How to Fix Destination Disk Sector Size Is Not Identical While Cloning

Larissa updated on Oct 18, 2024 to Disk/Partition Clone | How-to Articles

If the destination disk sector size is not identical, you need professional cloning software to clone the drive. The post talks about, EaseUS Disk Copy, a professional cloning and backup software that can clone disks of different sector sizes.

Cloning is the best way to upgrade or change the hard drive. But when you try cloning the HDD/SSD to a drive of a different size, you often end up facing the destination disk sector size is not identical error. If different disk sizes bother your cloning process, we bring you the best cloning software, EaseUS Disk Copy, to clone a hard drive to a different-size SSD and boot the computer with it.

User Case: Destination Disk Sector Size Is Not Identical 

🙍‍♂️"I recently picked up a second-hand laptop from my friend. The computer uses a 1TB hard disk drive (HDD), which is very slow to use. I want to clone the OS to a new SSD to avoid reinstalling Windows. Is there a way to clone a drive onto a drive with a different size?"

SSDs are drastically faster than HDDs. They excel in reading and writing speeds, security, power consumption, less noise, energy savings, and more. In recent years, there has been a steady decline in SSD prices, allowing PCs to perform better at affordable rates. 

If you want to move out of HDDs and switch to SSDs, cloning is the optimal way. Cloning makes transferring or upgrading to another drive easier, with no Windows reinstallation needed. 

Is It Possible to Clone a Drive to Another With Different Sector Sizes

Yes, cloning is the best way to transfer data and install Windows on a new drive. Whether you're replacing, upgrading, or making a backup, cloning is the way. 

However, if you directly clone or restore the disk image to a drive of a different size, you face issues due to the size itself. If you switch from a drive to a smaller drive, it will fail most times, and even if the file transfer happens, it fails to boot. For larger drives, extra space is marked as unallocated, restricting usage. 

This is where the features of EaseUS Disk Copy come in handy to clone a drive. Regardless of the destination disk size (large or small), with just a few clicks, you can clone the hard drive and boot the PC without reinstalling Windows.

Best Disk Cloning Software to Clone Drives with Different Sector Sizes

Disk Cloning is a safe process when you do it with professional software. EaseUS Disk Copy allows you to clone any hard drive to another without worrying about the size. You have to select the source and destination drive, and the software will do the job. The seamless algorithms transfer the OS and data to the new drive to boot the PC without reinstallation.

If you have EaseUS Disk Copy, you can clone a larger disk to a smaller one and vice versa without any worries. If you want to switch the new drive from a failing hard drive, the software can recover the data and clone it on the new disk. If the drive is damaged, Disk Copy automatically skips the bad sectors without interrupting the cloning process.

In addition, features like sector-by-sector clone, bootable disk creation, migrating data, and local backup make it an excellent cloning and backup software. Download the disk copy and clone drives of different sizes.\

How to Clone a Hard Drive with Different Sizes 

🎨Before cloning, here are a few things to do to improve its effectiveness. 

  • 1️⃣Install the SSD on the computer or find a suitable USB or cable to connect it to the computer, and ensure it can be recognized.
  • 2️⃣Remove programs and files you no longer use. If you have large files, transfer them to another drive.
  • 2️⃣Initialize the new SSD using a compatible file format.
  • 4️⃣Create a bootable drive using Disk Copy to restore Windows and data in case of mishaps.

Let us see how to clone hard to a disk of different sizes with EaseUS Disk Copy:

Step 1. Download, install and run EaseUS Disk Copy on your PC.

Click "Disk Mode" and select the hard drive that you want to copy or clone. Click "Next" to continue.

Step 2. Select the destination disk.

Note: The destination disk should be at least the same big or even larger than the source disk if you want to copy or clone the source hard disk.

Step 3. Check and edit the disk layout.

If your destination disk is an SSD drive, do remember to Check the option if the target is SSD.

Step 4. Click "OK" to confirm if the program asks to erase data on the destination disk.

Step 5. Click "Proceed" to start the hard drive cloning process.

Share the blog on social platforms to help others to clone hard drives with different sizes.

 

Final Words

Cloning requires disks of identical sizes as it transfers the content bit-by-bit. But, for upgrading, we need to work with drives of different sizes. If the destination disk sector size is not identical, you can use EaseUS Disk Copy to transfer the OS and data to the new drive and boot the PC. 

EaseUS Disk Copy clones the hard drive in a few clicks and helps you back up the data and create recovery disks. As it only clones used sectors, you will always avoid facing issues on different-sized disks. Also, you can create backups and bootable USB flash drives to protect your system from mishaps.

FAQs

1. How to change disk sector size?

Drives typically have 4Kn or 512e sector sizes. The sector size is an inherent characteristic and cannot be changed. However, you can modify the NTFS cluster size (allocation unit size) using Disk Management.

2. How do I fix my hard drive showing the wrong size?

Hard drives showing the wrong-size partitions are caused by bad sectors, format types, and outdated drivers. To fix this, you can format the drive, check for bad sectors, and update the drivers. 

3. How do I clone a hard drive with different sector sizes?

You must use professional cloning software to clone hard drives of different sizes. EaseUS Disk Copy can clone a drive to a small or large drive with simple steps and offers backup solutions. The software clones used sectors, helping you migrate the data to a different-sized drive quickly.