Need to clone old NVMe SSD to the larger one
You can clone your old SSD to the new one using a cloning software. To enable cloning, you'll need to enter your computer's BIOS or UEFI settings and set the new SSD as the primary drive. Then, you can use software like Acronis True Image, Qiling Disk Master, or Macrium Reflect to clone the old SSD to the new one. These software can help you create an exact copy of your old SSD, including all files, settings, and programs. Make sure to back up your important files before cloning, as it will erase the old SSD.
- Question from Tom's HARDWARE
NVMe SSD stands for Non-NVMe SSDs are a type of SSD that use the NVMe protocol to communicate with the host computer, offering faster read and write speeds, lower latency, and improved power efficiency compared to other types of SSDs.
NVMe is built specifically for flash and new-generation SSDs, delivering top-notch performance and high response times. It pairs well with PCIe SSDs to transfer data quickly between your computer and storage card.
If you want to clone an old NVMe SSD to a new larger one to allocate more space, you'll need a reliable SSD cloning software, as Windows doesn't have a built-in clone feature. A professional third-party tool can help you with this.
It is possible to clone an NVMe SSD to another NVMe SSD, even if they have different form factors.
The main reason for cloning SSDs is to increase storage capacity, as NVMe SSDs come in various sizes and users may need more storage to maintain optimal performance.
For professionals, Qiling Disk Master Professional is the top choice for NVMe cloning software. It features a Disk Clone function that can clone a system disk from GPT to GPT or even clone MBR to GPT without conversion, making it a valuable tool for those who need to migrate or duplicate disk partitions.
✪ To clone data to a larger SSD, you can use sector-by-sector clone to ensure the integrity of the cloned data. This method involves copying the data from the original drive to the new drive, including any unused space, to maintain the same structure and organization as the original drive.
✪ This software supports all types of SSDs, including SATA, PCIe, M.2, U.2, and mSATA, and is compatible with SSDs from various brands, such as Toshiba, WD, Seagate, Hitachi, Samsung, Intel, HP, and Adata.
✪ It will copy only used sectors by default, allowing you to clone a larger HDD to a smaller SSD.
Want to give it a try? Follow these steps to clone an NVMe SSD to a new or larger NVMe SSD using Qiling Disk Master: learn the detailed process in the next part.
This program works on all editions of Windows 11, 10, 8.1/8, 7, Vista, and XP, and can be downloaded for a try.
The cloning feature in the free trial is for demonstration purposes only. To fully utilize its functionality, please upgrade to a paid plan.
💛 Preparations:
Step 1. Launch Qiling Disk Master on your computer. Click on Clone and then Disk Clone. To clone OS to NVMe SSD only, use the System Clone feature.
Step 2. Set up the source and target NVMe SSDs, ensuring you've selected the correct drives to avoid any potential issues.
Step 3. Confirm the operations. You can still customize your settings before clicking Proceed to execute the NVMe clone process.
☎ Notes:
✎ The Sector by Sector clone option allows you to clone all sectors, including blank and logically bad sectors, which can be useful when cloning an NVMe SSD to a larger one, but it will significantly increase the cloning time.
✎ SSD Alignment: This software offers a feature called SSD Alignment, which helps improve the reading and writing speed of the target NVMe SSD, while also prolonging its lifespan.
✎ The Professional edition supports cloning both data disks and systems disks from MBR to MBR/MBR to GPT, or GPT to MBR/GPT to GPT, while the Standard edition only supports cloning data disks.
If you want to clone an NVMe SSD with only one slot, you can use the backup and restore feature of Qiling Disk Master to transfer data from the old SSD to a larger one without needing an M.2 adapter. First, create a disk backup of the old SSD, then restore it to the target larger SSD using the restore feature. This method allows you to clone the SSD without requiring any additional hardware.
After cloning, you can remove the old NVMe SSD drive, replace it with the new larger one, and boot from it, or keep two NVMe SSD drives at the same time by setting the new one as the prior boot device in BIOS. However, you may encounter a cloned SSD won't boot issue, which can be resolved by following the troubleshooting steps provided.
To ensure proper UEFI support, your target NVMe must be partitioned as GPT. If it's not, you may encounter boot issues. You can check the partition style by pressing Win + R, typing diskmgmt.msc, and opening disk management. Then, select the disk, go to Properties, Volume, and Partition style to see if it's MBR or GPT.
With the best SSD cloning software Qiling Disk Master, you can easily clone your NVMe to a larger NVMe and make the cloned SSD boot up successfully. This software also has many other powerful features, such as resetting the SSD to factory settings with the Disk Wipe feature, allowing you to transfer all your data to the new one. Try it now to explore more!