

The best way to clone a hard drive is to only copy the data you need. This can be done by using an IDE/SATA adapter. You should also pay close attention and check if both drives are able to connect with each other. This can either be a separate external drive or a built-in secondary drive on your device. The first thing you need to do is prepare your new hard drive for the data to be stored in. Preparing for the cloning process will help you understand what you’re doing, and complete it more easily. There are a few things you should keep in mind if you’re asking, “ How do I clone a hard drive?”. Wiping removes all the data while cloning copies it from one drive to another. DID YOU KNOW? Many people often confuse cloning a hard drive with simply wiping the hard drive.

The data is stored as a file that can be encrypted or protected by a password, which is usually enough to secure your files. When you back up files, it stores either your entire information or a part of it in a selected location. Hard drive cloning is quite different from just backing up files. The copied data can be used and edited almost immediately and it can even replace the original drive if necessary! The process copies all the contents as they are. It requires two hard drives: a primary hard disk that has the data, and a secondary drive where all the data is copied to. What Is Drive Cloning?īefore we get into the specific process of cloning, let’s talk about what it is.ĭrive cloning is creating an exact copy of a hard drive on another drive.

By the time you’re done reading, you should be more confident in the process of cloning.
#CLONE MAC HARD DRIVE HOW TO#
In this article, we will discuss how to clone a hard drive, the process, and why it is recommended. This creates a copy of all the data stored, keeping your information secure. To take it a step further, many also clone their hard drive. You can do the same process in reverse if you need to copy the files back over, or restore the backup should your computer decide to break.Storing your information on a hard drive is considered one of the safest options out there. Any settings you change or files you save there won’t be reflected on your primary installation. You can use your Mac as normal, but keep in mind that it’s separate from the installation on your main internal hard drive. This brings up the boot switcher and lets you boot from the external hard drive. This can take fairly long, depending on the speed of your external drive and its connection to your Mac, so it’s best to have a fast hard drive with Thunderbolt, USB-C, or USB 3.0 connections.Īnd that’s it! When Disk Utility is done, you can shut down your Mac and hold down Option when booting it back up.
#CLONE MAC HARD DRIVE ISO#
You can also choose an ISO image, but that doesn’t have much use here.Ĭlick “Restore,” and Disk Utility will start the copying process. Select your external drive in the sidebar, click “Restore” in the menu, and then select your main drive as the “Restore From” option.

It’s intended to be used from Recovery mode to restore your hard drive after a failure.īut, if you choose your external drive as the restore target, you can flip that action around and copy files from your main drive to the backup. The “Restore” button in Disk Utility will copy the files from a backup to your main drive. Here’s where we get to that hidden feature we mentioned. You’ll be greeted with a list of all of your volumes, including your internal hard drive (probably called OS X or Macintosh HD) and your external hard drive. How to Clone Mac hard drive using disk utilityįire up Disk Utility from Spotlight (Command+Space) or the Utility folder in your applications.
