Advice for M.2 SSD bootable drive

[molly_dog]

I have not worked with SSDs yet and my new Asus H110M-E/M.2 has a header for one. Obviously, I'd like to use an SSD for my boot drive and I need some help getting that accomplished.

Just purchasing an SSD has turned into a conundrum in and of itself. The Asus board has an M.2 header so I know that's the compatible drive I need to get. Then there's the physical size of the drive. The board accepts Socket 3, 2242/2260/2280 mm drives. Surprisingly, Asus answered my question (in the same day no less - and on a Saturday!!!) about the type?/key? of slot this board accepts, which turns out to be M. Still, I'd appreciate some pointers on other aspects of using this type of storage.

PRECONCEIVED NOTIONS
I've done some research and understand there's a process to make the drive bootable within Windows 10 (?) so I'm guessing I cannot install the OS directly to the SSD.

Guessing again, I'm going to have install to a same sized partition on a conventional drive and clone it to the SSD.

WHAT I'M ASKING FOR
As stated above, I'm just looking for as much information (minutiae, too) as I can get to make my first SSD implementation as pain-free as possible.

All helpful responses are welcome! Thanks!

 

[MeanMachine41]

Which particular ASUS MB do you have.? Just to check.
I have an M.2 Samsung 960 PRO as my boot drive although it may be a different MB.

Yes you can clone an existing drive however a clean install is best as sometimes cloning does not work 100% and your faced with repairing the Boot records. Samsung Magician is what I use to successfully clone and transfer my OS.

 

[molly_dog]

Which particular ASUS MB do you have.? Just to check.
I have an M.2 Samsung 960 PRO as my boot drive although it may be a different MB.

Yes you can clone an existing drive however a clean install is best as sometimes cloning does not work 100% and your faced with repairing the Boot records. Samsung Magician is what I use to successfully clone and transfer my OS.

Hi and thanks for responding.
I have the H110M-E. I don't know if this is a newer model board but I've had problems finding information about it. The search engine tries to default to the A version.

So it is possible to install the OS directly to the SSD. That's good to know.

Thanks again

 

[MeanMachine41]

Here are the specs for your MB H110M-E/M.2. https://www.asus.com/Motherboards/H110M-E-M-2/specifications/

FYI: If you decide to do a clean install.

There are different M.2 pin layouts so check which you have before you buy.
Here is a diagram of the various M.2 sockets.

If you do a clean install of your OS just prioritize your USB stick in Bios that contains the ISO file.
You can obtain the Media Creation Tool here: https://www.microsoft.com/en-au/software-download/windows10
Complete the installation and your good to go. Remove the USB and prioritize the SSD.

If you decide to clone then have your current disk as priority in Bios and clone to the M.2 drive.
Once done prioritize the M.2 and your good to go. You can then Format the old drive and use it for extra storage.

 

[molly_dog]

Awesome! That's exactly what I needed to know.

Thanks!