The 10 Best Hard Drive Cloning Software of 2023

Updated on January 1, 2023  |  Software Reviews 

A hard drive cloning software makes an exact copy of your hard drive, including the operating system, applications, data, and preferences. This is useful if you upgrade to a larger hard drive or move your OS and applications to a solid-state drive (SSD).

AOMEI Backupper Professional icon

AOMEI Backupper Pro

 AOMEI Backupper Professional is among the top hard disk cloning programs. The process is quite simple, and the interface is highly user-friendly.

Acronis Cyber Protect Home Office icon

Acronis

Acronis has a user-friendly design and is a simple program to use. I would advise anyone looking for hard disk cloning software to use this tool.

NinjaOne Backup icon

NinjaOne Backup

For those who want to back up their hard drive or who want to upgrade their hard drive, NinjaOne Backup is a great option.

Paragon Hard Disk Manager icon

Paragon

A useful tool for data protection and maintaining the health of your hard drive is the Paragon hard disk management. 

Many cloning software programs are available, but not all are created equal. Some only work with specific types of drives, while others don’t support certain features.

We’ve rounded up the ten best options below to help you find the best hard drive cloning software.

10 Best Hard Drive Cloning Software

AOMEI Backupper Professional Logo

AOMEI Backupper Professional is a powerful hard drive cloning software that can help you easily clone your hard drive to another one. You can use it to create a bootable media to restore your system or files when your computer fails to boot. It also supports disk backup, system backup, partition backup, and file backup. This software supports Windows and macOS and offers a wide range of features to ensure your data is safely cloned. With this software, you can clone your hard drive in three simple steps: select the source hard drive, select the destination hard drive, and click on the “Clone” button.

Nick's Take

I think AOMEI Backupper Professional is one of the best hard drive cloning software in terms of features and ease of use. The interface is very user-friendly, and the process is very straightforward.

Features

  1. Supports disk clone, system clone, and partition clone
  2. Supports incremental and differential backups
  3. File backup and file sync
  4. System restore and disk restore
  5. Bootable media builder
  6. PXE boot tool
  7. Command line utility
AOMEI Backupper Professional Features

Pros:

  • Easy to use: AOMEI Backupper is easy to use, with a straightforward GUI.
  • The software accompanies you in executing different uses: It accompanies you in achieving its other benefits, making it easy to use.
  • Easy-to-follow directions: Directions are easy to follow, making the product easy to use.
  • Functionality: Works as advertised.
  • Provides assistance when needed: The AOMEI Backupper group is liberal in offering service when you need it.

Cons:

  • Not a lot of adaptability: The AOMEI Backupper software is not very adaptable, and you cannot change the record type to something more widespread.
  • Poor settings menu: The settings menu does not have a lot of control options or variety, which may be helpful in certain circumstances.
  • Limited flexibility: The program only allows you to use their backups with their system.
  • Limited control over settings: The menu is limited and does not offer much flexibility.
  • Failure codes: Failure codes can be unsolvable and sometimes cause the hard drive cloning software to freeze.

Pricing

The AOMEI Backupper Professional edition offers a free trial starting at $39.95.

Acronis Cyber Protect Home Office Logo

Acronis Cyber Protect Home Office is a hard drive cloning software that allows you to create an exact copy of your hard drive. This is useful if you want to upgrade your hard drive or if you want to create a backup in case your hard drive fails. Acronis Cyber Protect Home Office is easy to use and has a user-friendly interface. It also supports multiple languages.

Acronis is a well-known backup and disaster recovery company, and its Cyber Protect Home Office product is an excellent option for small businesses. This software provides comprehensive protection for your data, including hard drive cloning and bare-metal backup. It’s easy to use and provides a wide range of options for customization.

Nick's Take

I have used Acronis Cyber Protect Home Office to clone my hard drives. It is an easy-to-use program with a user-friendly interface. I would recommend this program to anyone looking for hard drive cloning software.

