I recently lost my laptop (an Acer Nitro 5) due to a fried motherboard, but I still have access to the hard drive. I'm wondering if it's possible to take that drive out and install it in my desktop. I believe it's either an M.2 NVMe or a 2.5" SATA SSD, but I'm not entirely sure. I can handle disassembly and assembly, so my main concern is whether I can integrate the hard drive into my desktop without losing any data. If anyone has experience with this or can explain how it would work, I'd really appreciate it!
3 Answers
Yes, you can definitely use laptop drives in a desktop! Since you mentioned it's likely either M.2 NVMe or 2.5" SATA, that’s good news. Most desktops are compatible with M.2 drives, but it's always wise to check your motherboard's specifications first.
Just a quick tip: if you don't want to go through the hassle of installing it internally, you can buy an enclosure to use the drive as an external one. But I get it—having it inside the desktop would definitely save space!
That should work for you! If it's an M.2 drive from your laptop, you just need to confirm that your desktop motherboard has an available M.2 slot. [Here's a helpful picture showing the differences between the drive types](https://imgur.com/gallery/something-that-might-make-day-easier-vol-18-a9NC95T). Do you know about your desktop's motherboard model?
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