A program for creating a copy of a flash drive image. Transferring the contents of one bootable USB flash drive to another

Unlike regular data stored on USB drives, bootable USB drive data cannot be placed on another USB drive by simply copying or cutting and pasting files. If, for example, you have a bootable USB flash drive with an operating system installation disk, but the original ISO file is lost, you won’t be able to release the flash drive temporarily by temporarily moving the data to your computer. After moving back to the flash drive, it will not become bootable. By the same principle, you cannot copy the contents of one bootable flash drive to another. If there is no source ISO file, so that you can use it to create anytime and as many bootable flash drives as you want, you need to resort to using a special software. It’s easier, of course, to store the original ISO file somewhere and burn it, if necessary, to any USB media. But if with installation disks of operating systems and Live disks for their resuscitation it is only a matter of free space on the hard drive, then with multiboot flash drives for installing several systems it is both a question of free space and a question of the process of their creation.

Below we will consider the simplest way, how to clone a bootable USB flash drive on a Windows system to another empty flash drive if there is no original ISO file. This method is also suitable for the case when there is only one flash drive available, and it needs to be freed from data for a while, and then returned to the initial state.

For these purposes, you can use the capabilities of backup programs or managers disk space for Windows. In particular, software assemblies from developers Acronis, Paragon, AOMEI Technology provide functionality for Reserve copy and recovery of partitions and disks, which can be used to create a backup copy of a bootable USB flash drive. The created backup copy can later be restored either to the same flash drive or to another. The mentioned programs also provide functionality for directly transferring the contents of a bootable flash drive to another USB drive - this is functionality. Just like a partition or an entire one can be cloned HDD with installed operating system, the bootable flash drive will be cloned in exactly the same way.

In our case, as mentioned, the simplest way to solve the problem will be considered. To transfer the contents of a bootable USB flash drive, we will use a small free utility USB Image Tool. It can be downloaded from the developer's website.

USB Image Tool – portable program, which does not require installation into the system. Simply unpack the downloaded archive and run the application file.

The utility is intended only for working with USB media. It works on the principle of creating a backup image of a bootable USB flash drive. The created image in IMG format is subsequently used to restore the contents of the bootable flash drive, either on the original or on any other USB drive.

After USB launcher Image Tool on the left side of the window we will see a list of all connected USB drives. If there are several devices, select the one you need and click on it. In the right part of the window at the bottom, click the “Backup” button.

We indicate the location on the computer where the bootable flash drive image will be stored. Click “Save”.

We are waiting for the backup process to complete.

Once the image is created, we can restore it to another flash drive. Click on the desired flash drive in the utility window on the left, and at the bottom of the window click the “Restore” button.

Specify the previously saved IMG image. Click “Open”.

We confirm the actions.

The last stage is to wait for the process to complete.

Have a great day!

Browse to the folder with the files you want to copy. Open an Explorer window; to do this, click ⊞ Win + E. Scroll through the left pane with a list of drives and folders to find the folder with the files you need.

• User files are typically stored in the Documents or My Documents folder.
• If you're looking for photos or music, go to your Pictures or Music folder.

Insert the flash drive into a USB port on your computer. U desktop computer USB ports are on the front and/or rear panels case, and sometimes on the back of the monitor. The laptop's USB ports are located on the side panels.

Find the folder on the flash drive to copy the files to. They can be copied to any folder on the flash drive.

• When you connect the drive to your computer, a pop-up window will likely open. In it, find the option “Open folder to view files” (or similar). Click on this option to go to the root (main) folder of the flash drive. Files can be copied directly to root folder or to any subfolder.
• If the window does not open, click ⊞ Win + E to open a new File Explorer window, and then double-click your USB drive's name in the left pane. The name will be: “USB drive”, “ Removable drive"or similar. The name can also be the name of the drive manufacturer (for example, “Sandisk”).
• Create a new folder and give it a name that matches its contents. To create a new folder on the flash drive, press Ctrl + ⇧ Shift + N, and then enter a name (such as "Personal", "Photos", etc.). Now click ↵Enter. Double-click the new folder to open it.

Hello admin! My friend has a cool one 16 GB multiboot flash drive USB interface 2.0 with five operating systems, several useful LiveCDs and a bunch more useful programs, and I have a blank 32 GB USB 3.0 flash drive. The question is, how can I transfer all the information from his 16 GB bootable flash drive to my 32 GB flash drive and so that my flash drive automatically becomes bootable? That is, I want to do exact copy his flash drive on mine, but I can’t imagine how this can be done.

