Windows 10: Cloning a system image without messing up pre-boot and non-Windows partitions...

I have a dual boot Windows laptop, where one partition boots to Windows 10 and the other one to Windows 11.I have an external SSD on which I have installed Windows 11. I have been using it on my Mac when traveling. This one also has BootCamp drivers and other programs I have installed. I wanted to clone this disk to my Windows 11 partition on my laptop, so I don't have to replicate all the changes manually.I used Aomei Backupper System Clone feature to clone the system from SSD to my laptop. After successfully completing the process, I rebooted.My system failed to boot and I got an error. I'

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Do window 10 offer a clone image feature for backup system?

Hi, oemSoft

I am sorry to tell you that there is no built-in clone feature in Windows 10. If you just create a system image backup, you can follow the steps below to create a system image in Windows 10.

Step 1. Open Control Panel, go to System and Security > File History, then click System Image Backup at the lower-left corner. Or you can directly type backup and restore in the search box and select it from the search result list.

Step 2. Connect the USB drive to your computer and select it as the destination path, then click Next.

Step 3. Confirm your backup settings and click Start Backup.

However, if you want to clone your system directly, you can choose a third-party software like AOMEI Backupper. This is a professional clone software that allows you to

clone system to different places such as external hard drive, USB drive or Network, etc. without booting problems. With it, you also can clone the entire disk to HDD or SSD.

 

SSD not booting Windows 10 after cloning from HDD.


Hi there

Ok copying has failed so now try the Imaging method - OK it's an extra step but I've always found it works.

Create a bootable Free Macrium USB and boot from it to create the image and restore. Use Rufus to create a bootable USB from the ISO.

People often suggest cloning - but I've found in spite of the extra work Imaging always works.

Do include the windows reserved system partition in the image and ensure the boot partition is active.

Cheers
jimbo

 

Is there a way to shrink the partition size of a system image?

I made a noob mistake and forgot to shrink the partition size of a system image that I intended to clone to another PC. I made the image this morning and just went to clone it now and realized it won't fit on the SSD I have in this computer. I don't have access to the original PC right now to shrink the partition and recreate the system image. Is there anything I can do or am I screwed?