If you have important files saved to your USB flash drive that you want to back up or transfer to another storage location, the best option, in certain cases, is to clone the entire drive. While you can copy the files from the USB drive and paste them onto another drive, this process will usually render some software unusable.
Cloning a USB flash drive is a very straightforward process because all you need is a special software, such as Norton Ghost, to clone the files for you.
Step 1
Download Norton Ghost to your computer. Norton Ghost is a disk-cloning software. Follow the onscreen installation guide to install the software.
Step 2
Insert your flash drive. Run Norton Ghost. Click "Ghost Advanced," then click the "Clone" option.
Step 3
From the "Source" list, select your USB drive. If you are not sure which drive is your flash drive, right-click "Start," then "Explorer." Remove your flash drive, wait 30 seconds, then reinsert it. A new drive will appear with a specially designated letter (such as "D:" or "F:"). This is your USB drive. Return to Norton Ghost and select this drive as your source drive.
Step 4
Select from the "Destination" list an empty drive or partition you want to copy the files over to. Review the model name and storage size on the bottom of the "Clone Wizard" screen, if necessary, to figure out which disk you want to use.
Step 5
Click "Next" until you reach the task summary window. Review the information displayed to confirm the settings are correct. If you need to make any changes, click "Back." Otherwise, click "Run Now" to begin the cloning process.
Step 6
Right-click "Start," then click "Explorer" after the cloning process is complete. Check your destination drive to make sure all of the files were properly cloned.
Things You'll Need
USB flash drive
Computer with Internet access
Disk cloning software
Tip
Norton Ghost is not freeware and will require purchase after the free trial is over. Free alternatives for disk cloning include EaseUs Disk Copy, XXClone and Runtime Software's DriveImage XML.