Cloning Win11 on SSD to harddrive


SevenEleven

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Windows 11
Hi:

I am a newbie to cloning and want to clone everything (Win11 + all applications) on a SSD to a harddrive (basically should the SSD drive fail, I want to be able to just remove the SSD and use the harddrive as the boot dirve instead . Will this be a problem , or it has to be SSD to SSD ? The SSD is 1T , plan to clone it to a 2T harddrive , is this OK?
Is this a sector-to-sector cloning ?
Which cloning software is recommended for newbie (Aomei or Macrium Reflect or something else) ? I need something simple and free for home use (for just one machine).
What harddrive (internal) brand , Seagate , Western Digital or some others? I looked around and saw the name Toshiba popping up, they are making harddrives now ? Any good, reliable? Their prices seem to be lower than others like Seagate for the same capacity.
As for external harddirve (for data backup) , which brand is good?
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
If you want to buy a 2tb mechanical HD it is better to look for a CMR disk , the SMR disks are not great.


want to clone everything (Win11 + all applications) on a SSD to a harddrive (basically should the SSD drive fail, I want to be able to just remove the SSD and use the harddrive as the boot dirve instead


The simplest way is to use os migration on the free version of diskgenius.


In the screenshots below a 525gb SSD is migrated to a 1tb HD

Click OS Migration


os-migate.jpg


Select the target disk


osmigrate5.jpg

This shows what it will look like - you can resize partition if you want.

the Source disk is shown at top, the Target disk is at the bottom


osmigrate7.jpg

Click Start and then Click Hot Migration

( it will make a vss snapshot in a few seconds which is what it copies to the target disk - that is how it is done from within a running os )

osmigrate8.jpg

Depending how much used space is on your SSD and the write speed of your target HD, it will take several minutes .
 
Last edited:

