Changed my boot drive to an M.2 SSD, but I only have a single M.2 port on my motherboard.
Changed my boot drive to an M.2 SSD, but I only have a single M.2 port on my motherboard.
It appears Asus made some changes to the partitions. This screenshot shows how my system was set up before any modifications. The other partitions are used for recovery or resetting the OS when a basic problem occurs, allowing the boot manager to detect the drive and start the installation. I’m not sure about the additional steps Asus performed, but you can still connect an external M.2 dock and clone all partitions from Disk 1 if needed—just wait through the process without turning off the computer. This should help clarify things.
As mentioned by @GorujoCY, you can indeed use an external M.2 dock or install a PCIe to M.2 adapter inside your PC if space allows. This approach also helps ensure compatibility with future M.2 drives, since many adapters offer multiple slots.
Remember not every item offers several slots; some only have one. Be sure to focus your Amazon searches accordingly.