Features
What MBI Clone does, step by step.
Two workflows: cloning and profile transfer. At every step, the screen tells you what it is about to write, and a greyed-out button always shows why.
Cloning · Windows → new SSD
Two modes, one rule: the source is read, never written.
Running Windows → SSD
“The SSD hosting the running Windows system is detected automatically and copied using a VSS snapshot.” The computer stays on, running its own Windows, throughout the copy.
Offline Windows → SSD
You explicitly choose the disk that contains the Windows to be copied, connected to a dock, then a different destination. Nothing is preselected after a scan.
A five-step wizard
- DestinationCheck the source, choose the new disk.
- PlanThe partition plan, before / after. Nothing has been written yet.
- ConfirmationAn explicit confirmation before anything is erased.
- CloningSpeed, time remaining and live log.
- ResultSummary and first-boot instructions.
Checked before the first write
Before erasing anything, MBI Clone checks the machine and the disks: BitLocker, power supply, destination identity, health, boot format. A blocking check gives its cause, the recommended action and a code to quote to support.
All checks are run again just before the first write: if a disk has been disconnected in the meantime, cloning stops before anything is erased.
Example of a refusal
- Check
- BitLocker
- Cause
- The volume is encrypted: cloning refuses it until it has been decrypted.
- Action
manage-bde.exe -off "C:"- Code
- MBICLONE-PREFLIGHT-014
Then “Scan again” once the “Fully Decrypted” status is reached.
The nine cloning steps
- Checking requirements
- VSS snapshot and source scan
- Preparing the destination
- Copying Windows
- Full data verification (optional)
- Creating boot files (UEFI or BIOS)
- Recovery environment (WinRE)
- Final verification
- Taking offline and cleaning up
A marker stays on the destination until the final verification succeeds: an interrupted clone is recognized as incomplete at the next launch, and is never usable in a half-finished state.
Two levels of verification
Quick verificationALWAYS
Partition table (GPT or MBR), NTFS, Windows, BCD and WinRE, checked at the end of cloning.
Full verificationOPTIONAL
Reads back the entire copied area, or every file in a migration, and compares SHA-256 hashes. Recommended for a source in doubtful health.
Transfer · by disk
The destination is in charge.
The transfer is run from the new PC. The old disk, connected to a dock or over USB, is accessed read-only: MBI Clone carries over the profiles (data, AppData, secrets), not the machine’s identity.
- Connect the old disk to a dock or over USB, without booting from it.
- Open the transfer: the disk and profile scan starts on its own.
- Tick the profiles and choose the account: a new local account, or a local account that has never been used.
- Start: copying, permission mapping, read-back, then the final report.
BitLocker
A locked volume is opened with the 48-digit recovery key or the passphrase, without being decrypted. The scan restarts on its own.
Saved passwords
With the customer’s old password, DPAPI secrets (browsers, Windows credentials) are migrated. Otherwise, they appear in the “must be re-entered” list.
Printers
The old PC’s printers are listed and reinstalled with their drivers. A printer already present under the same name is never replaced.
Software
The old computer’s software is detected and offered for reinstallation, along with any software the customer asks for. Installation waits for your confirmation.
Wi-Fi
The old PC’s known networks are named: you know which keys to ask the customer for before handing the computer back.
Rescue mode
For a failing disk: each unreadable file is retried, then abandoned and logged. Readable files arrive intact and verified.
Four statuses, no grey areas
- OK
- Transferred and verified.
- A_RESSAISIR
- To be set up again with the customer, for example the Windows Hello PIN.
- DEGRADED
- Continued, to be investigated: a list naming each abandoned file is attached.
- FAIL
- Clean failure: the created account is removed, nothing incomplete is left behind.
Transfer · over the network
Two PCs, one code, no intermediary.
Sender
The old PC
It makes its profiles available, read-only. The signed-in user’s profile is not offered: its hive is locked by Windows.
Receiver
The new PC
It finds the sender on the local network, chooses the profile, creates the local account and writes. An address and port can be entered manually if needed.
The golden rule
Compare the six digits on both screens before authorizing. If they differ, interception is possible: refuse on both sides. Until “Authorize this destination” has been clicked, neither the profile list nor a single byte leaves the old PC.
- A direct, TLS-encrypted stream, with no intermediate storage.
- Randomly chosen port, temporary firewall rule limited to Private and Domain networks, removed in every case.
- Cancellation or dropped connection: the created account and its folder are deleted. A partial account is never left behind.
- One profile per pairing. For several profiles at once, use the transfer by disk.
Good to know
What MBI Clone does not do.
We would rather tell you before you buy than at the counter.
- Domain accountsNot a possible destination. A Microsoft account profile lands in a local account, to be reconnected manually.
- Profile mergingAn account that has already been used is refused, as a safeguard.
- EFS-encrypted filesRefused for transfer: decrypt them beforehand, using the account that encrypted them.
- ARM64 PCsPCs with an ARM processor, such as Snapdragon models, are not supported.
Equip your workshop.
€30 excl. VAT per month per company, or €300 excl. VAT per year: unlimited technicians, computers and migrations, updates included.