4 Steps to Create Windows 7 Bootable Clone Disk

January 18, 2019

Trying to clone Windows 7 to new hard drive and make it bootable? The best disk cloning software - AOMEI Backupper will do exactly Windows 7 bootable clone easily and quickly.

The problem

I am looking for a disk cloning software to clone my Windows 7 system, and when Windows OS boot fails, I could take out the hard drive, and replace it with another bootable clone disk, boot that drive without any other medias, like WinPE bootable media, or the Windows installation disk. I found that the backup software available that does create clone disks have massive problems. Did you have some reliable Windows 7 bootable clone software that does what I want?

Reliable disk cloning software for Windows 7

The easiest and reliable disk cloning software - AOMEI Backupper Professional will do what you want. It’s available for Windows XP, Vista, 7, 8, 8.1, and 10, etc. It allows you to clone Windows 7/8/10 to new computer or new hard drive and make it bootable, then straight boot from that bootable clone disk without bootable USB or CD/DVD.

Create Windows 7 bootable clone

If you want to run all the programs that installed and settings you set up after cloning, try Disk Clone function to clone all the data and system files on your system hard drive; If you want to run a refresh new computer after cloning, it’s highly recommended that you clone Windows 7 to new hard drive.

Now, follow the instructions to do Windows 7 bootable clone (system clone), before you do, prepare the following items:

  • Prepare an external hard drive.

  • Windows 7 installed computer.

  • Download hard drive clone software - AOMEI Backupper Professional.

1. Run AOMEI Backupper Professional, go Refresh icon at the right upper corner of this window to make sure the program detects the latest information of your Windows 7 hard drive.

2. Go Clone tab, and select System Clone afterwards.

Windows 7 System Clone

3. Choose the external hard drive to save Windows 7 system files, and then click Next.

Destination Disk

Tip: The AOMEI Backupper will notify you that the external hard drive will be wiped out and all the data in that drive will be lost. Please backup critical data on that drive first. Otherwise, click Yes.

Format Notice

4. View all the details about the Windows 7 bootable clone, and then click Start Clone to commit all the information.

Start Clone Windows 7


  • Sector by sector clone: If you check this option, make sure your external hard drive is equal to or larger than the current partitions associated with system files.

  • Align partition to optimize for SSD: choose this option if your external hard drive is a SSD drive, check it to optimize for your SSD and the performance.

  • Above steps also apply to Windows 10 bootable cloning.

After a few minutes, Windows 7 operating system will be cloned to new hard drive without losing data. And the external hard drive now is a bootable clone disk, you could take out the current hard drive and replace it with the external hard drive; change the boot order in BIOS, then boot from this Windows 7 bootable clone disk to work normally, and it’s apparently bootable.

If the bootable clone disk could not boot up Windows, make sure the boot order is right, or try Startup Repair if you have Windows installation disc to fix, etc.

Summing Up

Besides, you could also create bootable media just in case of the system boot failure due to some unexpected errors.

AOMEI Backupper Professional owns more useful features that you might be interested, like real time files sync, dissimilar hardware restore, migrate OS to smaller SSD, create differential and incremental backups, schedule backup, etc.

AOMEI provides you different versions of AOMEI Backupper, for server users or technicians, try Technician Plus edition, and here is an additional feature that increase your income (billable technical services to your clients), etc.