copy the image of your USB drive to another USB or even the same one. This is handy for copying a USB drive or backing up the contents of a drive before overwriting it. But it is not as simple as just copying the files. We will walk you through how to create an image of a USB drive. Hurry up and learn.

What You Need to Make an Image of a USB Drive

Cloning may be your quickest and best solution to make an image of a USB drive if you need to copy files from a bootable USB drive to multiple units with an identical capacity. This is because cloning can help you transfer everything from one drive to another without boot issues. But before starting the cloning process, you will need to prepare something for it.

  • A USB drive or hard drive. The target USB should be large enough to store data on the source USB drive. If you intend to duplicate every byte of your old USB, the destination USB drive should be at least as large as the source drive.
  • Back up data on the target drive. The cloning process will erase data on the target drive, so you'd better back up the drive if there is important data.
  • Download reliable software. Get a reliable USB clone tool or USB image tool to create an image of a USB drive easily and safely. The popular tools are EaseUS Disk Copy, Clonezilla, and ImageUSB.
📖To back up data on a USB drive, you can use professional USB backup software. See some of the best USB backup software available on the market.

Create Image from USB Drive via EaseUS Disk Copy🔥

As mentioned above, cloning is the best way to make an image of a USB drive. But you have to use professional cloning software. Fortunately, there are many disk cloning software available on the market. EaseUS Disk Copy stands out due to its practicality and ease of use. It can make an exact copy of your USB flash drive, including all data, system files, and settings.

EaseUS Disk Copy is a reliable and practical cloning utility for Windows computers. It can help you clone systems, disks, partitions, etc., and clone HDD to SSD with different sizes. Thus, you can clone from a smaller USB drive to a larger one and vice versa. It can help you migrate your OS from HDD to HDD, HDD to SSD, and SSD to SSD, and clone USB to SSD for backup and recovery.

Feel free to download and use it on your computer to clone a USB to another drive.

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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.

disk clone

Step 2. Select the source drive.

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

select source disk

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.

select target disk

*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.
adjust disk layout

*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.

warning message

Now, it will start executing the cloning task.

cloning process

*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.

Share this article on your social media to help others make image of USB drive easily and quickly!

 

Create Image of USB Drive Using ImageUSB

To create an image of a USB drive, you can also use a disk imaging tool like ImageUSB or Win32 Disk Imager. These tools create a bit-for-bit copy of the USB drive, allowing you to back it up or restore it later. The created image file will have a .bin or .img extension.

Here is how to an image from a USB drive using ImageUSB:

Step 1. Download and Install: Download and install ImageUSB on your computer.

Step 2. Insert the USB Drive: Plug the USB drive you want to image into your computer.

Step 3. Open ImageUSB: Launch the ImageUSB app.

Step 4. Select the USB Drive: Choose the correct USB drive from the list of available drives.

Step 5. Choose Image Creation: Select the "Create image from USB drive" option.

select Create image from USB drive

Step 6. Choose a Destination: Click the "Browse" button to specify where you want to save the USB image file and name it.

Step 7. Start the Process: Click the "Create" button to begin creating the image.

Step 8. Verification (Optional): ImageUSB can verify the image after creation by default to ensure its integrity.

Step 9. Completion: The process will complete, and you'll have a .bin image file of your USB drive.

To Wrap Things Up

That is all about how to create an image of a USB drive. To create an image of a bootable USB drive, the best and quickest way is to clone the drive. It is worth noting that if you want to create an image of an ordinary USB drive, you can copy or back up the USB drive simply. But to create an image of a bootable USB, cloning is your best way.

With the help of EaseUS Disk Copy, a great USB image tool, creating an image of a USB drive or a bootable USB drive is a simple case. More valuable features are waiting for you to explore. Download and try it!

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Windows 11/10/8/7

What's new in this version: updated on 2025.8.20
Changed TDK.
Added H2 - Create Image of USB Drive Using ImageUSB.
Deleted H2 - Key Takeaways/Why You Can't Just Copy the Files on USB Drive.
Added FAQs.
Added Page Content.
Changed featured image.

FAQs on How to Create Image from USB Drive

1. What is the difference between cloning and copying a USB drive?

Cloning a USB drive creates an exact, sector-by-sector copy, including all files, hidden data, and boot information, making the new drive a bootable mirror of the original. Copying, on the other hand, only transfers files and folders, potentially missing boot information and resulting in a non-bootable copy, especially for drives containing an operating system.

2. What is the best software to clone a USB drive?

EaseUS Disk Copy is a trustworthy USB cloning software compatible with Windows 11, 10, 8, and 7. You can either clone a hard drive to a USB flash drive or create an image of a USB flash device. You can use it to clone a USB drive to another USB or another destination, such as a computer.

3. What is USB drive image file?

A USB image is a bootable image of an operating system (OS) or other software in which the boot loader is stored on a USB flash drive or another USB device (with memory storage) rather than traditional CDs or DVDs.

4. How do you create a system image on a USB drive?

To create a system image on a USB drive in Windows, you can use the built-in Backup and Restore (Windows 7) tool. You can also use professional system imaging software like EaseUS Todo Backup.

5. Can Rufus clone USB drive?

No, Rufus cannot clone a drive. Rufus is a tool that helps format and create a bootable USB flash drive. You can use tools like Rufus or Win32 Disk Imager to create a bootable USB drive or to write an ISO image to a USB drive.

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