Clone BitLocker Drive with Clonezilla & Alternative [2025 Guide]

Are you looking for Clonezilla BitLocker drive? Check out this tutorial to learn how to clone a BitLocker-protected HDD or SSD using Clonezilla and its best alternative - EaseUS Disk Copy.

When cloning encrypted hard drive, you might wonder if Clonezilla is up to the task. This guide from EaseUS covers everything you need to know about Clonezilla BitLocker drives and introduces an alternative method for cloning encrypted hard disks perfectly. Let's dive in!

Can Clonezilla Clone an Encrypted Drive?

Clonezilla is a powerful, open-source disk cloning tool. Still, it has limitations regarding Windows encryption features or third-party encryption software like VeraCrypt, Secure IT, or AxCrypt.

By default, Clonezilla cannot clone a BitLocker-protected drive without decryption. When attempting to clone an encrypted hard drive, Clonezilla may recognize the drive as "unknown" or throw errors due to its inability to access encrypted data in its original format.

If you want to use Clonezilla to image or copy an encrypted HDD, SSD, USB drive, SD card, or other storage medium, you must temporarily disable BitLocker encryption. This ensures the data is accessible for cloning. Once the cloning is complete, you can re-enable BitLocker on the new drive to maintain its security.

However, if you cannot decrypt the drive - due to security concerns, time constraints, or not having access to the recovery key - you can use EaseUS Disk Copy. This software allows you to clone encrypted drives directly without requiring decryption.

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How to Clonezilla BitLocker Drive Windows 11/10

Follow these steps to clone a BitLocker drive with Clonezilla. Keep in mind that encryption must be turned off first:

Step 1. Disable BitLocker encryption.

1. Click Start, type Control Panel, and open it.

2. Under System and Security, select BitLocker Drive Encryption from the list. (If you don't see this option, switch the view mode from Category to Large icons.)

3. Choose the encrypted drive you want to clone and click Turn off BitLocker.

4. Wait for the decryption process to complete. This may take some time, depending on the size of the drive.

Step 2. Prepare Clonezilla.

1. Download the Clonezilla ISO file from the official Clonezilla download website.

2. Create a bootable USB drive using tools like Rufus

3. Boot your computer from the USB drive and select Clonezilla live from the menu.

Step 3. Clone the drive.

1. Follow the on-screen instructions in Clonezilla to choose the source (original drive) and destination (target drive).

2. Start the cloning process and wait for it to complete.

3. Reenable BitLocker encryption on the cloned drive if needed.

How to Clone Encrypted Hard Disk Without Decryption

If you'd rather clone an encrypted drive without turning off BitLocker, consider using EaseUS Disk Copy. This user-friendly Clonezilla alternative supports cloning encrypted drives without requiring passwords, fingerprints, or other decryption methods.

EaseUS disk cloning software uses sector-by-sector clone technology to copy locked or encrypted drives to larger ones without data loss or boot issues.

Steps to clone an encrypted drive with EaseUS Disk Copy.

Prior Notice:

• The "Sector by sector copy" asks the size of your destination disk to be at least equal to or larger than that of the source disk. Leave this feature unchecked if you wish to clone a larger hard disk to a smaller hard disk.
• All data on the destination disk will be completely erased, so take care.

Step 1. To start copying/cloning an entire disk to another, choose this disk as the source disk under "Disk Mode" and click "Next".

Step 2. Choose the other disk as the destination disk.

Step 3. Check the disk layout of the two disks. You can manage the disk layout of the destination disk by selecting "Autofit the disk", "Copy as the source" or "Edit disk layout". 

• "Autofit the disk" makes some changes by default on the destination disk layout so that it can work at its best status.
• "Copy as the source"does not change anything on destination disk and the layout is the same as source disk.
• "Edit disk layout" allows you to manually resize/move partition layout on this destination disk.

Tick the "Check the option if the target is SSD" option to put your SSD in its best performance.

A message now appears, warning you that data will be lost. Please confirm this message by clicking "OK" and then click "Next".

Step 4. Click "Proceed" to officially execute the task.

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Final Words

Cloning a BitLocker-encrypted drive can seem daunting, but it's entirely manageable with the right tools.

Clonezilla BitLocker drive works well if you're comfortable temporarily disabling encryption, while EaseUS Disk Copy offers a seamless option for cloning without decryption.

Choose the method that best suits your needs and ensure your data remains secure throughout the process.

Clonezilla Encrypted Drive FAQs

There are three questions about how to image and clone a BitLocker drive. Please check for more details.

1. Is there a way to decrypt a BitLocker drive?

You can decrypt a BitLocker drive by turning off BitLocker encryption. To do so:

Step 1. Open the Control Panel.

Step 2. Click BitLocker Drive Encryption under System and Security. (If you don't see this option, switch the view mode to Large icons.)

Step 3. Select the BitLocker-protected drive and click Turn Off BitLocker.

Step 4. Follow the prompts to decrypt the drive.

2. Does formatting a drive remove BitLocker encryption?

Formatting a drive does not remove BitLocker encryption. If you format a BitLocker-encrypted drive without decrypting it first, the data remains inaccessible unless you have the recovery key.

3. How much time will it take to decrypt BitLocker?

The time it takes to decrypt a BitLocker drive depends on the drive's size and the speed of your computer. Typically, it can range from a few minutes to several hours for larger drives.