I'm on the hunt for the best hard drive cloning software that's user-friendly. My old PC is on its last legs, and it runs Windows 10, but I'm getting a new one with Windows 11. I want to copy the files from my old drive to the new SSD, but I don't need the operating system to be copied over since the new PC will already have Windows 11 installed. What are my options?
2 Answers
Cloning software typically makes an exact replica of your original drive, including the operating system. So, cloning from your Windows 10 drive to the new PC would include the OS, which you don’t want. You might want to consider just transferring files manually instead of cloning. If you're looking to move everything, a disk image might be the way to go, but most software won’t let you exclude the OS.
You're right that cloning copies everything on the disk, which means it wouldn't fit your needs since you want to leave out the OS. One option is to clone your old drive, then upgrade to Windows 11 using a media creation tool to keep your files and apps. But for a straightforward file transfer, manual copying is your best bet.
Yeah, I agree! Manual copy-pasting might seem a bit tedious, but it's the safest way to ensure you don’t accidentally move undesirable stuff.