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    Win7
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    i5-8400
    Motherboard
    gigabyte b365m ds3h
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    2x8gb 3200mhz
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    bequiet pure power 11 400CM
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    CPU
    pentium g5400
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    gigabyte b365m ds3h
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    1x8gb 2400
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    xfx pro 450
There are many programs you can use to clone a disk. AOMEI Backupper, EaseUS TODO or Partition Manager, Macrium, Acronis, MiniTool Partition Wizard, they all work. However, Windows 11 is designed to run on SSD's and I personally, wouldn't try it on an HDD.
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 Home
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Custom built
    CPU
    AMD Ryzen 5 5600X
    Motherboard
    MSI B550-A Pro
    Memory
    16 GB Corsair Vengeance LPX DDR4-3200
    Graphics Card(s)
    PowerColor Red Devil Radeon RX 6600XT with 8GB GDDR6
    Sound Card
    Realtek integrated
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Acer Nitro 24" RG241Y 144hz refresh rate
    Screen Resolution
    1920 X 1080
    Hard Drives
    Western Digital Black SN770 1 TB NVMe SSD
    Samsung 860 QVO 1 TB SATA SSD
    Seagate Barracuda 1 TB HDD
    PSU
    LEPA B650 650 watt
    Case
    Enermax Coenus
    Cooling
    Cooler Master Hyper T4 air
    Keyboard
    CM Storm Devastator
    Mouse
    E-Blue Cobra Jr.
    Internet Speed
    100mbs
    Browser
    Microsoft Edge Chromium
    Antivirus
    Microsoft Defender
    Other Info
    Optical Drives: LG DVD-RW and Pioneer BluRay/ DVD burner
  • Operating System
    Windows 11 Home
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Asus ROG Zephyrus G14
    CPU
    AMD Ryzen 9 6900HS
    Motherboard
    Asus board (GA402RK)
    Memory
    16 GB Samsung DDR5-4800
    Graphics card(s)
    Integrated Radeon 680M and discrete Radeon RX 6800S with 8GB GDDR6
    Sound Card
    Integrated Realtek with Dolby Atmos
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Laptop screen 14" WQXGA, IPS, 120hz refresh rate
    Screen Resolution
    2560 X 1600
    Hard Drives
    1TB PCIe Gen 4 SSD (WD Black SN850)
    PSU
    Battery power and Asus power brick/adapter. Also has USB-C charging
    Case
    Laptop
    Cooling
    Laptop fans in vapor chamber
    Mouse
    Touchpad and Omoton bluetooth mouse
    Keyboard
    Built in RGB backlit
    Internet Speed
    100mbps
    Browser
    Edge Chromium
    Antivirus
    Microsoft Defender
There are many programs you can use to clone a disk. AOMEI Backupper, EaseUS TODO or Partition Manager, Macrium, Acronis, MiniTool Partition Wizard, they all work. However, Windows 11 is designed to run on SSD's and I personally, wouldn't try it on an HDD.
There is nothing wrong with HHD's Windows 11 is designed to run both hhd/ssd just hhds are slower. The hard drive is going to be a temporary solution as a just in case anyways and not be ran unless needed.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11 (NTLITE optimized)
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Custom
    CPU
    Amd 8350 Overclocked to 4.7
    Motherboard
    Asus Sabertooth r2
    Memory
    2400 MHz DDR 3 GSkill
    Graphics Card(s)
    Nvidia 1070
    Sound Card
    Denon receiver 7.1/Atmos
    Monitor(s) Displays
    LG C7
    Screen Resolution
    4k
    Hard Drives
    Samsung SSD 840 512 gig
    Backup drive 18 terabyte hhd
    Cooling
    Hyper 212 Cpu cooler with case fans
    Keyboard
    Simple keyboard
    Mouse
    Simple mouse
    Internet Speed
    1.5 gig Fiber
    Browser
    Edge
    Antivirus
    Never
I realise that running Windows 11 will be slower on HDD but the "life span" of SSD makes me nervous. I recently migrated from Vista , the hard drive on which it is installed is still working fine after all these years , I doubt very much SSD will last that long; also SSD is still quite expensive for the same capacity.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
I realise that running Windows 11 will be slower on HDD but the "life span" of SSD makes me nervous. I recently migrated from Vista , the hard drive on which it is installed is still working fine after all these years , I doubt very much SSD will last that long; also SSD is still quite expensive for the same capacity.
The lifespan stuff about SSD's is way overblown. The average SSD will last longer than any of us will. My oldest one has 2% wear after 6 years.
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 Home
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Custom built
    CPU
    AMD Ryzen 5 5600X
    Motherboard
    MSI B550-A Pro
    Memory
    16 GB Corsair Vengeance LPX DDR4-3200
    Graphics Card(s)
    PowerColor Red Devil Radeon RX 6600XT with 8GB GDDR6
    Sound Card
    Realtek integrated
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Acer Nitro 24" RG241Y 144hz refresh rate
    Screen Resolution
    1920 X 1080
    Hard Drives
    Western Digital Black SN770 1 TB NVMe SSD
    Samsung 860 QVO 1 TB SATA SSD
    Seagate Barracuda 1 TB HDD
    PSU
    LEPA B650 650 watt
    Case
    Enermax Coenus
    Cooling
    Cooler Master Hyper T4 air
    Keyboard
    CM Storm Devastator
    Mouse
    E-Blue Cobra Jr.
    Internet Speed
    100mbs
    Browser
    Microsoft Edge Chromium
    Antivirus
    Microsoft Defender
    Other Info
    Optical Drives: LG DVD-RW and Pioneer BluRay/ DVD burner
  • Operating System
    Windows 11 Home
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Asus ROG Zephyrus G14
    CPU
    AMD Ryzen 9 6900HS
    Motherboard
    Asus board (GA402RK)
    Memory
    16 GB Samsung DDR5-4800
    Graphics card(s)
    Integrated Radeon 680M and discrete Radeon RX 6800S with 8GB GDDR6
    Sound Card
    Integrated Realtek with Dolby Atmos
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Laptop screen 14" WQXGA, IPS, 120hz refresh rate
    Screen Resolution
    2560 X 1600
    Hard Drives
    1TB PCIe Gen 4 SSD (WD Black SN850)
    PSU
    Battery power and Asus power brick/adapter. Also has USB-C charging
    Case
    Laptop
    Cooling
    Laptop fans in vapor chamber
    Mouse
    Touchpad and Omoton bluetooth mouse
    Keyboard
    Built in RGB backlit
    Internet Speed
    100mbps
    Browser
    Edge Chromium
    Antivirus
    Microsoft Defender
There is nothing wrong with HHD's Windows 11 is designed to run both hhd/ssd just hhds are slower. The hard drive is going to be a temporary solution as a just in case anyways and not be ran unless needed.
Oh, it will work but there is an upcoming feature in Windows 11 called direct access and it is strictly aimed at SSD performance.
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 Home
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Custom built
    CPU
    AMD Ryzen 5 5600X
    Motherboard
    MSI B550-A Pro
    Memory
    16 GB Corsair Vengeance LPX DDR4-3200
    Graphics Card(s)
    PowerColor Red Devil Radeon RX 6600XT with 8GB GDDR6
    Sound Card
    Realtek integrated
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Acer Nitro 24" RG241Y 144hz refresh rate
    Screen Resolution
    1920 X 1080
    Hard Drives
    Western Digital Black SN770 1 TB NVMe SSD
    Samsung 860 QVO 1 TB SATA SSD
    Seagate Barracuda 1 TB HDD
    PSU
    LEPA B650 650 watt
    Case
    Enermax Coenus
    Cooling
    Cooler Master Hyper T4 air
    Keyboard
    CM Storm Devastator
    Mouse
    E-Blue Cobra Jr.
    Internet Speed
    100mbs
    Browser
    Microsoft Edge Chromium
    Antivirus
    Microsoft Defender
    Other Info
    Optical Drives: LG DVD-RW and Pioneer BluRay/ DVD burner
  • Operating System
    Windows 11 Home
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Asus ROG Zephyrus G14
    CPU
    AMD Ryzen 9 6900HS
    Motherboard
    Asus board (GA402RK)
    Memory
    16 GB Samsung DDR5-4800
    Graphics card(s)
    Integrated Radeon 680M and discrete Radeon RX 6800S with 8GB GDDR6
    Sound Card
    Integrated Realtek with Dolby Atmos
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Laptop screen 14" WQXGA, IPS, 120hz refresh rate
    Screen Resolution
    2560 X 1600
    Hard Drives
    1TB PCIe Gen 4 SSD (WD Black SN850)
    PSU
    Battery power and Asus power brick/adapter. Also has USB-C charging
    Case
    Laptop
    Cooling
    Laptop fans in vapor chamber
    Mouse
    Touchpad and Omoton bluetooth mouse
    Keyboard
    Built in RGB backlit
    Internet Speed
    100mbps
    Browser
    Edge Chromium
    Antivirus
    Microsoft Defender

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