I currently have Windows installed on an NVMe drive and just bought a second NVMe. I want to move the existing drive to another motherboard slot, install the new drive in the primary slot, and clone my Windows installation onto it. What cloning method or software would you recommend, and should I swap the drives before cloning or after?
3 Answers
After cloning, enter the firmware settings and check that the new NVMe is selected as the Windows Boot Manager drive. Boot from it and confirm that Windows, your files, and your applications all work before wiping or repurposing the old drive. If needed, a Windows installation USB can help repair the boot entry or format the old disk afterward.
If both drives are Samsung, Samsung Magician may be the easiest option. Otherwise, a tool such as Macrium Reflect or another reputable cloning utility should work. Booting from a USB environment can be safer than cloning the Windows installation while it is running, especially if you run into locked-file or boot-partition issues.
If software cloning gives you trouble, a standalone NVMe cloning dock can also copy the source drive directly to the target. Just double-check the drive directions before starting, since choosing the wrong source or target can erase the original.
You can swap the drives while installing the new one, then clone from the original drive to the new drive. Make absolutely sure the old drive is selected as the source and the new one as the destination. Clonezilla works well, and Rescuezilla is a more beginner-friendly version with a graphical interface. The destination drive should be at least as large as the used space—or the cloning tool must support shrinking the partitions.
Thanks, I’ll swap the drives during installation, clone the original onto the new one, and keep the old drive untouched until I’ve confirmed the new drive boots properly.