Windows 10: Clone an entire drive directly to the cloud?

Hi - I have a single 256GB SSD and no other local or external storage. I want to make an exact clone image of my entire SSD including the OS, so that I can replicate this same image on to other SSDs to use in other PCs. So IOW I want to make one master SSD and then replicate it on to a few other SSDs for identical systems I am building. The goal is to make an extact, bootable replica 100% exactly like the first (bit for bit identical across the entire SSD). This is for Windows 10. Some questions please:

1. I see there are lots of options to clone a drive, but they require storing the image locally on some other device. Are there any cloning utilities that will write the cloned image directly to the cloud, so I don't need a second local drive or external storage for the cloned image?

2. When I go to restore the cloned image, it is likely in some cases that the motherboard and or CPU on the new machine will be different. Is it possible to restore a cloned image to a new system with a differemt motherboard and CPU that will still boot just fine? My idea would be to restore the cloned image on a new system, and then install the appropriate drivers for that motherboard and CPU. Possible?

3. How does the restore process work in this case. For instance if I boot on my SSD and then want to restore an image on to it, if it starts writing the cloned image from the backup right on top of itself while it is booted I imagine that would cause issues? In that case is this possible to only do if the restore is happening from the cloned image directly onto a second SSD on the machine, but not the currently booted one?

Thank you everyone.

:)

 

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.

 

Moving to SSD. Clone or not to clone?

I kinda agree with you, but on a wholr, do not. While I have done things a bit differently than this specific situation, by installing Windows directly to the SSD, and cloning after, my testing shows that there are no issues doing this, very little that can go wrong, provided your system is stable.

There are certain features that must be disabled in this situation, like auto defrag and such, but even with a fresh install to the SSD, you need to take steps to ensure that you SSD performs properly, regardless of how the data got there.

Arming yourself with a bit of knowledge can go a long way.

Installing the latest chipset driver, and the RST Tools, will ensure optimal performance of the SSD. but rather than taking my advice, I suggest the OP takes a look here:

http://blogs.dirteam.com/blogs/sand...7-and-ssds-to-clone-windows-or-reinstall.aspx

Installing The SSD - Install A Solid State Drive In Your Notebook | Tom's Hardware

Keep in mind, also, Digibucc, that many retail drives include software and such that very specifically is to be used to ttranser the OS from an existing mechanical drive to an SSD, and if there really was alot fo issues stemming from the cloning process, they would not have packages like that, simply to eliminate tech support costs. While not the optimal option, cloning is NOT a bad thing, as long as you take the nessecary steps.

 

Clone Bitlocker enable drive to SSD

Keitaro

My name is Andre Da Costa; an Independent Consultant, Windows Insider MVP and Windows & Devices for IT MVP. I'm here to help you with your problem.

Heed the advice of the software, you must disable BitLocker before cloning. This is highly recommend if you ever want to get access to the drive.

There is nothing wrong with having to re-enable it after restoring the clone.

Step 1: disable BitLocker.

Step 2: clone drive

Step 3: restore the cloned image to the new drive.

Step 4: Re-Enable BitLocker.