Features

  1. You can create an exact copy of your hard drive.
  2. It is easy to use and has a user-friendly interface.
  3. It supports multiple languages.
  4. This bundle of modules includes an antimalware service and a backup unit, giving you the protection you need to stay safe.
  5. The antimalware service runs on an endpoint to protect home-based computers against ransomware.
  6. The backup system offers various strategies, including file or application-level copying and disk cloning.
  7. Acronis Cyber Protect Home Office can be used for replication or data migrations.
Acronis Cyber Protect Home Office Features

Pros:

  • Reliable: Acronis True Image/Cyber Protect Home Office is dedicated and will successfully back up your computer.
  • Many options for configuring backups: You can configure the backup schedule, configure precisely what to back up or not back up at all, where to store the backups, etc.
  • Ability to configure notification emails: You can be notified whether your backups have been completed successfully.
  • Keeps your data safe: Back up your data to an external USB hard drive.
  • The backup process is fast after the initial image is made: After making an image, the backup process is fast.

Cons:

  • Heavy footprint: The combination of the software and the antivirus and protection features makes for a heavy footprint, which can slow down the computer.
  • Slow: Acronis can be slightly slow when going off a USB versus a network.
  • Expensive: The professional version of the Acronis Cyber Protect Home Office is costly and may not be affordable for small organizations.
  • May experience failures without warning: The system can unexpectedly reboot, which could be detrimental to your data.
  • Failed to integrate backup functionality: The Acronis Cyber Protect Home Office could not integrate backup functionality properly.

Pricing

Acronis Cyber Protect Home Office offers a free trial for 30 days, starting at $39.99 per year.

NinjaOne Backup Logo

NinjaOne Backup is a user-friendly hard drive cloning software that quickly creates backups of your important files. With its simple interface, you can easily select which files you want to include in your backup and then choose where to save the backup file. NinjaOne also offers several other features, such as scheduling backups, encrypting your backup files, and compressing your backup files to save space. This is useful if you want to upgrade your hard drive or if you want to create a backup in case your hard drive fails. NinjaOne backup is effortless to use.

Nick's Take

I think NinjaOne Backup is an excellent choice for those who want to create a backup of their hard drive or those who wish to upgrade their hard drive. It is effortless and a perfect choice for both beginners and experts.

Features

  1. Easy to use
  2. Select source and destination hard drives
  3. Clone button
  4. Creates an exact copy of your hard drive
  5. Fast and reliable
  6. This cloud-based system provides MSPs various strategic options to keep their data safe and consolidated.
  7. The multi-tenant architecture of NinjaOne ensures that data stays separate for clients, meaning your business doesn’t have to worry about any data leakage.
NinjaOne Backup Features

Pros:

  • NinjaOne is easy to use: NinjaOne has a low learning curve, making it easy for you to start using it.
  • Excellent patch management and simple script creation: With NinjaOne, you can easily create scripts and patches to solve problems.
  • Excellent mobile application: The mobile application is impressive and helps you easily track your data.
  • Unlimited technical support included: There are no limits on how much technical support you receive, even if you’re learning to use NinjaOne.
  • Time-saving: NinjaOne Backup makes it easy to back up your computer in just a few minutes.

Cons:

  • Fewer scripts in the library: The number of PowerShell scripts is currently limited, which makes it challenging to find and use them.
  • Lack of best practice: It would be nice to see NinjaOne provide several points of best practice in the area of guidelines in general and also just in libraries.
  • Not widely industry-accepted: Some people within the IT world are not as favorably impressed with NinjaOne Backup as other RMMs.
  • Not many chosen integrations: Currently, there are only a few chosen integrations for AV, backup, and PSA.
  • Incomplete product: The NinjaOne Backup is still in process, and a few more integrations would be nice.

Pricing

NinjaOne Backup also offers a free trial. Price is upon quotation request.

Paragon Hard Disk Manager Logo

Paragon hard disk manager software helps you manage and protect your hard drive. It can help you clone your hard drive, create backups, and recover lost data. It is a powerful tool that can help you keep your hard drive healthy and protect your data. Paragon hard disk manager is a comprehensive software that offers a wide range of features to help you manage your hard drive. The software can create disk backups, recover lost or deleted data, clone and resize hard drives, and more.

Nick's Take

I think the Paragon hard disk manager is a great tool that can help protect your data and keep your hard drive healthy. It offers a wide range of features and is easy to use.

