Replace the SSD and/or HDD with a 500 GB M.2 SSD

[Ethyrdude]

I don't have a lot of data on my pc and I would like to either a) replace the M.2 120 gb SSD with a 500 gb M.2 SSD and pull the 2 TB HDD or b) replace the 2 TB HDD with a 500 GB Sata SSD, keeping the 120 gb M.2 SSD. Currently my combined data and programs add up to 240 GB of space and that data has been accumulated over the years in the form of photos and documents. I keep my data backed up in another device so data storage is not an issue. I'm just wondering whcih would be the best route to take.

[Grzwacz]

Hi Ethyrdude,

Both options are viable.

How much free space do you have on the 120 GB boot drive? SSD drives are stressed when they are saturated. 

One large and fast boot/data drive solves both data and operating system file storage problems.

Regards

[Ethyrdude]

I still have 58 gb free on the 120 M.2 SSD. Due to the size  of game files from my steam account, I had to install those onto the HDD. The games still load fairly fast but I would rather have everything on SSD.

[Grzwacz]

Hi,

Then do a 512 GB or 1 TB M.2 SSD.

Regards

[Grzwacz]

Hi,

This upgrade is somewhat complex.

You will have to uninstall all game software on the HDD. 

You will have to copy the SSD OS image to the new SSD. Then reinstall all games to the new SSD.

Regards

[Grzwacz]

Hi,

Don't give me a solution without all of the details involved to get this SSD upgrade working correctly.

Regards

[Ethyrdude]

If my messages are going to get pulled then there is no more point in continuing this conversation. Have a nice day.

[Grzwacz]

Hi,

Your PC supports a M.2 NVME PCIe 3.0x4 SSD. HP sometimes limits bandwidth to PCIe 3.0 x2.

I think you can undo the solution.

I am not sure what problems you are having. I will try to assist you.

Please identify your specific problem. The M.2 socket is located near the RAM. You have to remove the DVD drive and possibly the HDD cage to get to the M.2 socket.

Regards

[Ethyrdude]

OK, and not meaning to be obtuse but figured it was better to bow out than create a problem. So the problem is while I know something about computers, it's been a while since I've had something new. When I first got this computer, I had no idea what a PCIe drive was. I've been reading the manuals to "catch up" so I do now understand what the various keys mean and how they are used but the mismatch I was seeing had me confused. I believe you are correct in the throttling of PCIe 3.0x4 to PCIe 3.0x2, so I would probably want something that stays with that standard.

As for the actual process, once I do have the SSD drive, would probably result in a complete reinstall as I do have the Windows 10 key and a reinstall of the drivers and then programs, after uninstalling all the programs on D drive. I suppose I could remove the HDD but it's not going to create an issue with it in so I will leave it. If I decide that doing a reinstall is too  much work, I can just clone C, wipe D and reinstall all removed programs. I will keep you posted as my next step is to convince my spouse that I need to do this 😉

[Grzwacz]

Hi,

A PCIe 3.0x4 NVME drive will work with your system. It will move data at slower speeds. This difference will not be noticed unless you do intensive video editing or work with large data sets.

You have a problem with cloning the current SSD to the new M.2 drive because you have game stuff installed on the larger HDD. This means you have programs installations spread across two  different storage devices (registry data on the boot drive and program files on the HDD).

You would have to uninstall all programs now installed on the HDD before cloning the factory SSD to the new larger M.2 drive.

You can clone the operating system if you clean up program installations. You will then have to reinstall the game stuff after doing a successful clone.

Check this site for tips on cloning one disk to another using Macrium Reflect free (Link).

Regards