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

While disk cloning is efficient for copying C drive to external hard drive, it has several drawbacks compared to other methods:

Risk of "Mirroring" Errors: If your current Windows installation has a tiny software bug or a corrupted system file, cloning will copy that error perfectly to the new drive.

License Issues: Some high-end software (like certain CAD tools or specialized plugins) may recognize the hardware change and require you to re-activate your license.

One-Version Limit: Unlike a "System Image" (Method 1), which allows you to store multiple versions (Monday's backup, Tuesday's backup) on one disk, a clone takes up the entire disk. You only have one "version" of your data.

No Compression: Cloning does not compress data. If you have 500GB of files, the clone will take up exactly 500GB on the external drive immediately.

Drive Erasure: You cannot use an external drive that already has your personal photos on it to store a clone without moving those photos first; the cloning process must format the destination drive.

Pay attention to the risk before starting to copy c drive to external hard drive or ssd on your Windows 11/10 PC.