CLI FOR DRIVE MANAGEMENT

Backup, Clone, Erase Drives Using Command Prompt

Multidrive is a free, easy-to-use disk management software with a powerful command line interface. Perfect for system administrators and advanced users. Works in Windows 10 and 11.

Download MultiDrivefor Windows 11/10

Let's review the examples and explore how to utilize the command-line interface (CLI) in Multidrive.

Backup Hard Drive from Command Prompt

Usage:

mdcli.exe backup [source] [target] <OPTIONS>

Example:

mdcli backup d1 E:\myfolder\backup.zip

Benefits:

Backup to RAW and ZIP formats
On-the-fly compression for ZIP
Data integrity checks using various hash algorithms: MD5, SHA1, SHA256, SHA512
The option to split the target backup file into segments

Detailed guide:

How to Create Backup from Command Prompt in MultiDrive

Clone Hard Drive from Command Prompt

Usage:

mdcli.exe clone [source] [target] <OPTIONS>

Example:

mdcli clone d1 d3

Benefits:

As fast as your hardware allows
Data integrity checks using various hash algorithms: MD5, SHA1, SHA256, SHA512
The option to specify byte offset for both source and target drives
Automatically mounts the target drive partitions in Windows after cloning

Detailed guide:

How to Clone Disk from cmd

Wipe Hard Drive from Command Prompt

Usage:

mdcli.exe erase [target] <OPTIONS>

Example:

mdcli erase d3

MultiDrive Benefits:

Irreversible and secure data erasure
Partial erasing is supported
Specify the HEX byte pattern to fill the drive with

Detailed guide:

How to Wipe Hard Drive from Command Prompt

Download MultiDrivefor Windows 11/10

How to launch MultiDrive with a command line interface

From the MultiDrive window:

Download and install MultiDrive.
Launch MultiDrive.
In the top right corner, click the menu icon and select Launch CLI.

From the Windows Command Prompt:

Download and install MultiDrive.
Launch the Windows Command Prompt in the Administrator mode: Press Win + X and then select Terminal (Admin).
In the Command Prompt, run the mdcli.exe from the MultiDrive folder. For example, type: d:\multidrive\mdcli.exe

Tip: Use the list command to show all connected drives:

The drive list includes their Short ID and System ID, which can be used in other commands: backup, clone, erase, restore.

MultiDrive CLI list command output - connected drives

How to Create Backup from Command Prompt in MultiDrive

Here's a step-by-step guide for using the command prompt to backup a drive in MultiDrive.

The 'backup' command

The mdcli.exe backup command backs up a drive or its part to a file in either RAW or ZIP format.

The 'backup' command syntax

mdcli.exe backup [source] [target] <OPTIONS>

Arguments for the 'backup' command

[source] The drive from which bytes are backed up

[target] The target file for storing a backup

For [source] and [target] arguments, use the drive's Short ID or System ID reported by the list command, for example: d1, d2, d3…

Options for the 'backup' command

Option	Default	Description
-y, --yes		Bypasses prompts by automatically answering 'yes' to all questions
-b, --byte_offset <BYTE_OFFSET>	0	The starting byte offset on the source drive where the backup process will begin
-c, --byte_count <BYTE_COUNT>		The number of bytes of the source drive to back up
-z, --zip		Compress the target backup file to ZIP format on the fly (compression level: 2)
-p, --split <SPLIT_SIZE>	0	Divide the target backup file by <SPLIT_SIZE> into file segments
-q, --hash <HASH_TYPE>	None	The hash type to calculate for integrity checks: MD5, SHA1, SHA256, SHA512
-s, --source <SOURCE>		An alternative way to specify the drive from which bytes are backed up
-t, --target <TARGET>		An alternative way to specify the target file for storing backup

