(Easiest Way) How to Clone 2.5 SSD to M.2 with Best SSD Cloning Software
2.5 SSD vs. M.2 SSD: What's the Difference
Compared with hard disk drives (HDDs), solid-state drives (SSDs) have become increasingly popular due to their increased read and write speeds. The primary forms of SSDs are 2.5, M.2 (SATA & NVMe), NVMe PCIe, and U.2 SSD.
The 2.5 SSD is a traditional SSD form, typically mounted to the SSD tray within a computer tower. The 2.5-inch SSD is connected to the motherboard via SATA, and its transfer speed maxes out around 500-600 MB/s. The 2.5 SSDs have no moving parts, making them more durable than HDDs. 2.5 SSDs have slower transfer speeds and are larger than M.2 SSD. In addition, 2.5 SSDs require both a SATA data cable connection and a SATA power cable, which may increase cable clutter.
The M.2 SSD is a new generation of SSD. M.2 SSD is a little faster than a regular SSD, which can offer a speed reaching 3500 MB/S to transfer data. Besides, M.2 SSDs are much smaller than traditional 2.5-inch SSDs, meaning users can add an M.2 SSD to a laptop without having room for a regular one. M.2 SSDs also have two types: SATA SSD and NVMe SSD. If you are looking for faster speed, you can pick an M.2 NVMe SSD to enjoy an improved performance.
Best SSD Cloning Software for Cloning 2.5 SSD to M.2
Now, we know the difference between 2.5 SSD and M.2 SSD. Most computer users want to transfer data from 2.5 SSD to M.2 SSD due to M.2's better performance and smaller size. But, among the many SSD cloning software available on the market, which one you should choose matters. Here, I will introduce a practical SSD cloner called Qiling Disk Copy to you. This disk cloning software can easily and quickly help you clone 2.5 SSD to M.2 SSD.
Qiling Disk Copy is a powerful, easy-to-use disk cloning utility for Windows 11/10/8/7. It can help you clone systems, disks, and partitions. It is an ideal solution to upgrade SSD or larger disk without reinstalling the system. Besides, it enables you to upgrade a hard disk to a bigger one and clone an HDD to SSD for improved performance. It can help migrate Windows 10 to NVME or M.2 without Windows computer reinstallation. The following are some highlighted features of Qiling Disk Copy.
- Time-saving. Qiling Disk Copy has a faster cloning speed, meaning it takes less time to clone a hard drive or an SSD.
- Diverse cloning sources. It can help clone disks, systems, and partitions on your computer running Windows 11/10/8/7.
- Migrate Windows System. Qiling Disk Copy can easily clone Windows 10 from HDD to SSD or another SSD of SATA/M.2/NVMe type.
- Keep your data backup handy. It can create a backup of the source disk, and you can easily and quickly restore data from the corrupted hard drive.
It can be concluded from the above that Qiling Disk Copy is your best choice to clone 2.5 SSD to M.2 SSD. Now, let's see how to clone it step by step.
Step-by-step Guide to Clone an M.2 SSD from 2.5 SSD
The following are the detailed steps to use Qiling Disk Copy. You can perform the steps to clone 2.5 SSD to M.2 SSD. Here's how:
Prior Notice:
- The "Sector by sector copy" asks the size of your destination disk to be at least equal to or larger than that of the source disk. Leave this feature unchecked if you wish to clone a larger hard disk to a smaller hard disk.
- All data on the destination disk will be completely erased, so take care.
Step 1. To start copying/cloning an entire disk to another, click "Disk clone" button in the tools page, and choose this disk as the source disk and click "Next".
Step 2. Choose the other disk as the destination disk.
Step 3. Check the disk layout of the two disks. You can manage the disk layout of the destination disk by selecting "Autofit the disk", "Copy as the source" or "Edit disk layout".
- "Autofit the disk" makes some changes by default on the destination disk layout so that it can work at its best status.
- "Copy as the source"does not change anything on destination disk and the layout is the same as source disk.
- "Edit disk layout" allows you to manually resize/move partition layout on this destination disk.
Tick the "Check the option if the target is SSD" option to put your SSD in its best performance.
Step 4. Click "Proceed" to officially execute the task.
A message now appears, warning you that data will be lost. Please confirm this message by clicking "OK".
Final Thoughts
That is all about how to clone 2.5 SSD to M.2 SSD. After reading this article, you will know cloning an M.2 SSD from a 2.5 SSD will be an easy task with the help of Qiling Disk Copy.
Qiling Disk Copy is an excellent cloning tool for computer users to use. Compared with its counterparts, it has more valuable features and is easy to use. For example, it allows you to clone NVMe SSD to SATA SSD. Moreover, it supports various external storage devices, including a navigation SD card, a USB drive, an external drive, different types of SSD, and so on. You can try Qiling Disk Copy now. It can help you clone 2.5 SSD to M.2 SSD on any computer. Don't hesitate to get this tool!
FAQs
1. Can you clone a SSD to NVMe m 2?
If your laptop's motherboard has an M.2 slot supporting NVMe, and your laptop supports UEFI boot mode, you can use a disk clone utility to clone SATA drive directly to M.2 NVMe SSD. Besides, it is a wise option to remain the SATA drive as a secondary storage device.
2. How do I clone m 2 with one slot?
The easiest way for laptops/computers with only one M. 2 slot is to use a bootable cloning tool and an external USB HDD. Therefore, you can boot into cloning software, make a disk image into the HDD, shut down, replace the disk, boot into the cloning software again and copy the drive image from the HDD into a new drive.
3. Is NVMe a SSD?
NVMe (short for nonvolatile memory express) is a type of new storage access and transport protocol for flash and next-generation solid-state drives that deliver the highest throughput and fastest response times for all types of enterprise workloads.
4. Is it better to clone or fresh install SSD?
A clean install generally gives you the best performance compared with disk cloning and OS migration. To summarize, clean and install Windows if you focus on computer performance. But if you prefer not to do extra work, cloning the disk or migrating the system might be the better choice.
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