[SOLVED] how do i find my M.2 port on my acer aspire a717-72G.. i want to replace my SSD drive

dj3642a

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Jul 12, 2015
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i have no idea where this port is.. but i have been told i can replace my current SSD in the laptop but its on a M.2 port. i didnt find anything in the extra slot for hard drives.. i actually tried to create an image of the laptop hard drive and i dont even see it listed as an option for backing up using true image..
 
Solution
thanks i found out where it is at.. my next question is this.. i only have one M2 port on the laptop. now i already have an M2 SSD 256G in the slot. i want to get a 500g one to replace it.. is there a way for me to somehow clone the current SSD to the bigger one?? even if i only have one M2 port?? maybe somehow copy the disk to a regular SATA and then copy it back?? i have no idea.. but the current SSD has the main partition with windows and then a recovery partition as well. thanks for your help.. i had tried using true image to image the SSD but true image does not see it existing.. i think i also have disk director acronis.. and that has a cloning feature i think. do you think that will work in this case or will it mess...
The M.2 port for adding the NVME drive is next to the RAM slots. You will need to completely remove the back of the case to access this. Note, the Aspire only supports up to 512GB NVME drives.

Also, you need to obtain a screw to secure your NVME drive. Some drives have it, others don't. Screw size on M.2 is 2.0 x 3mm (CM2x3-3.3)
 

dj3642a

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Jul 12, 2015
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The M.2 port for adding the NVME drive is next to the RAM slots. You will need to completely remove the back of the case to access this. Note, the Aspire only supports up to 512GB NVME drives.

Also, you need to obtain a screw to secure your NVME drive. Some drives have it, others don't. Screw size on M.2 is 2.0 x 3mm (CM2x3-3.3)


thanks i found out where it is at.. my next question is this.. i only have one M2 port on the laptop. now i already have an M2 SSD 256G in the slot. i want to get a 500g one to replace it.. is there a way for me to somehow clone the current SSD to the bigger one?? even if i only have one M2 port?? maybe somehow copy the disk to a regular SATA and then copy it back?? i have no idea.. but the current SSD has the main partition with windows and then a recovery partition as well. thanks for your help.. i had tried using true image to image the SSD but true image does not see it existing.. i think i also have disk director acronis.. and that has a cloning feature i think. do you think that will work in this case or will it mess everything up??
 

USAFRet

Titan
Moderator
thanks i found out where it is at.. my next question is this.. i only have one M2 port on the laptop. now i already have an M2 SSD 256G in the slot. i want to get a 500g one to replace it.. is there a way for me to somehow clone the current SSD to the bigger one?? even if i only have one M2 port?? maybe somehow copy the disk to a regular SATA and then copy it back?? i have no idea.. but the current SSD has the main partition with windows and then a recovery partition as well. thanks for your help.. i had tried using true image to image the SSD but true image does not see it existing.. i think i also have disk director acronis.. and that has a cloning feature i think. do you think that will work in this case or will it mess everything up??
Assuming you have another drive with sufficient free space to hold the entirety of your current m.2 drive:

  1. Download and install Macrium Reflect
  2. Run that, and create a Rescue CD or USB (you'll use this later). "Other Tasks"
  3. In the Macrium client, create an Image to some other drive. External USB HDD, maybe. Select all partitions. This results in a file of xxxx.mrimage
  4. When done, power OFF.
  5. Swap the 2 drives
  6. Boot up from the Rescue USB you created earlier.
  7. Recover, and tell it where the Image is that you created in step 3, and which drive to apply it to...the new m.2
  8. Go, and wait until it finishes.
  9. That's all...this should work.
 
Solution

dj3642a

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Jul 12, 2015
96
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18,535
Assuming you have another drive with sufficient free space to hold the entirety of your current m.2 drive:

  1. Download and install Macrium Reflect
  2. Run that, and create a Rescue CD or USB (you'll use this later). "Other Tasks"
  3. In the Macrium client, create an Image to some other drive. External USB HDD, maybe. Select all partitions. This results in a file of xxxx.mrimage
  4. When done, power OFF.
  5. Swap the 2 drives
  6. Boot up from the Rescue USB you created earlier.
  7. Recover, and tell it where the Image is that you created in step 3, and which drive to apply it to...the new m.2
  8. Go, and wait until it finishes.
  9. That's all...this should work.

i will give that a shot. i really appreciate the help :)