How to Upgrade M.2 SSD without Reinstalling Windows

How do I upgrade the SSD to M.2 SSD on my computer without losing the operating system and data? On this page, you'll get a beginners' complete guide to select the suitable M.2 SSD and upgrade SSD to M.2 SSD without reinstalling Windows OS on your own. Let's start now.

What types of SSD disks are you using on your computer? Basically, we distinguish SSDs via their connection types. Besides PCIe, U.2, mSATA, SATA Express, SATA, and M.2 are the two most common SSDs that are widely used by worldwide users and computer manufacturers. 

So, which is better, should you, and how will you upgrade from SSD to M.2 SSD? Follow through this guide to improve your computer by moving its data and OS from SSD to M.2 now. 

1. Should I Upgrade from SSD to M.2/NVMe?

Yes, as long as your computer is physically not too old, it supports the M.2 interface connector, and you have enough budget for an M.2 SSD disk, you should upgrade the installed SSD to an M.2 SSD. 

Is it worth it to swap M2 SSD for more storage?
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When should you upgrade an SSD to M.2? Let's check this out:

• Your computer becomes slow.
• You want to speed up the OS, improve the launch duration of installed programs & applications.
• You want to upgrade your gaming computer, gaining a better gaming experience.
• You want to separate the OS drive and data drive, moving the OS to an M.2 SSD.

If you want the tutorial on how to upgrade an M.2 SSD, click the blue button to download the safe cloning tool and skip to the next part.

2. How to Upgrade M.2 SSD without Reinstalling Windows - Detailed Instructions

So now, you may want to know how to move Windows 10 from SSD to M.2 or how to fully replace the old SSD with a new M.2 disk. Follow the complete guide here, and you'll fulfill the task on your own. 

#1. Check If Your PC Support M.2 Slot
#2. Select One Of the Best M.2 SSD in 2025
#3. Install M.2 SSD to Computer
#4. Initialize M.2 SSD
#5.1. Guide to Fully Upgrade SSD to M.2 - Clone SSD to M.2
#5.2. Guide to Migrate OS (Windows 10) to M.2 SSD - Transfer OS from SSD to M.2
#6. Set Up New M.2, Make It Bootable

#1. Check If Your PC Supports M.2 Slot

Step 1. Open your computer or laptop case.

Step 2. Check if your computer support M.2 slot: PCIe. 

On a desktop, if the SSD interface is marked with SATA/PCIe, it means that you can add an M.2 SSD to the computer.

On a laptop, you can clearly see the type of SSD slot. Most of the latest laptops all contain one or two M.2 slots.

#2. Select One Of the Best M.2 SSD in 2025

Here are two important factors that you should consider while selecting or purchasing an M.2 SSD:

• Price: Your budget decides the brand and the storage capacity of the M.2 SSD that you'll get.
• Storage Capacity: To upgrade the SSD, the storage space of your new M.2 should be equal to or even bigger than the old SSD. (500GB and 1TB are the most popular M.2 SSD capacities.)

Here is a list of the best M.2 SSD recommended by many professionals:

• Samsung 980 Pro 1TB M.2 NVMe Gen4 Solid-State Drive — $199.99 
• WD_BLACK SN850 500GB M.2 NVMe Solid-State Drive — $119.99 
• WD_BLACK SN750 500GB M.2 NVMe Solid-State Drive — $69.99
• Sabrent Rocket 1TB M.2 NVMe Gen4 Solid-State Drive — $159.98

#3. Install an M.2 SSD in the Computer

Step 1. Open the computer or laptop case using a screwdriver.

Step 2. Slide the M.2 SSD inside to the SSD slot and screw the SSD drive-in.

Step 3. Finalize and cover the computer case.

#4. Initialize M.2 SSD

To upgrade an SSD to an M.2 SSD, you need to initialize the disk, move data, applications, and programs to the new disk. To do so, you'll need a disk cloning tool for help. (If it's not a new M.2 SSD, you do not need to initialize it, and you can skip to 5.1 to start with the disk upgrade.)

Here, reliable partition manager software - EaseUS Partition Master with its complete disk upgrade feature enables you to clone everything from the source SSD to the new M.2 SSD in only a few simple clicks:

A new M.2 SSD won't show up until you initialize the SSD in EaseUS Partition Master. Here are the steps: 

Step 1. Open EaseUS Partition Master and got to Partition Manager.

Step 2. Right-click the target disk - HDD or SSD and select "Initialize to MBR" or "Initialize to GPT". Click "Execute Task" and "Apply" to save the changes.

0:00-0:18 Initialize to MBR; 0:19-0:44 Initialize to GPT;

#5.1. Guide to Fully Upgrade SSD to M.2 - Clone SSD to M.2

🚩🚩Read before getting started:

• 1.  Make sure the M.2 SSD or NVMe SSD has more disk space than the used space of the original SSD.
• 2. Back up the target SSD since the disk clone will erase all data on the destination SSD.

