Here we have some free disk cloning software that will allow you to take backups and shift data from one drive to another without much hassle. These alternatives will come in handy if you wish to safeguard your content or save everything in a new hard drive. And as we have listed only those programs that are available free of charge, you will not have to shell out even a single penny to carry out any of these functions. So, do take a look at the contenders that have found a mention on our list to learn about your options in this category.
1 – Clonezilla:
Clonezilla allows you to take a backup of your content and restore it as well. One of its advantages is that it clones only used blocks of a hard drive, thus ensuring efficient working. The program supports most of the common file systems and even allows restoring an image to a number of local devices simultaneously. It works with CDs, DVDs, hard disks, USB flash drives and more.
The customizable software is available in two versions, live and SE, and the latter one is capable of cloning as many as 40 computers at the same time with the help of multi-casting. It requires at least 196MB of RAM in the PC.
ManageEngine OS Deployer is a comprehensive disk cloning solution that enables you to deploy operating systems anywhere across the globe. It allows you to create a master image of the OS and deploy it to desktops and servers from a single console.
Customize your images according to your organizational needs. This software helps you save time and effort by seamlessly migrating user profiles. Provides reliable and convenient driver management to collect and distribute drivers automatically.
Perform live disk imaging by imaging a machine when it’s live and functioning in the network. You can also deploy the captured images to multiple systems independent of their hardware. We achieve this using the automated driver management feature.
3 – DriveImage XML Private Edition:
Compatible with PCs running Windows XP, Vista, 2003, 7 and 8, the application comes in handy for backing up partitions and logical drives to image files. You also have the option of cloning data from one drive to the other when using this software.
In case you do not want to bother with creating backup files every now and then, you can customize the utility to conduct scheduled backups and restore images to any drive. The private edition of the program comes at no cost, but the commercial version needs to be purchased.
4 – XXClone:
Those who wish to clone their Windows system disk complete with system files, applications and data, should take a look at XXClone. It carries out periodic system backups with the assistance of the HyperSync algorithm and even makes your target disk self-bootable, so it can act as a replacement for your main disk.
And as the program runs in the background, you can easily work on the computer on any other application while the backup or cloning is in process. Its no charge version for personal use has been loaded with basic features and is available for download through the official website.
5 – EaseUS:
This contender from our roundup will especially be of use for disaster recovery. The disk and partition cloning program features a built-in burning facility that helps you create a bootable CD which is a 100 percent clone of the original disk.
Apart from CDs and drives, you can even use it for creating clones of partitions by following the sector by sector process. It boasts of adopting an intuitive graphical user interface and claims to be compatible with hard disk drives of up to 1TB capacity.
6 – Parted Magic:
This GPL-license holding utility is great for partitioning and as it extends support to a wide range of file systems, it has been loaded with a horde of tools. You can use it for the purpose of formatting both internal and external hard drives or even moving, copying, creating, deleting or expanding partitions, in addition to cloning disks for backing up files.
One of the key highlights of this program comes across as its testing feature that permits you to check a hard drive for impending failures. And what’s more, Parted Magic also lets you benchmark your systems and it can run directly from CD drives without requiring any installation procedure.
7 – Macrium Reflect:
Our catalog now has the zero cost edition of Macrium Reflect which is meant for recovering data on home computers. The program comes across as an efficient solution that protects your documents, pictures, videos and other content by permitting you to create backup files. It goes without saying that you can clone your HDDs as it is and the utility’s other function is that of creating disk images.
Compatible with the Windows XP, Vista, 7 and 8 platforms, the utility even lets you schedule backups, so your data is safe even if you do not have time for backing it up manually. Another advantage of this application is that you can utilize it to create a Linux rescue CD as well.
8 – PING (Partimage Is Not Ghost):
PING has especially been created for helping you with the task of rescuing your system. It can be used for the purpose of backing up and restoring partitions and files as well as BIOS data locally or on the network. Burning and creating a bootable CD or a DVD is hardly a difficult task and you can then use them for restoring your system.
And to make sure that your Windows installation is carried out in the right destination, you can make partitions in a disk and even format before flagging off the installation process.
Conclusion:
So these were the free disk cloning software that are capable of doing the task at hand pretty efficiently. In case you are scared that you’ll end up losing your data if your computer crashes or if you wish to transfer it from one hard drive to another, you should definitely install one of these programs. Also, if you have a better alternative that can give stiff competition to the options mentioned on our roster, do drop its name in the comment box below.
