How to Copy/Clone Bootable USB Drive in Windows 11/10/8/7

🚀How to Clone Bootable USB Drive to Another Drive

1. Launch EaseUS Disk Mode and click "Next".
2. Choose the bootable USB drive as the source disk.
3. Choose the other disk as the destination disk.
4. You're allowed to edit disk partitions now or any time else after cloning...Read More>>

How Can I Make an Exact Copy of a Bootable USB Flash Drive

💭From Superuser.com

"If I copy a bootable USB drive to another USB, will it create a duplicate bootable drive? I thought it's kind of a dumb question, but a search with Google seems to indicate that it is not even possible to copy/paste data on a bootable drive to another USB. But even if we were able to copy it, why should it not work? (that is creating a duplicate bootable drive)."

"I have a bootable USB flash drive with Windows 10 installation on it, and try to copy flash drive to another flash drive for the purpose of backup. Can't just copy and paste in File Explorer, so do you have any good suggestions?"

Indeed, Ctrl C + Ctrl V (copy and paste) a bootable USB flash drive to another doesn't help. For your information, a bootable OS is installed as the installer on the stick, and you need the ISO copy of the OS(including hidden files, partition structure, and file system) to install on other USB sticks. That is to say, you need to clone a bootable USB drive. In this guide, we'll show you how to clone a bootable USB to another USB with two working methods, allowing you to copy all data, including the OS, boot sectors, and files from one USB to another.

Why Do You Copy/Clone Bootable USB Drive in Windows 10/8/7

As we explained, you can't just copy and paste a bootable flash drive to another. Instead, you can easily achieve the goal by cloning. Usually, for the purpose of bootable USB drive backup, mass deployment, and disaster recovery, we need to preserve another copy of the bootable drive. Besides, USB flash drives and USB drives are very convenient and portable. If you have a bootable USB drive, you can solve unbootable issues anytime and anywhere.

So, how are you going to make it happen? Many people would like to make a backup for their USB drives. But it would be time-consuming and inconvenient. The answer is copying a bootable USB drive with a USB clone tool.

🪁Related Reading: How to Clone Hard Drive with Bootable USB | Clone Bootable Drive on Windows 11/10/8/7

What's the Fastest Way to Clone a Bootable USB Drive

Windows doesn't offer a direct way of disk cloning, so there are many third-party disk cloning utilities in order to offer excellent disk copy & disk clone experience. For example, among the dozens of software programs that enjoy a high reputation, EaseUS Disk Copy is selected as the fastest and easiest USB image tool and the SSD cloning software that supports cloning one USB drive to another, including the bootable USB drive. With robust features, supported by advanced technology, you can download it on your Windows 11/10 and get ready for detailed steps.

Highlights of EaseUS Disk Copy for bootable USB cloning:

• Sector-by-setcor copy of your USB drive, avoid copying bad sectors to the new USB
• Works with FAT32, NTFS, exFAT, EXT2/3/4, making it compatible with different bootable USB formats
• Optimized algorithms ensure quick copying while maintaining data integrity.
• Compatible with USBs from various brands, like Samsung, Kingston, SanDisk, etc.
• Works with USB 2.0, USB 3.0, USB-C, and other storage devices (HDDs and SSDs)
• Works with Different USB Drive Sizes, alllows cloning to a larger or smaller USB drive
• Make a new SSD your C drive
• Clone bootable USB in Windows 11/10/8/7 without boot issues, the cloned USB remains bootable with all original settings intact

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How to Copy Bootable USB to Another USB via EaseUS Disk Copy

To clone a bootable USB to another, connect both the bootable USB drive and the other storage device to your computer. Now, you can start with the guide.

✅Notice: Before cloning, check the following tips to ensure a smooth cloning process.

• Ensure that both USBs are functioning correctly, and your computer can recognize them
• Ensure the target USB disk should be equal to or larger than the used space on the source USB
• Disable BitLocker (if enabled) on the source USB to avoid issues

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.

