Developed by Paramount Software UK Ltd in 2006; Macrium Reflect is a disk imaging and backup utility for Windows. With the help of Microsoft Volume Shadow Copy Service, the tool creates disk images and backup archives. Also, Macrium Reflect can clone disk, backup complete disk partitions or individual files, and folder to another storage drive.
However, some users lately, while using Macrium Reflect and cloning hard drive, have reported encountering Macrium Reflect clone failed error or clone failed error 9. Here we will explain how to fix the Macrium Reflect clone failed, ‘Clone failed – Read failed – 13 – Broken pipe,’ and other similar error messages.
Reasons for Macrium Reflect Error 9
There are several reasons you can encounter Macrium Reflect clone failed issue. Here are some of the common reasons:
1. The cable is not properly connected
If the cable between the device is not properly connected, you might face issues while cloning the disk using Macrium Reflect. Therefore, when facing Macrium Reflect error 9 or 0, ensure the cable is properly connected.
2. Bad sectors on the storage device
If the source disk has bad sectors, you might face Macrium Reflect clone failed error.
3. Antivirus is enabled
Due to security reasons, certain antivirus software blocks the system files cloning process, leading to the Macrium Reflect clone failed issue.
4. File system error
If the source or destination disk has corrupted the file system, you might face a clone failed error message when using Macrium Reflect.
How to Fix Macrium reflect clone failed Error
Users facing issues with Macrium Reflect have reported different error messages like ‘access denied’ or ‘unable to match partition.’ These error messages are usually accompanied by error digits like ‘error 9’ ‘error 0’. The solution to fix these error messages and some rare error messages like ‘read failed 13 permission denied 32’ or ‘write failed 22 invalid arguments’ are listed below. Before you start following them, make sure you have an active internet connection and are logged in as an administrator.
1. Run CHKDSK to Check the Disk for Bad Sectors
Macrium Reflects bad sectors on the disk cause errors 0 or 9. These bad secrets due to permanent damage are inaccessible by any software and are present in storage devices always. You can run the ‘CHKDSK’ utility to deal with these issues. To do so, follow these steps:
1.Type command prompt in the Windows search bar, type command prompt,> right-click on best search result > select “Run as administrator.”
2.Here, type : chkdsk /r > enter. This will help repair bad sectors on the drive you are trying to clone.
3.If you get the message, the volume is in use. Would you like to schedule upon the next restart? Press Y. CHKDSK will be scheduled to run at the next boot time. Upon restart, wait for the process to finish.
4.Once the utility removed bad sectors, try running Macrium Reflect to clone the storage device.
2. Use Clean Command To Clean up Destination Disk
If your destination drive has a corrupt file system, Macrium will not be able to clone. We will use the ‘diskpart’ utility to clean corrupt file systems. This will help clean the structure of your destination drive. To run it, follow the steps below:
1. Open elevated Command Prompt.
2. Type the following command one by one.
3.Restart the PC after the process finishes repairing the file structure. Now try to clone the drive.
3. Try Disabling Antivirus
Due to security reasons, antivirus might block access to any program that is found performing a suspicious activity that might infect the computer system. When an antivirus blocks the cloning process, you might receive the error “Access denied” along with an error code.
To counter this situation, disable your antivirus software altogether and then try cloning again. If you are running multiple antivirus software, disable all of them temporarily. Once all the antivirus solutions are disabled, try performing the cloning process again.
Additional Tip – Create an image instead of cloning
If cloning a hard drive gives issues, you can create an image of the disk. There is a thin line difference between the two processes. Disk cloning – copies complete content of the drive onto another required to boot the operating system from the drive. While disk image is a process of making a backup copy of the hard drive. Disk image needs to be applied for a hard drive to work.
How to Create Disk Image Instead of Cloning the Disk?
1. Launch Macrium and wait for it to list down all connected drives.
2. Select the drive want to create an image for > click Create an image of the partition(s) required to backup and restore Windows. Alternatively, you can also click Image this disk.
3. Select the destination disk > ok.
4. Hit Next, > choose a template for your backup. If you have no idea about it click None.
5. Press Finish to start the image creation process. Wait for the process to finish and that’s it.
Ignore Bad Sectors
While creating a disk image if you get a message related to bad sectors you can ignore it. To do so, follow these steps:
1. Launch Macrium > click on Advanced.
2. Check the box next to Ignore bad sectors when creating images.
3. Press OK to save changes. Close the dialogue box and then try to create the disk image.
If nothing of this works, you can try using third-party alternative EaseUS Todo Backup. To learn how to use it, read further.
Try Using EaseUS Todo Backup
If the above methods don’t work, you could consider using EaseUS Todo Backup to do the job. This third-party software easily clones a hard drive with bad sectors with sector-by-sector cloning features. To use it, follow these steps:
Pre-requisite
- Connect A Second Hard Drive
- Connect the target disk
- Before using the disk, initialize a new HDD/SSD to MBR or GPT (This will help keep the target disk and the current disk of the same style.)
- After connecting the disk download and install EaseUS Todo Backup.
- Launch EaseUS Todo Backup, the cloning software that helps clone disk, backup, system transfer, supports all kinds of disk types, including IDE, EIDE, SATA, ESATA, ATA, SCSI, iSCSI, USB 1.0/2.0/3.0, and a lot more.
3. Next, get ready for the cloning process. Choose System Clone > select destination disk. To start the process, click Next. Go to Advanced options, and select Create a portable Windows USB drive to clone the system to a USB drive.
If you are cloning Disk/Partition, select Clone > resource disk or partition > choose the target disk > Next.
4. Boot from the Clone Hard Drive.
Option 1. To keep both the old disk and the new disk follow these steps:
- Restart PC > press F2 (F8,F10, DEL…) and enter BIOS settings.
- Go to the Boot option > select new HDD/SSD as the new boot drive.
- Exit BIOS and restart the computer.
Option 2. To keep only the new disk follow these steps:
- Detach the old disk and properly connect the new disk.
- Reboot the system. This will boot the system from the next disk.
If you use a laptop go with option 2.
Using these steps and an alternative like EaseUS Todo Backup you can clone a disk or create an image if Macrium Reflect is giving error code 9 or 0. Also, if you get Clone failed error 9 while using Macrium you can use the above steps. We hope you liked the information we shared and will use it to clone or create a disk image. Share your feedback with us in the section below.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q 1. Is Macrium Reflect safe?
Yes, Macrium Reflect is a safe to use backup utility for Windows PC. It helps backup, create a disk image and clone the disk.
Q 2. How do I clone a failed hard drive?
To clone a failed har drive use the EaseUS Todo Backup utility and follow the aforementioned steps.
Q 3. How do I fix clone errors?
To fix clone error follow these steps:
1. Instead of using a USB connection cable use a SATA cable.
- Install SSD via the SATA cable
- Check disk for bad sectors
- Restart PC and then try to clone the disk
Q 4. Is Macrium Reflect clone bootable?
Yes, the disk created using Macrium Reflect can be used to boot on the same system after cloning.