How to copy c drive to external hard drive on Windows 11/10?

You can do this by cloning the C drive. This is the most powerful way to migrate your entire computer setup to a new drive. Unlike a standard backup, cloning creates an identical, bit-for-bit copy of your drive, including the boot sectors, hidden system partitions, and registry, so that the new drive can start the computer on its own.

When you copy c drive to external hard drive, you aren't just copying files; you are duplicating the entire environment.

The Result: If your internal drive died today, you could (in theory) plug in the cloned drive and be back at your desktop in minutes with all your Chrome tabs, wallpaper, and software licenses exactly as you left them.

Best Use Case: Upgrading from a slow HDD to a fast SSD, or replacing a drive that is starting to show signs of hardware failure.

How to copy c drive to external hard drive with disk clone

Step 1: Plug your external hard drive into a USB port and ensure it is recognized by your computer.

Step 2: Download and install a reliable disk cloning utility software on your PC.

Step 3: Open the application and choose your internal C: drive as the source for the operation.

Step 4: Select your external hard drive as the target disk, keeping in mind this will erase all existing data on it.

Step 5: Resize the C: partition on the destination map to ensure it uses the full capacity of the new drive.

Step 6: Click the "Proceed" or "Start" button to begin the bit-for-bit data transfer process. Wait for the software to confirm a successful clone before safely disconnecting the external drive.

Step 7: Restart your computer and enter the BIOS settings to boot from the external drive to ensure the clone is functional.