Rescuezilla Clone to Smaller Disk: Full Guide & Alternative

Can Rescuezilla Clone to a Smaller Disk?

Yes—Rescuezilla can clone to a smaller disk, but only under the right conditions. The key requirement is that the total used space on the source drive must be smaller than the capacity of the target drive. Rescuezilla performs a sector-by-sector clone based on partitions, so it cannot automatically shrink oversized partitions during the cloning process.

To successfully clone to a smaller drive, you usually need to shrink the source partition(s) first using a tool like GParted, Windows Disk Management, or AOMEI Partition Assistant. Once the source data fits within the size of the new drive, Rescuezilla can complete the clone without errors.

How to Use Rescuezilla to Clone to a Smaller Disk

Cloning to a smaller drive with Rescuezilla works smoothly as long as you prepare your source disk properly. Follow the steps below to ensure a successful Rescuezilla clone.

Step 1. Prepare the Source Disk

1. Press Windows + X and select Disk Management.

2. Right-click the partition on the larger disk and select Shrink Volume.

3. Enter disk space to shrink in MB and click on Shrink to confirm it.

4. Repeat the above two steps if there are multiple partitions. Make sure the total size of source partitions is smaller than the capacity of the small disk.

Step 2. Boot Into Rescuezilla

1. Download the Rescuezilla ISO and use Rufus to create a bootable USB.

2. Boot your PC from the USB drive.

3. When the Rescuezilla interface loads, select your preferred language and continue. You’ll see the Rescuezilla welcome screen. Close it for now.

Step 3. (Optional) Move the Recovery Partition

1. In the Rescuezilla desktop, double-click GParted to open it.

2. Check the partition layout. If there is a recovery partition and it is on the right of the unallocated space (the space generated by shrinking volumes), you must move it to the left of the unallocated space to avoid clone issues.

• Right-click on the recovery partition and choose Resize/Move.
• In the pop-up window, in the box of “Free space preceding”, input 0 and click the Resize/Move button.

• Click OK to confirm. Then click the check mark on the toolbar to apply the operation.

Step 4. Use Rescuezilla to Clone Disk

1. Open Rescuezilla and click on the Clone option.

2. On the “Step 1: Understanding Cloning” page, click Next.

3. Select the source drive to clone and click Next.

4. Select the destination drive to overwrite and click Next.

5. Choose to clone all partitions on the source drive or clone only selected partitions. Then check the Overwrite partition table option as necessary and click Next.

6. Confirm cloning configuration and click Next > Yes to begin disk cloning.

7. After the cloning process is finished, click Next and exit Rescuezilla.

Step 5. Verify the Clone and Test Boot

1. Shut down Rescuezilla and remove the USB.

2. Boot from the new smaller disk.

3. Confirm that:

• The system boots normally
• All partitions work
• Storage capacity is displayed correctly

Best Rescuezilla Alternative to Clone Larger Disk to Smaller Disk

If you find that using Rescuezilla to clone to a smaller disk is too rigid (because it requires manual partition-shrinking first), then you may try the best Rescuezilla alternative AOMEI Cloner.

Download AOMEI Cloner and follow the steps below to clone a larger disk to a smaller disk:

Step 1. Install and launch AOMEI Cloner. Then click Clone and choose Disk Clone.

Step 2. Choose the larger disk as the source disk, and then click Next.

Step 3. Choose the smaller disk as the destination disk and click Next.

Step 4. This software uses Intelligent Clone by default, so you can easily clone to smaller drive. Click Start Clone to begin disk copy.

Notes:
► Tick SSD Alignment to optimize your SSD performance if cloning to an SSD.
► Don't check Sector by sector clone while cloning disk to smaller disk. Because this feature clones all sectors of the source drive, whether used or not.

To Sum Up

Now you know how to use Rescuezilla to clone to a smaller disk. Rescuezilla requires careful preparation—mainly shrinking partitions first so the data fits. If you want a simpler solution, AOMEI Cloner is the best Rescuezilla alternative. Its Intelligent Clone feature automatically copies only used space and resizes partitions to fit smaller drives.

What’s more, AOMEI Cloner works with all branded SSDs. You can use it to clone HDD to Transcend SSD, WD SSD, Samsung SSD, etc. Download it to explore all the wonderful features by yourself!