Upgrade M.2 SSD without Reinstalling Windows 10, 11

Updated on Jun 05, 2024 | by Oaklynn

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M.2 SATA SSD vs. M.2 NVMe SSD: A Quick Comparison
When Upgrade M.2 SSD on Your Computer?
Best M.2 Cloning Software without Boot Issues
How to Upgrade M.2 SSD on Laptop or Desktop
#1. Install and Initialize New M.2 SSD
#2. Clone M.2 SSD to Larger M.2 SSD without Losing Any Data
#3. Safe Boot from Cloned M.2 SSD
Most Concerned Questions on M.2 SSD Upgrading
Conclusion

M.2 SATA SSD vs. M.2 NVMe SSD: A Quick Comparison

M.2 SATA SSDs and M.2 NVMe SSDs have distinct differences. M.2 SATA drives are more affordable and suitable for everyday tasks, while M.2 NVMe drives offer faster speeds and excel in gaming and intensive applications.

Before you learn how to upgrade M.2 SSD without reinstalling Windows 10 or 11, you may want to make an informed choice based on your budget and performance needs, considering that the prices mentioned are as of press time.

Aspect	M.2 SATA SSD	M.2 NVMe SSD
Form Factor	M.2	M.2
Interface	SATA	PCIe
Speed	Slower (Compared to NVMe)	Faster (High Speeds)
Price Example (1TB)	Around $100	Starts at around $200
Use Cases	Everyday Use, General Tasks	Intensive Tasks, Gaming
File Transfer	Slower Transfer Speeds	Faster Transfer Speeds
Gaming Performance	Good	Excellent
Performance in General	Adequate	High Performance
Investment	Budget-Friendly	Premium Performance

When Upgrade M.2 SSD on Your Computer?

Users may want to upgrade their M.2 SSD to get more storage space or to switch from M.2 SATA to NVMe for improved computer performance. This can help load software and large files faster.

Using disk cloning software to upgrade an M.2 SSD with Windows on a computer can save time and effort by avoiding the need to reinstall the operating system and manually reconfigure the system to its original settings.

Best M.2 Cloning Software without Boot Issues

To upgrade your M.2 SSD, you'll need a reliable software to clone your system and data. Qiling Disk Master Professional is a powerful third-party option that allows you to migrate your system and data to the new M.2 SSD with just a few clicks.

This software ensures the integrity of the data and allows safe booting from a new hard drive, providing a secure and reliable way to transfer data.

❈ Clone a wide range of hard drives: The software can be used to clone various types of storage devices, including HDDs, SATA SSDs, NVMe M.2 SSDs, USB flash drives, and SD cards, among others.
❈ Clone all brands of SSDs: The software supports all brands of SSD, allowing users to transfer data to various brands such as Inland, Western Digital, and others.
❈ Different clone methods: You can perform three types of cloning: Disk Clone, which clones an entire hard disk to another; Partition Clone, which clones a partition or volume from one to another; and System Clone, which clones or migrates only the system to a Solid State Drive (SSD) or other disk.
❈ Supports different disk partition styles: This tool enables cloning system disks between different partition styles, including MBR to MBR, GPT to GPT, MBR to GPT, and GPT to MBR, without requiring partition style conversion.
❈ Clone hard drives of different sizes: EaseUS Todo Backup provides two cloning options: Intelligent Clone and ector-by-sector Clone. Intelligent Clone allows you to clone a larger drive to a smaller one, while Sector-by-sector Clone makes a 1:1 copy of the hard drive.Sector-by-sector Clone. Intelligent Clone allows you to clone a larger drive to a smaller one, while Sector-by-sector Clone makes a 1:1 copy of the hard drive.

To upgrade your M.2 SSD without reinstalling Windows, you can use a cloning software that helps you clone your existing M.2 SSD to a new one. I can provide you with a brief overview of this software and show you how it works. To get started, click the download button below to install it on your computer.

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Windows 11/10/8/7, 100% Secure

How to Upgrade M.2 SSD on Laptop or Desktop

Here, I take the upgrade M.2 SSD to larger M.2 SATA SSD as an example to show you how to clone OS to M.2 without reinstalling Windows using this software. Before upgrading the M.2 SSD, you need to prepare the new larger M.2 SATA SSD, download and install the software, and ensure the computer is turned off and the power cord is unplugged. The software will then clone the OS from the old M.

Note: The data on the target location will be overwritten after the cloning process, so please backup important files in advance if you plan to clone Windows to a used M.2 SSD.

#1. Install and Initialize New M.2 SSD

Turn off the computer, disconnect the power source, and install the new M.2 SSD in the laptop/desktop.

If your laptop or desktop only has one SSD slot, you can connect a new M.2 SSD to the computer using an M.2 SATA SSD to USB adapter.

To install an M.2 SSD into a laptop or desktop with two SSD slots, you'll need to access the internal components. This typically involves removing the back cover of the laptop or the computer tower case using a tool. Once inside, locate the M.

To resolve the issue, restart your computer and then open the Disk Management utility by pressing Win + R, typing diskmgmt.msc, and clicking OK.

Right-To initialize the new SSD, click on it and select "Initialize Disk". Ensure the partition style is set the same as the source disk (MBR or GPT) and click "OK" to confirm.

#2. Clone M.2 SSD to Larger M.2 SSD without Losing Any Data

After completing the preparation work, you can use Qiling Disk Master to clone an M.2 SSD to a larger M.2 SSD. For detailed instructions, please follow the graphic tutorial provided.