Step 1. Select the source disk.

• Click the "Clone" from the left menu. Select the "Clone OS Disk" or "Clone Data Disk"  and click "Next".
• Choose the source disk and click "Next".

Step 2. Select the target disk.

• Choose the wanted HDD/SSD as your destination and click "Next" to continue.
• Read Warning message and confirm "Yes" button.

Step 3. View the disk layout and edit the target disk partition size. 

Then click "Continue" when the program warns it will wipe out all data on the target disk. (If you have valuable data on the target disk, back up it in advance.)

You can select "Autofit the disk", "Clone as the source" or "Edit disk layout" to customize your disk layout. (Select the last one if you want to leave more space for C drive.)

Step 4. Click "Start" to start the disk cloning process.

If you prefer to move Windows OS and installed games from C drive to the M.2 disk, try the next guide. 

#5.2. Guide to Migrate OS (Windows 10) to M.2 SSD - Transfer OS from SSD to M.2

If you only want to move your operating system, installed games, and important applications from the current SSD to the new M.2 SSD, follow the guidelines below for help:

Steps to migrate OS to HDD/SSD:

• Run EaseUS Partition Master, and select "Clone" from the left menu.
• Check "Migrate OS" and click "Next".
• Select the SSD or HDD as the destination disk and click "Next".
• Check Warning: the data and partitions on the target disk will be deleted. Make sure that you've backed up important data in advance. If not, do it now.
• Then click "Yes".
• Preview the layout of your target disk. Then click "Start" to start migrating your OS to a new disk.

• After this, click "Reboot Now" or "Done" to determine if you want to reboot the computer from the new disk immediately.

"Reboot Now" means to keep the changes instantly, while "Done" means you need to restart the computer later manually.

Note: The operation of migrating OS to SSD or HDD will delete and remove existing partitions and data on your target disk when there is not enough unallocated space on the target disk. If you saved important data there, back up them to an external hard drive in advance.

#6. Set Up New M.2, Make It Bootable

If you replaced the OS drive, make sure that you follow the steps here to set the new M.2 SSD as the boot drive in BIOS:

Step 1. Restart PC and press F2/F8/F11 or Del to enter BIOS.

Step 2. Go to the Boot menu, change the boot priority, set the new M.2 SSD as the boot drive.

Check the following link, and you can learn how to set the new SSD as the boot drive after the NVMe upgrade.

Extended Reading: M.2 vs NVMe SSD, Which to Choose

Besides upgrading SSD to M.2 SSD, some of you may want to know the differences between M.2 and NVMe SSD. So if these two types of SSD disks are listed here, which one to choose? Check the comparison table between M.2 and NVMe SSDs from the next table:

As you see that NVMe is far faster than the M.2 SSD in data transferring. So which one to choose? Here is our suggestion:

• If you have enough budget and your PC supports NVMe interface, buy NVMe SSD.
• If your computer only supports M.2 slot, take an M.2 SSD. 

See how users talk about M.2 VS NVMe on Reddit:

Confusion between M.2 and NVMe
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3. SSD vs M.2 SSD, Which Is Better

Is it worth upgrading SSD to M.2 SSD? Yes! It's because that M.2 SSD is far faster than SSD. Share this article to let others learn about the difference between M.2 SSD and other SSDs.

Here is a comparison table that includes all basic information about SATA SSD and M.2 SSD, let's see:

In a word, M.2 SSD drive is somehow 2 -2.5 times faster than a SATA SSD. Though the price of the M.2 SSD could be more expensive than SATA SSD with the same storage capacity, it worths its excellent performance in reading and writing data. 

Upgrading SSD to M.2 SSD Is Possible, Follow to Improve Your Computer Performance Now

On this page, we explained what is M.2 SSD and the whole process of upgrading SSD to M.2. If you are looking for a guide to upgrade your computer drive, follow this page to maximize your computer performance by replacing its OS drive with M.2 SSD now.

For a reliable SSD to M.2 SSD upgrade tool, EaseUS Partition Master is here to help.

FAQS About M.2/NVMe Upgrade

1. Can I put my old M.2 SSD in my new PC?

It is not necessary to reinstall Windows. You can clone the old HDD or SSD to the new SSD with disk cloning software. Then, set the new SSD as the boot drive in BIOS, and Windows will boot from the new SSD.

2. How to upgrade NVMe SSD without losing data?

The easiest way to do this, if you only have one drive slot in the laptop, is to get an external HDD (a cheap, crappy one) and just copy all the files you want to save to the external hard drive. Then install your new NVME, install Windows, and copy the data to the new drive from the external HDD.

3. Do I need to reinstall Windows when upgrading the SSD?

Yes, directly remove the SSD from the old computer and insert it into the new computer as a system disk, which is equivalent to moving the entire system, software, and data intact. It is one of the most direct ways to transfer the current SSD to the new PC.