How Do I Clone M.2 SSD to Larger M.2 SSD on Laptop/PC [Complete Guide]

On this page, you will learn what is M.2 SSD, how to upgrade and clone M.2 SSD to a larger M.2 SSD, and what to do after cloning M.2 to M.2.

Average Time: 3-5 Minutes Reading
Applies to: Clone M.2 to M.2, Clone M.2 to VNMe M.2, Clone NVMe M.2 to M.2, Clone SSD to M.2
Supported OS: Windows 10/8.1/8/7/Visa/XP, Windows Server 2019/2016/2013/2012, etc.
Tools/Must-Have Materials: 1. New M.2 SSD; 2. Disk Cloning Tool; 3. Screwdriver;

How Do I Clone My M.2 SSD to Another M.2

"I am running a 128GB SSD on my laptop. Now the disk is getting full with more and more data. So, I buy a 250GB M.2 SSD and want to use it to replace the existing 128 SSD. I don't want to reinstall the operating system as well as the installed programs, or manually migrate the files. Someone told me that I can do it by cloning the 128GB M.2 SSD to 250GB M.2 SSD, but I don't have a clue. Is there anyone who can help?"

Normally, people choose to upgrade a computer hard drive to SSD so as to optimize computer performance without reinstalling Windows nor losing data. Cloning M.2 to larger M.2 SSD also works the same, however, the process is a bit different.

Follow the guide here, you'll learn how to upgrade M.2 SSD, cloning M.2 to larger M.2 successfully on your laptop and desktop computers:

PAGE CONTENT:

Part 1. Prepare M.2 SSD
Part 2. How-to Tutorial: Clone M.2 SSD to a Larger M.2 SSD
Part 3. Boot PC from Cloned M.2 SSD and Manage Old M.2 SSD

Part 1. Prepare M.2 SSD

In this part, we'll guide you to prepare everything ready for M.2 cloning. Now, follow the steps here to prepare both your PC and the new M.2 SSD:

Step 1. Check the Number of SSD Slot on PC

Open the Laptop or Desktop computer case with a screwdriver. Then check the number fo SSD Slop on your computer.

For one slot, you'll need to buy one M.2 SSD and one M.2 SSD USB adapter. For two slots, you just need to purchase a new M.2 SSD.

Step 2. Buy a Right M.2 SSD

M.2 SSD is defined as a gum shipped stick, studded with NAND modules and a controller chip. When you are ready to purchase a new M.2 SSD, remember three things:

1. M.2 SSD must share the same length of the SSD slot.

2. The higher capacity the more expensive the M.2 SSD will be.

3. Purchase an M.2 SSD USB adapter if your computer only has one stop.

It's suggested that the capacity of the new M.2 SSD should be twice or three times bigger than the old one will be fair enough.

Step 3. Install or Connect the New M.2 SSD to PC

If your computer only has one SSD stot, connect the new M.2 SSD to your computer via an SSD USB adapter. If your laptop or desktop contains two SSD slots, install the SSD:

On a laptop: Open M.2 slot > Slide M.2 SSD inside the slot > Screw the SSD drive in > Finalize and cover.

On a desktop computer: Find the M.2 connector, labeled as "PCIe" > Insert M.2 SSD inside the slot > Secure the M.2 SSD with the mounting screw.

Step 4. Initialize New M.2 SSD

To guarantee a smooth M.2 to M.2 cloning process, remember to initialize the SSD first.

1. Open Disk Management, locate and right-click the new M.2 disk.

2. Select "Initialize Disk", set the partition style the same as the source disk (MBR or GPT)

3. Click "OK" to confirm.

Now, you are good to reboot PC and move the Part 2, starting to clone M.2 to a larger M.2 disk on your own.

Part 2. How-to Tutorial: Clone M.2 SSD to a Larger M.2 SSD

In this part, you'll get the answers to these questions: "How do I clone an NVMe M.2 Hard Drive", "How do I transfer my OS to M.2", etc. Let's start:

#1. Best M.2 Disk Cloning Software Free Download

As normal Copy and Past can only move your personal data to a new disk, but the Windows OS, system files, installed applications, account settings, etc., as still on the old disk. To upgrade and clone M.2 SSD, you'll need a powerful disk cloning software.

