AOMEI Partition Assistant 
Can Macrium Reflect Shrink Partition During Clone?
You will learn to use Macrium Reflect shrink partition during clone in this passage. And you can also get its best alternative to make clone and resize partitions more effectively.
By Irene / Updated on January 24, 2025
Can Macrium Reflect shrink partition during clone?
Macrium Reflect is a backup and disk cloning software for Microsoft Windows, first released in 2006. It uses Microsoft Volume Shadow Copy Service to create accurate disk images and file backups. These backups can restore exact copies of partitions or entire drives in case of system boot failure, data loss, or hardware upgrades.
Can Macrium Reflect shrink partition during clone? Yes, it can! This is especially useful when migrating data to a smaller drive. The software automatically adjusts the partition size if the target drive is smaller but has enough space for the data. By offering disk cloning, backup, and partition resizing, Macrium Reflect serves as a valuable solution for data recovery, system upgrades, and disaster recovery.
If you want to know how to use Macrium Reflect to resize partitions, here is a guidance:
Step 1. Go to the Create Backups tab, select Local Disks to view attached disks, then choose the disk and click Clone this disk… below it.
Step 2. Click Select a disk to clone to… to choose the clone destination.
Step 3. You can select and delete individual partitions on the destination disk or click Erase Disk to remove all partitions.
Step 4. Individual partitions can be dragged from the source disk to the destination in any order.
Step 5. Choose Exact partition offset and length to copy partitions with the same offset and size as the source. In this step, you can perform Macrium Reflect resize partitions during the clone. Select Shrink or extend to fill the target disk to resize partitions to utilize all available space on the destination disk.
Step 6. After resizing the partition on Macrium Reflect during clone, click Next. On the next page, you can set a schedule for the clone to run automatically at the specified time without user interaction.
Step 7. Review your selected options before starting the clone, then click Finish. A window will appear with options to Run this backup now or Save as a Backup Definition File, allowing you to reuse the clone setup easily in the future.
The best Macrium Reflect alternative
While Macrium Reflect is a reliable tool, some users encounter errors during disk cloning, such as Macrium Reflect clone failed error 9, “Read failed 13: Broken pipe”, “Failed to create volume snapshot”, “Read failed 22”, “Write failed 22”, and “Verify file system failed”, among others.
If you need a simple and reliable alternative to Macrium Reflect, AOMEI Partition Assistant is a great choice. Its “Disk Clone” feature is easy to use and works for many needs.
- Key features include:
- Adjust Partition Size: Change the partition size on the destination disk during cloning with 3 options available.
- Sector-by-Sector Clone: Copy everything from the source disk, even empty spaces.
- Different DiskClone: Transferdata from a hard drive to an SSD for better performance.
- Flexible Disk Layout: Organize the disk layout on the destination disk as needed.
AOMEI Partition Assistant is simple, affordable, and works well for disk cloning and managing your computer.
AOMEI Partition AssistantThe Best Windows Disk Partition Manager and PC Optimizer
Step 1.Install and launch AOMEI Partition Assistant, click the "Clone" main tab and select "Clone Disk". (You can also right-click the Disk you want to clone and select the "Clone Disk" tool to run disk clone.)
Step 2. Choose the hard disk that you need to clone as the source disk and click "Next".
Step 3. Select the destination disk to put the data of the source disk on, and then click "Next".
Step 4. Then, you will enter the Confirm interface where you can check the source and destination disk. After all is set, you can click the "Confirm" button to continue.
In lower left corner of the window, you can click the "Settings" button to adjust the partition size on the destination disk. There are three options for you:
- Clone without resizing partitions: all partitions will be cloned to the target disk as the original partition size. It is available when the target disk is larger than the source disk. If it is smaller, this option will be grayed out.
- Fit partitions to entire disk: all partitions will be cloned to the target disk and take up its full capacity according to the original partition size proportion.
- Edit partitions on this disk: you can change every partition size on the target disk as you need.
After finishing the adjustment, please click "Save".
Notes:
- You can tick "4k alignment" to improve the reading and writing speed of SSD if the selected destination disk is an SSD storage.
- All data on this selected destination disk will be wiped out after you save the operation to physical disk. If there is important data on the destination drive, please make a backup in advance.
- If you clone to a smaller SSD, the first option is grayed out. If you select Sector-by-Sector Clone, it is unable to adjust the size on the destination disk.
Step 5. You can preview the disk cloning operating by viewing the "Pending Operations". To commit the "Pending Operations", please click "Apply" and "Proceed".
Step 6. The cloning process will start and you can check the cloning process.
Bonus tip: Easily resize partitions with the best Macrium Reflect alternative
AOMEI Partition Assistant makes resizing partitions easy without risking data loss as well. It supports NTFS and FAT32 volumes and works on all Windows versions, including Windows 11, 10, 8, and 7, for both 32-bit and 64-bit systems. For businesses, there’s a Server Edition designed for Windows Server.
A key feature is "1-Click Adjust Space," which lets you extend or shrink partitions by dragging the edges of the partition. It even allows resizing partitions with unmovable files. This tool simplifies managing multiple partitions, including recovery partitions, ensuring safe and smooth partition adjustments. This multifunctional software also offers the Resize Partition option that help you to easily adjust encrypted partition size.
AOMEI Partition AssistantThe Best Windows Disk Partition Manager and PC Optimizer
Step 1. Install and launch AOMEI Partition Assistant. Right-click a partition (here is D: partition) you want to adjust space and select "1-Click Adjust Space".
Note: It cannot select unallocated space to adjust because the feature is just for partition space adjustment. If there is unallocated space and you want to use it to expand a partition, you can use the feature "Merge Partition".
Step 2. If you want to use the space on F: to expand D: you can simply drag the dot near the partition F: head backward to shrink the partition F: and enlarge the partition D: simultaneously. Then click "OK". You can simultaneously drag the dot near the partition C: tail forward to shrink the partition C: so the D: will also be enlarged with the space of C: at the same time. In this case, you can adjust all partition space (C:, D:, and F:) on the disk.
Step 3. You can preview the operation by viewing the "Pending Operations". To commit the "Pending Operations", please click "Apply" and "Proceed".
Step 4. The process will start and you can check the progress. It might take time to finish the operation.
Step 5. Wait for the operation to be finished. After it is completed successfully, you will find D: is enlarged and both D: and F: are adjusted.
If you want to make the best use of your disk space, you can also add free space to an insufficient space drive from another drive.
To sum up
Does Macrium Reflect resize partitions? Yes, it does. It can help to shrink or extend partition during clone process, making it ideal for tasks like data migration and system recovery. However, users may encounter some limitations or errors with this software.
For those seeking a reliable alternative, AOMEI Partition Assistant offers a user-friendly and versatile solution. With features like disk cloning, flexible partition resizing, and system optimization, it ensures smooth performance and efficient management. Whether you need to resize partitions, migrate data, or optimize your computer, AOMEI Partition Assistant is a practical choice for all Windows users.