Cloning a bootable USB flash drive

Hello friends! The situation is basically clear. In simple words, our reader has a 16 GB bootable flash drive with operating systems and some useful software on it, and he wants to make an exact copy of this flash drive on another a larger flash drive, for example 32 GB. And in clever words, we need to produce flash drive cloning.

• Note: The same is possible.

So, we connect two flash drives to our computer.

The first flash drive is 16 GB, it is bootable and contains several operating systems, plus a LiveCD, user files and program installers.

The second 32 GB flash drive is clean.

Disk management.

Let's launch free program.

Choose Master-->Disc Copy Wizard.

Select the source flash drive - the bootable flash drive from which we want to copy the contents.

Left-click on the selected flash drive and click “Next”.

We select the target flash drive, that is, the one to which we want to copy the contents of the bootable flash drive.

This window shows what the flash drive will look like after cloning. We don’t need two partitions on the bootable flash drive, so check the “Fit partitions of the entire disk” checkbox

"End"

"Apply"

"Go"

The process of cloning the flash drive begins.

Sometimes there is a need to create or save backup copy flash media. It's about about not simply copying data from one medium to another, but about complete data transfer while maintaining checksums and program functionality, if any.

For example, you have a program installed on a flash drive to save passwords, which you use very often, remove it and run it on different devices. Over time, a flash drive can become unusable for various reasons, due to improper handling, poor quality due to the fault of the manufacturer, and so on. However, if we have a copy, then there is no need to worry too much about this. All we need to restore it is a copy created using the USB Image Tool program and another working flash drive with the required amount of memory.

Picture 1

Next, select the mode “Device Mode”. Then in the right window of the program we see the flash drives that are currently connected to the computer, select the required flash drive by clicking on it. In the right window we will immediately see information about the media. To create a backup copy, click “Backup” (Figure 2).

Figure 2

In a pre-created folder for storing backup copies of flash media, or in any other folder that is convenient for you, come up with a name for the backup copy and click on save (Figure 3).

Figure 3

Now we don’t touch anything, the creation of a backup copy has begun. In the lower left corner you will see a percentage bar indicator that shows in real time what percentage of the backup has been created. Next, the program will simply give a sound notification that a copy has been created (Figure 4).

Figure 4

The backup copy of the flash drive is ready and saved. If you need to restore it on another media, then simply connect the latter to your computer and wait until it appears in the left window of the program.

Figure 5

Select the previously created backup that we want to restore and click “Open” (Figure 6).

Figure 6

After this, the program will ask us again whether we really want to restore the selected “backup” to the specified flash drive. To which we will agree by clicking on the “Yes” button (Figure 7).

Figure 7

Attention!!!

If the flash media on which you want to write an image of a flash device is not formatted or has recordings, then the program will format it, having previously requested your consent for these actions. Therefore, save the data if it is on the media that is to be formatted. If you need them!

Some users are interested in the question of how to copy a bootable USB flash drive, and then transfer the disk image to another flash drive, making it bootable. It is necessary to save the image of the flash drive, transfer it to another flash drive in order to get two identical flash drives.

Another bootable flash drive may be needed in some cases: relatives, friends or acquaintances ask for a bootable flash drive for a while (it is not yet known what they will return), you need to copy someone else’s bootable flash drive that needs to be given away, etc.

Is it possible to copy a bootable USB flash drive? Simple copying- you can’t, because the flash drive will not be bootable; when you start the computer, you won’t be able to start installing Windows from it.

Therefore, you will have to use workarounds. In this article I will use the UltraISO program, which is designed for working with images.

Using UltraISO, you can copy a bootable USB flash drive and then transfer the image to another flash drive. Additionally, I will show how to copy the system image from the installation DVD disc to a flash drive.

It makes sense to check the created bootable USB flash drive to be sure that it will not fail at the crucial moment when you need to reinstall or restore Windows. When checking a bootable flash drive, pay attention to one nuance:

• on modern computers it is necessary to disable the “Secure Boot” mode in UEFI, which prevents booting from USB drives

How to copy a bootable USB flash drive to another flash drive in UltraISO (method 1)

First, let's look at a fairly simple way to copy content from one flash drive to another.

To copy a bootable USB flash drive image, you will need to perform the following steps:

1. Connect to port Computer USB Bootable USB flash drive with Windows.
2. Launch the UltraISO program.
3. Enter the "Boot" menu. IN context menu select “Create a diskette image...” or “Create an image Hard drive..." (both options work the same).

1. In the “Create a diskette image” window, in the “Disk drive” item, select the drive letter that is designated in Explorer for the bootable flash drive connected to the computer. In the “Save As” settings item, select a location to save the disk or floppy image. By default, the disk or floppy image will be saved in the ".ima" format.

