How to Clone Laptop Hard Drive to External USB (Bootable)

➡️Quick Answer: How to Clone Laptop Hard Drive to External USB

Are you worried about losing important files? Creating a complete backup of your hard drive is a great idea in case of disaster. Cloning your laptop's hard drive to an external USB is one of the safest ways to preserve everything, including the operating system, programs, settings, and personal files, in one simple process. What's more, cloning hard drive to USB creates a portable medis of your disk, allowing you to get access to your operating system anywhere at any time.

In this guide, we'll walk you through the best method to clone your laptop's hard drive to a USB drive using EaseUS Disk Copy, a reliable and user-friendly tool. You'll learn how to prepare, execute the cloning process, and verify that everything works correctly.

Preparing for the Hard Drive to USB Cloning Process

Before you start cloning, there are a few important things to check to ensure a smooth and successful transfer.

• 💾Proper external USB drive. The drive should have enough space to hold all the data from your laptop's hard drive. If your laptop has a 500GB drive with 300GB of data, your USB should be at least 300GB (though larger is better for future use). For speed and efficiency, a USB 3.0 or higher drive is recommended, as it will significantly reduce cloning time compared to older USB 2.0 drives. 
• 🔌Ensure your laptop is plugged into a power source. Cloning can take some time, and if your battery dies mid-process, it could corrupt data. Also, connect the USB drive directly to your laptop rather than through a USB hub, as hubs can sometimes cause connection issues during cloning.
• 🔐Reliable disk cloning software. While there are many options available, choosing a suitable one is essential. EaseUS Disk Copy is the choice for 70% of Windows users because it's easy to use, reliable, and supports various disk types (HDD/SSD) and disk brands. It also handles different drive types (clone HDD to SSD, smaller to larger drives, etc.) without requiring advanced technical knowledge. Download it on your Windows laptop and get ready for the following instructions.

Step-by-Step Guide to Cloning Your Laptop Hard Drive

Now that everything is prepared, let's go through the cloning process.

Stage 1. Connect the USB drive.

The first step is to connect your USB drive to the laptop and ensure it's recognized by your laptop. Most USB drives can be connected to the laptop directly with their own interface. If not, use a USB cable to connect it.

Stage 2. Download and install EaseUS Disk Copy.

As we mentioned above, EaseUS Disk Copy is an ideal hard drive cloning tool with robust features, allowing you to clone laptop hard drive to USB drive without any hassle. While cloning, it enables you to customize your clone task with the following features:

• Sector-by-sector clone. With this feature, you can choose to clone selectively, avoiding moving bad sectors to the USB drive.
• Supports various types of disks. EaseUS Disk Copy is compatible with various HDDs, SSDs, and USBs. So whatever hard drive and USB drive you use, you can clone data successfully.
• Adjust disk layout as preference. You can set the target USB drive layout as "Autofit the disk", "copy as the source", or "Edit disk layout" as needed.
• Fast cloning speed and reliable process. With EaseUS Disk Copy, you will enjoy a smooth data transfer from the laptop hard drive to the USB drive without losing. It only requires several simple clicks to start a cloning task, and it can copy data at a speed of 2000KB/s.

What are you waiting for? Download and install it on your Windows laptop right now.

Once installed, launch the software and follow the guide below to start.

Prior Notice:

• The "Sector by sector copy" asks the size of your destination disk to be at least equal to or larger than that of the source disk. Leave this feature unchecked if you wish to clone a larger hard disk to a smaller hard disk.
• All data on the destination disk will be completely erased, so take care.

Step 1. To start copying/cloning an entire disk to another, choose this disk as the source disk under "Disk Mode" and click "Next".

Step 2. Choose the other disk as the destination disk.

Step 3. Check the disk layout of the two disks. You can manage the disk layout of the destination disk by selecting "Autofit the disk", "Copy as the source" or "Edit disk layout". 

• "Autofit the disk" makes some changes by default on the destination disk layout so that it can work at its best status.
• "Copy as the source"does not change anything on destination disk and the layout is the same as source disk.
• "Edit disk layout" allows you to manually resize/move partition layout on this destination disk.

Tick the "Check the option if the target is SSD" option to put your SSD in its best performance.

A message now appears, warning you that data will be lost. Please confirm this message by clicking "OK" and then click "Next".

Step 4. Click "Proceed" to officially execute the task.

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What to Do After Cloning Is Completed

Once the cloning process finishes, don't disconnect the USB drive just yet. First, verify that the cloning was successful by checking the USB drive in File Explorer. Open a few folders to confirm that your files are intact.

If you cloned your system drive, you may want to test whether the USB drive is bootable. Restart your laptop and enter the BIOS/UEFI menu (usually by pressing F2, F12, or DEL during startup). From there, set the USB drive as the primary boot device and save changes. If everything was cloned correctly, your laptop should boot from the USB just like it would from the original hard drive.

If the USB doesn't boot, the issue might be related to the bootloader. You can repair it using Windows Recovery tools or reclone the drive with EaseUS Disk Copy.

Final Thoughts: A Reliable Way to Clone Your Laptop Drive

Cloning your laptop's hard drive to an external USB is a smart way to create a full backup or keep a portable version of your system. By using EaseUS Disk Copy, you can ensure the process is simple, safe, and effective without needing advanced technical skills.

🎯To recap:

• Prepare your USB drive with enough space and a fast connection.
• Use EaseUS Disk Copy for a smooth cloning experience.
• Verify the cloned drive and test booting from it if needed.

With these steps, you'll have a fully functional copy of your laptop's hard drive on a USB, ready for backups, transfers, or emergency recovery.

FAQs Related to Clone Laptop Hard Drive to USB

1. Can I turn my laptop hard drive into an external?

Yes, you can turn your laptop hard drive into an external drive by using a USB hard drive enclosure or adapter. Simply remove the drive from your laptop, place it into the enclosure (or connect it via the adapter), and secure it. Then, connect it to a computer via USB. This allows you to access the drive's data or use it for extra storage.

2. How can I use my old laptop hard drive as an external?

To use laptop's hard drive as an external drive, here are the steps:

• Remove the HDD. Take the hard drive out of your old laptop.
• Get an Enclosure/Adapter. Buy a USB enclosure (for permanent use) or a SATA-to-USB adapter (for temporary use).
• Insert the Drive. Place the HDD into the enclosure or connect it to the adapter.
• Connect via USB. Plug it into a computer to access files or use it as external storage.

3. What is USB cloning?

USB cloning is the process of creating an exact copy of a USB drive, including all its data, partitions, and system settings, onto another storage drive. This process ensures that the copied drive is a perfect replica of the original, preserving everything on it.