Cloning M.2 SSD from Laptop?

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CarterBeals

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Jul 15, 2016
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I am looking at purchasing a new laptop fairly soon - the new Dell XPS 15 looks mighty enticing. However, I had a couple questions before I commit to making a purchase.

Due to my employment, I have the ability to purchase Samsung 9XX Series NVME SSDs at a slightly discounted price. My intention was to buy the model of laptop with the screen resolution and processor that I desired, and then upgrade the RAM and SSD manually. The Dell information page for the New XPS 15 lists its current SSD configuration as a "PCIE SSD," which as far as I can tell, indicates that the laptop would be capable of taking advantage of the increased speeds offered by Samsung Pros.

The only hitch in my plan is that, to my knowledge, the XPS 15 only has one M.2 storage slot. Upon receiving the laptop, I was intending to reset Windows to remove any factory bloatware, and then promptly migrate it over to the new drive. However, I do not know the best way to go about cloning an M.2 drive. I've used external cloning devices to clone HDDs before, but I have not heard of such a thing for SSDs, much less those in an M.2 form factor. Even if said tool did exist, I don't really want to spend money on something I'd likely only use once.

This leads me to my question - what is the best way to transfer the information from one M.2 SSD to another? Is it even possible? I would suspect there might be a way to do it by using an external HDD or a USB drive as an intermediary, but I do not know enough about this subject to be certain.

Additionally, would the Windows license transfer over from one drive to another? I would hate to install the new drive only to find out that my copy of Windows was no longer activated.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.
 
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Before we discuss the transfer of data from one drive to another drive...

Assuming you decide to purchase the Dell laptop in which you're interested, make absolutely sure the laptop will be equipped with the appropriate PCI slot for the particular Samsung M.2 model SSD you decide to purchase.

My impression is that the Dell laptop will be equipped with a HDD bay in which you could install a SSD as a secondary drive. Am I correct about this?

If so, there would be little problem in utilizing that secondary SSD as the recipient of the cloned contents of your M.2 SSD. So this relatively simple disk-cloning operation would provide you with a comprehensive backup of your boot drive's total contents. I suppose you could do what you will with...
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ArtPog

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Sep 17, 2014
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Before we discuss the transfer of data from one drive to another drive...

Assuming you decide to purchase the Dell laptop in which you're interested, make absolutely sure the laptop will be equipped with the appropriate PCI slot for the particular Samsung M.2 model SSD you decide to purchase.

My impression is that the Dell laptop will be equipped with a HDD bay in which you could install a SSD as a secondary drive. Am I correct about this?

If so, there would be little problem in utilizing that secondary SSD as the recipient of the cloned contents of your M.2 SSD. So this relatively simple disk-cloning operation would provide you with a comprehensive backup of your boot drive's total contents. I suppose you could do what you will with the Dell "bloatware" either on the source disk, i.e., the M.2 SSD or rather the destination disk, i.e., the HDD secondary drive (should you prefer), and then clone back the contents on the latter disk to the M.2 SSD.

The really important consideration in this exercise is your need to create and maintain a comprehensive backup of your entire system. And the disk-cloning strategy is a fine way to accomplish this. Not only at the outset with the goal of removing bloatware, but having the wherewithal at hand (in terms of a cloned destination drive) to return your system to a completely functional state should the need arise as a result of a defective or corrupted boot drive. And to carry out this disk-cloning operation from time to time so as to maintain reasonably up-to-date comprehensive backups of your system.

There will be no problem involving licensing/activation of the OS as a result of the disk-cloning operation.
 
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zthermo

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May 3, 2013
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I believe what you are asking if that if there is an external m.2 NVME to USB adapter so you can clone your existing (laptop) drive to the external (destination) NVME drive, then swap the two drives once the cloning process is complete. I'm having same issue and nobody seems to have the answer.

In my research, every single M.2 to USB adapter is NOT compatible with M-keyed NVME drives. IF anyone knows of an adapter or another solution, please advise.
 
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ArtPog

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Sep 17, 2014
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No, in this particular case re the OP's Dell system I'm under the impression that his laptop has a HDD/SSD bay that would accommodate a secondary drive - either a 2.5" HDD or SSD. If that IS the case (I'm not totally certain that bay exists), then it would be a rather simple exercise to clone the contents of his M.2 SSD to the secondary drive, then clone the contents from that secondary drive to a newly-installed M.2 SSD.

Now if no such add'l bay exists in the laptop, another way to achieve this objective is to utilize a USB external HDD or SSD as the destination drive for the cloned contents (or disk image) of the presently installed M.2 SSD, then after installing the new M.2 SSD in the laptop use the USB external drive to clone its contents back to the new M.2 SSD.
 
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zthermo

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May 3, 2013
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Yes I understand that. In your case, you are using a secondary drive as the destination drive, then using that secondary drive as the "boot" drive to then clone to the M.2. My point is that that aren't supported peripherals that support NVME or 2280 M-keyed M.2 SSD's to USB adapters to where you can easily clone from the source to destination and then swap the drives. These current solutions involve another drive, which is an extra step.

In my case, I have a HP Envy X360 and accessing the drives isn't as easy as popping off the back panel it involves dismantling the keyboard and top cover.

 
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alfred_16

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May 7, 2017
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mauriciolara.mtl

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Dec 27, 2017
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Sorry to say... but zthermo is right... The question is to clone a M.2 nVME SSD to an M.2 nVME SSD from a laptop having only one M.2 slot. The best 'logical' thinking is 'hey let's find a M.2 pcie nVME to USB adapter" Well if you guys see any, please let me know, I running into the same issue...

Also... the mechanical connectivity is one aspect (M.2 M keyed, vs B or M or B+M...), in conjunction of the physical connection, there's the electrical interface (PCIe in this case) which is another aspect and finally the protocol (nVME) again a different aspect to consider.

And even if the XPS does have an internal HDD bay... assuming he doesn't have or doesn't want to invest into an HDD, or as an example, someone having an XPS 13 that doesn't have any internal HDD as an option, I guess we're back to square one... Any success anyone for a M.2 PCIe to USB converter?
 
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manoleto

Oct 20, 2018
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I'm in the same situation to clone my 512GB Samsung to a 1TB. I already tried 2 USB adapter that promised to connect the NVMe drive but both were a failure. The failed to be recognized by Windows 10. I'm thinking about a clean install now.
 
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USAFRet

USAFRet

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Mar 16, 2013
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If you have an external drive with sufficient free space, this is easily done.

1. Install Macrium Reflect. The free version is just fine.
2. Run Macrium, and create a Rescue CD or USB. It's under 'Options'.
3. From the Macrium client, select ALL partitions on your current 512GB drive, and tell it to make an Image, saving that Image to the external drive you have.
4. This will result in a file called xxxxx.mrimage.
5. Swap the physical drives.
6. Boot from your Macrium Rescue CD or USB you created earlier
7. Tell it where that Image is, and what drive to aplly it to...the new NVMe drive.
8. Hi the Go button.
9. Reboot when done, and enjoy your new drive.
 
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