Clonezilla Clone Larger Disk to Smaller Disk (Full Guide)

Cloning larger disk to smaller disk is often mentioned when upgrading hard drive to faster solid-state drives (SSDs), moving to smaller NVMe drives, or reorganizing storage for better performance.

However, it can be tricky because the data on the larger drive must fit within the smaller one. You must also deal with file systems, partition schemes (MBR/GPT), etc., between the two disks. If these aren’t handled properly, the clone might fail or the new disk may not work as expected.

The good news: We’ll hand this well and show you how to clone larger disk to smaller disk using Clonezilla. The steps may be a little complicated, but effective. Also, you could consider using an easier Clonezilla alternative.

Can Clonezilla Clone Larger Disk to Smaller Disk?

Clonezilla requires the destination partition to be equal to or larger than the source disk. If you use it to clone larger drive to smaller drive, you may receive errors like “Destination disk is to smaller”, “unable to find target partition”, etc.

Can Clonezilla clone larger disks to smaller disks? Yes, but only if the following requirements are met:

So, how? You need to shrink the partition size of the source disk and then use Expert Mode and -icds option to clone larger drive to smaller drive using Clonezilla. If you think it’s complicated, try an easier alternative to Clonezilla - AOMEI Cloner in the following.

Note:✎...

Clonezilla won’t work if the source disk contains encrypted partitions, bad sectors, or unsupported file systems. It might prevent a clean or bootable clone.

How to Prepare Your Larger Disk for Cloning

Before cloning larger disk to smaller one using Clonezilla, it's crucial to be sure the used space on your source drive is less than or equal to the size of the destination disk. So you need to shrink partitions to fit it.

Option 1: Disk Management

Step 1. Press the Win + X key and select Disk Management.

Step 2. In the Disk Management window, locate and right-click the partition on the larger disk and select Shrink Volume.

Step 3. Enter disk space to shrink in MB and click on Shrink to confirm it. Repeat these steps if there are multiple partitions.

Option 2: GParted

Step 1. Download GParted ISO to create a bootable USB and boot from it

Step 2. Select the source disk partition and select "Resize/Move". Be sure the used space of the larger disk is smaller than the target disk.

Step 3. Reboot the larger disk to complete CHKDSK and ensure continuity.

How to Clone Larger Disk to Smaller Disk using Clonezilla

Ready to get hands-on? We’ll take you through the complete process of using Clonezilla to clone larger disk to smaller disk. With careful setup and -icdsoption, Clonezilla can do the job very well.

Step 1. Download Clonezilla ISO to create a bootable USB (using tools like Rufus) and boot from it.

Step 2. After loading Clonezilla, select Clonezilla version -Other modes of Clonezilla live > Clonezilla live (To RAM…) >language and keyboard layout, and click Start Clonezilla.

Step 3. Select device-device mode.

Step 4. Select Expert Mode and be sure the -icds option is checked.

Step 5. Select disk_to_local_disk. Then, select the source disk and destination disk.

Step 6. Configure other options and then type in y to start cloning.

How to Clone Larger Disk to Smaller Disk Easily (without Clonezilla)

AOMEI Cloner is a reliable hard drive and SSD cloning software that can clone larger drive to smaller drive or SSD without boot issues. It integrates an intelligent cloning feature that clones only the used sectors of the drive without shrinking the partitions first.

AOMEI Cloner

Best Hard Drive and SSD Cloning Software

• With a clean and intuitive interface, all users get started quickly.
• Clone HDDs/SSDs and MBR/GPT disks smoothly. The system disk will remain bootable after cloning.
• Optimize SSD disk performance during cloning.
• Convert MBR to GPT disk or vice versa.
• Compatible with different disk brands, such as Samsung, SanDisk, WD, Crucial, etc.
• Supports Windows 7, 8, 10, 11, etc., and Windows Server.

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

100% Secure

Click the download button to get started! Please note that the destination disk will be overwritten or deleted during cloning. Be sure to back up your important data. Otherwise, you will lose them after cloning.

Steps to Clone Larger Drive to Smaller Drive/SSD

Step 1. Connect your smaller drive (HDD/SSD) to a computer and be sure it’s recognized. Then, open AOMEI Cloner, click Clone > Disk Clone.

Step 2. You will then be asked to select the source disk and the destination disk. Select the larger HDD and smaller SSD in order and click Next to confirm.

Step 3. Be sure to check SSD Alignment to improve SSD disk performance (if it is). Click Edit Partitions if you Clone MBR to GPT or vice versa. At last, check your settings and click Start Clone.

Conclusion

Cloning larger disk to smaller disk using Clonezilla requires you to shrink partitions and then use THE Expert mode and -icds option during cloning. In addition, you still need to download the Clonezilla ISO file and create a bootable USB drive with tools like Rufus.

It’s complicated. Is there any easier way? Yes, you can consider using a Clonezilla alternative - AOMEI Cloner. By default, this software uses the intelligent clone feature to clone only the used sectors of a drive. You don’t need to do anything. Just select the two disks to clone.