Question Unable to install new NVMe SSD

Dec 5, 2020
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Hi,

I have a recent dell xps 15 which came with an nvme hard SSD ; I wanted to replace it with a Samsung 970 evo plus, so I bought an external adapter to clone the existing disk onto it. The new drive wasn't recognized when plugged externally, only in Disk Management (which shows it as Online and all its space Unallocated, Partition Style GPT).

I saw that its available space is slightly lower than my current nvme, so disk cloning is not an option. I tried to plug it to the motherboard directly, but upon boot I got a message that it's either a "corrupt OS image or boot device not enabled in BIOS setup".

Any advice on how to proceed would be a big help
 

USAFRet

Titan
Moderator
Hi,

I have a recent dell xps 15 which came with an nvme hard SSD ; I wanted to replace it with a Samsung 970 evo plus, so I bought an external adapter to clone the existing disk onto it. The new drive wasn't recognized when plugged externally, only in Disk Management (which shows it as Online and all its space Unallocated, Partition Style GPT).

I saw that its available space is slightly lower than my current nvme, so disk cloning is not an option. I tried to plug it to the motherboard directly, but upon boot I got a message that it's either a "corrupt OS image or boot device not enabled in BIOS setup".

Any advice on how to proceed would be a big help
The physical drive capacity being smaller does NOT prevent cloning.
The current tools only take into account actual consumed space. Not the total capacity of the drives.

So...
What size is the new drive?
How much space is consumed on the old drive?
 
Dec 5, 2020
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The physical drive capacity being smaller does NOT prevent cloning.
The current tools only take into account actual consumed space. Not the total capacity of the drives.

So...
What size is the new drive?
How much space is consumed on the old drive?

USAFRet,

both are 250gb; on my current drive, C has a size of 221gb and there are a few more partitions totaling 238gb, and I am consuming 137gb on C. Th new drive is also a 250gb, samsung 970 evo plus.
 

USAFRet

Titan
Moderator
137GB consumed, 250GB 970 EVO target drive...easy.

Samsung Data Migration is the tool for this.

Specifically

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Specific steps for a successful clone operation:
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Verify the actual used space on the current drive is significantly below the size of the new SSD
Download and install Macrium Reflect (or Samsung Data Migration, if a Samsung SSD)
If you are cloning from a SATA drive to PCIe/NVMe, install the relevant driver for this new NVMe/PCIe drive.
Power off
Disconnect ALL drives except the current C and the new SSD
Power up
Run the Macrium Reflect (or Samsung Data Migration)
Select ALL the partitions on the existing C drive

(ignore this section with SDM. It does this automatically)
If you are going from a smaller drive to a larger, by default, the target partition size will be the same as the Source. You probably don't want that
You can manipulate the size of the partitions on the target (larger)drive
Click on "Cloned Partition Properties", and you can specify the resulting partition size, to even include the whole thing

Click the 'Clone' button
Wait until it is done
When it finishes, power off
Disconnect ALL drives except for the new SSD
This is to allow the system to try to boot from ONLY the SSD
Swap the SATA cables around so that the new drive is connected to the same SATA port as the old drive
Power up, and verify the BIOS boot order
If good, continue the power up

It should boot from the new drive, just like the old drive.
Maybe reboot a time or two, just to make sure.

If it works, and it should, all is good.

Later, reconnect the old drive and wipe all partitions on it.
This will probably require the commandline diskpart function, and the clean command.

Ask questions if anything is unclear.
-----------------------------
 
Dec 5, 2020
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USAFRet,

thank you for the instructions, cloning seems to have worked... which made all the more weird when the system couldn't boot from the new drive. The system sees it when plugged to a usb-c, and everything is present. But I got a message that "no boot device was found" upon boot when I had it plugged in to the motherboard in place of the old drive.
It occured to me that as the system could not see it prior to cloning, I was unable to install the samsung driver. I tried but still can't install it, apparently the setup file does not find the device / recognises it as this particular model.
 
Dec 5, 2020
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You say "cloning seems to have worked>....but it doesn't work?

USAFRet,
I externally c onnected the drive and opened the files, everything has been copied by following your instructions (thanks again). However when plugged directly to the motherboard in place of the old nvme, I get a message upon booting that "no bootalbe device has been found". There is however a "boot" file cloned in the new drive.

Can it be that, as the new drive was not recognized by the system at first (not initialized and not partitioned), I did not install the nvme's driver? I tried to install the driver with the new nvme plugged externally, by the installation software does not find a samsung hard drive. When safe-removing it from the usb port, my system finds it as "ssk storage" (brand of the adaptor).
 
Dec 5, 2020
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USAFRet,

I just used the Data Migration Tool from Samsung which apparently crashes before it begins moving data; the window just closed and no trace of the process in task manager. It does say in the manual that if the samsung nvme does not have a driver installed, the program may not work properly. However, when I try to initiate the driver installer, I get a message that no samsung drive has been detected. Any ideas on what may be wrong / how I should proceed?
 

USAFRet

Titan
Moderator
USAFRet,

I just used the Data Migration Tool from Samsung which apparently crashes before it begins moving data; the window just closed and no trace of the process in task manager. It does say in the manual that if the samsung nvme does not have a driver installed, the program may not work properly. However, when I try to initiate the driver installer, I get a message that no samsung drive has been detected. Any ideas on what may be wrong / how I should proceed?
The driver install may not work going through an external adapter.
Samsung is sometimes weird like that.

So, possibly go back to Macrium Reflect.
What happened when you tried it before? How did it fail?
 
Dec 5, 2020
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The driver install may not work going through an external adapter.
Samsung is sometimes weird like that.

So, possibly go back to Macrium Reflect.
What happened when you tried it before? How did it fail?

Macrium copied all the partitions, and I switched the new nvme in place of the old; upon boot the system checks the drive and gives me a message that no bootable drive was found. This is why I'mm guessing that it might be the driver.
 
Dec 5, 2020
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USAFRet,

this thing keeps getting weirder. It was formated using disk management in Windows 10, yet samsung migration software shows that space is being used (110+ GB of it). Anyway, contacted Samsung tehc support and waiting for an answer. I will keep you posted if anything comes up. Thanks again