Acer TC-885/895 M.2 Slots

kqian111

Has anyone tried putting an SSD into the Intel Wifi M.2 slot? I bought a 1TB NVME SSD to upgrade from the current 512GB NVMe SSD. However, since there's no open M.2 slots, I can't think of a way to clone the old drive to the new drive without some intermediate step. So I ask the curious among you, if anyone has tried putting an NVMe SSD into the Intel Wifi slot, if only temporarily, so that it enables cloning of old SSD to new?

Thanks

ttttt

@kqian111

Since I use Ethernet and not Wi-Fi for internet, I have the thought of using the M.2 Wi-Fi port for additional M.2 NVMe SSD. After doing some research, I dropped such idea as it is hard to find 2230 form factor M.2 NVMe SSD, and that M.2 Wi-Fi port is just not fast enough for M.2 NVMe SSD.
However, you can use an adapter to add M.2 NVMe SSD if your PC's x16 slot is not occupied by a graphics card.
I did something like that several months ago. Read my thread:
https://community.acer.com/en/discussion/607222/info-adding-m-2-nvme-ssd-with-pcie-3x4-adapter-card-to-the-x16-slot#latest

TC-885 has one M.2 NVMe SSD slot, I also migrated the original x2 M.2 NVMe SSD to a x4 SSD of my TC-885, doubled the speed. Don't need two M.2 slots for cloning.

kqian111

ttttt said:

@kqian111

TC-885 has one M.2 NVMe SSD slot, I also migrated the original x2 M.2 NVMe SSD to a x4 SSD of my TC-885, doubled the speed. Don't need two M.2 slots for cloning.

Seems like you used an intermediary device (the PCIe adapter) to help clone. I'm really hoping to avoid using any intermediate devices for only cloning purposes. Also I am using a GPU in the x16 slot so that's not an option. This is why I'm suggesting using the wifi M.2 slot temporarily for cloning. Once done, I'll swap out the old SSD for the new one in the single NVME slot. I'm just wondering if it's technically even feasible to put an NVMe SSD into the wifi slot, put aside size/speed differences of the slot.

ttttt

@kqian111
I repeat, you don't need two M.2 slots for cloning. You just need an old SATA HDD drive (as most people may have some from older PCs), Have Windows 10 "Create an image file" to this old HDD. Replace the old M.2 NVMe SSD with the new one. Restore image file to the new M.2 NVMe SSD.
Who will get a 2230 M.2 NVMe SSD for this kind of one time deal? Since you have TC-885, temporary using the on-board graphics for the cloning is not a problem at all.

BTW, just curious what graphics card that you added to your TC-885? Needed to upgrade the PSU? So many people have such a question and some complained about problems with new graphics card.

kqian111

Ok so using a traditional HDD as intermediary works too. Thank you. I wasn't suggesting getting a 2230 NVME SSD for this. I was hoping my new 2280 NVME SSD will fit in the wifi slot even if there's no permanent screw to hold it in place. Just holding it in place long enough for me to clone the old SSD before swap out the old.

I'm using a GTX 1080 ti with 750w PSU so this is definitely not within the parameters of most ppl's upgrades. I think the best GPU you can get is a GTX 1650 without swapping out the PSU.

ttttt

@kqian111
Unless the "traditional HDD" is an old IDE HDD, SATA HDD work as intermediary should work (still should work with IDE-SATA adapter using IDE HDD). Maybe your original idea of using the M.2 Wi-Fi slot can work (disregarding the speed), you can do an experiment on it and tell us the results.
Thanks for your info about the graphics card.

billsey

The M.2 WiFi slot is not compatible with drives.

kqian111

billsey said:

The M.2 WiFi slot is not compatible with drives.

Can confirm that the 2 slots are keyed differently so it's not physically possible to slot an NVMe SSD into the Wifi M.2 slot.