Features

  1. It can help you clone your hard drive, create backups, and recover lost data.
  2. It is also compatible with many operating systems, including Windows, macOS, and Linux.
  3. This robust data backup tool allows you to clone or back up an entire system, volumes, and files and schedule automated backups daily, weekly, or monthly.
  4. With virtual disk management capabilities, you can open VMware images and convert them into VHD/VHDX for Hyper-V or Azure.
  5. Paragon Hard Disk Manager is designed for businesses that want to facilitate IT management from deployment to disposal of the hardware.
  6. The business version offers backup encryption and compression, pre-/post backup scripts, a data excludes feature that lets you keep specific files out of your backups and more.
Paragon Hard Disk Manager Features

Pros:

  • Paragon is a trusted name: It is easy to use and has an excellent reputation, making it a reliable tool for your company.
  • The full disk backup: Copying and imaging all the disks in your company with Paragon can be a hassle-free process.
  • Easy to use: Paragon is easy to navigate and use, making it an ideal choice for anyone who wants to manage their disks efficiently.
  • Convenient for Mac users: Allows you to mount an external hard drive, create partitions, and manage data.
  • The tool secures your data: Security and segregation of different data services make it reliable and safe.

Cons:

  • Rigid licensing model: It is a bit tough, and it took several email exchanges with their sales representative to get it right.
  • Can lose data: Paragon Hard disk manager occasionally fails to recognize the external hard drive.
  • The look and feel of the product are outdated: The product’s design is outdated and looks like it was designed in a different era.
  • The length of time it takes to clone a drive can be extended: Cloning a drive can take a long time, which may be frustrating for users.

Pricing

The product is priced at $79.95 for a 3-PC license for home use. For business use, the price starts at $99.00. They offer 30 days of a free trial.

5. Macrium Reflect

Macrium Reflect Logo

Macrium Reflect is a hard drive cloning software that allows you to create an exact copy of your hard drive, including the operating system, applications, and data. This is useful if you want to upgrade your hard drive or if you want to create a backup in case your hard drive fails. It can be used to create backups of your entire hard drive or selected partitions, and you can schedule these backups to run automatically.

Nick's Take

I think Macrium Reflect is one of the most popular hard drive cloning software. It is free and easy to use with a simple interface.

Features

  1. The ability to clone your hard drive to a larger one
  2. The ability to schedule backups
  3. The ability to create a bootable rescue CD or USB drive
  4. The ability to compress images to save space
  5. Allows you to clone your hard drive, including the operating system, applications, and data
  6. Creates an exact copy of your hard drive
  7. It can be used to upgrade your hard drive
  8. Simple interface
Macrium Reflect Features

Pros:

  • Macrium Reflect is an excellent software package that can easily create backups of your entire hard disk or clone disks.
  • The progress bar is accurate and updated in real-time: It will show you the current status of the backup process.
  • The software is easy to use and offers many options: Macrium Reflect provides many options for backup, encryption, verification images, etc.
  • The operation speed is fast: Macrium Reflect runs quickly and smoothly.
  • You can mount images as read-only or read-write disks: This allows you to protect your data in case of loss or theft.

Cons:

  • Painful cloning process: The cloning process can be painful and time-consuming, depending on the destination disk.
  • No cloud integration: Macrium Reflect does not have cloud integration, which can be an advantage or a drawback depending on our use and the features sought.
  • Updates are tedious: The updates in Macrium Reflect are boring, and notifications can be annoying.
  • Limited features: Macrium Reflect offers limited features compared to other software options.

Pricing

Macrium Reflect has a free version and a paid version. The free version is suitable for personal use and offers most of our needed features. The paid version starts at $69.95 per year and offers more features.

6. EaseUS Todo Backup

EaseUS Todo Backup Logo

EaseUS Todo Backup is a free hard drive cloning software that can help you clone your hard drive to another with simple steps. It offers two clone modes: disk clone and partition clone. You can upgrade your hard drive or transfer data from one hard drive to another. EaseUS Todo Backup Home is available for both Windows and Mac. It is one of the market’s most popular hard drive cloning software. The cloned hard drive can be a backup if your original hard drive fails.

EaseUS Todo Backup Home has a simple and intuitive interface that makes it easy to use. It also has many features that make it a powerful hard drive cloning software.

Nick’s Take

I’ve been using EaseUS Todo Backup for a long time, and it’s never failed me. I just used it to clone my hard drive to a new one. The process is simple. I would recommend it to anyone.

Features

EaseUS Todo Backup Free Edition offers several features that make it a good choice for hard drive cloning.