Step 1. Launch Qiling Disk Master, click Clone in the left panel and select Disk Clone on the right menu.

Step 2. To start the process of cloning the original M.2 SSD, select the original M.2 SSD containing Windows as the source disk and click the "Next" button.

Step 3. Select the larger M.2 SATA SSD as the destination path to clone the source disk and click on the "Next" button.

Step 4. The Operation Summary page will appear, where you can check the SSD Alignment option to enhance the SSD disk's writing and reading speed. After confirming all settings, click Proceed.

Tips:
💜 Sector by Sector Clone: It allows you to clone all sectors of a hard drive to another one, including bad or empty sectors, which makes the Edit Partition feature unavailable.
💜 Edit Partitions: This feature allows you to adjust the partition size of the destination disk to fix the issue where the cloned hard drive shows the wrong size. Additionally, it enables you to convert the disk type if the destination disk is different from the source disk.

❆ If you have a new M.2 SSD that is larger than your current one, you can use the Edit Partitions feature to make the most of the extra space. This feature is more practical than other options and gives you 4 choices to select from, allowing you to choose one or more of them to suit your needs.

>> Copy without resizing partitions: It will not resize the partition size.
>> Add unused space to all partitions: The software will redistribute the unused space on the target disk to the individual partitions, taking into account the size of the disk itself.
>> Manually adjust partition size: This tool allows you to extend unallocated space to any partition on the destination disk you want.
>> Convert the destination disk from MBR to GPT: To convert the partition style of the destination disk, you can use the `diskutil` command in macOS or the `convert` option in the `dd` command in Linux. For example, if you're using `dd` to clone a disk from a source disk to a destination disk and you want to convert the destination disk to match the source disk's partition style, you can use the following command: `dd if=/dev/sdx of=/dev/sdy bs=4M conv=noerror,sync status=progress conv=notrunc,seek=0 oflag=append status=progress iflag=fullblock conv=notrunc,seek=0 oflag=append status=progress iflag=fullblock conv=notrunc,seek=0 oflag=append status=progress iflag=fullblock conv=notrunc,seek=0 oflag=append status=progress iflag=fullblock conv=notrunc,seek=0 oflag=append status=progress iflag=fullblock conv=notrunc,seek=0 oflag=append status=progress iflag=fullblock conv=notrunc,seek=0 oflag=append status=progress iflag=fullblock conv=notrunc,seek=0 oflag=append status=progress iflag=fullblock conv=notrunc,seek=0 oflag=append status=progress iflag=fullblock conv=notrunc,seek=0 oflag=append status=progress iflag=fullblock conv=notrunc,seek=0 oflag=append status=progress iflag=fullblock conv=notrunc,seek=0 oflag=append status=progress iflag=fullblock conv=notrunc,seek=0 oflag=append status=progress iflag=fullblock conv=notrunc,seek=0 oflag=append status=progress iflag=fullblock conv=notrunc,seek=0 oflag=append status=progress iflag=fullblock conv=notrunc,seek=0 oflag=append status=progress iflag=fullblock conv=notrunc,seek=0 oflag=append status=progress iflag=fullblock conv=notrunc,seek=0 oflag=append status=progress iflag=fullblock conv=notrunc,seek=0 oflag=append status=progress

#3. Safe Boot from Cloned M.2 SSD

1. To boot from a cloned M.2 SSD, replace the old M.2 SSD with a cloned one if your computer has only one SSD slot, or insert the cloned M.2 SSD into an empty slot if there are two slots.

2. After cloning the SSD, restart your PC and press the key that opens the BIOS settings (usually F2, F8, F11, or Del), and change the boot order to prioritize the cloned SSD. This will allow your PC to boot from the cloned drive instead of the original one.

3. Press F10 or save the changes, then restart the computer.

Most Concerned Questions on M.2 SSD Upgrading

1. Is there a risk of data loss during the M.2 SSD upgrade?

Upgrading an M.2 solid state drive typically doesn't result in data loss, but human or device errors can cause it. It's highly recommended to back up important data before the upgrade to minimize the risk of data loss. Regular backups and careful handling can also help prevent data loss.

2. Will all my files and applications be transferred accurately?

Disk cloning involves copying everything, including files, applications, and the operating system, but sometimes issues arise. The process can stall if the target disk is too small to hold all the data, or conflicts may occur.

3. Can I clone my larger capacity M.2 SSD to a smaller one?

It is possible to clone a larger drive to a smaller drive using specialized cloning software, as long as the target device can accommodate the data used, and data reduction can also help in cloning to a smaller hard disk.

4. Does the M.2 SSD's speed affect the cloning process?

Faster SSDs can clone data quickly, but the time mainly depends on the data volume. For example, cloning a 500GB used space with modern SSDs and efficient software might take around 30 minutes to 1 hour or less, while slower SSDs could take 1 to 2 hours or more.

5. Will my Windows license and activation remain intact after the upgrade?

Windows activation typically remains unaffected, but it's a good idea to keep your product key handy just in case.

Conclusion

Upgrading an M.2 SSD without reinstalling Windows is possible by following specific steps and using reliable cloning software, allowing for a seamless transition without requiring a system reinstall or manual reconfiguration.

With the help of Qiling Disk Master, you can breathe new life into your old M.2 SSD and also upgrade your HP Omen 30L, Asus X505ZA, and other compatible devices. This tool not only enables you to clone your SSD but also provides backup, restore, and synchronization functions to safeguard your daily data. Try it now and get the most out of your computer's storage!