XPS 8900, upgrading M.2 SSD

Question

I have an 8900 with a 500gb Crucial NVMe M.2 SSD for boot/program files. I also have a standard 1tb mechanical SATA drive as storage.

The SSD is almost full, and I am looking to upgrade to a 2tb version of the same Crucial drive. Trying to figure out the best way to do this, since I don't think (?) there is another compatible PCIe slot on my mobo to install a second M.2.

Assuming I am right on that, I'm thinking:

1.) Offload the storage data on the SATA to an external drive;
2.) Clone M.2 to SATA;
3.) Power down and swap out old M.2 with new (larger) M.2;
4.) Reboot, but interrupt boot sequence to boot off SATA;
5.) Clone SATA to new M.2 and restart;
6.) Reboot off M.2; and
7.) I should be back in business?

I've never cloned a drive before, so this is new territory for me. Am I on the right track? Anything important I missed?

Please and thank you.

JOcean · Answer

You're on the right track. Download Macrium Reflect Free available here. Use Macrium to create a recovery USB drive. Then using Macrium either clone the old M.2 drive or create an image of the old M.2 drive on the SATA drive. Now install the new M.2 drive. Reboot with the recovery USB drive and browse to the SATA drive for either the image or to choose the drive to clone from depending on your chosen method. There are a number of good videos on YouTube on how to use Macrium to image or clone.

YouTube image video here.

Also this video about cloning.

rvashko · Answer

Thank you!  Yes, I already have Macrium at the ready.  Just needed validation of the workflow.  I guess the recovery USB is easier than interrupting boot manually and swapping around drive priority.

RoHe · Answer

@JOcean gave you good advice, but here's another suggestion that might save you from having to buy and clone a new SSD, at least for a while.

Tell Win 10 to move its default folders onto the HDD.
Uninstall some apps that are on the SSD now and reinstall them, this time directing their installation onto the 1T HDD. Many apps will let you install them on a different drive, one that doesn't have the OS on it.
At the least, configure all apps to store their temp files and output files on the HDD. Email in/out boxes take up lots of space so getting them off your SSD should free up space.
Check the SSD to see if there's a huge .old version of Windows left over from the last time you updated to a new version. You can move that folder onto the HDD or delete it.

XPS Desktops

XPS 8900, upgrading M.2 SSD

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