  1. It offers two clone modes: disk clone and partition clone.
  2. The software is easy to use and offers a simple interface.
  3. It supports various file systems, including NTFS, FAT32, and EXT2/3/4.
  4. The software can clone hard drives of different sizes.
  5. It supports Windows 10/8.1/8/7 and Windows Server 2016/2012/2008/2003.
EaseUS Todo Backup Features

Pros:

  • EaseUS Todo Backup is powerful: The tool can clone disks, backup files, and folders, as well as fix boot issues.
  • It’s an excellent resource for fixing boot problems: The tool also has an outstanding system-wide backup feature.
  • It’s easy to use: Users appreciate the software’s user-friendly interface.
  • Reliable backup software: EaseUS Todo Backup is one of the most reliable backup software I have used, making it a good choice for you.
  • Menu options are easy to follow and guide you through.

Cons:

  • Limited features: The EaseUS Todo Backup Free Edition only includes essential features, such as backing up files and folders, not advanced features, such as syncing with multiple devices or encrypting the backup.
  • Limited functionality: The software is limited compared to other free alternatives.
  • The software has occasional issues: Sometimes, the software gets stuck when files have long names, which neglects user needs.
  • Does not support macOS: The EaseUS Todo Backup Free Edition does not support macOS, which may be problematic for some users.

Pricing

EaseUS Todo Backup Free Edition is free, and if you want to upgrade, the price starts at $39.95.

7. MiniTool Partition Wizard

MiniTool Partition Wizard Logo

MiniTool Partition Wizard is a free partition manager software for Windows 10/8/7. This hard drive cloning software can help you quickly clone a hard drive to another. It offers two hard drive cloning modes: Copy Disk Quickly and Sector-by-Sector Copy. The former only copies used space on the source disk, while the latter copies the entire hard drive. Besides, this disk clone software supports file system conversion between FAT and NTFS.

Nick's Take

I think MiniTool Partition Wizard is one of the few partition managers offering a free trial for enterprise users. This hard drive cloning software has both Windows and Mac versions. It can help you clone a hard drive, convert MBR to GPT disk, convert dynamic disk to basic without data loss, and more.

Features

  1. Copy the entire hard drive or used space only.
  2. Convert file system between FAT and NTFS.
  3. Support Windows 10/8.1/8/7 and Mac OS X 10.6 and later.
  4. The interface is easy to use.
  5. Free technical support is available.
MiniTool Partition Wizard Features

Pros:

  • Easy to install and use: MiniTool Partition Wizard is easy to install and use, with a free version that performs many essential functions.
  • Offers essential features: The free MiniTool Partition Wizard provides necessary features such as data storage setup, changes, and maintenance.
  • Keep your data organized: Its ability to manage it by creating partitions and folders helps you keep it organized.
  • Provides an easy-to-use interface: The software has an easy-to-use interface that makes it suitable for both beginners and experienced users.
  • Allows you to clone any hard drive: The software will enable you to clone any hard drive, including Windows, Mac, and Linux drives.

Cons:

  • Unappealing UI: The UI of MiniTool Partition Wizard is not very appealing and looks like it was made in the 1990s.
  • Limited support: If you need help using the free edition of the MiniTool Partition Wizard, there is little support available from the developers.
  • Can damage data: The free version of the MiniTool Partition Wizard is not as reliable as the professional version.
  • Requires purchase to use full features: If you want to use all of the features of the MiniTool Partition Wizard, you need to purchase it.
  • Cannot be used in Linux: The program cannot be used on Linux, which is a significant disadvantage.

Pricing

The MiniTool Partition Wizard Free Edition is available for free. However, if you want to avail of the Pro, you can get it for a $159 Lifetime upgrade for a 5-PC license.

8. Active@ Disk Image

Active@ Disk Image Logo

Active@ Disk Image is a disk image software that helps you create backups of your entire system, including the operating system, applications, and data. It can be used to restore your system in the event of a crash or data loss. Active@ Disk Image copies your disk and stores it in a folder. You can back up your computer, upgrade, or duplicate it. The software is easy to use and offers a variety of features that make it one of the best disk image software on the market. Active@ Disk Image is an excellent choice for both home and business users.

Nick's Take

If you’re looking for disk image software that is reliable and easy to use, Active@ Disk Image is a good option. It can create backups of your entire system, including the operating system.

