How to Clone an M.2 SSD with Only One Slot: A Step-by-Step Guide

An M.2 SSD is the next-generation storage device for solid-state drives. It's smaller, faster, and more power-efficient than a regular SSD. Hence, most people prefer to use it as a hard drive. However, as time goes on and you store more data on the SSD, it gradually becomes full.

If you don't want to lose any data or reinstall the previous system, it's best to clone M.2 SSD to a larger SSD at this time. Besides, if your M.2 SSD is about to fail, cloning it to another SSD in advance can prevent data loss. This tool guide will offer you an effective way to clone an M.2 SSD with only one slot.

Click here to download this excellent disk cloning software.

If your computer has only one slot, what should you prepare?

Most laptops these days have only one M.2 slot for an SSD. If you want to clone an SSD to another target disk, you'd usually need two M.2 SSD slots. But what if your computer has only one slot?

In fact, solutions are at hand.

For laptops with only one M.2 slot, one way is to use a bootable cloning tool and an external USB HDD to clone the boot drive. You would then boot from the cloned SSD and launch the cloning tool to write the disk image to the target disk (the larger capacity SSD). Power down, replace the M.2 SSD with the larger one, boot again into the cloning tool, and copy the disk image from the HDD to the new drive.

Another option is to use a USB to M.2 SSD adapter, which would allow you to connect the M.2 SSD to your computer via a USB port using an adapter.

So, summarizing, if your computer has only an M.2 slot, what do you need? If you go with Option One, you'll need an external USB drive; if you go with Option Two, you'll need a USB-to-M.2 SSD adapter and an extra USB cable.

You may also be interested in: How to Clone SSD to New SSD Without Losing Data | How to Replace M.2 SSD in PC

If you enjoyed this article, please share it on your social media platforms to help reach more people.

Reliable SSD Cloning Tools - Making the Cloning Process Easier

Whichever way you choose, you'll need a reliable cloning tool. While Windows operating systems come with a built-in utility – Backup and Restore, which can create a system image, you may encounter various issues like Windows Backup stuck at 97%, 57%, or 99%, backup failed, etc. Also, the process takes a lot of time.

Therefore, we recommend using professional HDD/SSD cloning software like Tools Disk Copy to assist you. It's an ultimate disk cloning tool for Windows 11/10/8/7 that makes the cloning process as straightforward as possible. Learn more about the detailed features of Tools Disk Copy in the information below:

In conclusion, Disk Copy is your best choice to clone SATA/NVMe SSD. Now, let's see how to clone step by step.

Guide to Cloning an M.2 SSD with Only One Slot

If you choose the first method, using an external USB hard drive, connect the USB drive to your computer and use a disk cloning tool to clone the SSD. Then, follow these steps to clone your M.2 SSD:

Advance notice:

• Sector-by-sector copy requires the target disk to be the same size or larger than the source disk. Do not select this if you want to clone a larger hard drive to a smaller one. • All data on the target disk will be erased, so be careful.

Step 1: To start cloning the entire disk to another disk, select the disk in Disk Mode, and click Next.

Step 2: Select another disk as the target disk.

Step 3. Check the layout of both disks. You can choose to "Fit to disk automatically," "Match source," or "Edit disk layout" to manage the layout of the target disk.

• "Auto-adjust for the disk" will modify the layout of the target disk by default, to optimize it for best performance. • "Copy as is from the source disk" will not change anything on the target disk, and its layout will be the same as the source disk. • "Edit disk layout" allows you to manually adjust/move the partition layout on the target disk.

Check the Optimize for SSD option if your target drive is an SSD for best performance.

A warning message appears, alerting you to the fact that your data will be lost. Confirm this by clicking OK, and then click Next.

Step 4: Click “Proceed” to actually carry out the task.

Once the cloning process is complete, replace the old HDD with the new SSD and restore the system image to the new M.2 SSD. Since the cloned SSD is a bootable disk, there's no need to reinstall Windows; it can be used directly as a boot drive.

If you're using a USB-to-M.2 SSD adapter, connect the adapter to your computer and clone the M.2 SSD as described above. Once that's done, install the new M.2 SSD in your computer and boot from it.

Read More: How to Migrate OS to Samsung M.2 NVMe SSD

IV. Conclusion

That's it for how to clone M.2 SSD with only one slot. We hope this guide has been helpful. Feel free to contact us if you have any other questions. Also, don't forget to give the Disk Copy tool a try if you need a reliable hard drive cloning software!

Notice:

When cloning a hard drive with Windows 11/10/8/7 installed, it's recommended to clone it to an external hard drive, or connect the target disk to your computer via a USB-to-SATA cable so that the disk cloning software can detect it and show it as Unallocated space on the main interface.

Frequently Asked Questions About Cloning an M.2 SSD With Only One Slot

1. Is an M.2 slot important?

M.2 slots are designed for different applications and support various widths and lengths. So it depends on how you plan to use your M.2 SSD. If you're using it for storage, any M.2 SSD will do. But if you want to leverage the speed boost that an SSD provides, make sure you get an M.2 PCIe SSD.

How do I clone an NVMe SSD to another NVMe SSD?

To clone an NVMe SSD to another NVMe SSD, you can use professional disk cloning software like the Disk Copy tool. It offers two cloning modes for copying such SSDs: cloning only the operating system or the used sectors. You can choose either one according to your needs.

3. Can I clone an M.2 SSD to a SATA SSD?

Yes, you can clone an M.2 SSD to a SATA SSD as long as the SATA SSD has a capacity larger than the used space on the M.2 SSD. You can use a disk cloning software, such as the Disk Copy tool, to assist you with this process.

4. Can I replace the M.2 SSD without reinstalling Windows?

Creating a bootable clone of your drive saves time and money by eliminating the need to reinstall the Windows operating system and all your programs. Of course, if you don't want to migrate everything off your old drive, you can just clone the operating system to the new M.2 SSD.