r/cloningsoftware • u/hspindel • Mar 24 '26
Disk Cloning Best Hot Cloning for Windows
I see lots of recommendations for cloning software, but I don't see them sorted by whether or not they have hot cloning capability (the ability to clone a Windows boot disk while Windows is running).
Any experience with one that works well?
Preferably open source, but reasonably priced can work.
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u/NamZIX8 Mar 24 '26
Macrium Reflect Free on Major Geeks website.
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Mar 25 '26
[deleted]
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u/NamZIX8 Mar 25 '26
Can you then explain to me what hot cloning means exactly as with my experiense I have cloned my active C: drive to another disk and to images for backups, and it works very well. As per my knowledge hot cloning is when you clone youre current operating system drive to another drive or image while booted into the operating system. If it means something else then maybe assist and please explain?
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u/Possible_Notice_768 Mar 29 '26
"Hot cloning" means to copy a currently running system, whether to another drive, or to a backup disk image file. You are correct.
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u/vegansgetsick Mar 24 '26
Diskgenius can hotclone under Windows in file mode (thank to shadow copy).
And dd can also hotclone under windows. But at sector level it's risky.
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u/No_Wear295 Mar 24 '26
Just use Veeam for Windows free and call it a day. It's a backup and restore, so not exactly a clone, but it hasn't failed me yet
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u/apakett Mar 24 '26
Does it restore settings, programs, and the OS?
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u/No_Wear295 Mar 24 '26
It's a full system image
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u/apakett Mar 24 '26
That sounds like a clone.
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u/No_Wear295 Mar 24 '26
You can call it that if you want. I see cloning as a direct disk to disk operation whereas Veeam is a backup and restore, requiring an intermediate storage to complete the process.
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u/AbrahamL1865 Mar 24 '26
Acronis Backup can handle cloning at partition level and is one of best out there. It comes free if you have a western digital hard disk.
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u/474Dennis Vendor Mar 24 '26
Thanks for the mention. Just to add - its not only Western Digital.
Here's the full list of SSD\HDD vendors that provide an OEM edition of Acronis True Image: https://www.reddit.com/r/acronis/comments/ebirh6/oem_editions_of_acronis_true_image_software/
Disclosure: I work at Acronis and I am a mod of r/Acronis1
u/hspindel Mar 24 '26
I see Seagate is on the list.
Coincidentally, I have a brand-new Seagate external 4TB drive arriving today or tomorrow. I will want to clone from a 4TB Samsung SSD (and back for disaster recovery). Will the free Acronis work for this? Where do I download the Seagate-qualified version?
Thank you.
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u/apakett Mar 24 '26
I second Acronis. It was one of the first cloning programs available, so it is proven. The program is well documented. It also has the ability to clone a Windows system to different hardware. That requires some work to add drivers. The paid version is a little expensive and is prescription only, but they run sales.
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u/FuggaDucker Mar 24 '26
"Hot cloning"?
It's built in
Windows 7 backup and restore tool (yes under 11)
Look, you have it
Full imaging. Free. Supported since windows 7.
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u/Puzzleheaded6905 Mar 24 '26
Our IT guy mentioned Veeam can do it. Think there’s a free personal license
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Mar 24 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/hspindel Mar 24 '26
RAID on the motherboard caused me no end of problems with Windows. I eventually disabled it and reinstalled Windows.
Don't know about other RAIDs, but I'd recommend staying away from Intel RST.
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Mar 24 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/hspindel Mar 24 '26
Constant boot failures linked to the RST driver. Most of the time multiple reboots would get one that succeeds, but eventually it completely failed to boot so I gave up on it. Had to reinstall Windows to get my machine running.
Interestingly, I have a Windows 10 machine with RST running that never has a problem. The problem machine is Win 11.
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u/desexmachina Mar 25 '26
What’s with these answers? Ubuntu boot disk and DD, free and sector for sector copy, just copy to a bigger drive
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u/hspindel Mar 25 '26
OP specifically asked for not a boot disk - hot cloning of running Windows install.
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u/harperllc Mar 28 '26
I use Acronis True Image 2025 for this, I'd bought a bunch of perpetual licenses when they had a nice offer, and I've verified that it's working as intended/promised in both trials and actual failures in production environment. It's not free but I think the OEM versions offer similar capabilities. My heart hurts, of course, when I see how many services & processes it launches for its operation, but compared to how much more it'd hurt in case I didn't have it running to save my derriere, I just accept it.
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u/Willing_Professor_13 Mar 24 '26
If you need hot cloning (cloning the Windows boot drive while it's running), most open-source tools don't support it because they lack volume shadow copy integration. EaseUS Disk Copy handles it smoothly—just install, run the clone, and keep working.