How Do I Clone Windows to SSD with Software? Your Easy Tutorial Is Here

Notice: It doesn't matter if you currently are experiencing similar or even exactly the same demands of cloning Windows to SSD or HDD with software. We understand your concerns and have solutions for you here. Follow and find the best OS cloning software to help yourself clone the Windows OS and switch the system to a new SSD without reinstalling the OS successfully. Let's start here.

#Phrase 1: Set Up SSD and Make It Ready for Cloning Windows

Getting the new SSD ready on your computer is an essential procedure that ensures you clone Windows to the new disk smoothly.

To do so, you need to:

Step 1. Install SSD to Your PC Correctly

• Open your computer case and the hard disk or SSD connection cables.
• Connect SSD to your PC:

1. 1. SATA SSD: Connect the SSD to your computer via a SATA cable and power cable; 
2. 2. M.2/NVMe SSD: Insert the SSD into the SSD slot and fasten the screw. 

Step 2. Initialize SSD to the Same Disk Type as the OS Disk

• Open Disk Management, right-click the OS disk, and select "Properties".
• Go to Volumes and check if the Partition style of the OS disk is MBR or GPT.
• Close the Properties window, right-click on the SSD disk and select "Initialize Disk".
• Set the disk type of SSD as the same as the OS disk.

Step 3. Create Simple Volume on SSD

• Before you start, open disk management.
• Confirm if your current OS separates the boot and system volumes on two partitions.
• If yes, right-click on the unallocated space and select "New Simple Volume" on SSD.
• Set the file system as NTFS and, get it a new drive letter, set the volume to the same or even bigger size to the Boot partition.
• Repeat the process to create another new partition with the same or bigger size as the system partition.

#Phrase 2: Download OS Cloning Software for Windows

As Windows doesn't have free disk cloning software. To accomplish the task of cloning Windows to SSD, you'll need to turn to reliable OS cloning software for help.  EaseUS Partition Master, with its Disk Clone features, can fulfill the task for you.

Just click to download this software and install it on your PC:

Then, you need to confirm how you would like to clone the Windows to SSD: to clone Windows only to SSD or clone the entire OS disk to SSD. Continue with the next part, and you'll learn how to use this software to clone Windows OS.

#Phrase 3: Clone Windows to SSD with EaseUS OS Cloning Software

Your goal determines how would you apply EaseUS OS cloning software here to clone your Windows to the new disk:

• 1. To Clone Windows Only to SSD: Use the Copy Partition Feature in Guide 1
• 2. To Clone the Entire Windows Disk to SSD: Use the Clone OS Disk Feature in Guide 2

Let's start cloning your Windows OS to SSD here now.

Guide 1: Clone Windows Only to SSD

Note that if the OS and system volumes are two separate partitions, you'll need to repeat the following process twice. This will ensure that you clone both System and Boot partitions to the new SSD so as to ensure Windows will be bootable on SSD.

Let's get started here:

Step 1. Select "Clone" from the left menu. Click "Clone Partition" and "Next".

Step 2. Select the source partition and click "Next".

Step 3. Choose your the target partition and click "Next "to continue.

• If you clone partition to the existing partition, you should transfer or back up data before cloning to prevent it being overwritten.
• Check warning message and confirm "Yes".

Step 4. Click Start and wait for the clone to complete.

You can check how to clone partition or system reserved partition on this video tutorial.

Guide 2: Clone Entire Windows Disk to SSD

EaseUS Partition Master, with its Clone OS Disk feature, will allow you to clone the entire Windows disk with everything to the new SSD. You only need to confirm that the SSD has equal or even bigger storage than the used space on the OS disk.

Here are the steps:

Step 1. Launch EaseUS Partition Master, go to the Disk Clone tab, select "Clone OS Disk" and click "Next". 

Step 2. Select the target new drive where you want to clone the OS to, and click "Next".

Click "Yes" to confirm that you want to continue the OS disk cloning process.

Step 3. View the disk layout, and click "Start" to begin the OS cloning process.

Step 4. When the process completes, you'll see a confirming message, asking "if you want to start up computer from the clone target disk". 

• Reboot Now means to reboot your PC and configure the computer to boot OS from the new disk immediately.
• Done means you want to make the changes later. 

Note: You can also clone SSD to NVMe free with the Clone Partition of EaseUS Partition Master. 

#Phrase 4: Make Windows Bootable on SSD

The last but most important part is that you should set the Windows bootable on the new SSD. To do so, you'll need to switch the boot drive from the old OS disk to the new SSD in BIOS settings. Here is how to do so:

Step 1. Reboot the PC and press Del/F2/F8 to enter BIOS settings.

Step 2. Go to the Boot Menu, navigate to the boot priority section, and switch the boot drive from the old disk to the new SSD.

Step 3. Press F10 to save the changes and exit BIOS.

Step 4. Reboot your PC and wait for Windows to boot up. Log in with your account and password.

Final Thoughts

Cloning Windows to SSD is somehow complex for ordinary users, especially for most Windows beginners. EaseUS Partition Master simplifies the process of cloning Windows to SSD with a few simple clicks.

 

Aside from OS cloning, you can also apply this software to manage the new SSD disk space and wipe or format the old disk for other usages on your own. 

FAQs About Clone Windows to SSD with Software

Some of you may have further questions about this task, and you can follow the questions below to find answers and solutions.

1. How do I clone my Windows operating system to a new SSD?

• Install and set up SSD on the new PC with the same disk type as the OS drive.
• Create 1 or 2 volumes on SSD.
• Launch EaseUS Partition Master and click 'Disk Clone'.
• Select the Boot partition as the source and select a new volume on SSD as the target.
• Execute the task.
• Repeat the process to clone the system partition to another volume in the new SSD.
• Reboot the PC and set Windows to boot from the new SSD in BIOS settings.

2. Can I clone Windows only to SSD?

Yes, you can. Reliable system clone software - EaseUS Partition Master, with its Copy Partition feature, can help you respectively clone the Windows partition and boot the partition to SSD without any boot issue. You can directly revert to the above-listed solution on this page or refer to this link: Clone Windows to SSD Free for a detailed guide. 

3. How to clone HDD to SSD?

Note that if you intend to clone an HDD to an SSD, it's important that you to figure out two things here:

First, if the SSD disk capacity is equal to or larger than the used data storage on the old HDD. If yes, you can continue with the steps here. If not, you'll need to switch to a larger SSD so to ensure cloning all data to SSD.

Next, you need to 

• Collect SSD to your target PC where you want to clone the HDD.
• Set up and initialize SSD to the same disk type as the old SSD - MBR or GPT in Disk Management.
• Launch EaseUS Partition Master and click 'Disk Clone'. 
• Select 'Clone data disk' or 'Clone OS disk' according to your need.
• Then, the target HDD as the source disk and select the new SSD as the target, then click 'Execute Task'.