Features

  1. The software can create backups of your entire system, including the operating system, applications, and data.
  2. The software can restore your system in case of a crash or data loss.
  3. The software is easy to use and has a user-friendly interface.
  4. This software provides image compression and verification, making it perfect for backups.
  5. This handy disk cloning software supports Windows XP, 7, 8, 10 Vista, Server 2003, and 2012.
Active@ Disk Image Features

Pros:

  • Active@ Disk Image is easy to use and configure: The software is easy to set up and configure for your needs, with no errors or downtime.
  • Clean interface: The interface was clean and easy to navigate.
  • Perform tasks quickly and without error: Software quickly performed the functions with no errors whatsoever.
  • You can boot directly to the program: This makes it easy to back up and manage your operating system images.
  • Image burning: Image burning is a welcome advantage because it allows you to create a disk or iso of the image.

Cons:

  • Does not assign the Surface to the domain automatically: The Imaging Surface does not automatically assign the Surface to our domain, which can cause issues.
  • Lack of granular controls: The Active@ Disk Image software lacks precise rules, making it difficult to customize the backup process.
  • Slow down system: The Active@ Disk Image software can slow down your computer if it is updating or backing up large files.
  • Can’t always catch all files: Sometimes, the Active@ Disk Image software fails to see all the files you are trying to back up.

Pricing

The Active@ Disk Image software is priced at $39.00 for Personal Licenses, $49.00 for Business Licenses, and $2595 for Large Corporations & Enterprises.

9. Clonezilla

Clonezilla Logo

Clonezilla is a free, open-source disk cloning and imaging software for Windows and Linux. It can clone disks or partitions, create disk images, and restore disks or partitions. Clonezilla can be used to create a backup of your entire hard drive or just selected partitions. It can be run from a live CD, USB flash drive, or PXE server. It can create backups of entire hard drives or individual partitions and supports local and remote backups. Clonezilla is an excellent choice for users who need to clone large amounts of data, as it can clone drives up to 2TB in size.

Nick's Take

I think Clonezilla is one of the best hard drive cloning software. It is free, open-source, and straightforward to use. Clonezilla can clone disks or partitions, create disk images, and restore disks or partitions.

Features

  1. Free and open source
  2. It can be used to clone disks or partitions
  3. It can be used to create disk images
  4. It can be run from a live CD, USB flash drive, or PXE server
  5. It has a very easy-to-use interface
Clonezilla Features

Pros:

  • Clonezilla is fast and reliable: Clonezilla is a powerful drive tool that allows for backing up, cloning, and partitioning drives.
  • Clonezilla has comprehensive options and setup: Clonezilla has a rich set of options and configurations, making it easy to use.
  • Clonezilla is open-source software: This makes it transparent so you can see how the program works, making it more reliable.
  • Clonezilla is a powerful cloning software: Clonezilla is a powerful cloning software that can clone disks, partitions, and entire systems.
  • Clonezilla is easy to use: Clonezilla is easy to use with simple, step-by-step instructions.

Cons:

  • Setup is confusing: The setup for Clonezilla can be confusing for non-computer-savvy people.
  • UI is ugly and slow: The UI of Clonezilla is ugly and slow to navigate, making the software more laborious to use than it should be.
  • Doesn’t copy into a single file: Does not copy files into a single location with Clonezilla; instead, splits the files up onto different disks or devices as necessary.
  • May cause data loss: If you are not careful, using Clonezilla may lead to data loss.
  • Lack of features: Some features are missing compared to other paid options, such as backup scheduling and granular backup control.

Pricing

Clonezilla is a free program.

10. DiskCopy

DiskCopy Logo

DiskCopy is a command-line hard drive cloning software for Windows that is included for free with the Windows operating system. It can be used to create an exact copy of a hard drive, including all partitions and data, operating systems, applications, and settings. DiskCopy can be used to create a backup of your hard drive or to upgrade to a larger hard drive.

Nick's Take

I think DiskCopy is one of the most popular hard drive cloning software programs. It is straightforward to use, very affordable, and makes an exact copy of your entire hard drive.

