Migrating OS (Win 10) to new SSD. Asus z170-a with Samsung 960 Evo M.2 NVME

[Dashton Peccia]

Hi,
I have a Asus Z170-a motherboard, with my OS currently installed on an older Seagate 2TB SSHD hybrid. I recently purchased the Samsung 960 Evo (still on its way) and was planning on using it as my new boot drive. I have a TON of files and programs that I would like to keep on that old Seagate drive, however I would like my Win 10 to be moved to the new SSD.

1) Is this even possible with the Asus z170-a? I have read a couple forums on here saying it's troublesome, and some say it didn't work. If it is possible, how would I go about doing this properly?

2) Did I make a mistake in getting this drive over a regular 850 Evo, would it be easier to move the OS to a Sata III based 850 Evo, and if so how would I do it?

My initial intent was to get this new NVME drive for my video editing, but if it is too much of a hastle for someone inexperienced with these drives like me, then I am willing to return it and just get the 850 Evo if that is simpler to migrate the OS to, or if you recommend it just do a fresh install. Any instructions on how I should go about doing this is greatly appreciated, thanks!

 

[mazboy]

You cannot just move the OS by itself. You need to do a clean install to the Samsung 960 Pro m.2 NVMe (do this with the old HDD removed). I don't see where your motherboard brags that it can boot from the m.2 slot, you might want to be sure before you go much further. I can tell you from personal experience that if the BIOS/motherboard doesn't specifically state that it supports boot from NVMe, you will have a lot of trouble. I have heard, though don't have the personal experience, that sometimes even if the board is *supposed* to support boot from NVMe, it doesn't really work well. Your mileage may differ.

As for the applications on the old HDD, you're going to need to (and actually, want to) load those back onto the C:\ drive (your new Samsung 960 Pro) using the original installation media (NOT the old HDD). As for the data, just copy it from the old HDD to the new SSD.

I run a Samsung 960 Pro m.2 NVMe in one of my computers as the c:\ boot drive, and it is amazing (it's backed up by a Samsung 850 Pro SATA SSD). I have a Samsung 850 Pro SATA SSD as the C:\ boot drive (with a 1TB HDD as the data drive) in another computer and there is a marked difference in boot times, if nothing else. Test have shown that in actual usage, it is in only rare, edge cases that there is much difference in the performance of the two. Still, there are times that I can tell my NVMe computer is faster than the other. You pays your money...video editing and steaming seem to be one place where the NVMe is superior to SATA3 SSDs.

 

[USAFRet]

You can't move 'only' the OS.

If you're considering a migration, you need to evaluate drive sizes, current used space, and exactly what it will be used for.

NVMe vs SATA SSD? Differing opinions as to whether the NVMe is enough better as the OS drive.