[SOLVED] Upgrading a NVMe M.2 Drive

[mmitsch]

I have an HP X360 830 G6 with a 256 gb NVMe M.2 drive in it. The drive in is is made by Samsung and is model MZNLN256HAJQ-000H7. I was planning on buying a new 500 gb or 1 tb drive and using Apricorn EZGIG software to transfer data to the new drive which I can put in an enclose and use the cable I have.

What drives will work for this? I looked on the HP site but am unsure how to read the list. It says it can take any of these listed.

128 GB M.2 SATA-3 SS TLC
256 GB PCIe NVMe SS
256 GB PCIe Gen3x4 NVMe M.2 SS TLC
256 GB M.2 SATA-3 SED SS TLC
512 GB PCIe NVMe SS Value
512 GB PCIe Gen3x4 NVMe M.2 SS TLC
512 GB PCIe Gen3x4 NVMe M.2 SED SS TLC
512 GB M.2 SATA-3 SS TLC (FIPS 140-2)
512 GB Intel PCIe NVMe QLC
1 TB PCIe Gen3x4 NVMe SS TLC
2 TB PCIe Gen3x4 NVMe SS TLC

I am unfamiliar with NVMe drives and am unsure what the nomenclature means on this list.

Any help you can give would be appreciated.

 

[Colif]

MZNLN256HAJQ-000H7 Samsung PM871b Series 256GB TLC SATA 6Gbps M.2 2280 Internal Solid State Drive (SSD)

if you search

128 GB M.2 SATA-3 SS TLC

you get a HP drive - https://store.hp.com/us/en/pdp/hp-128-gb-tlc-2280-m2-solid-state-drive

so those are likely all HP branded drives.

I wonder if SS means Single Sided as most are now.

You can find other brands that sell TLC SATA 6Gbps M.2 2280 as those are the most important numbers of the stats to match I think
https://www.ramcity.com.au/products...d-m-2-sata-mz-n6e1t0bw?variant=31196662824994

also can run https://www.samsung.com/semiconductor/minisite/ssd/product/consumer/970evoplus/

Your pc can run either sata m.2 or PCIEX ones, you would be best grabbing a PCIE one as they are much faster
sata runs at 6gb, pciex runs much faster, Gen 3 can do 3.5gb/s tfr speed. PCI max speed is 16gb but we not there yet and that is using 16 rails on PCIE3

2280 = is dimensions, 22 mm wide and 80mm long
m.2 is form factor
tlc = triple layer cell. There is qlc as well now but its not as fast as tlc.

 

[mmitsch]

T

MZNLN256HAJQ-000H7 Samsung PM871b Series 256GB TLC SATA 6Gbps M.2 2280 Internal Solid State Drive (SSD)

if you search

you get a HP drive - https://store.hp.com/us/en/pdp/hp-128-gb-tlc-2280-m2-solid-state-drive

so those are likely all HP branded drives.

I wonder if SS means Single Sided as most are now.

You can find other brands that sell TLC SATA 6Gbps M.2 2280 as those are the most important numbers of the stats to match I think
https://www.ramcity.com.au/products...d-m-2-sata-mz-n6e1t0bw?variant=31196662824994

also can run https://www.samsung.com/semiconductor/minisite/ssd/product/consumer/970evoplus/

Your pc can run either sata m.2 or PCIEX ones, you would be best grabbing a PCIE one as they are much faster
sata runs at 6gb, pciex runs much faster, Gen 3 can do 3.5gb/s tfr speed. PCI max speed is 16gb but we not there yet and that is using 16 rails on PCIE3

2280 = is dimensions, 22 mm wide and 80mm long
m.2 is form factor
tlc = triple layer cell. There is qlc as well now but its not as fast as tlc.

Thank you for your help! I think I might have all this figured out but I have a somewhat easy question. If you look at the attached pictures you can see the drive I have (with 2 notches on it) and one that Crucial's folks says is guaranteed to work (with one notch on it) Do you think that the Crucial one would work?

https://flic.kr/p/2krnpgT

View: https://www.flickr.com/photos/20595144@N07/50826559181/in/dateposted-public/

https://flic.kr/p/2krnTL9

View: https://www.flickr.com/photos/20595144@N07/50826655012/in/dateposted-public/

 

[USAFRet]

and using Apricorn EZGIG software

Please let us know how that software works.
I've not heard of it...I much prefer Macrium Reflect for this, or Samsung Data Migration if a Samsung target drive.

