“Hi, I’d like to clone/replace the 256GB M2 SSD in my Dell Inspiron with Windows 10. It is almost full and I want to upgrade it to 1TB M2 SSD, what’s the best way to proceed with the clone?”
M.2 SSDs are faster so that many people tend to use M.2 SSD to run Windows OS on the computer even it is more expensive than 2.5 inch SSDs. If you are using the M.2 SSD with the small storage capacity, it is easy to get the low disk space warnings. Once the disk is run out of space, it is better for you to get a larger SSD and move everything to it to get more storage space and shorter boot time for the faster and smoother user experience.
How to Clone M.2 SSD to another Larger M.2 SSD in Windows 10/8/7
SSD disk cloning software plays an essential role in the M.2 SSD cloning process. Without powerful SSD cloning software, it is impossible to clone M.2 SSD to another SSD and make it bootable. iSunshare CloneGo is introduced here to act as the SSD to SSD cloning software which helps you to finish the cloning within simple steps no matter the M.2 SSD is SATA based or PCIe-based with NVMe support.
Step 1: Finish the installation of the larger M.2 SSD on your computer.
Yes, you need to buy a larger M.2 SSD which is compatible with your computer motherboard in advance.
For a Windows laptop:
1. Power off the laptop and then unscrew the back cover of your laptop.
2. Find the M.2 slot and remove the screw.
3. Put your M.2 SSD into the slot and screw the SSD drive in.
4. Screw the back over properly and then power on the laptop.
For Windows desktop computer:
1. Power off the computer and then open the computer box.
2. Locate the M.2 connector which is usually labeled with “PCIe”.
3. Remove the mounting screw for your M.2 Slot.
4. Insert your M.2 SSD into its slot correctly and then secure the M.2 SSD with mounting screw.
5. Make the computer box closed and then start your computer.
What to do if there is only one M.2 slot?
Well, if there is only one M.2 slot on the computer, you can not install the larger M.2 SSD into the computer. At this time, you may need the SATA to USB adapter to build the connection between your computer and the target SSD. Or for the NVMe SSD, you need an additional M.2 PCIe connector. In this way, your target SSD is regarded as the external hard drive. After the cloning, you can replace the original M.2 SSD with the larger M.2 SSD and the boot the computer from the larger SSD.
Step 2: Run your computer and initialize the larger M.2 SSD
After the target M.2 SSD is installed on the computer, you can start your Windows and then open Disk Management to initialize the target SSD. Also, allocate a simple volume to the target M.2 SSD.
Step 3: Clone M.2 SSD to larger M.2 SSD with iSunshare CloneGo.
iSunshare CloneGo is the easy to use SSD to SSD cloning software for Windows users, which helps to clone the entire data from old hard disk to the new disk. You can free download to start the cloning.
1. Start iSunshare CloneGo and choose “Disk Clone” for the M.2 SSD cloning.
2. Choose your original M.2 SSD as the source disk.
3. Choose the larger M.2 SSD as the target disk. Here, you should be aware that cloning will format all data in the target SSD.
Optional: You can tick the After Finished setting so that the computer can shutdown/restart/hibernate after the cloning process is completed.
4. Have a double-check of your settings. If nothing is wrong, you can click the Start button. In no time, the small box appears to tell you the operation will erase all data in the target disk. Click Yes to proceed.
5. The cloning is successful. You can go to next step.
Step 4: Boot from the larger M.2 SSD
After the cloning process ends, you can restart the computer and make the computer boot from the larger M.2 SSD. If your computer has only one M.2 SSD, now it is time to take out the old M.2 SSD and insert the larger M.2 SSD. After that, the computer can be boot from the larger M.2 SSD.
If your computer supports two or more M.2 SSD, you need to restart the computer and repeatedly press the boot key (Del or F2/F12) to enter the BIOS. After that, you can change the boot order and set your larger SSD as the first boot option. In the end, you can save the settings and reboot the computer.
Step 5: Extend your partition with the unallocated space
When your computer is boot from the larger SSD successfully, you can access Disk Management. As you clone the M.2 SSD to the larger M.2 SSD, the larger M.2 SSD now has the identical volumes of the same size as the smaller one. For the faster Windows performance, you need to extend the partition with the unallocated space. Just right-click the partition in Disk Management and then select Extend Volume. Afterward, following the on-screen instruction to finish the extension.
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