Help w/ new latop SSD upgrade issue
I bought a new laptop. It has a small SSD but the price was right and the other specs are great for what I paid.
Soo- I bought a larger SSD - Samsung EVO 970 and downloaded the mitigration software.
Open the case up and discover that there is only 1 SSD slot- so I can't just plug in and run the clone.
Soo- I bought an SSD to USB adaptor plug off Amazon and it arrived tonight.
Secured the SSD to the piece, and plugged it in- computer makes a bleep acknowledging receipt and LED on the adaptor lights up.
Tried running migration software- says no Samsung SSD found.
Computer does see the 'new' SSD but lists it as generic.
I downloaded the EVO 970 'driver' but apparently now all you can get is an install program and not the actual driver files.
When I try to run it- it also gives me the no Samsung SSD found. Well duh- of course not, that is why I need the driver in the first place.
Feeling quite frustrated. If I had an actual driver file, this would probably not be an issue.
Josh Also frustrated because if the laptop had an OS disk, I could just install the new drive blank and load the OS> but apparently these days they just do a restore function on the HD.
What model laptop?
Does it support booting from usb? You could install the samsung in the laptop and boot off the old ssd via usb if it does. Then try the migration tool
JWolfe75 Tried that. Although nothing in the bios specifically says BOOT FROM USB, it does let me change the boot order and has an option for USB HARD DISK.
No matter what I tried when I swapped the drive places- it just boots back to the bios.
So I put the original drive back in for now. I guess I have to just find a way to copy and reinstall windows clean- which brings it's own pile of potential problems because again the laptop comes with no software, so no OS, no drivers.
It is an MSI.
What version of Windows do you have?
You can download install images that can be burned on a DVD to do it clean from scratch (that’s how I usually do it, and then I’ll put my old HD in the USB case as a backup drive).
If it’s Windows 10 it will usually have/find all the drivers you need automatically.
https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/software-download/windows10ISO
Mark Mc. Hi Josh, see if it shows up in windows "Disk Management" tool when plugged in as USB.
Sometimes drives are blank and unformatted, which means they can't be used yet but they're still found by tools. If so, you can use windows based cloning tools.
Is this an SATA 2.5 Inch SSD, or m2 (PCI/NVMe), or mSATA? The m2s can be trickery, there's only one of two external connectors for those available, but a lot of ones that may physically fit it.
As for cloning it, I would recommend booting to a linux USB stick and using DD to clone it. Just be VERY CAREFUL. Acronis TrueImage works well too. The free version might do it for you (Or, you can search for Acronis WD Edition or Seagate Edition) and get a paid version for free sometimes if you own a hard drive from one of those companies. Not sure if Samsung offers it too.
As for the boot from USB, you often have to enable it. You'd have to go into the BIOS/UEFI and find something along the lines of boot settings and enable USB and/or adjust the priority. Some laptops will let you do it with a different key F2/F8 pressed before Windows starts booting.
Feel free to PM
alpha1beta Here's how I do it.
Create a Windows 10 USB drive.
Remove the old hard drive. Install the new one.
Boot the laptop with the Win10 USB
Install Windows 10.
Re install all software.
use the SATA to USB cable with old hard drive to move over files
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