The latest generation SSD memories are extremely efficient media, which is why more and more people are deciding to replace their old hard drives with these devices. To do so, you first need to make a safety backup, to have a copy of your data should the process go wrong, saving your files in the cloud, on a USB stick or on an external memory. Here is a complete guide to understand how to clone hard drive to SSD, with all the options available for Windows pc and Mac.
How to clone Windows hard drive to SSD with EaseUS Todo Backup
If you have a Windows pc and want to clone your computer’s hard drive, moving all the resources to an SSD, you can use several programs that perform this task very well. One of the best is undoubtedly EaseUS Todo Backup, a program available in a free version for free, or in a paid version with a cost of 27 euros to purchase the license.
The paid option offers several additional features, in fact in addition to cloning the hard drive and performing backup and restore procedures, with the 27 euro version are included the transfer of the operating system to another PC other than the original one, as well as notifications and the file exclusion service, with which you can customize the resources to be transferred and moved within the SSD media.
In both cases the software is very efficient and easy to use, in fact it boasts a very intuitive interface and perfectly optimized for Windows. To proceed you must first download the program by performing the installation file download from the official website, then just follow the wizard and complete the initial configuration. Then you need to open the software, go to the main menu by clicking on the three dots in the upper left corner and select the Clone option.
After that you just need to choose the hard drive you want to clone, select Next, indicate the SSD to which you want to copy the data, click on the Optimize SSD feature through the Options item to ensure a more efficient result, finally just press Ok and Proceed. Once the operation is finished, all files on the hard disk of the Windows PC will be moved to the SSD memory, so any data on the fixed memory will be deleted and will no longer be accessible from the first medium.
How to clone Windows hard disk to smaller SSD
Another program to perform the data transfer operation is Macrium Reflect 7, compatible with any Windows PC. An interesting aspect of this program is the possibility to clone the hard disk to a smaller SSD, provided that the capacity of the SSD is at least equal to the space occupied by the data inside the hard disk. This software is available free of charge for personal use, otherwise you will need to purchase the Business professional license.
In this case, go to the macrium.com portal, download the program by clicking Home Use and then download Macrium Reflect 7 Free Edition. After the installation you only need to open the software, select the Clone this disk item, then choose the SSD to which you want to transfer the data using the Select a disk to clone to option. Finally you need to click on Advanced Options, set the Perform an Intelligent Sector Copy feature to optimize the process, click on Verify File System and conclude by selecting Enable SSD TRIM and finally Ok.
An alternative to clone the hard disk to smaller SSD is the AOMEI Backupper Professional 5.3 program, available with a selling price of 44.99 euros for the license purchase. This is a professional software, indicated if you want to ensure a reliable process, for example to move important data and delicate files, which you don’t want to risk ruining or losing by using a free program, although the ones indicated in this guide are quite safe and efficient anyway.
Once you have downloaded AOMEI Backupper you just need to install it inside your PC, open the program and select the Clone tab, present in the menu on the left side of the main screen. Next, choose the Clone Disk option, select the original hard disk from which you want to transfer the data, click Next, select the SSD to which you want to transfer the data, click Next again, make sure that Disk Alignment is enabled and then click Clone.
How to clone Mac hard drive to SSD with Time Machine
Also with Mac, you can clone the hard drive to SSD to replace the internal memory, to simply transfer data, or to move the operating system to another computer. Cloning the Mac hard drive is really simple, in fact, the Apple PC provides several internal features to perform this operation, without installing external programs or buy third-party software. The first possible solution is Time Machine, an internal backup program of the Mac, available on all operating systems macOS.
With this application you can get a copy of the hard disk, just connect the SSD media to the PC, then an automatic window will appear when the computer detects the media, so you just have to select the item Use as backup disk. Before continuing you can choose whether to enter a security password, select the Backup Disk Encryption item, an important option if you want to protect your data and increase security, however remember that to restore the resources will be indispensable to use such code, so you absolutely must not lose it.
Next you need to open the Mac settings, entering the System Preferences screen, select Time Machine, opt for Select Backup Disk, indicate the media to which you want to transfer the data and start the operation. In this way, all the resources on the hard disk will be copied to the external SSD memory, moreover through the Finder of the Mac you can always restore the files, always using the Time Machine option and activating the Restore feature.
How to clone Mac hard drive to SSD with external programs
In addition to the native feature of the Mac, Time Machine, you can clone the hard drive to the SSD using external programs. One of them is Carbon Copy Cloner 5, a software released by Bombich company only in paid version. In this case the price for the license is 36.65 euros, however, you can take advantage of a free 30-day trial period, just register and activate an account on the company’s official website.
After downloading the program to your PC, installing it and carrying out the configuration wizard, you just need to open the software from the Applications folder of your PC, click on Select Source to choose the source hard drive, continue with the Select Destination option to set the SSD memory where the data will be stored, finally just click on Clone and you’re done. With this program you can exclude some files, moreover through the Advanced Settings and the SafetyNet option you can initiate the execution of automatic scripts.
Another program to clone the hard disk of your Mac is SuperDuper, a software quite simple to use, with which to perform backups and other data recovery operations, a paid application with a price of about 27 euros. Finally we also point out Clone X, compatible with macOS X 10.6 or later version, with a purchase cost of $29.99. This program allows you to move the operating system to the SSD, to clone it from the hard drive and duplicate it both on the storage media and on another pc.
How to clone Mac hard drive to SSD with USB key
An alternative option to clone the Mac hard drive involves using a USB key, a temporary media on which to save a copy of the memory. This is a solution suitable for different operations, for example to clone the hard disk to move the operating system to SSD, in this way you can replace the old memory with another model to increase storage space, restoring the data once the change of support is over.
Of course it is advisable to always make a backup of data, to avoid any problem if there should arise malfunctions or damage to the SSD support or USB key. To proceed, you must download the Clonezilla Live program, available for free on the clonezilla.org website, and use the Mac’s native Tuxboot application to create a bootable USB flash drive, on which you will install Clonezilla Live.
Now you must connect the flash drive to the PC, insert the SSD and start Live Clonezilla, then you must select the Other modes of Clonezilla Live option, set the Italian language and click Start. Then you need to select Disk to local disk, activate Clone mode, select the initial hard disk as the source disk, select the target SSD as the target disk and finalize the process.
Hard disk or SSD: which is the best choice?
If you’ve made it this far, now you know all the best solutions for cloning your hard disk to SSD, however, you need to understand if it’s really the best option. SSD (Solid State Drive) memories are solid state drives, devices without mechanical components and magnetic supports, which characterize the classic memories, that is, hard disks, performing in fact the same functions.
In comparison to a hard disk, SSDs boast different access modes, passing from the head and magnetic traces of the HD to electrical charges and transistors. The main advantages of SSDs are speed, up to 200 times faster than a traditional HD, with an extremely fast boot time and virtually instant access to resources. Moreover SSDs are quieter and more resistant, as they have no mechanical parts that can break and get damaged.
The disadvantages are obviously the high purchase cost, in fact for the same storage space they have a price up to 4/5 times higher than a normal hard disk, moreover the maximum capacity is less high than HD, up to 1TB for high-end models, except for professional products that can reach 4TB. In general if you use your pc for work or gaming you should opt for a SSD, otherwise a good hard disk is enough if you don’t have special needs.