Home > Questions

Why Hard Drive Cloning via Disk Utility Keeps Failing? Help!

I am trying to clone my Passport external hard drive to a new Easy Store hard drive by using Disk Utility. I keep getting an error/fail message. My Passport external hard drive has already been formatted to MacOS Extended (Journaled) and partitioned, a portion for files, photos, etc. I also did this for my EasyStore external hard drive (the destination for the cloned files). I don't want to copy each file to my EasyStore hard drive. How do I fix this error? Please help!

Best Answered by

iBoysoft author Wilsey Young

Wilsey Young

Answered on Monday, April 29, 2024

Some factors may cause the error and fail messages while you cloning a hard drive via Disk Utility:

  • There's drive manufacturer's software on the drive
  • The format of the source disk and target disk is not the same
  • The target disk doesn't have a larger capacity than the source disk

I recommend iBoysoft DiskGeeker, a professional disk management tool, for cloning a hard drive to another, you can free download this software to complete the hard drive cloning.

 Download

iBoysoft DiskGeeker

Rating:4.8

     

 Simple steps to clone your external hard drive to another:

 Note: Make a backup of your target disk as the clone will overwrite the data on it. 

  1. Connect your Passport external hard drive and Easy Store hard drive to your Mac and launch iBoysoft DiskGeeker.
  2. Select the source disk (Passport external hard drive) at the left sidebar of the iBoysoft DiskGeeker window.
  3. Click "Clone" from the right toolbar.
  4. Choose a destination drive(Easy Store hard drive) from the pop-up list and click startClone. 

People Also Ask

Time Machine fails with error code 11, failed to copy files?

This thread lists several proven solutions to error 11, which you may encounter when Time Machine failed to complete a backup.

iBoysoft author Jenny ZengJenny Zeng

Mac won't boot from WD Easystore cloned from Macintosh HD

Read this thread to fix Mac won't boot from WD Easystore cloned from Macintosh HD.

iBoysoft author Amanda WongAmanda Wong

Back up with Time Machine to External HD without Erasing?

Follow this post to learn whether you can back up with Time Machine to External HD without erasing files.

iBoysoft author Connie YangConnie Yang

Can't back up my files onto an SD card, it seems that I should unlock the files.

I try to back up my file onto an SD card and I get the following message on my Mac. It asks me to make sure the target files are not locked on my Mac.

iBoysoft author Amanda WongAmanda Wong

How to fix a wrong storage microSD card after restoring from another?

If your SD card shows a wrong storage space after restoring it from another SD card in Disk Utility, check this post to fix it.

iBoysoft author Ciki LiuCiki Liu

Can I back up Mac OS X Mavericks with 1TB WD Easystore?

This thread answers whether you can back up Mac OS X Mavericks with 1TB WD Easystore.

iBoysoft author Amanda WongAmanda Wong

Read More Questions

Read More Advice From iBoysoft's Computer Experts

How to Backup Mac Without Time Machine

Full Guide: Backup Mac Without Time Machine

If you don't want to use Time Machine to back up your Mac any more, this post is for you, which includes five ways to back up Mac/MacBook without Time Machine.

How to Tips

chiffrer une sauvegarde Time Machine

Comment crypter les sauvegardes Time Machine & est-ce nécessaire ?

À propos de comment crypter les sauvegardes Time Machine, que faire si Time Machine met une éternité à crypter le disque de sauvegarde, comment accéder aux sauvegardes Time Machine cryptées, etc.

create disk image on mac

Comment Créer une Image Disque pour un Disque Interne/Externe sur Mac

Avec l'Utilitaire de Disque macOS, vous pouvez créer une image disque pour le disque de démarrage ou les appareils connectés. Pour le conteneur APFS sur puce T2 et les Mac Apple Silicon, vous pouvez utiliser iBoysoft DiskGeeker pour cloner.