Running out of room on my Primary 128GB SSD

[Name21]

Hello,

I am trying to determine exactly what 128GB SSD I have inside and and replace it with a larger SSD without opening it up until time to swap drives.  My current Laptop is very important at the moment and cannot afford to have any trouble right now.  I would like to be able to just clone the 128 onto a new larger drive.  Back in the day we used to use a machine at work, pop the 2+ drives in and viola with the exception that they had to be the exact same size, not sure if that is relevant anymore.  My situation now is that I don't have that piece of hardware anymore to do so and am looking for how to go about upgrading my SSD sizewise without reinstalling Win.

The things I have available to do this:

Unlimited Internet

My current Omen (Complete functionality)(Win 10)

Secondary Emergency use Laptop (Complete functionality)(Win 10)

$ to purchase a new SSD

Computer Literate... well,  we will see 🙂

Several weeks of TIME to get it right on 1st try

Hopeful community support

The things I am having trouble with:

Exact type of SSD to acquire and exactly what I currently have

Cloning Method (Software/Hardware/Best Options & Cheapest Options)

Information regarding cloning to a different size SSD

Distrust of outside random internet sales, ideas and software

Desired ideal results:

Only open the Laptop once/twice

Spend a little time and money

Make informed decisions

Clone it pop it in and back to normal with more space so to contain the ever growing Windows

[Huffer]

Here is the Service Manual:

Manual 

Start on p. 37 to remove rear cover. Inside, the M.2 ("Gumstick") SSD slot is next to the hard drive. NVME M.2 is supported. 

Official specs say your laptop was delivered with a 1 TB 7200 rpm mechanical hard drive. Was the 128 gig SSD added later? 

Open device manager and expand "Disk Drives" and let's see what is in there. That is going to determine how I tell you to proceed. Post back with these answers and we can walk you though this to a "T". 

[Name21]

Hello Huffer,

Thank you for responding.

It was a special build from HP I guess, I received it from HP as refurbished. It has the 128GB SSD and the 1TB HDD.

I have the OS on the 128 and various system stuff and the Data drive with programs etc. (Disk fillers) on the 1TB. So yes, there are 2 separate drives and I verified this with Device Manager but did not open it up to visually verify.  I will have to locate the screwdriver to do so.  I do have one... somewhere.  DM shows a Samsung 128 MZNTY128HDHP-000H1 Bus 0 ID 0, which is shown as Samsung '128' and would be Primary "C:" drive, I'm guessing this is M.2? and  HGST HTS721010A9E630 on Bus 0 ID 1, which is a Hitachi 7200 and would be "D:".    I looked up both with a search to ID the drive.  It did not specifically say that the 128 was an M.2 or U.2 or NVME <--- I don't quite understand this terminology.  I have always assumed there was a chip in there as the SSD not a large credit card size like the internal Hitachi would be.  There is an update for ya.  Would you like me to visually verify as well?  I have no problem with doing so, it will have to be done later on today or tomorrow though.  If so, do you want pictures?

Thank you.

[Huffer]

No that answers. There are a couple ways to do this but here is how I would attack the problem. I am going to assume you have at least 128 gigs of free space on the 1 TB hard drive. If you want to do the clone without needing any additional hardware you would make a backup image of the 128 gig SSD, and store it on the 1 TB HDD. Then open the laptop, swap the new M.2 SSD into the slot where the 128 gig is now. Then boot the system again from the cloning software usb disk and reverse the procedure. I.e restorethe backup from the 128 onto the new larger SSD. You would select the option to do a proportional resize of all partitions. So say you got a 500 or 512 gig SSD. The proportional resize would just make every partition approximately 4 times larger, giving you much more storage space on the C:\ volume. This would keep you from having to open it more than once. My go to cloning all is Macrium Reflect Free but if you get a Samsung SSD you will get the Samsung cloning software with it and that is a stripped down version of Acronis True Image, which is usually a paid product. Acronis True Image Home was my go-to before I found Macrium. Another option is to buy a M.2 NVME SSD and also an external usb adapter for that device. That would add maybe $45-60 to the overall cost. Why don't I stop here and you can let me know where else you need explanation and pose any questions at this point. I just did this operation this morning so its all pretty fresh in my mind. 

[Name21]

Huffer,

I am following so far.  There is enough room on the 1TB (605GB Free), as your Jedi knowledge forsaw.  So my next step is to acquire the software and drive and I've actually have been looking at the Samsung 980 and 970 for the drive and I am having trouble distinguishing between the two.  I think the 980 is newer? but will it fit? I have purchased internal Samsung EVO SSD drives with Sabrent cases for external use in the past and they seem to be just fine for what I needed (kids' xbox).  This brand  would also have the cloning software as well.  So my issue when choosing is I've never bought an actual 'chip', or what I call a (chip,internal unhoused drive), is that I am unfamiliar with the terminology M.2, PCIe and NVME??  I'm confused as to why they have it worded differently online.  Before I buy anything I'd like any suggestions you may have taking into consideration my laptop/processor/board since you are familiar with HP products.  I am looking at Samsung Evo Pluses on Amazon, New Egg and Tigerdirect.  Having to not spend any money on a hardware/transfer cable and software allows for a bit more for a better quality and larger size drive to an extent.  Would you, can you, are you allowed to offer any input on that? 

[Huffer]

The 980 is the newest 4th gen PCIe NVME and is theoretically capable of insane transfer speeds. But your motherboard is not 4th gen its 3rd gen. So get the Samsung Evo 970 Plus, which will perform as well as your system is capable of doing. It's what I have in my personal laptop. Try to find one that comes with the Samsung Migration software but I believe it is a free download from the Samsung site regardless but will only work on a Samsung disk. So it might not work to back up the 128 without the Samsung disk in use. You can always fall back on Macrium Reflect Free, which works like a charm for me. 

https://www.amazon.com/Samsung-970-EVO-Plus-MZ-V7S1T0B/dp/B07MFZY2F2/ref=sr_1_3?dchild=1&keywords=Ev...

Above option seems to be a boxed drive that comes with the software. I would think a 500 gb would be sufficient when you also have a 1 TB HDD, but prices have come down so much you might want to get a 1 TB. 

[Name21]

Huffer,

OK, sounds perfect.  Ordered today.  ETA 19MAR

Will update.