How to Clone a Drive with GParted in Linux

GParted is a partition editor, not a disk duplicator, and that difference shapes every step of a GParted clone. It can copy partitions between disks with no Linux installation, but the partition table, the flags and the bootloader all remain your responsibility.

This guide explains how to build the live media, copy a Windows layout partition by partition, avoid duplicate identifiers, and repair the boot files so the new disk starts on its own.

PAGE CONTENT

• Make a GParted Live USB
• Copy Partitions, Not a Whole Disk
• Avoid UUID Clashes and Dirty Volumes
• Finish the Copy with Qiling Disk Master
• First Boot and Bootloader Fixes
• FAQs About GParted Cloning
• Back Up Before You Repartition

Make a GParted Live USB

• Download the ISO. Take the GParted Live amd64 image from the official project page and verify the download before writing it.
• Write it raw. Use Rufus in DD image mode on Windows, or dd if=gparted-live.iso of=/dev/sdX bs=4M status=progress on a Linux box.
• Match the boot mode. Boot the stick in UEFI mode for a GPT Windows install and in Legacy mode for an MBR install, because a mismatch hides the internal disk.
• Handle Secure Boot. Firmware may refuse the unsigned media, so disable Secure Boot for the session and switch it back on after the work is done.
• Take the default entry. Choose GParted Live with default settings, then set the keymap and language when the boot prompts appear.

Writing the image destroys the USB stick, so confirm the device name twice. One wrong /dev entry can overwrite an external backup drive that holds the only copy of your data.

Copy Partitions, Not a Whole Disk

• There is no disk copy button. The copy and paste commands in GParted act on one selected partition at a time, never on an entire disk.
• Build the table first. Use Device and Create Partition Table on the new disk, and pick GPT for a UEFI Windows installation.
• Recreate the layout. Add an EFI partition, a Microsoft reserved partition with the msftres flag, the Windows partition and the recovery partition.
• Paste into free space. Copy each source partition, select the matching target partition, and paste; grow the last partition into leftover space afterwards.
• Set the flags. Mark the EFI partition boot and esp, and keep the recovery partition hidden so Windows repair tools still detect it.

GParted copies every sector inside a partition, including free space, so a 700GB Windows partition takes far longer than an intelligent clone of the same data. The terminal inside GParted Live can run dd for a true whole-disk copy if you prefer one operation.

Avoid UUID Clashes and Dirty Volumes

• Copies keep their UUIDs. GParted preserves the file system UUID, so two disks attached at once look identical to the bootloader and to Windows.
• Clone with the source offline. Power down or unplug the old disk before the first boot of the target, then change identifiers only if both disks must stay connected.
• New identifiers on Linux. Use tune2fs -U random for ext4 and xfs_admin -u generate for XFS when the old disk remains in service.
• Clean NTFS first. Disable Fast Startup, run chkdsk /f, and shut down fully so the Windows volume is not marked dirty when GParted reads it.
• Keep the target unmounted. Leave both disks unmounted until every queued copy and paste has been applied and verified.

A dirty NTFS volume is the most common reason a GParted copy stops with an error, because the tool refuses to resize or copy a file system that has a pending journal.

Finish the Copy with Qiling Disk Master

GParted queues its work and writes nothing until you press Apply, and it cannot rebuild a firmware entry for you. A guided clone tool handles the partition selection, the resize and the boot files in one pass.

Watch the video tutorial below to clone the drive step by step with Qiling Disk Master.

• Free Download
• Windows 11/10/8/7, 100% Secure

Step 1. Open Qiling Disk Master, choose Clone, and then select Disk Clone.

Step 2. Attach the replacement disk through SATA or a USB bridge, then pick the disk that currently holds Windows as the source.

Step 3. Choose the new disk as the destination, and read its model name and capacity instead of trusting the drive letter alone.

Step 4. Use the intelligent mode and leave the EFI, reserved, Windows and recovery partitions selected for a bootable result.

Step 5. Click Proceed, wait for the finish message, then power off and remove the USB bridge before the first boot.

First Boot and Bootloader Fixes

• Boot the target alone. Disconnect the old disk so firmware cannot quietly fall back to its existing EFI entry.
• Set the boot order. In firmware setup, put Windows Boot Manager or the new disk at the top of the UEFI list.
• Rewrite the BCD. From a Windows USB, run bcdboot C:\Windows /s S: /f UEFI to create a clean entry that points at the new EFI partition.
• Repair GRUB for dual boot. Boot a Linux live media and run grub-install followed by update-grub against the new disk.
• Confirm the layout. Disk Management should list EFI, reserved, Windows and recovery partitions in the expected order.

If firmware shows two identical Windows Boot Manager entries, delete the stale one. Duplicate partition GUIDs from the copy are the usual cause, and leaving both entries in place makes the boot choice random.

FAQs About GParted Cloning

Can GParted clone an entire disk in one step?

No. Copy and paste work per partition. For one operation, run dd from the terminal in GParted Live or use a dedicated disk clone tool.

Does GParted copy the bootloader?

It copies the EFI partition contents, but the firmware entry and the BCD may still reference the old disk, so plan a bcdboot repair after the copy.

Can GParted clone a BitLocker drive?

It can copy the encrypted partition sector by sector, but Windows will ask for the recovery key at first boot. Suspend BitLocker before you start to avoid that prompt.

Why does the copy stop with a dirty file system warning?

Windows left an open journal. Disable Fast Startup, run chkdsk /f, perform a full shutdown, then repeat the copy.

Is GParted slower than a Windows clone tool?

Usually yes, because it copies every sector in a partition rather than only the blocks in use. Large partitions with little data feel especially slow.

Back Up Before You Repartition

Partition work writes directly to the disk and has no undo. Take a full system image before GParted touches the table, so a wrong paste costs minutes of restore instead of a reinstall.

Watch the video tutorial below to back up Windows and restore it if the clone fails.

• Free Download
• Windows 11/10/8/7, 100% Secure

Step 1. Boot Windows once before the partitioning session and create a System Backup with Qiling Disk Master.

Step 2. Store the image on a disk that GParted will not touch, ideally an external drive that stays unplugged during the copy.

Step 3. Start the backup and let it reach one hundred percent; the optional power-off tick keeps the machine from sleeping mid-job.

Step 4. If the new disk will not boot, restore the image to the original disk and repeat the partition copy with the flags checked.

Conclusion

GParted can move a Windows installation to a new disk without installing Linux, but it copies partitions rather than disks. Prepare the target table, copy the EFI, reserved, Windows and recovery partitions, keep UUIDs from colliding, and budget time for a bcdboot repair before the new disk will start alone.

For more on disk geometry and partition styles, see How to Clone an NVMe SSD to a Larger NVMe SSD, How to Clone an M.2 SSD to a SATA SSD, 4K Alignment When Cloning to an SSD: Why It Matters, and How to Clone a GPT Disk to an MBR Disk.

Related Articles

• How to Clone a Hard Drive with the Linux dd Command
  Copy a whole disk when a partition copy is not enough.
• How to Clone a Dual-Boot Windows and Linux Drive
  Keep GRUB and both systems working.
• How to Clone a Disk with WinPE When Windows Won't Boot
  Clone from outside a broken Windows install.
• Cloned Drive Won't Boot? How to Fix It
  Repair firmware entries and boot records.
• How to Clone an MBR Disk to a GPT SSD
  Change the partition style during a migration.

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