XPS 8940, replace SSD boot disk

Try create system image of boot ssd then restore the image on replacement ssd.

https://www.dell.com/community/en/conversations/xps-desktops/system-image-clone-from-one-pc-to-another-in-windows-11/68916ac71739533d7ffd8d83?keyword=System%20image

Thanks. Quick question: i was thinking of connecting the new SSD as an external USB drive and then cloning the existing SSD on it (using Macrium Reflect), then removing the old SSD and installing the new one in its place. Would that work as well?

Thanks for confirming -- it worked perfectly. I got a 2TB replacement SSD and connected it as an external drive using a USB docking station, then used Macrium Reflect to clone the content of my existing 1TB SSD drive to it.

Macrium Reflect allowed me to resize the partitions to use the extra 1TB of space. After cloning was completed, I shut down the PC, disconected the USB docking station, removed the old SSD drive and replaced it with the new one, then closed it up and turned it back on.

It took a long time to restart and for some reason the screen was black and there was no signal to the monitor instead of showing the usual Dell boot screen so I was about to give up but after about 5 minutes suddenly the windows login screen appeared and I could login and everything was exactly as I left it. Worked like a charm! 

I'm glad it worked out.  Also remember not to have 2 boot drives with the same OS, either Win10 or 11, installed in the same PC.  Reason being is if the OS detects it, one or both drives will absolutely eventually become corrupted (that's Microsoft for ya'.).  If 2 boot drives installed to reuse one for storage, there is time to go to Disk Management and wipe the old drive to use for storage.

Might be more than you need to know, but wanted to make sure the bases are covered.

Want to upgrade SSD from 500GB to 1TB. 

Need to know what 1TB m.2 NVME SSDs will be compatible with XPS 8940.

M.2 2230/2280 solid-state drive  PCIe Gen3.0x4 NVMe, up to 32 Gbps  Up to 2 TB

@bradthetechnut​ 

I know all that.

What BRANDS/MODELS?

I wondered if that might be the case.

Crucial SSD's

Crucial P3/P5 Plus: High performance and reliability Crucial.com.

Samsung 970 EVO Plus: Excellent, reliable Gen3 drive.

WD Blue SN570/SN580: Good budget-friendly NVMe options.

WD Black SN770/SN850X: High-speed, compatible options (though Gen4, they work at Gen3 speeds). 

@bradthetechnut​ 

Finding any of those within my budget is essentially impossible.  How about this? --

Western Digital 1TB WD Green SN3000 NVMe Internal SSD Gen4 PCIe, M.2 2280

@JNagarya1​  Yes, it'll work   Both XPS 8940 and the NVME you want utilize M-Key, which is a slot in the NVME drive.

@bradthetechnut​ 

I queried B&H Photo with the basics: Dell XPS 8940 and 1 TB.  They responded with a multi-page list of, apparently, every M.2 NVME SSD in stock, in every size.  The list includes, as example, the various Samsung 990s.  I'm trying to stay as close to Gen. 3 as possible to avoid heat issues.

And they asked "What size" I'm looking for.

I responded by quoting those basics I'd already provided:

Dell XPS 8940 and 1 TB.

Hopefully they respond with list of only 1TB.

Overall I'm getting the impression that many more will work with the XPS 8940 than those you originally listed.

"I'm getting the impression that many more will work with the XPS 8940 than those you originally listed."  True.  It's impossible for me to list all of them as there's quite a few brands out there.

Unless you find a better deal on one of the other ones, I think you'd be happy with the WD Green that you picked out.

Also, Gen 4 is backwards compatible with Gen 3.

@bradthetechnut​ 

yes, I'm aware that Gens 4 and 5 are backwards compatible.  But there's also the issue that the 5, especially, runs hot.

B&H responded with a sane 1 TB list, and I reduced it to only these brands/models.  I like the looks (ad price) of the Green, but don't know how it compares with these options.  (I removed the B&H prices to save space.) --

_____

Samsung 1TB 990 PRO PCIe 4.0 x4 M.2 

Samsung 1TB 990 EVO Plus PCIe 5.0 x2 M.2 

Samsung 1TB 9100 PRO PCIe 5.0 M.2 

WD 1TB WD_BLACK SN850X NVMe PCIe 4.0

SanDisk 1TB SSD PLUS M.2 NVMe PCIe 3.0

WD 1TB Blue SN5100 NVMe PCIe 4.0 

WD 1TB WD_BLACK SN7100 NVMe PCIe 4.0 M.2 

Crucial 1TB T710 NVMe PCIe 5.0 M.2

Crucial 1TB P310 PCIe 4.0 x4 M.2 

Crucial 1TB P510 PCIe 5.0 M.2 

_____

I believe a limitation in some WDs is lack of DRAM.

@JNagarya1​  Not sure if you know:  When it comes to WD, Green is a little of a price saver with slightly lower performance.  And Black is faster than Blue.  It's WD's best when it comes to SSD's.  You could probably Google the speeds of the ones you're interested in.