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How can I swap my SSD without losing my data?

Anonymous
2023-07-22T17:56:12+00:00

I have a pc (windows 11) with a 1tb HDD and 250gb M.2 SSD. I have just bought a new 1tb M.2 SSD and want to replace the old 250gb one, but my OS is installed on the old SSD and my pc only has 1 M.2 SSD slot. The HDD has only personal files and has 220gb free. There is 199gb of data on the old SSD that i wish to transfer to the new one. I also have a 250gb external USB storage device if that helps. I have tried making a disk image of the ssd onto the external drive, but it will only let me copy ALL of my files (including the HDD, which there is not enough space for and is not needed) Please let me know if and how i can do this, or if you need any extra details. Thanks

Windows for home | Windows 11 | Files, folders, and storage

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  1. Anonymous
    2023-07-22T19:04:11+00:00

    Hello!

    My name is David N., and I am a Community Independent Advisor and Windows fan. I will be happy to assist you with your issue.

    To do this, you will need two things. First, you will need a USB enclosure for your M.2 drive. Second, you will need third-party drive cloning software.

    The USB enclosure can be readily found online at tech retailers such as Amazon or Best Buy. These devices convert your M.2 drive into a USB drive.

    You can find a list of software that you can use to clone the drive here: https://windowsreport.com/best-windows-11-cloni...

    NOTE: This site is a third-party site and neither I nor Microsoft is responsible for its contents or recommendations. It appears to be good and reliable information, but it is outside of our control We cannot be held responsible for the use of any software recommended on this site, and especially not for the contents of any ads. Please research the software recommended here before making a choice.

    You will take your new drive and place it in the USB enclosure and plug it into your computer. This will make it into an additional disk drive. You then will follow the instructions of the software developer carefully in order to clone the old drive onto the new one.

    Once this is done you should be able to replace the old drive with the new one in your computer and boot to the new drive. The old drive can then be placed into the USB enclosure to make it a USB drive for future use.

    WARNING: Be extremely careful! You must be certain of the drives you are working with in order to avoid data loss. If you are not careful you could end up cloning your boot drive to your 1 TB HDD and destroying all data on it, among other things.

    Nevertheless, if you are careful you should be fine. The best of software in this category is pretty good and reliable. Just make certain which drive is which before you wipe or overwrite anything.

    I hope this helps! Please let me know if this resolves your issue or if you require additional assistance.

    Regards,

    David N.

    Community Independent Advisor

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