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Advice please - transferring Windows from a Sata SSD to a PCIE M2 NVME SSD

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Hi, just finishing upgrading my PC after the original motherboard developed faults - the final stage, 'clone' my existing Windows 10 install from the existing Sata SSD to a new PCIE M2 NVME SSD

I assume that I can do this just as I have done between Sata SSD's and/or mechanical  hard drives in the past i.e. create a full disk backup and 'restore' that to the new drive.
Is there anything different in the process for transferring Windows from a Sata SSD to a PCIE M2 NVME SSD or any potential issues I should be aware of?

One thing I know I know I'll need to find out is how to set the M2 card as the primary drive - maybe something I set in the BIOS software?

Many thanks
Andy

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Andy, some comments to offer here:

First, please ensure that you have installed the new PCIe NVMe M.2 SSD in your PC and have booted normally from the current SATA SSD so that the new hardware is detected and any new device drivers are installed in Windows.  Note: there is no need to create any partitions on the new SSD but it may need to be prepared as GPT partition format.

Next, check what BIOS boot mode is being used by Windows on your current SSD, ideally it should be using UEFI boot mode as this will also be required to boot correctly from the NVMe M.2 SSD.  If the current SSD is using Legacy boot mode, then I would suggest getting this migrated from Legacy / MBR to UEFI / GPT first before attempting any other migration to the M.2 SSD.

Finally, I would recommend taking the following approach:

  1. Make the Acronis bootable Rescue Media using the Simple method which uses the Windows Recovery Environment files to create WinPE media.  This can be on a small USB memory stick (2GB min / 32GB max).
  2. Test booting the PC in UEFI boot mode from the rescue media, and check that both the original SATA SSD and new M.2 SSD are shown.
  3. Make a full Disks & Partitions backup image of only the original SATA SSD - this is best stored on an external USB storage drive. 
    Note: this can be done from the WinPE rescue media or from within Windows.
  4. Shutdown the PC, disconnect or remove the SATA SSD, leaving only the new M.2 SSD in place.
  5. Boot the PC in UEFI boot mode from the rescue media, along with having the USB storage drive connected.
  6. Restore the backup (of the SATA SSD) to the M.2 SSD as a Disk level recovery (this just means selecting the top Disk tick box which automatically selects all the items below it, and avoids the need to configure the settings for each partition separately).
  7. When the restore is complete, check the Log while still in the rescue media to ensure no messages were missed and all is successful.
  8. Remove the rescue media, disconnect the storage drive, then trigger a reboot of Windows by closing the main Acronis application panel.
  9. Check that the PC boots correctly into Windows.  Don't worry if the new M.2 SSD shows as the same size as the original SATA SSD at this point - that can be resolved from within Windows later if the M.2 is larger than the old SSD.

See forum topic: Steve migrate NVMe SSD for an example where I have done a similar migration using the above method (albeit from a smaller NVMe SSD to a larger one).

Once all is working correctly in Windows 10, then you can connect the original SSD via a USB adapter and reformat the drive ready to reinstall and use as a Data drive.

If the restored NVMe SSD doesn't boot into Windows after the recovery, then go into the BIOS settings and check that the BIOS boot option is set to 'Windows Boot Manager' from the M.2 SSD.