SSD drive upgrade - HP spectre x360 - 13-4001ns

[LeeBos]

I would at the present time suggest a Samsung SM951 or XP941 as they are the fastest available at the present time. They come in 128, 256, and 512 GB. There are less expensive drives like the Samsung EVO series but they are SATA and not PCIe thus not much faster than the ADATA M.2 SSD that came with my x360 13-4003dx.

Check the service manual at

http://support.hp.com/us-en/product/HP-Spectre-13-4000-x360-Convertible-PC/7527520/model/7791774/man...

for replacement procedures.

[FamousShoes]

Thanks for the confirmation.  I don't have the need for a whole set of torx drivers.

[MChance000]

How do I transfer my system to the new SSD, is this simply a create a system image and copy it over task, don't see how that would work if the ssd was larger and if a different manufacturer wouldnt' different drivers be required?  Or do I somehow do a system reinstall and if so I don't have any reinstall disks included with my system, are they on the SSD somewhere to be accessed?

[eclas]

Download a free imaging program like Macrium Reflect. create an image of your existing drive. create a usb rescue drive with macrium.

install the new drive and boot up with the rescue drive and restore your image. Macrium should recognize any differences. 

[MChance000]

Thanks, I found out that apparently some HP laptops have some sort of system back up program that allows a single image creation onto a USB flashdrive though I have read that frequently this fails to work.  Is the HP solution preferable versus macrium reflect if one is able to get the HP solution to function?

[LeeBos]

With M.2 SSD's the problem is you have no way to clone the existing SSD to a new one because no one appears to make an adapter that converts an M.2/PCIe SSD to USB 3.0.

So, what I did since my system was new was to create a recovery USB drive using the built in recovery media creator. Then I put the new Samsung XP941 SSD in and used the USB recovery drive to install the factory image.

If you have Acronis or EaseUS backup or similar you could use that to backup your existing SSD to an external drive and then after replacing the SSD restore the backup to the new SSD. Most good image backup software allows for restoring on a larger drive.

[LeeBos]

The HP solution only restores the Factory image to the way the Laptop came from the Factory. Acronis, EaseUS and others will restore exactly what you back up so be sure to include all of the partitions.

[eclas]

I did create the factory backup (the 1 time only option) but I wouldn't trust it too much and as LeeBos says, that only restores your x360 to when u bought it. If u use acronis, macrium etc it returns the system to the state when u made the image.
I build and update windows systems and have used macrium many times over the last 4-5 yrs and it has never failed me so that would be my recommendation.

***********
Thanks, I found out that apparently some HP laptops have some sort of system back up program that allows a single image creation onto a USB flashdrive though I have read that frequently this fails to work. Is the HP solution preferable versus macrium reflect if one is able to get the HP solution to function?
Reply

[kanehi]

Acronis doesn't clone well under Windows 10 as I've tried it three times and it always fails.  

[emmerx]

Then try EaseUS Backup, as I use it daily and always did a succesfull monthly restore (to rewrite the faulty PM851 SSD in my former Yoga)