Acronis Clone Disk with Bootable USB: Complete Guide

Why Clone A Disk with Bootable USB?

While it is convenient to clone a hard drive while Windows is running, there are some cases where you may need to clone a disk with bootable USB. For example:

1️⃣Your operating system won't boot: Your Windows is stuck in a boot loop or showing a blue screen of death (BSOD). A bootable USB lets you access the system and run cloning software externally, so you can safely clone the drive before repairing or replacing it.

2️⃣Cloning from an old or slow machine: You are moving data from an old laptop or desktop that barely boots.

3️⃣Cloning a failing drive: Your hard drive is showing early signs of failure, like clicking, freezing, or SMART errors. Booting externally reduces the workload on the drive, making it more likely you’ll get a complete, clean clone before it gives out.

On this page, we will show you how to let Acronis to clone disk with bootable USB and an easier alternative bootable USB cloning solution.

How to Use Acronis to Clone Disk with Bootable USB

Before getting into how to use Acronis to clone a hard drive with bootable media, you first need to get an Acronis bootable media. In this chapter, we will show you how to use Acronis cloning software for bootable USB creation and Acronis clone with bootable USB.

Part 1. How to Make an Acronis Bootable USB

Here are the steps on how to create an Acronis True Image bootable USB before cloning a disk.

Step 1. Download and install the latest version of Acronis True Image on your computer. Then, insert a blank USB drive with at least 8GB of capacity.

Step 2. Open Acronis, and navigate to Tools > Rescue Media Builder.

Step 3. Select the Simple option on the Choose creation method screen, and then choose your connected USB drive.

Step 4. Then, click Proceed to create the bootable USB.

Part 2. How to Use Acronis to Clone a Hard Drive with Bootable USB

Now, here comes how to use Acronis True Image to clone a hard drive with the created bootable USB.

Step 1. Insert the created Acronis bootable USB into the PC, restart the computer, and enter BIOS/UEFI (usually by pressing F2, DEL, or F12), set the USB drive as the first boot device, then save and exit to boot into Acronis True Image.

Step 2. Once Acronis loads, select Tools > Clone Disk.

Step 3. Choose Automatic mode (recommended for most users) or Manual if you want control over partition sizes.

Step 4. Choose the hard drive you want to clone, and then choose the new HDD or SSD.

Step 5. Review the summary of your selections. Click Proceed to start the Acronis clone disk from USB boot process.

Alternative Bootable USB Clone Software - AOMEI Cloner (Easier)

While Acronis is powerful, some users may find it a bit complex. And there are always issues like Acronis Clone Disk Wizard stuck on source disk, Acronis clone failed, Acronis does not recognize SSD, etc.

If you're looking for a simpler alternative to Acronis for disk cloning from bootable media, AOMEI Cloner is a great choice. This software is known for its clean interface, making it simple to clone hard drive from bootable USB for technicians and green hands. Key features that make this tool stand out include:

AOMEI Cloner

Best Bootable USB Clone Software

• OS & disk clone options: It allows you to clone a full disk, the system only, or partitions flexibly.
• Intelligent clone: It helps to only copy the used part of the source drive, helpful when cloning hard drive with bad sectors or cloning from a larger drive to a smaller drive.
• Sector-by-sector clone: This lets you copy all sectors, whether in use or not, keeping the same partition layout.
• Compatible with MBR/GPT: It supports different partition styles and drives from all manufacturers, easy for you to clone MBR to GPT, clone HDD to SSD, migrate SATA to NVMe, and so on.

Free Download
Win 11/10/8/7/Server

100% Secure

To perform a bootable USB disk cloning with the AOMEI Cloner software, you can proceed with the simple guide below.

Step 1. Create a bootable USB. Download and run AOMEI Cloner, go to the Tools tab, and click on Create Bootable Media. Then, go on to click Next > select USB Boot Device > choose your connected USB drive > click Next.

Step 2. Boot the computer with your bootable USB. Set the bootable USB as your boot device in BIOS, and then AOMEI Cloner will start automatically. Head to Clone and select Disk Clone.

Step 3. Choose source and destination disks for cloning. Select the hard drive that you wish to clone and click Next. Then, choose the hard drive you plan to clone to and click Next.

Step 4. Begin the disk cloning. On the Operation Summary screen, confirm the source disk and destination disk, and click on Start Clone.

Notes:✎...

If you are cloning to an SSD, it is recommended to tick the SSD Alignment option, which can help to increase the read/write speed it.

You can check Sector By Sector Clone to make an exact copy of your old drive, or use Edit Partitions to adjust the partition size on the destination disk.

The Verdict

If you are planning to use Acronis to clone disk with bootable USB, the foregoing guidelines help you get this done step-by-step. Also, you can try the bootable USB cloning alternative, AOMEI Cloner. This software allows you to create bootable USB or CD/DVD for WinPE disk cloning, and it is capable of migrating Windows only to NVMe, M.2, and other SSDs quickly and securely.