HDD Raw Copy Tool Portable is a freeware Windows utility designed for low-level, sector-by-sector hard disk duplication and exact raw image creation. Developed by HDDGURU, it bypasses the file system and operating system layers to clone exactly what is on a storage drive. Because it is a portable version, it runs directly from an executable file (.exe) without requiring any software installation on your system. Core Capabilities and Features
Sector-by-Sector Cloning: The tool copies every single sector of a device—including the Master Boot Record (MBR), boot records, hidden partitions, all standard partitions, and the empty space in between.
OS and File System Agnostic: It works completely independent of the data structure. It successfully duplicates drives formatted for Windows, Linux, macOS, or any other operating system.
Handles Faulty Hardware: If a drive has physical damage, the program automatically skips bad sectors to extract as much uncorrupted data as possible without getting stuck. Flexible Duplication Modes:
Disk-to-Disk: Directly clones data from a source drive onto a target drive.
Disk-to-Image: Creates an exact raw image file (.raw or dd format) or a compressed image file (.imgc). Supported Media and Hardware
The software supports LBA-48 for large drives and works with almost all major storage interfaces and brands (such as Western Digital, Seagate, Samsung, and Intel): Internal Storage: SATA, IDE, SCSI, SAS, and SSDs. External Storage: USB and FireWire drive enclosures.
Flash Media: SD, MMC, MemoryStick, and CompactFlash cards accessed via a card reader. Primary Use Cases
Data Recovery: Creating an exact image of a failing or unstable drive before attempting data recovery. Working on a raw image file prevents further physical wear on the damaged original hardware.
Operating System Migration: Moving a full OS installation and configuration directly over to a new drive.
Full Backups: Backing up flash drives or specialized media cards to restore them later to an identical state. Important Constraints to Keep in Mind
No Partition Resizing: The tool copies the exact sector structure. If you clone a smaller drive (e.g., 250 GB) onto a larger drive (e.g., 1 TB), the resulting target structure will still show up as 250 GB. You must manually expand the partition using Windows Disk Management or third-party partition utilities afterward.
Storage Space Requirements: When creating a raw image file, the rule of thumb is that the output file size exactly matches the absolute capacity of the source drive. For example, a 500 GB hard drive will output a 500 GB file, regardless of how much data is actually written to it.
The latest legacy build is version 1.20, while updated versions (up to version 2.6) add support for Windows ⁄11, resume capabilities, and compressed formats. You can download the portable executable directly from the Official HDDGURU Software Page or reputable mirrors like TechSpot and Softpedia.
Are you planning to use this tool to recover data from a damaged drive, or are you looking to upgrade and clone your operating system to a new SSD? HDD Raw Copy Tool for Windows – Uptodown
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