• Please note that the file in the “IMA” format will have a size equal to the size of the entire flash drive. If the flash drive has a size of 4 GB, 8 GB, 16 GB, then the “.ima” file will have the same size. Make sure you have enough free disk space on your computer. After copying the flash drive is completed, this file is no longer needed and can be deleted.

1. Click on the "Make" button.

1. Next, in the “Process” window, a disk image file is created.

1. The “Hint” window that opens will inform you that the creation of the disk image has been successfully completed.

1. Connect the second UISB drive to your computer, to which you want to transfer the contents of the first flash drive. Disconnect the original bootable USB flash drive from the computer; it is no longer needed.
2. In the UltraISO program, go to the “File” menu, click “Open ...”, select the “boot.ima” file.

1. In the “Write Disk Image” window, you need to make settings for writing a bootable USB flash drive with Windows:

• in the “Disk Drive” setting, select a flash drive (refer to its designation in Explorer, name and size of disk space)
• You can check the “Check” box to check the recorded flash drive for errors
• in the “Image file” field, check the path to the source disk image
• in the “Recording method” option, select “USB-HDD+”

1. Click on the "Record" button.

1. In the “Hint” window, agree that all information will be deleted from the disk.

1. Next, the flash drive will be formatted, and then the image will begin recording, which will last for a certain period of time.
2. After completion and verification, information about the event will appear in the “Write Disk Image” window: “Recording completed!”

Close the UltraISO boot program Windows flash drive transferred to another disk and ready for use.

How to make an image of a bootable USB flash drive in UltraISO (method 2)

The second method assumes that you first need to copy the bootable USB flash drive into ISO format, which is then written to another flash drive. When carrying out this operation, a system image was created in ISO format without booting, however, when checked, the copied flash drive with the Windows 10 operating system booted on my computer.

Follow these steps:

1. Connect the bootloader to your computer USB flash drive with Windows and an empty USB flash drive to which you need to copy the data.
2. Log in to UltraISO.
3. Select the bootable USB drive in the Directory area, and then drag it to the New Project area.

1. In the Prompt window, agree to add all files to the disk.
2. After this, the contents of the bootable USB flash drive will be displayed in the new project area.
3. Enter the “File” menu, select “Save as...” from the context menu.
4. In the Explorer window that opens, give the file a name (I chose the name “Windows 10”), select a save location ISO file.
5. The Process window displays the process of saving the ISO file to your computer.
6. After saving the file on your computer, go to the “File” menu and select “Open...” from the context menu.
7. In the Explorer window, select the previously saved ISO image.

1. Enter the "Boot" menu, select "Burn Hard Disk Image..."
2. In the “Write Disk image” window, make the following settings:

• in the “Disk Drive” option, select the flash drive to which you want to copy the contents of the bootable flash drive
• check the “Check” option to make sure that the process of writing to the flash drive went without errors
• check that the path to the image file is correct, in this case to the “Windowsiso” image
• in the “Recording method” setting, select “USB-HDD+”

1. Then click on the “Record” button.

1. In the warning window, agree that all data from the flash drive will be deleted.
2. Next, after formatting, the process of writing data to the flash drive will begin, which will take some time.
3. After recording is complete, close the UltraISO program window.

How to transfer a Windows image from a DVD to a USB flash drive using UltraISO

Sometimes there are situations when the user has an installation Windows disk, recorded on a DVD disc. He needs to copy the disk with the operating system to a flash drive, which will become bootable.

To transfer a Windows image from installation disk to a flash drive, you must complete the following steps:

1. Insert into drive computer DVD disk with the operating system.
2. Connect the USB flash drive to the computer.
3. In the UltraISO program window, go to the “File” menu, select “Open CD/DVD...”.

1. In the "Open CD/DVD" window, select optical drive computer, click on the “Open” button.
2. Enter the “Boot” menu, select “Burn Hard Disk Image...”.
3. In the “Write Disk Image” window, make settings for writing a bootable USB flash drive:

• in “Disk Drive” select the flash drive
• check the box next to “Check”
• the drive letter of the optical drive will be displayed in the "Image file" field
• select the recording method “USB-HDD+”

1. Click on the "Record" button.
2. Agree to delete all data from the flash drive in the “Hint” window.
3. After completing the burning process and checking the flash drive, close the UltraISO program.

You now have a bootable Windows 10 USB flash drive created from the installation DVD.

Conclusion

If necessary, using the UltraISO program, you can copy the contents of a bootable flash drive to another flash drive, making it bootable. UltraISO has the ability to transfer the contents of a DVD with the Windows operating system to a USB flash drive.