Connect an NVMe SSD from your laptop to an additional port on the computer.
Connect an NVMe SSD from your laptop to an additional port on the computer.
I observed my motherboard has a port for an extra NVMe SSD. Can I transfer my old laptop SSD into my new build and retrieve data from it? If possible, how would I proceed? I’d also appreciate any instructions or guides to format the drive for gaming purposes. Your help would be greatly appreciated!
Assuming both devices are M.2, it should work fine. If it isn’t a standard like mSATA, you’ll probably need an adapter. Remove the drive from your laptop, insert it into the second M.2 port, restart to your main Windows setup, and transfer files as needed. A password might be requested if you used one previously, but the process is straightforward.
When both drives are NVMe, insert them into the other M.2 port. If your laptop's SSD was also used as the boot drive, ensure BIOS doesn't automatically select it. The main or only boot device in BIOS must be your SSD. Otherwise, BIOS might start from the laptop's SSD, which I've experienced before. After a successful Windows boot, copy files and then format the laptop SSD so the OS partition is cleared.
Open your BIOS settings, I haven’t touched an MSI board recently, so I’m unsure of the correct button. However, this tutorial looks helpful. https://forums.
Bios details under "Select Boot Device" – confirm it's your PC's SSD selected.