Why I'm ditching my cheap PC cloning software for this M.2 dock that's highly functional

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While the average user is unlikely to handle a bare SATA HDD or M.2 drive, anyone who builds or maintains PCs, or runs their own NAS systems, will be familiar with these drives. And there inevitably comes a time when you either want to move data from one drive to another, or you need an easy way to access a bare drive from a computer without dealing with enclosures and the like.

Since I’m working hard to reduce desk clutter, if I can find a tool that does both things, I’ll go for it. And if I can get such a gadget for under $100 (because duplication stations can cost hundreds, or even thousands), then that’s a bonus. 

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Enter the Icy Box Docking and CloneStation. Icy Box is a name that’s been around for a very long time — a German brand renowned for its storage systems and RAID devices. If something has the Icy Box name on it, that’s always been a strong indicator of quality.

And this product is no exception. 

It’s a dock… and a cloning station

As the name suggests, this device functions as both a dock and a clone station. To use it as a dock, you attach a drive — the device supports 22/42/60/80mm M.2 SATA and NVMe drives, as well as 2.5-inch and 3.5-inch SATA I/II/III drives — and connect the unit to a computer, and just like that, you have access to the drive.

The device now acts like any other external storage drive.

No screwdrivers are needed because the entire unit is tool-free — slot the drive into the appropriate connector. The only thing to be cautious about is not forcing an M.2 SATA drive into an NVMe slot or vice versa. If you go into ‘gorilla mode’ and use too much force, there’s a real risk of damaging the drive or the dock.

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The dock is compatible with almost any operating system you throw at it, including Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, and ChromeOS. 

But docks are a dime a dozen. You can pick up a simple docking station that supports most drives for under $30. What sets this product apart from the competition is its cloning feature.

Cloning stations can be pricey because they need to be reliable. If something goes wrong and the data you’re copying gets silently corrupted, it’s particularly nasty because you might not discover the issue until you need the data. 

Some cheaper cloning stations avoid this issue by using software on a PC to move the data, but this approach requires dedicating a PC to the task and dealing with cloning software (which can be pretty mind-boggling). 

One-touch cloning

Wouldn’t it be nice to have a simple, one-button, all-in-one solution that quickly and securely moves the data?

Well, that’s exactly what this CloneStation does. And it’s a simple process.

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You connect the CloneStation to the mains adapter, hook up the drives, flip the switch on the back to set how the data is moved (DO NOT GET THIS STEP WRONG OR YOU COULD LOSE DATA), press the clone button, and away you go.

The CloneStation will start humming as it creates an exact bitwise copy of the source drive onto the target drive. Obviously, the target drive needs to be the same size or larger than the source drive, or the cloning process won’t work. 

Cloning can take hours, depending on the size and speed of the drives being copied, so you’ll want to set up this process on a desk. I always find that overnight is best because it removes the temptation to watch, poke, or interfere with the process.

Just leave everything alone.

Is it reliable?

Reliability and accuracy are key for cloning stations, and I’ve tested these concerns extensively with a variety of drives and combinations. 

I’d create a checksum of the source drive (a sort of digital receipt of the data on the drive) and compare it to the target drive after the copy completes. If they matched, the copying was a success. If not, something went wrong. 

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And things can go wrong, really wrong. A few years ago, I was approached by a company that used a cheap cloner. Some very important data suffered silent bit rot. When the data was subsequently needed, its issues almost torpedoed the entire company.

The good news is that every drive I copied with the Icy Box device was successful, whether it was a quick 500GB, one-hour copy or a multi-terabyte, all-night operation. 

ZDNET’s buying advice

For less than $70, the Icy Box Docking and CloneStation is a great buy for those who want a cloning station for their drives (I just checked, and you can pick it up for $45 on Amazon right now). 

The device is a fast, reliable, easy-to-use hardware-based solution that works incredibly well. The fact that the device also doubles as a very capable docking station is a bonus that keeps it from disappearing into a toolbox or drawer when cloning isn’t needed.