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Cloning SSD to a M.2

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Hello everyone! I was wondering, is it possible to clone my SSD to a new computer with a M.2? As if, can I use my SSD, with an external cord (which have my windows and all of my stuff) and clone it into the M.2 which will be inside the new computer ?

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Liran, welcome to these public User Forums.

Sorry but more information is needed to start to answer your question here?

There are several important aspects here:

  1. Migrating an installed Windows OS from one computer to a different computer with new hardware.
  2. Migrating from a standard SATA SSD to an NVMe M.2 SSD.
  3. Using cloning.

For 1. 

  • what version of Windows OS is involved here?
  • will the new computer come installed / activated with the same version & edition of Windows OS?  If not, then unless you have a full Retail version / license for your Windows OS, you will need to purchase a new license.
  • how does the old SSD Windows OS boot from the BIOS, is this Legacy/MBR or UEFI/GPT?

For 2.

  • This is potentially a complicated migration depending on other factors. NVMe M.2 SSD drives require UEFI/GPT to be used as Windows boot devices, so if your old SATA SSD is a Legacy/MBR drive, it will need to be converted during the migration process.

For 3.

  • Cloning should not be used to do this type of migration.
  • A Full Disk backup should be created before attempting any other actions.
  • Using a full disk backup is safer than using cloning and keeps your working SSD safe from any changes.
  • Acronis Universal Restore may be required in order to migrate your Windows OS to a new computer with different hardware.  Windows 10 may not need to use AUR as has better capability to handle changes in hardware.

Steve is giving excellent advice here. In particular, cloning should be avoided (things can inexplicably go wrong - user error or otherwise). I always backup the old drive, then recover to the new drive. I have done this when moving from SATA SSD to M.2 NVMe drive twice, and when replacing existing NVMe drive with a lager and faster one.

Ian