[SOLVED] Partitioning an M.2 drive and loading Windows 10.

[BrianBoru122]

Hello, I need a hand partitioning an M.2 drive and loading Windows 10. I am building a new PC and it's been a while...things have changed.

1. First off, is it even a good idea to partition an M.2 drive? Does it benefit me in any way?
   1. If so, how would I go about doing that?
2. I am reading several different methods to load Windows 10 on M.2 (NVMe?) and each method seems to not work for everyone for one reason or another. What method would you recommend?

Equipment:

• SSD: 1TB WD_Black NVMe (SN750)
• Motherboard: ASRock Z490 Pro4

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

[USAFRet]

Partitioning a drive is mostly a waste of time and space.
Invariably, one partition or the other ends up TooSmall.

Is this the only drive in the system?
What will it be used for?

 

[BrianBoru122]

Thanks for weighing in on this!

Yes, it's the only drive on the system. I could get another 120GB drive for the OS I suppose but I'm not sure if that buys me anything either.

It will be used for streaming and gaming.

Thanks again.

 

[USAFRet]

Thanks for weighing in on this!

Yes, it's the only drive on the system. I could get another 120GB drive for the OS I suppose but I'm not sure if that buys me anything either.

It will be used for streaming and gaming.

Thanks again.

These days, 120GB is too small for the OS drive.

Just leave your 1TB as a single thing. Partitioning it doesn't bring much benefit.

And of course, you need to budget in some other storage location for actual backups.

 

[BrianBoru122]

Ok, I'll steer clear of partitioning...makes my life easier anyway.

I do have a NAS setup for mass storage just in case life happens

Thank you

 

[USAFRet]

Ok, I'll steer clear of partitioning...makes my life easier anyway.

I do have a NAS setup for mass storage just in case life happens

Thank you

There ya go.

My backup, speaking to my NAS:

What is your backup situation at home?

What is your backup situation at home? And if you don't do that, why not? Every single day, I read multiple threads here of "How do I get my stuff back?" or "That drive had 5 years of photos of my kids!!" Be it a dead drive, dropped phone, virus, accidental deletion, formatting the wrong...

forums.tomshardware.com

 

[BrianBoru122]

So to point #2

"I am reading several different methods to load Windows 10 on M.2 (NVMe?) and each method seems to not work for everyone for one reason or another. What method would you recommend?"

Does anyone have a bulletproof method they could like me to please.

Thanks

 

[USAFRet]

So to point #2

"I am reading several different methods to load Windows 10 on M.2 (NVMe?) and each method seems to not work for everyone for one reason or another. What method would you recommend?"

Does anyone have a bulletproof method they could like me to please.

Thanks

How To - Windows 10 clean install tutorial

If you are looking for the Windows 11 Clean install tutorial, you can find that here: Windows 11 Clean install tutorial (Click here) Otherwise, welcome to the Windows 10 Clean install tutorial This tutorial is intended to help you, step by step, to perform a clean install of Windows...

forums.tomshardware.com

 

[BrianBoru122]

Thanks USAFRet! You're the man.