Examples of command line backup

# Back up Drive #1 to a RAW file
mdcli backup d1 E:\myfolder\backup.raw

# Back up Drive #1 to a ZIP file with compression
mdcli backup d1 E:\myfolder\backup.zip

# Back up a source Drive #2 to a target ZIP file with compression
mdcli backup -s d2 -t E:\folder\backup.zip -z

# Back up a source Drive #1 to the target folder
mdcli backup -s d1 -t E:\folder\

#  Back up a source Drive #1 with the offset of 1 million bytes to a zip file, split into segments of 2 GB each:
mdcli backup d1 E:\folder\backup.zip -b 1M -c 10G --zip --split 2G

How to Clone Disk from cmd

Here's how to clone a hard drive using the command prompt with the MultiDrive command line interface.

The 'clone' command

The mdcli.exe clone command clones one drive to another, creating an exact bit-by-bit replica of the source drive on the target one.

The 'clone' command syntax

mdcli.exe clone [source] [target] <OPTIONS>

Arguments for the 'clone' command

[source] Drive from which bytes are cloned

[target] Drive to which bytes are cloned

For [source] and [target] arguments use drive's Short ID or System ID reported by list command, for example: d1, d2, d3…

Options for the 'clone' command

Option	Default	Description
-y, --yes		Bypasses prompts by automatically answering 'yes' to all questions
-b, --byte_offset <BYTE_OFFSET>	0	The starting byte offset for both the source and target drives
-c, --byte_count <BYTE_COUNT>		The number of bytes to clone from the source to target
-q, --hash <HASH_TYPE>	None	The hash type to calculate for integrity checks: MD5, SHA1, SHA256, SHA512
-m, --mount		Automatically mounts partitions of the target drive in Windows after the task completes
-s, --source <SOURCE>		An alternative way to specify the drive from which bytes are cloned
-t, --target <TARGET>		An alternative way to specify the target drive to which bytes are cloned

Examples of using the 'clone' command

# Clone Drive #1 to Drive #3
mdcli clone d1 d3

# Clone a source Drive #1 to a target Drive #3
mdcli clone -s d1 -t d3

#  Clone 1 TB from Drive #3 with the offset of 500 MB to a target Drive #4, mount Drive #4 to Windows after cloning is complete
mdcli clone d3 d4 -b 500M -c 1T -m

# Clone 1 TB from a source Drive #3 with the offset of 500 MB to a target Drive #4, calculate SHA1 hash to verify data integrity
mdcli clone -s d3 -t d4 -b 500M -c 1T -q SHA1

How to Wipe Hard Drive from Command Prompt

MultiDrive offers a secure erase CLI command to completely wipe hard drives, SSDs, USB flash drives or SD cards.

The 'erase' command

The mdcli.exe erase command erases a drive by overwriting it with zeros or a specified HEX pattern. Partial erasing is supported.

The 'erase' command syntax

mdcli.exe erase [target] <OPTIONS>

Arguments for the 'erase' command

[target] Target drive to erase

For [target] argument use drive's Short ID or System ID reported by list command, for example: d1, d2, d3…

Options for the 'erase' command

Option	Default	Description
-y, --yes		Bypasses prompts by automatically answering 'yes' to all questions
-b, --byte_offset <BYTE_OFFSET>	0	The starting byte offset on the target drive where the erasing process will begin
-c, --byte_count <BYTE_COUNT>		The number of target drive bytes to erase
-p, --pattern <PATTERN>	00	What HEX byte pattern to fill the drive with during the erase process
-m, --mount		Automatically mounts partitions of the target drive in Windows after the task completes
-t, --target <TARGET>		An alternative way to specify the target drive for erasing

Examples of using the 'erase' command

# Erase Drive #3 by filling it with the 'FF' byte pattern
mdcli erase -t d3 --pattern FF

# Erase 1 gigabyte from Drive #3 by filling it with the 'FF' byte pattern
mdcli erase d3 -p 9A7B -b 1G -c 30G

Free Downloadfor Windows 11/10