📽️This YouTube video shows detailed steps to clone a bootable USB to another. Watch it and make a copy of your bootable USB.

⏰Time Stamp:

• 00:09 - What Is a Bootable USB Drive
• 00:26 - Why Clone to Clone Bootable USB
• 00:58 - EaseUS Disk Copy: reliable USB cloning software
• 01:24 - How to clone a bootable USB to another USB with EaseUS Disk Copy
• 02:00 - Ending

How to Clone Bootable USB with Command Line

If you don't want to download any third-party software, cloning a bootable USB to another USB is feasible via the Command Line(dd) in Windows. It will also make an exact sector-by-sector copy, including boot sectors, to the new USB. Keep reading and follow the steps below to make an exact sector-by-sector cloning of your USB.

✅Notice: Using this way, you are required to have certain knowledge of computers because the process is a little complex. If you enter a wrong code, the whole process will go wrong.

Step 1. Download and get dd from this site: http://www.chrysocome.net/dd.

Step 2. Connect both USBs to your computer.

Step 3. Find USB disk numbers by running the following CMD(Admin)

diskpart
list disk
exit

Step 4. Using dd Command to clone bootable USB by entering the following code:

dd if=\\.\PhysicalDrive1 of=\\.\PhysicalDrive2 bs=1M --progress

Then wait for the process to complete, and you will get an exact copy of your bootable USB.

How to Test/Verifty Cloned USB Is Bootable

It's very crucial to verify that the copy works correctly after cloning. You can text it on a physical PC, and here's how to text if your cloned USB is bootable.

• Insert the cloned USB into your computer.
• Restart your computer and enter the BIOS/UEFI boot menu (usually F12, Esc, F2, or Del).
• Select the cloned USB as the boot drive under the boot option.
• If it loads the OS normally, then the cloning process is successful.

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Conclusion

To sum up, you can easily clone a bootable USB drive to another USB or hard drive with EaseUS Disk Copy or using the Command Line dd. Compared with the COmmand Line, EaseUS Disk Copy has many advanced features to ensure an easy and successful USB cloning. Besides, it has many other advantages, such as migrating Windows 10 to SSD, creating an emergency disk, and more. And if you have any problem with cloning a bootable USB drive, you can contact us as soon as possible.

Clone Bootable USB Drive Frequently Asked Questions 

Here are some frequently asked questions about cloning a bootable USB drive, you can read on to get additional help.

1. Can you copy a bootable USB to another USB?

Yes, you can copy the bootable USB drive to another USB with EaseUS disk cloning software. Although you can't just copy and paste a bootable flash drive to another, you can easily achieve the goal by cloning. 

• Open EaseUS Disk Copy.
• Choose the Clone method according to your own demands. 
• Choose the bootable USB drive as the source disk.
• Choose the new USB drive as the destination disk. 
• You're allowed to edit disk partitions now or at any time else after cloning.

2. How do I clone my SSD to a flash drive?

To clone SSD to USB flash drive:

Step 1. Launch EaseUS Disk Copy and click "Disk Mode". In the new window, choose the SSD as the source disk and then click "Next" to continue. 

Step 2. Choose the USB drive as the target disk. It must have enough space to save your data.

Step 3. Preview the disk layout and click "Proceed" to clone the SSD to USB.

3. Is it better to clone or image a hard drive?

Cloning is great for fast recovery, but imaging gives you a lot more backup options. Taking an incremental backup snapshot gives you the option to save multiple images without taking up a lot more space. This can be helpful if you download a virus and need to roll back to an earlier disk image.

4. Is cloning faster than copying?

Cloning simply reads and writes bits. Nothing will slow it down other than disk usage. In my experience, it has always been faster to copy all the files from one drive to another than to clone the drive.

5. Can bootable USB be reused?

Yes, a bootable USB can be reused. After creating a bootable USB, you can reformat it to remove the bootable files and restore it to regular storage. Ensure you back up any important data before reformatting, as the process erases all content.