Powerful and easy-to-use SSD to SSD cloning software - Qiling Backup is the program you need. It enables you to flexibly clone SSD to a larger SSD with its Clone feature in only a few simple clicks.

Free Download

#2. Tutorial: Upgrade & Clone M.2 SSD to Larger M.2

Download and install the essential disk cloning software, and follow the tutorial here to upgrade an M.2 SSD to a larger M.2 SSD with ease.

The steps of cloning M.2 to M.2 are merely the same as cloning hard drive to SSD.

Step-by-Step Guide:

To clone one M.2 SSD to another larger M.2 SSD on a laptop or desktop computer, follow these steps as listed here.

Step 1. Launch Qiling cloning software and choose "Disk/Partition clone" to start cloning one SSD to the other larger SSD.

Step 2. Choose the smaller SSD as the source disk and click "Next".

Step 3. Choose the larger SSD as the destination disk. Click "Next".

Step 4. If nothing's wrong on the disk layout, click "Proceed". It won't take long to clone a smaller SSD to a larger SSD.

Here, we highly suggest you tick the option "Optimize for SSD" in the bottom left corner.

Part 3. Boot PC from Cloned M.2 SSD and Manage Old M.2 SSD

In this part, we'll show you how to: 1. Boot PC from the cloned SSD; 2. Manage old M.2 SSD.

Also, these two things are highly related to what to do after the disk cloning. Let's see:

1. Boot PC from New M.2 SSD

If the M.2 SSD that you cloned is an OS disk and you forgot to set it as a boot drive, you'll encounter with cloned SSD won't boot issue.

For Laptop/Desktop that has only one SSD slot:

Step 1. Replace the old M.2 SSD and install the cloned new M.2 SSD to your PC.

Step 2. Restart the PC and wait for the computer to boot up from the new disk.

For PC that has two SSD slots:

Step 1. Restart PC and press F2/F8/F11 or Del to enter BIOS.

Step 2. Go to the Boot menu, change the boot order, and set the new M.2 SSD as the boot drive.

Step 3. Restart the computer and wait for it to boot up.

2. Manage Old M.2 SSD

After booting up PC from the new M.2 SSD, you can now follow the tips here to manage your old M.2 SSD:

If your computer has one slot, you can connect the old M.2 SSD as an external disk, cleaning all old data. You can either choose to sell it or use it as an external data drive.
If your PC has two slots, you can delete all existing data and use it as a second data drive on your computer now.

Conclusion

So, that's it. The whole process of cloning M.2 to large M.2 SSD steps are all presented on this page. Three important things that you should remember:

1. Purchase a right SSD and install it correctly to PC.

2. Clone M.2 to M.2 with the right disk cloning tool (like Qiling Backup).

Free Download

3. Set PC boot from Cloned M.2 SSD.

1. What is M.2 and U.2, which is faster?

Accordingly, M.2 is a small-sized disk that directly connected to the motherboard. While U.2 can be defined as a high capacity disk connected to workstations and server motherboards.

U.2 SSD is much faster than M.2 SSD. U.2 used 4 PCle lanes, giving 4GB/s for data read and write while the M.2 SSD only has around 2500MB/s speed.

2. How to Move Windows to SSD?

To move Windows or migrate Windows OS to SSD, you may follow the tips here for a try:

Connect or install SSD to PC
Initialize SSD
Clone Windows OS to SSD via a reliable Disk Cloning Tool
Set SSD as boot drive and restart PC

For a step by step guide, please follow Clone Windows 10 to SSD.

3. How Do I clone an NVMe M.2 hard drive?

The steps to clone an NVMe M.2 hard drive are similar as listed on this page:

1. Connect or install a new disk to PC.

2. Initialize Disk if it's a brand new disk.

3. Clone NVMe M.2 hard drive to the target disk via disk cloning software

4. Set the new disk as a boot drive if the NVMe M.2 was a boot drive.