I'm about to switch to a new PC and I'm moving from an Intel Tiger Lake setup to a full AMD configuration. I want to know if it's possible to clone my NVMe M.2 SSD to the new one. I'm using Arch Linux as my OS, and I'm not dual-booting with Windows—just Linux. Given my limited internet connection and data quota, I'm looking for software or methods to do this. Any advice would be appreciated!
5 Answers
You could also use RescueZilla to clone the OS and EFI partitions to your new drive. Alternatively, if you plan to keep your old SSD, you can just swap it into the new system and chroot to install any required AMD drivers for the CPU/GPU.
You can totally clone your disk using the `dd` or `cp` commands. Just make sure both drives are connected at the same time. For example:
cp /dev/nvme0n1 /dev/nvme1n1
Or with `dd`:
dd if=/dev/nvme0n1 of=/dev/nvme1n1 bs=4096
If you want to clone to a file first, you can try:
cp /dev/nvme0n1 MyBackup.img
Then later restore it with:
cp MyBackup.img /dev/nvme1n1
Just keep in mind that cloning doesn't guarantee the new system will be bootable right away. You might have to set up a UEFI boot entry with `efibootmgr` later on or check the bootloader in the EFI System Partition (ESP).
Thanks a lot for the detailed instructions! I'll give it a try.
I just went through this process myself! I used foxclone, and it was quick and worked like a charm. Just be careful as it might have issues booting from the new drive if both are connected at the same time.
Yes, you can use the `dd` command to clone your NVMe to an external drive, as long as that drive has enough free space. After cloning, you can then use `dd` again to transfer it to the new NVMe disk.
Absolutely! Clonezilla makes this super straightforward. It’s a solid option for disk cloning.
I’m actually planning to give my old PC to family, so I’ll need to leave the SSD in place. Thanks for the tip!