Features

  1. DiskCopy can clone your entire hard drive, including the operating system, applications, settings, and data.
  2. DiskCopy can be used to create a backup of your hard drive.
  3. DiskCopy can be used to upgrade to a larger hard drive.
  4. DiskCopy is easy to use and does not require any technical knowledge.
DiskCopy Features

Pros:

  • DiskCopy is easy to use: Diskcopy is easy to use and does not require any technical knowledge.
  • You can create backups of your hard drive: You can create backups with Diskcopy to protect yourself from data loss or damage.
  • DiskCopy is very affordable.

Cons:

  • No progress bar or estimated time of completion: There is no progress bar or estimated time of completion, which makes it challenging to know when the process will be finished.
  • The interface is dated and not very user-friendly.
  • Does not offer a free trial, so users must sign up for a paid plan to try out the software.
  • Dashboard refresh issues: Issues with the dashboard cause it to reload constantly, often without warning users that this is happening.

Pricing

DiskCopy price is upon request for quotation.

What is cloning hard drive software?

What is cloning hard drive software

Cloning hard drive software creates an exact copy of your hard drive, including the operating system, applications, data, and preferences. This allows you to easily switch to a new hard drive without losing your data or settings.

How to choose the best hard drive cloning software for you?

How to choose the best hard drive cloning software for you

Step 1: Determine your needs.

When choosing hard drive cloning software, it is essential to consider the features and functions offered. It is also important to decide which platform the software will be used on: Windows, Mac, or Linux. The software should also be able to clone hard drives quickly and easily.

Step 2: Compare features.

Now that you know what to look for in a hard drive cloning software, it’s time to compare features and find the best one for your needs. Here are some of the top features to look for:

  1. Ease of use: The best hard drive cloning software will be easy, even if you’re not a tech expert. Look for software with a user-friendly interface and clear instructions.
  2. Compatibility: Make sure the software you choose is compatible with your operating system and the type of hard drive you use.
  3. Speed: When cloning a hard drive, you want the process to be as fast as possible. Look for software that can clone a hard drive quickly and efficiently.
  4. Security: If you’re cloning a sensitive hard drive, you’ll want to ensure the software you choose offers security features like encryption.

Step 3: Consider the price.

The price is always important when choosing any software, and hard drive cloning software is no different. There are various options available, ranging from free to quite expensive. It’s important to consider what features you need and how much you’re willing to spend before deciding. The more features a program has, the higher the price will be.

What are the different types of hard drive cloning?

What are the different types of hard drive cloning

1. Drive-to-drive cloning: Drive-to-drive cloning is copying the contents of one hard drive or solid-state drive to another. This can be used to create an exact copy of a drive or backup data to a second location.

2. Disk imaging: Disk imaging is creating a file containing the entire contents of a hard drive or solid-state drive. This file can then be used to restore the original data if needed. Disk imaging can be used for backups or for transferring data to a new drive.

3. File transfer: File transfer is copying files from one location to another. This can move data between drives or backup files to an external location.

4. Folder synchronization: Folder synchronization keeps two or more folders in sync. This can be used for backups or keeping multiple computers up-to-date with the same data.

5. Partitioning: Partitioning is dividing a hard drive into various sections (partitions). This can be done for organizational purposes or to allow different operating systems to be installed on separate partitions

How do you use hard drive cloning software?

How do you use hard drive cloning software

To use hard drive clone software, you will need two things: the source hard drive that you want to copy and a destination hard drive with enough storage space to hold the contents of the source hard drive. Once you have these two things, you can begin the cloning process.

The first step is to connect the destination hard drive to your computer. Next, launch the cloning software and select the source and destination drives. Finally, click “clone” or “start” and wait for the process to finish. Depending on the size of your drives and how much data is being copied, this could take some time.

Once it is finished, you will have an exact copy of your original hard drive on your destination device.

How often do you need to update hard drive cloning software?

How often do you need to update hard drive cloning software

There is no definitive answer to this question, as it depends on the individual’s needs and usage. However, hard drive cloning software is generally recommended to be updated regularly to ensure that it remains effective.

Conclusion

So there you have it, the ten best hard drive cloning software of 2022. We hope you found the perfect one for your needs. Sign up now and get started with the cloning process!

About the Author

Nick Patrocky writes SaaS and Business Software reviews. He's also the head of design at a rapidly growing fintech company. Nick's worked with hundreds of software companies and startups over the last 10 years. Reach out if you have any questions or if you'd like to collab.

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