Copy a partition to another disk in Windows 10 without data loss?

Using GParted Live in combination with ntfsclone (which is a part of the GParted Live environment) can be an effective way to create a precise, compressed copy of an NTFS partition, especially if you're planning to clone or back up a partition before you copy a partition to another disk.

What is ntfsclone?

• It’s a utility designed to clone NTFS partitions or volumes efficiently.
• It copies only the used data, which makes it faster and results in smaller image files.
• It can also create a compressed image, saving space.

Using ntfsclone in GParted Live

• GParted Live includes ntfsclone, but it’s usually hidden or not directly accessible through the standard GParted GUI.
• To use ntfsclone, you need to run it from a terminal in GParted Live.

General Process of copying a partition to another disk:

1. Boot into GParted Live:

Prepare a bootable USB or CD with GParted Live.

Boot your PC from this media.

2. Open a Terminal:

Once GParted loads, open a terminal window.

3. Identify the NTFS Partition:

Use lsblk or fdisk -l to identify the partition you want to clone (e.g., /dev/sda1).

4. Use ntfsclone to Create a Backup Image:

Example command:

ntfsclone --save-image --output /path/to/backup.img /dev/sda1

To create a compressed image:

ntfsclone --save-image --output - /dev/sda1 | gzip > /path/to/backup.img.gz

Note: /path/to/backup.img should be on an external disk or network location with enough space.

5. Restoring the Partition:

To restore the image to another disk:

ntfsclone --restore-image --force --output /dev/sdX /path/to/backup.img

Or with gzip compression:

gzip -dc /path/to/backup.img.gz | ntfsclone --restore-image --force --output /dev/sdX