 

[mmitsch]

Please let us know how that software works.
I've not heard of it...I much prefer Macrium Reflect for this, or Samsung Data Migration if a Samsung target drive.

The software works great! I've used it for many pc's / laptops and macs and it's been flawless. Their support is fantastic too.

Having said that I've been really curious about the Samsung software and will now look at the Macrium Reflect which you mention.

For this particular case I am going to have to buy an adapter to hold the SSD M2 drive due to the cable I have (USB to 2.5" SATA) isn't made for the SSD M2. Does the Macrium Reflect or Samsung work with just USB?

 

[USAFRet]

The software works great! I've used it for many pc's / laptops and macs and it's been flawless. Their support is fantastic too.

Having said that I've been really curious about the Samsung software and will now look at the Macrium Reflect which you mention.

For this particular case I am going to have to buy an adapter to hold the SSD M2 drive due to the cable I have (USB to 2.5" SATA) isn't made for the SSD M2. Does the Macrium Reflect or Samsung work with just USB?

If you have another drive of sufficient size to hold a file the same size as your current data space, you don't even need to buy an adapter.

An external HDD, for instance.

Macrium will do this for free.
Or, yes...Macrium will work with the new M.2 in a USB enclosure.

 

[Colif]

T


Thank you for your help! I think I might have all this figured out but I have a somewhat easy question. If you look at the attached pictures you can see the drive I have (with 2 notches on it) and one that Crucial's folks says is guaranteed to work (with one notch on it) Do you think that the Crucial one would work?

https://flic.kr/p/2krnpgT

View: https://www.flickr.com/photos/20595144@N07/50826559181/in/dateposted-public/

https://flic.kr/p/2krnTL9

View: https://www.flickr.com/photos/20595144@N07/50826655012/in/dateposted-public/

The notches tell the PC what type of M.2 it is, your board can accept both SATA & PCIE. The notches on the M.2 are physical differences to stop the wrong type of M.2 being put into the wrong slot, but your slot can accept both.
The crucial is a 2280, it should work fine.**

** I could be wrong, I have only had one myself but that is my understanding from watching videos.

 

[mmitsch]

The notches tell the PC what type of M.2 it is, your board can accept both SATA & PCIE. The notches on the M.2 are physical differences to stop the wrong type of M.2 being put into the wrong slot, but your slot can accept both.
The crucial is a 2280, it should work fine.**

** I could be wrong, I have only had one myself but that is my understanding from watching videos.

Thank you for your message. This makes sense as it seems HP's spec's ( posted above) call out for any kind of these. I wonder is it's "safer" to go with the SATA type? Costs are all about the same.

And, do you know if this will work to hold a new drive so I can clone the installed drive? Says that it is "...compatible with B key SSD, not for mkey SSD".

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Ngff-M2-Ss...e=STRK:MEBIDX:IT&_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2648

 

[Colif]

If you drop the sata m.2 in you won't notice that much of a difference, NVME are faster but not that much, compared to difference between ssd & hdd.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Ngff-M2-Ssd-To-2-5-inch-Sata-Adapter-M-2-Ngff-Ssd-To-Sata3-Convert-CardYJUS/303565741601?ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT&_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2648

um, lets break that down a little
NGFF = Sata 3 M.2

The NGFF M.2 SSDs are often referred to as M.2 SSDs though M.2 is the name of the connector used. The NGFF (Next Generation Form Factor) is a replacement specification for the mSATA standard. It is a refinement of the mSATA standard and uses a new connector, known as M.2, that supports a wide range of devices. The M.2 connector is not compatible with mSATA devices.

SATA vs mSATA vs NGFF M.2 vs NVMe – Which is the right SSD for me?

Learn the differences between SSD formfactors - SATA, mSATA, NGFF M.2, and PCIe. Choose the right SSD for your laptop or desktop computer.

www.pcpepper.com

Says that it is "...compatible with B key SSD, not for mkey SSD".

B Vs M Key
B key are the ones with 1 slot
M keys are the ones with 2 slots (B + M) (see
https://rog.asus.com/articles/guides/buying-an-m-2-ssd-how-to-tell-which-is-which/)
your Current M.2 has 2 slots - https://www.memory4less.com/samsung-pm871b-256gb-sata-6-0-gbps-ssd-mznln256hajq-000h7

that won't work with your m.2

they seem hard to find, something like this - link