Copy Partitions and Data from a USB or SD to a Bigger One with Clonezilla

We all use USB drives , SD cards and Micro-SD cards every day. Whether on the mobile, on a console, in a photo camera and even on micro-computers such as the Raspberry Pi, we usually store all kinds of information and data in them. In case you have to copy the data from these devices, you simply have to connect it to the computer and copy it in the normal way. We can even do this to pass all the data to a USB or a larger capacity memory card. However, although it seems a relatively simple process, things get complicated at the moment when the unit has blocked content that we cannot access. It is then when we must resort to programs like Clonezilla.

It is very common that when trying to access the data from a USB or a memory card we find that these, or a part of them, are blocked. This happens, for example, if we have hidden partitions (for example, if we have an operating system for the Raspberry Pi), or that there are partitions formatted in a proprietary format (as it happens, for example, with the partitions that the consoles automatically create) .

Copy Partitions and Data from a USB or SD to a Bigger One

Copying the data from the main partition, leaving the rest of the partitions uncopied doesn’t do much good. Yes, we can save the most important data, but if we try to boot the device with the new USB or the new memory card, we will see that, since we do not have these partitions, we cannot do anything.

Clonezilla helps us clone units

Clonezilla is one of the best programs we can find for data cloning . Thanks to this software we will be able to pass all the data from one unit to another bit by bit. It does not matter what format they are in, or if the system can or cannot read them. This software literally clones data from one drive to another, being one of the best options when transferring data from an old drive to a new one with a higher capacity.

This program is completely free and open source. We can download it free of charge from here .

Clonezilla is not a program as such, but is designed to run as a Live operating system . Therefore, once downloaded, we will have to burn it to a USB or to a CD and start the PC with it in order to start using this software. When we start the PC with this program, no changes are made to the hard drives, everything is loaded into RAM. Therefore, we will not have to worry about.

Clone a USB or SD to a higher capacity one

When we start the PC with our Clonezilla, the first thing we will see will be a boot screen like the following.

Clonezilla - Clonar USB SD mayor capacidad 1

In it we will choose the first option to start this distro with the default options. After a few seconds, the next thing we will see will be a new section in which we will have to choose the language, and then the keyboard layout that we will use.

We are now ready to start Clonezilla.

Clonezilla - Clonar USB SD mayor capacidad 4

Now, the first thing the program will ask us is to choose the operating mode based on what we want to do with the unit. We, since what we want to do is a copy from device to device, we select the option ” device-device “.

Clonezilla - Clonar USB SD mayor capacidad 6

In the next step, this software will let us choose whether we want to use the “beginner” mode , so that the process is quick and easy, or the “expert” mode , from which we can configure a series of parameters for copying and cloning. of the data. We will choose the “beginner” mode and continue the process.

Clonezilla - Clonar USB SD mayor capacidad 7

Next we will choose that we want to copy a local disk to a local disk. The first option.

Clonezilla - Clonar USB SD mayor capacidad 8

In the next point, all the hard drives and other devices that we have connected to the PC will appear. The first thing we must do is select the source unit . That is, the USB or the memory card that has all the data. The one we want to clone. We must not be mistaken.

Clonezilla - Clonar USB SD mayor capacidad 9

And secondly, the destination drive , or where we want to copy the data. We must make sure to choose this drive very well, since the process will erase all the data from the destination drive in order to clone the source drive.

Clonezilla - Clonar USB SD mayor capacidad 10

After selecting the origin and destination, the cloning process will ask us to choose whether we want to check for errors during the cloning process so that, if any are detected, the program will take care of solving them. If we want cloning to be as accurate as possible, we can say yes (although the total process will take longer). If we are sure that the unit is correct, we can skip the check.

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In the next step we will have to choose what we want to do when the process ends. This is useful, for example, when the units are large, since we can leave the computer working and indicate that, when the process ends, we want it to turn off automatically.

Clonezilla - Clonar USB SD mayor capacidad 12

The program is now ready to clone our USB or memory card . But before starting the process it will allow us to see a summary of everything to make sure that everything is correct. We will have to accept the process twice before starting it.

Clonezilla - Clonar USB SD mayor capacidad 13

When Clonezilla finishes its task, we will have the cloned unit. Now we only have to turn off the computer, disconnect the units and check that the new unit works correctly and that all its data is there.

Expand partitions

Clonezilla’s cloning process is literal. That is, if the destination drive is larger than the source drive, it will create the partitions as is, leaving the difference in space without partitioning. In this case, what we will have to do before we can continue is to enlarge the main partition with the rest of the space that has been left unpartitioned.

To do this we must use a partition manager for Windows that allows us to do this. For example, MiniTool Partition Wizard is a free program that will allow us, whenever the space is contiguous, to enlarge the partitions.

Aumentar el espacio de una particion

So we will have our unit ready and 100% of the space of the new usable unit.