Beginner's Guide - How to Mirror Hard Drive to SSD
HDD vs. SSD
Hard Disk Drives (HDDs) and Solid State Drives (SSDs) are alike in their physical composition, but they store information quite differently. There are merits and demerits to using each drive, and selecting the right type for you depend on the activities you engage your computer.
What is HDD?
HDDs rely on platters to read and write information. It comprises one or more magnetic tender platters, a selector arm with a read/write head for each platter, and a rollerblade to move the arm and turn the platters.
HDDs platters spin at a pre-set speed of 4200 rpm to 7200 rpm, determining their read/write rates. The hard drive will read and write data faster if it has a higher pre-set speed. HDDs are tested technologies and are inexpensive compared to SSDs for an equal amount of storage.
What is SSD?
SSDs utilize flash memory to give greater durability and performance. They use lower energy and have no moving parts. You can describe them as large USB drives because they utilize similar base technology.
SSDs store data in a block which must be refreshed whenever any part of the data is updated. The data kept in the old block is transferred and rewritten with the changes to a new block while the old block is erased. SSDs are preferable to HDDs due to the following advantages:
- High reading and writing speed:SSDs deliver an overwhelming read and write speed of 3400/3000MB/s.
- More durable than HDD:SSDs have a small size that protects your data during movements compared to HDDs which possess lots of moving small parts that make it easy for things to malfunction and lose important data.
- Power and energy-efficient:SSDs perform superiorly and utilize less energy, thereby enabling your computer to operate cooler and smoothly.
- More practical size factors:SSDs are lesser sized compared to HDDs and can withstand dropping and movement.
What You Should Prepare for Mirroring a Hard Drive to SSD
Cloning your HDD to SSD is done for different reasons, but the benefit of cloning your internal hard drive is similar. Two major advantages include data protection and upgradingyour hard drive to a proficient one.
To carry out a hard drive clone to SSD, you'll need to carry out the following to have smooth and successful cloning:
1. Backup and erase all data on the SSD: If the target SSD is not a new one, backing up the data on your SSD gives room for data recovery. Because all the data on the target device will beerased during cloning. Erasing the SSD is a must-be process to create enough space to receive the clone.
2. Disconnect all connected external peripheral devices: A desktop computer supports users to connect more than one hard drive. To correctly clone files from HDD to SSD, you'll need to disconnect external devices such as USB storage devices, printers, etc.
3. Download and install disk clone software:A disk cloning software allows for a quick and smooth cloning operation. Windows does not have a built-in tool, you can apply a third-party disk clone tool.
4. USB-to-SATA adapter:You must use a USB-to-SATA adapter to connect the SSD if you are using a laptop because it only has a hard drive slot.
Hard Drive Mirror Software – Qiling Disk Copy
Occasionally, computer users clone their hard drives whenever they want to upgrade to a new hard disk. The cloning can be done on a Microsoft Operating System where you can copy a hard drive file-by-file in certain basic ways similar to copy and paste.
The problem with this process is that it doesn't present a reliable and efficient means to clone the total contents of a hard drive to another. To safely and effectively clone your device's hard drive to another, you'll need a third-party disk cloning software like the Qiling Disk Copy.
Qiling Disk Copy is an effective and stable clone software and provides security for your files during the cloning process. It clones 100% of the original data to a new drive without data loss. The software also functions with some important features such as:
Qiling Disk Copy
- Easy operation:You can transfer your hard drive's data, system files, and application in quick and simple steps.
- Efficient and Effective:It smoothly replaces an HDD with an SSD and supports cloning from MBR to GPT and GPT to MBR.
- Works well on all brands:Qiling Disk Copy is enabled to migrate or clone different brands of HDD and SSD.
- Customizable:Users can customize the disk layout according to their needs.
How to Mirror Hard Drive to SSD with Qiling Disk Copy
To mirror an HDD to SSD using the Qiling Disk Copy, first, you'll need to activate the tool by downloading and installing it on your PC. Once the device is successfully installed, launch it and follow the below steps:
Step 1: In "Disk clone", select the HDD that you want to clone.
Step 2: Select the SSD as your destination.
Step 3: Edit the disk layout and then click "Proceed" to continue.
As the destination is an SSD, you are suggested to tick "Check the option if the target is SSD".
A warning message tells you that the data on the SSD will be erased. Click "OK" to continue if you do not have important data on the destination disk.
Step 4: Wait for the process to complete.
Conclusion
Mirroring HDD to SSD is the best means to upgrade an old disk, prevent data loss due to system crashes, hard drive failure, or sudden deletion. From all indications, SSDs are more efficient than HDDs, and they give users a better experience while working on their PCs.
If you need to clone your hard drive without glitches or data loss successfully, it's expected you employ the use of a high-performance third-party tool, and the Qiling Disk Copy is a great choice to consider.
Related Articles
- Can You Replace HDD with SSD Without Cloning? Tips Are Here
- Secure Boot | How to Clone Lenovo HDD to SSD Without Reinstalling OS and Applications
- Disk Clone | Samsung Clone SSD to Larger SSD
- How-to Guide | Clone NVMe SSD to NVMe SSD