How to Clone an SSD to an SSD

Cloning an SSD with a free software in Windows 10 and 11: A detailed tutorial

An SSD clone is an exact replica of your solid-state drive. Cloning an SSD might be helpful when you’re upgrading your PC and want to transfer all your data, including Windows, programs, and personal files, from an old drive to a new bigger and faster SSD, without spending hours reinstalling everything.

In this article

• Clone an SSD to an SSD in four quick steps
• How to clone an SSD to a new SSD: A detailed walkthrough
  • Step 1. Download and install free SSD cloning software
  • Step 2. Check compatibility and connect new SSD
  • Step 3. Run MultiDrive and start cloning
  • Step 4. Set new SSD as boot drive
• How to clone an SSD to an SSD of a larger capacity
• Optional: Erase your old SSD

Clone an SSD to an SSD in four quick steps

1. Download and install a free SSD cloning software – MultiDrive.
2. Connect a new SSD to your computer. Make sure that the capacity of the new storage is equal to or larger than your current solid state drive.
3. Run MultiDrive and go to Clone. Select the old drive as the Source, the new one as the Target, and click the Clone button.
4. After SSD cloning is complete, reboot your computer, enter BIOS and set the new SSD as the boot drive. Then save and exit.

See the details for each step below ↓

How to clone an SSD to a new SSD: A detailed walkthrough

Step 1. Download and install free SSD cloning software

The SSD cloning software we’ll be using in this tutorial is a free and reliable disk duplication utility named MultiDrive. It was created by Atola Technology, a tech company with more than 20 years of experience in data recovery and storage device management.

1. Download MultiDrive software.
2. Run the installer and follow the on-screen instructions.

Step 2: Check compatibility and capacity of the new SSD, then connect it to your PC

1. Check compatibility: Refer to the drive manufacturer’s specification and your PC characteristics, to make sure the new SSD is compatible with your computer. Most modern computers use SATA SSDs and have SATA slots. Some newer systems support faster NVMe SSDs, which plug into M.2 slots.
2. Check capacity: The capacity of your new solid state drive should be equal to or larger than your current SSD. This is needed in order for your new drive to be able to store all the data from the old one. A larger storage capacity will allow more room for future data growth.
3. Connect the new SSD to your computer:
   • If you have a desktop computer with free drive bays, install the new SSD alongside the old one.
   • If you have a laptop or desktop without a spare drive bay, use a SATA-to-USB or NVMe-to-USB adapter to connect the new SSD externally.

Step 3. Run MultiDrive and start cloning

1. Double-click the MultiDrive icon on your desktop or type MultiDrive in the Windows search bar.
2. On the left, click Clone.

3. On the left panel, select the old SSD as Source.

4. On the right panel, select the new SSD as Target.

5. Double-check your selections. The cloning process will overwrite all data on your target (new) SSD and replace it with the content of your source (existing) SSD.
6. Click the Clone button to start the process.

How long does it take to clone an SSD?

MultiDrive clones an entire drive sector by sector. The cloning time depends on the size of your source SSD and the speed of both the source and target drives. MultiDrive will provide an estimated time on the Stats panel.

Pause and resume SSD cloning

You can pause the SSD cloning process anytime and resume it later:

• Pause: On the Cloning screen, click the Pause button.

• Resume: On the Dashboard, select your paused Clone task and click the Resume button.

Step 4: Restart your PC and set the new SSD as the boot drive

1. After the cloning process is complete, restart your computer: Start menu > Power > Restart.
2. At startup, press F2, F12, or Delete to enter BIOS.
3. Set the new SSD as the primary boot drive.
4. Save changes and exit BIOS. Your PC will now boot from the new SSD.

How to clone an SSD to an SSD of a larger capacity

If you want to clone an SSD to a larger SSD (for example, a 500GB drive to a 1TB drive), you’ll need to adjust the partition size of the new drive after the SSD cloning process is complete. This way you’ll be able to utilize the full capacity of your new SSD.

Here’s how to do it:

First, follow the steps 1-4 from our detailed guide on How to clone an SSD to a new SSD:

1. Step 1: Download and install free SSD cloning software.
2. Step 2: Check compatibility and capacity of the new SSD, then connect it to your PC.
3. Step 3: Run MultiDrive and start cloning.
4. Step 4: Restart your PC and set the new SSD as a boot drive.

Then, do the following steps in order to adjust the partition size of the new drive.

Step 5: How to adjust the partition size of the cloned SSD

1. Press Win + X and choose Disk Management.
2. In the Disk Management window, right-click your new SSD and select Extend Volume.

3. In the Extend Volume Wizard, click Next.

4. Make sure the amount of space is set to the maximum available.

5. Click Next, then Finish.

Now you can use the full capacity of your new SSD.

If you face issues extending a volume, see the official Microsoft guide for troubleshooting: How to extend a basic volume.

Optional: Erase your old SSD

If you want to securely wipe all the data from your old SSD after cloning, MultiDrive can completely erase a drive for you:

1. Run MultiDrive and click Erase on the left.
2. Select the old SSD you want to wipe. (MultiDrive won’t allow erasing your boot drive.)
3. Click the Erase button.

Conclusion

To sum up, SSD cloning with MultiDrive is a straightforward and efficient way to upgrade your storage without the hassle of reinstalling Windows and all your applications.

By following the steps described in this article, you can seamlessly migrate your entire system to a new, larger or faster SSD, ensuring a smooth transition and enhanced performance for your PC.