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The usual way I do this is connect two drives to a computer using the USB interface and a cloning software like FarStone. Afterwards I would install the new cloned drive in the laptop/computer. I have found that the fastest and easiest way to make reliable 1 to 1 clones.

Enter M.2 or NGFF SSDs. I did not know there were so many factors to consider here. Is it M Key, or B+M key, is it Sata or PCIe. I'm not even sure I know all the combinations. Being very computer familiar this has actually caught me off guard and I fear I will make the wrong purchases going forward.

I need to clone from a B+M SSD (sata) to a M Key PCIe SSD drive. I have one B or B+M SSD to USB 3.0 adaptor which works fine with the first drive but I am not sure I can find a PCIe SSD adaptor for my M key SSD in the market that either gives me a USB 3.0 or Sata connector that I could connect to a computer externally.

Any help would be appreciated, what adaptor do I need for my second SSD drive? Examples, Amazon/eBay links would be appreciated. This is the model if it helps.

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Mohammad
  • 435

2 Answers2

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You may consider using dd(a linux command).

Since you have M.2 SSD and you are trying to use it, I assume one of your system should support those devices.

Just insert the two devices into the slot, boot the computer but do not boot from either of the two devices you want to manipulate. One of the option is that you can boot the computer from an Ubuntu live cd(or USB).

Let's take Ubuntu live cd as an example. When system boots up:

  1. open an terminal(not root permission)

  2. sudo gnome-terminal & open a root permission terminal and detach it from the 1st terminal by cmd

  3. lsblk. Use this command to find your devices. Let's say your source device is sdx, and the target device is sdy

  4. dd if=/dev/sdx of=/dev/sdy bs=4k This command copies the content from sdx to sdy. The parameter "bs=4k" is not necessarily needed but most of the time it makes the copy speed faster even for SSD. Believe me I was a bit of expert on this.

  5. watch -n 5 killall -USR1 dd During the copying process, you many wonder if everything OK? Because the dd command yield no message during the copy process. Fortunately you can open another root terminal and send USR1 signal. The dd process will print some information on the screen.

Or if you are looking for a productive tool, you may consider this PCIe duplicator http://phiyo.en.alibaba.com/product/60343552337-212597355/PE_1051_PCIe_Duplicator_.html#!

comicosmos
  • 11
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What if you could find an external M.2 enclosure with some interface your computer could use? Say you had an external 3.5" SATA drive bay, or even one of those USB to SADA adapters.

Then, maybe you could use something like this: https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1264951-REG/asus_hyper_express.html

or, if you have a USB interface and some money: https://www.aliexpress.com/item/New-USB-3-0-to-M-2-M-Key-PCI-Express-SSD-Mobile-hard-disk-box/32787181713.html

bgmCoder
  • 1,918