This article offers a comprehensive guide on how to clone external hard drive on Mac for macOS users. Continue reading to learn more details.
If you want to create backups, upgrade your hard drives, or duplicate files, MacOS has built-in utilities and third-party tools to make it happen easily.
This guide from EaseUS will take you through the steps to clone an external hard drive on a Mac, helping you safely transfer all your data without losing any necessary files or configurations.
Preparing properly before starting the cloning process is necessary so that everything goes smoothly. Let's look at the main steps you need to take before beginning the cloning process.
#1. Prepare your external disk
To begin with, it is essential to select an appropriate external hard drive for your destination. The destination drive must have sufficient free memory to store all the Information that you'll move from the source drive. The new one should ideally have the same capacity or be higher than the original one to avoid any space constraints.
#2. Get a disk cloning tool
For Mac users wanting to clone their external hard drives, there are two major ways: either utilize the Disk Utility that comes with Macs or download a third-party application such as EaseUS Partition Master for Mac. While Disk Utility is a free and readily available tool, third-party software often offers more features and a user-friendly interface.
Here's a comparison table between EaseUS Partition Master for Mac vs Disk Utility:
| Comparison | 👉🏻 Disk Utility | |
|---|---|---|
| Duration | 15-20 Minutes | 30 Minutes |
| Difficulty Level | Very Easy | Medium |
| User Interface | Intuitive, user-friendly | Basic, Functional |
| Advanced Features | Partition management, BitLocker unlock | Basic Partitioning |
At this point, after covering the preparatory steps and comparing various tools, we can now get down to the actual procedure of cloning your external hard disk drive. Two different approaches will be discussed: utilizing EaseUS Partition Master for Mac and using the built-in Disk Utility. Each approach has its own benefits, so it is important to select one that is more fitting for you, depending on what you're used to or what makes you comfortable.
EaseUS Partition Master for Mac is an outstanding option for anyone looking for a simple yet feature-packed choice. This dynamic application makes cloning easier and additionally comes with several other disk management apparatuses.
Some key advantages of using this tool include increased cloning speed, especially on bigger drives, and the ability to conduct incremental cloning, which makes it more convenient when updating your backups.
Now, let's look at the steps to clone an external hard drive on a Mac using EaseUS Partition Master:
Step 1. Connect your removable device to Mac and run EaseUS Partition Master.
Click "Clone" at the left pane under the Abilities section, click the "+" icon to select a source external device you want to clone.
Step 2. Select a new target disk as destination to clone the selected removable disk - external HDD/SSD, USB, or SD card.
When both source and target external storage devices are selected, click "Start" to begin.
Step 3. Click "Yes" when EaseUS Partition Master for Mac request you to confirm the operation.
Step 4. Wait patiently to let EaseUS Partition Master for Mac to complete the cloning process.
Beyond cloning, EaseUS Partition Master for Mac offers a variety of other valuable features:
This software goes beyond mere cloning functions due to its extra functions, thus making it a flexible application for your disk administration requests, whether you are a home user or an IT specialist. If you like this tool, don't forget to share it with other users.
If you want to stick to Apple's native tools for cloning or just want a more straightforward way, Apple's built-in Disk Utility comes in handy. It's pre-installed on all Mac devices and offers a no-cost solution for cloning your external hard drive.
Let's look at the steps to clone your external hard drive on Mac using Disk Utility:
Step 1. Launch Disk Utility using the following path: "Applications" > "Utilities" > "Disk Utility." Alternatively, you can use the Spotlight Search.
Step 2. On the Disk Utility sidebar, choose the target external hard drive where you want cloned data to be saved. Ensure it's the main drive and not a partition.
Step 3. Click on the "Restore" button located at the top menu of Disk Utility to open its interface.
Step 4. In the restore window, select the source disk in the "Restore from" box and then click "Restore" to clone the disk.
Step 5. Start cloning by clicking on the "Restore" button.
When you follow these steps, you can create a perfect clone of your external hard drive with Disk Utility. The method is simple and does not need any third-party applications; hence, it is a good choice for people who are comfortable with Apple's inbuilt programs.
However, provided that its tasks are simple, it can be relied upon, but it doesn't have all the advanced features and speed optimizations of specialized third-party software.
In this tutorial, we've explored two effective methods to clone external hard drive on Mac. We've discussed the necessary preparations, compared these tools, and provided step-by-step instructions for both methods.
The focus was on empowering Mac users with the skills to make identical replicas of their outside drives correctly and comfortably, either for backup purposes or when replacing an old device with a new one.
We recommend EaseUS Partition Master for Mac for its user-friendly interface and advanced features, such as partition management, incremental cloning, and disk conversion, which make it a comprehensive solution for all your disk management needs.
If you still have questions on how to Clone an external hard drive on a Mac, check out the FAQs section below.
To restore your external hard drive on a Mac, you can use Disk Utility:
If Disk Utility can't repair your drive, consider using third-party data recovery software or consulting a professional.
Yes, it is possible to install MacOS on an external hard drive. This can be useful for creating a bootable backup or for running MacOS on multiple Macs.
Here's a brief overview of the process:
Remember that the external drive needs to be connected for you to boot from it.
Yes, you can repurpose your old Mac hard drive as an external drive. Here's how:
Once set up, you can use it like any other external hard drive for additional storage or backups. However, older drives may be slower than current drives.
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