Hiren Boot Clone Disk Best Practices Guide [Comprehensive]

What Is Hiren BootCD

Hiren BootCD PE is a Windows 10-based bootable environment that includes a set of tools for data recovery, diagnostics, partition management, and disk cloning. It can be used when the system fails to boot or performs advanced disk operations outside the operating system.

The original Hiren BootCD differs from Hiren BootCD PE in that the PE version is compatible with modern hardware and supports UEFI booting.

💗Common Scenarios for Using Hiren Boot to Clone Disks:
Upgrading from HDD to SSD
System Recovery or Backup
Migrating to a Larger Disk
Testing or Duplicating Workstations
Enterprise batch deployment of system images

How to Clone a Disk with Hiren’s BootCD PE

Cloning a disk using Hiren's BootCD PE for Windows 10 PE is a great way to back up your data, migrate to a new SSD, or protect against drive failure. Here's how to do it from start to finish.

Preparation

• A USB stick (4GB or more).
• Hiren’s BootCD PE ISO.
• A USB boot tool like Rufus.
• Basic knowledge of BIOS/UEFI settings.

Step 1. Create a Bootable Hiren’s USB

Download Hiren’s BootCD PE ISO from the official website.

Download and open Rufus.

Plug in your USB stick and select it in Rufus.

In Rufus:

• Boot selection: Select the Hiren’s ISO.
• Partition scheme: Choose MBR (for legacy BIOS) or GPT (for UEFI).

Click Start to create the bootable USB.

Step 2. Boot from Hiren’s USB

Insert the USB into the computer.

Reboot and enter your boot menu (usually by pressing F12, ESC, F2, or DEL).

Select the USB drive to boot into Hiren’s BootCD PE environment.

Step 3. Launch a Cloning Tool

Hiren’s BootCD includes multiple cloning tools. We recommend using AOMEI Cloner, a simple and hassle-free cloning software for Windows 7, 8, 10, 11, and Windows Server. It can provide a disk cloning feature to clone hard drives to SSDs:

• Click Start Menu > Utilities > AOMEI Cloner.
• Then, wait for AOMEI Cloner to detect your disks.

Step 4. Start the Disk Cloning Process

Open AOMEI Cloner, click on Clone from the left-hand panel, and select Disk Clone.

Choose the old disk as the source disk and the new one as the destination disk, then click Next.

📝Tip: You can check SSD Alignment if you are cloning to an SSD; it improves performance and lifespan.

Click Start Clone to begin the clone process.

Step 5. Finishing Up

Wait for the clone to complete (the time depends on disk size).

Once done, shut down the system.

Remove or swap the old disk and boot from the new one.

More about AOMEI Cloner

AOMEI Cloner is specialized cloning software that offers Disk Clone, System Clone, and Partition Clone, while it enables cloning in simple and reliable steps.

 

Common Questions During Hiren Boot Clone Disk

1. Can I resize partitions during the clone process?

Yes, tools like AOMEI Cloner allow you to resize partitions on the destination disk if it’s larger than the source.

2. What’s the difference between disk cloning and disk imaging?

Cloning creates a 1:1 copy from one disk to another in real-time.

Imaging saves the disk as a file that can be restored later.

Hiren’s BootCD supports both, depending on the tool you use.

3. Can I use Hiren’s BootCD to clone a failing hard drive?

Yes, but use tools with sector-by-sector cloning and enable options to skip bad sectors, like AOMEI Cloner and Macrium.

📌Tip: Act fast if the drive is failing. The more you use it, the greater the chance of total failure

Conclusion

Full-featured and easy to use, Hiren's BootCD is the first choice for disk cloning. Whether you want to migrate to a new hard disk, recover data, or perform daily backups, it can meet your needs. Meanwhile, when performing disk backups, you can choose to use the professional and reliable cloning software AOMEI Cloner. The combination of the two makes the disk cloning process smoother and ensures that you won't have any boot problems.