I recently switched my OS drive to a new, larger SSD so that I would stop running out of space every time a Windows 11 update came around. I had to weigh up the benefits of doing a fresh install or cloning my old drive to the new SSD — and cloning came out as the clear winner.

This decision came down to the benefits of cloning a drive. Not only would it save me time, but the process was relatively user-friendly thanks to the software I used. Here's a look at some of the reasons cloning my OS drive won out over doing a fresh reinstall of Windows.

5 It saves time

You don't have to reinstall all of your apps

Over the years, I've accumulated many apps on my main PC, ranging from an old version of Microsoft Office to apps I use to manage my PC's hardware. There are times when I completely forget about an app's existence until I need it for a very specific use.

In this case, cloning Windows and my installed programs to a new drive saved me the hassle of re-downloading and reinstalling all of these apps. I don't have to track down the perpetual licenses for my old paid apps, either. Cloning also lets me use discontinued apps like Paint 3D, which I'm too stubborn to remove from my workflow.

Instead of the hassle of setting up Windows from scratch, I could just swap out which drive my computer boots from. The entire process (including the time to clone) took me about 30 minutes. But setting up all my apps from scratch would've taken considerably longer.

4 You can use free software

A free trial will work, too

To clone my SSD, I used MiniTool Partition Wizard. While an OS clone is listed among the app's paid features, I didn't encounter any prompt to upgrade when I used the free version. There are also apps available from storage manufacturers like Samsung and Western Digital that you can use to clone a drive. For example, Western Digital provides a five-year license for Acronis True Image.

If you do encounter a paywall, however, you can always use a free trial to access the feature temporarily. While I set up the free version of MiniTool Partition Wizard, there was also the option to proceed with a 30-day trial to access all of the features. Another trialware option for cloning your OS drive is Macrium Reflect.

3 It's relatively easy to do

The most complicated part is using your BIOS

Part of what drew me to cloning my OS drive as a solution is the relative ease with which you can do this. This is thanks to the user-friendliness of the available software.

Yes, it's not as simple as copying and pasting, but depending on the software you use, you can clone your drive with just a few clicks. Cloning is easiest when you're just cloning data drives (and this is included as a free feature on many apps), but even the process to clone your OS is relatively simple.

The main pre-existing knowledge I needed was how to access my BIOS to switch my boot drive and that I should initialize my drive as GPT rather than MBR. My partition app handled the actual cloning process. While creating a bootable USB to install Windows 11 is relatively easy if you do your research, swapping out a boot drive for a cloned disk was even easier. Considering the additional time savings of not needing to reinstall apps, I found cloning to be the more user-friendly option.

2 You can use your old drive as a backup

The old drive acts as a copy

If something went wrong with the cloning process and my new drive wasn't recognized, I could always just switch back to my old SSD. This convenience is another reason why I preferred cloning over a fresh installation.

If I installed a new drive with a fresh copy of Windows and something went wrong, I would have to troubleshoot until I got the drive working. But if my new cloned drive ran into issues, I could just switch back to my old boot drive and try the cloning process again.

I actually botched my initial cloning attempt. I had applied the settings for the new drive but realized the process had been queued but had not started. When my new drive wasn't recognized as a suitable boot media, I switched back to my old drive to check what went wrong.

I also wasn't pressured for time because I had a working version of Windows with all the apps and files I needed on the old drive. So, I took my time figuring out what I did wrong. Eventually, I figured it out and restarted the cloning process. When I went into my UEFI boot options in my BIOS, the new drive showed up.

If my new drive ever fails in the future, the old drive can restore most of my Windows apps and data. I am looking at ways to keep a current backup of Windows, but while I decide which option suits me best, the old drive gives me peace of mind.

1 You can copy and resize your partitions

The new drive is an exact copy that can also adapt

While I regret partitioning my OS drive and have taken steps over the years to merge certain partitions, I've been hesitant to get rid of the recovery partition due to all the "what if" scenarios that pop up in my mind. So I was happy to discover that not only did the MiniTool Partition Wizard allow me to clone the leftover partitions to my new drive, but I could resize my OS partition to take advantage of the extra available storage.

If you're someone who continues to partition their OS drive, this function is a major benefit. Not only do you keep all your files and data, but you also keep your partitions and can resize existing partitions based on the new drive's capacity.

Cloning is a convenient way to set up a new SSD

Some people will still swear by doing a fresh install of Windows when you set up a new drive as your OS drive. There are certain benefits, such as getting rid of unused apps that have accumulated over the years. A fresh install can also improve performance in some cases. However, for simply moving to a larger drive, cloning my OS drive was the perfect option for me.