Migration and backups
Clone a data disk
Disk copying can duplicate a data disk before replacing hardware, but the destination is often overwritten and must be chosen carefully.
12 practical guides
Cloning, recovery and migration planning
Plan recoverable disk upgrades and protect data.
Start with your disk layout and backup
Choose the guide that matches your exact Windows storage issue. Review filesystem, disk model, BitLocker status and the Free/Pro feature limits before performing changes.
Migration and backups
Copy one partition to another disk
Partition copying is useful for selected data volumes; copying a Windows system partition alone may not produce a bootable OS.
Migration and backups
Migrate Windows to SSD
OS migration can move a Windows installation to faster storage, but requires the system, EFI and recovery layout to be accounted for.
Migration and backups
Clone an HDD to SSD
Moving from HDD to SSD generally requires copying the needed partitions and ensuring the SSD is large enough for used data.
Migration and backups
Clone a Windows 11 GPT boot disk
Cloning a UEFI/GPT Windows 11 system requires more than transferring C: because boot and recovery partitions matter.
Migration and backups
Upgrade to larger SSD without reinstall
A disk upgrade can retain Windows and installed apps if a supported disk-clone workflow preserves the boot partitions.
Migration and backups
Prepare a backup before changing partitions
A reliable partition change starts with both a file backup and a recovery method for the entire system when boot partitions may be affected.
Migration and backups
Restore partitions after accidental deletion
Deleted partition entries may sometimes be reconstructed if disk contents have not been overwritten; stop writes immediately.
Migration and backups
Recover deleted files safely
File recovery is more likely to work when the affected volume has not been written to; SSD TRIM can significantly reduce chances.
Migration and backups
Create bootable recovery media
Bootable recovery media can help when Windows will not start, but not every edition includes a boot-media builder.
Migration and backups
Fix missing Windows Boot Manager after clone
If a cloned SSD does not start, the firmware boot order, partition layout or EFI boot files may not have migrated correctly.
Migration and backups
Understand data disk vs system disk clone
A data-disk copy duplicates ordinary files and partitions, whereas a boot-disk migration must preserve UEFI, EFI and OS boot dependencies.