How to Clone a Mac Drive with Disk Utility | No Data Loss

Can I clone a Mac hard drive with Disk Utility? This post offers a full guide on how to use Disk Utility to clone Mac hard drive. And, it offers an easier option for beginners to clone Mac.

Cloning to a bigger SSD using Disk Utility
byu/ltchean inmac

How do I recreate my Macintosh HD in Disk Utility? How do you clone a Mac hard drive using Disk Utility? If you are looking for a guide on using Disk Utility to clone a Mac hard drive. This post is for you. 

Can I use Disk Utility to clone the Mac hard drive? Sure! Mac Disk Utility is able to create clones. (macOS refers to this process as "restore," i.e., restoring data from the source drive to the destination drive.) In this article, EaseUS Software provides you with a step-by-step guide on how to perform a clone with Disk Utility, plus a simpler way to clone your Mac hard drive to another.
The cloning methods mentioned in this post apply to the following situations:

• Clone Mac hard drive for free
• Clone external hard drive to another on Mac
• Clone Mac to a larger SSD with Disk Utility
• Clone Mac hard drive to external hard drive and make it bootable
• Clone Mac hard drive to SSD for free
• Clone Mac hard drive to USB/SD card as a backup

To make Mac cloning easier, we list two methods in this post, including cloning Mac hard drive with Disk Utility and cloning a Mac hard drive with EaseUS Partition Master for Mac. To make a wiser decision, check the table below to learn their difference:

Now, select the suitable Mac cloning tool and follow the tutorial below to begin with the Mac clone.

Clone Mac Hard Drive with Disk Utility

The Restore feature in Disk Utility uses block copying, which speeds up the copying process and creates an exact copy of the original data for you. Before you begin, read the following precautions carefully:

Here is how to clone a Mac hard drive using Disk Utility:

Step 1: Prepare the External Drive for the clone

• Connect the External Drive: Connect your external hard drive to your Mac.
• Open Disk Utility: Go to Finder > Applications > Utilities > Disk Utility.
• Select the external drive from the sidebar > Click the Erase tab at the top. (Select Mac OS Extended (Journaled) or APFS as the format, depending on your macOS version.)
• Click Erase to format the drive. After that, click Done.

Step 2: Clone the Drive with Disk Utility

• Open Disk Utility again. 
• From the sidebar, select the external drive you just formatted.
• In the main window, click on the Restore tab.
• Drag your internal Mac drive (usually named Macintosh HD) to the Source field.
• Drag the external drive to the Destination field.
• Double-check that the source and destination drives are correct.
• Click Restore to begin the cloning process.
• Wait for the process to complete. You will see a status bar filling up as it clones your drive.
• Wait patiently and click Done to finish the process.

This is how to clone a Mac HDD to an external device with Disk Utility. You still need extra settings if you clone a macOS disk.

If you encounter any issues during the cloning process, consider using EaseUS Partition Master for Mac for more advanced features and reliability. Click the following buttons to share this post on your social media and help more Mac users who are stuck with a Mac hard drive clone.

Clone Mac Hard Drive with Disk Utility Alternative

EaseUS Partition Master for Mac is a comprehensive alternative to Disk Utility, providing advanced features like Mac bootable disk cloning, NTFS read/write support, and BitLocker decryption. Its intuitive interface simplifies the complex cloning task, making it ideal for both beginners and professionals.

Check the list to learn more details:

Compatibility: 

• macOS 10.15 (Catalina)/macOS 11 (Big Sur)
• macOS 12 (Monterey)/macOS 13 (Ventura)
• macOS 14 (Sonoma)/macOS 15 (Sequoia)

File System Supported: HFS, HFS+, APFS, FAT, exFAT, NTFS

Storage Devices Supported: 

• SSD & HDD: M.2 SSD, NVMe SSD, PCIe SSD, HDD
• Removable Devices: USB 1.0/2.0/3.0, flash drive, memory card, memory stick, etc.
• Brands: Samsung, Western Digital (WD), Crucial, Intel, Seagate

Here is how to clone a Mac hard drive with EaseUS Partition Master for Mac:

Step 1. Install and connect another new disk to Mac computer, run EaseUS Partition Master for Mac, then, click "Clone" under the Abilities section. Click the "+" icon to browse and locate the macOS disk and target new disk.

Step 2. Select the Source and the Destination disk and click "Select" to confirm.

Step 3. Confirm if you've selected the correct macOS OS disk and the new target disk you'd like to clone and upgrade the macOS disk to. Then, click "Start" and click "Yes" to confirm if EaseUS Partition Master for Mac requests you to confirm the operation.

Step 4. Wait patiently and let EaseUS Partition Master for Mac to complete cloning the old macOS disk to the new target disk.  

EaseUS Partition Master for Mac is ideal if you want to clone macOS drive to new SSD or external hard drive.

Can Disk Utility Clone a Mac Hard Drive?

Disk Utility is actually a system utility in macOS that performs tasks related to disks and volumes, such as formatting, partitioning and cloning disks. However, it does offer cloning capabilities, and you can create a copy of a disk through the "Restore" function. Its advantage is that it is free and built into macOS, which makes it possible to create copies of disks quickly.

However, its limitations include the lack of file system support (e.g. NTFS disks are not supported) and relatively complex operation, requiring you to manually start each cloning process. In addition, DiskUtility does not make the entire target disk bootable, so it is not recommended for cloning macOS disks.

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Conclusion

Disk Utility is free and comes with every copy of Mac OS. While three-party cloning applications have more features or are simpler to use, using Disk Utility will create a fully usable copy of your data disk if you don't have access to a third-party application. The downside to using Disk Utility to clone your Mac is that if you clone the boot disk to an external device, the target disk may not boot by default. You'll also need additional setup, which can be difficult for beginners. Fortunately, you can use Ease US Partition Master for Mac to clone Mac boot disk to ensure smooth booting.

FAQs About Using Disk Utility to Clone Mac Hard Drive

Disk Utility allows you to clone a Mac hard drive for free, which is an ideal option if you can't access the internet and want to back up or transfer your data. Check the FAQs below to get more details.

1. How do I backup my entire Mac to an external hard drive without Time Machine?

Disk Utility is a solution for backing up Mac to an external disk without Time Machine. Here is how:

• Connect the external drive to your Mac.
• Open Disk Utility and select the external drive. Back up your data ahead of time because you'll need to erase the external drive to prepare it for cloning.
• Restart your Mac and hold Command + R to enter Recovery Mode.
• In Recovery Mode, open Disk Utility, select your Mac's startup disk, and choose Restore.
• Select the external hard disk as the target and then start the cloning.

2. How do I set my Macintosh HD as my Startup Disk?

To set Macintosh HD as your startup disk on a Mac, follow these steps:

• Click the Apple symbol in the menu bar and select System Settings.
• In the sidebar, click General. On the right of the window, click Startup Disk.
• Click the icon of Macintosh HD. (Here, you might need to enter your admin password or use Touch ID to confirm.)
• Click "Restart your Mac" to apply the changes.

3. Can I clone a large disk to a smaller disk?

Yes. You can clone a large disk to a smaller disk if you meet the following demands:

Backup: Create a copy before cloning or resizing.

Data Size: Total data must fit on the smaller disk.

Performance: Keep at least 15% of the smaller disk free.

Cloning Tools: Use third-party tools such as EaseUS Partition Master for Mac if Disk Utility fails due to size differences.