Free Download The Best WD Cloning Software

It is necessary to choose a powerful WD clone software when transferring data. If you want to break brands limitation and save time, a powerful WD clone hard drive software introduced in this post will be helpful for you.

Irene

By Irene / Updated on May 27, 2024

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WD (Western Digital) is a renowned company known for designing and manufacturing reliable data storage devices like HDDs, SSDs, and portable disks for users worldwide. As technology advances, the demand for upgrading disks, cloning for backup, and saving time through multiple installations has grown significantly among WD users.

wd hard drive

At this time, having effective cloning software becomes necessary to streamline these tasks and conserve both time and effort. So, today, we will focus on WD clone software and share something you may want to know.

Does Western Digital have its clone hard drive software?

Regrettably, Western Digital has not introduced its proprietary WD disk clone software; but it recommends using a tool called Acronis True Image for Western Digital, which offers both backup and cloning features. With it, you can access the "Clone Disk" option by clicking on "Tools" in the sidebar, which will lead you to the cloning wizard. Following the steps will complete the cloning process, which is not overly complex.

However, there are some limitations you need to know. First, the WD clone software will only work if you have a Western Digital hard drive. If you try to use it with a different type of hard drive, it may not work with an error message or even encounter Acronis Clone Disk Wizard stuck.

Second, the Acronis True Image WD edition cannot recognize Western Digital HDD/SSD devices formatted with exFAT. To resolve this, you need to format exFAT to FAT32 or NTFS, as exFAT is commonly used for modern digital drives.

acronis true image restart

Third, even if you have a WD hard drive or SSD connected to your computer, there might be times when the Acronis True Image SSD clone software doesn't duplicate your chosen disk exactly the way you want it to due to compatibility, configurations or disk conditions.

What is the best WD clone software?

We can see, the suggested cloning software may exclude many users for its brands limitation and compatibility. If you want to choose a suitable cloning software for an alternative, it is better to equip with these traits:

• Reliability
• Ease of use
• Data integrity
• Cost-effectiveness
• Cloning across different hardware

Based on these features, AOMEI Partition Assistant Standard stands out with its “Clone Disk” feature. Thanks to its user-friendly interface, it makes drive cloning accessible to users of all skill levels without any brand restrictions. All data on your old drive including programs, files, and even OS can be transferred within few steps.

Furthermore, it achieves an ideal balance between versatility and cost-effectiveness. If you upgrade to the Professional Edition, functions like App Mover, Allocate Free Space, Merge Partitions can help you extend drive space effortlessly. For performance enhancements and keep computer health, it can also share various solutions.

Download Freeware Win 11/10/8.1/8/7
Secure Download

Now, I will show you how to use the WD clone software to easily clone HDD to SSD.  Before starting, we need to make some preparations in advance.

Preparations:
Firstly, connect the new disk to your PC and make sure it can be detected. If your PC has no extra disk bay for it, you need a USB-to-SSD cable.
What you should pay attention to is that the capacity of the new disk should not be smaller than the used space of your current disk.
Please initialize the SSD if it's new. When setting the partition style, please set the partition style(MBR or GPT) as the same as the HDD. 

Then, you can follow the guide about how to clone HDD to SSD in Windows 11, 10, 8, and 7. 

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.)

clone disk

Step 2. Choose the hard disk that you need to clone as the source disk and click "Next".

Copy Disk Quickly

Step 3. Select the destination disk to put the data of the source disk on, and then click "Next".

Select Destination Disk

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.

Edit Disk

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".

Edit

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".

Note

Step 6. The cloning process will start and you can check the cloning process.

Apply

▌Tip: How to boot from the new disk after clone
That is how to use the Western Digital Drive clone software to transfer data. If you do not know how to boot from the new disk, you can follow this guidance. Here we take an SSD as an example.

If your PC can only accommodate one disk, you need to remove the old hard drive and install the new SSD.

Step 1. Unplug the power, remove the battery from the laptop, and press and hold the power button for around 10 seconds to release any residual power.

Step 2. Remove the case cover and locate the old hard drive on the motherboard. Loosen the screw and unplug your old disk. 

Step 3. Install the new SSD into the slot and screw the screws to fasten the bracket.

Place New SSD

Step 4. Finally, place the case cover and battery back onto the laptop; and connect the power.

If it's available to hold the old hard drive and new SSD on the PC, you can enter BIOS to set the new SSD as the first boot device. 

Step 1. Reboot the PC and press a functional key (ESC, F1, F2, F8, or F10) during the startup screen to enter BIOS. 

Step 2. In the BIOS setup, go to the Boot tab and use arrow keys to set the new SSD as the first position in the list. 

MSI boot order options

Step 3. Save and exit from the BIOS setup. 

Further reading: How to move OS only with AOMEI Partition Assistant?

The Disk Clone feature of Western Digital clone software provides users with the flexibility to transfer specific components, allowing users to replicate all the original data to the new drive. However, if you want to move original operating system only, there is an additional function called "Migrate OS" available to assist you.

This function is specifically designed to move your operating system and its associated data to the new drive. With this, there is no need for reinstalling applications or reconfiguring any Windows settings.

migrate os to ssd

Verdict

The best WD clone software is introduced here. You can download it to effortlessly upgrade a drive or make a backup. Afterward, the software AOMEI Partition Assistant can share a powerful hand for your computer management. Except for the aforementioned functions, you can rely on it to fix computer issues like rebuild MBR or convert system disk between MBR/GPT as well. By the way, if you are a Windows Server user, here is the Server Edition that can be downloaded for your device compatibility.

Irene
Irene · Staff Editor
Irene is an Editor of AOMEI Technology. She devotes herself in giving insightful thoughts on common computer problems with simple and clear guidance. Irene loves to help people solve problems and explore more solutions on relevant issues. She loves reading, singing and travelling.