Which cable to migrate from Aspire TC-895 to new M.2 SSD

Curra

My tc-895 has a 256mb M.2 ssd which is too small, l'm planning on putting a ADATA XPG SX8200 Pro 1Tb in it.....what cloning adapter / cable do l need for the transfer (will probably use Acronis true image). Geting confused about the key edge differences, M or B or M+B......

ADATA 1TB SSD, XPG SX8200 Pro, M.2 2280 NVMe PCIe Gen3, Read up to 3,500MB/s, Write up to 3,000MB/s, IOPS R/W up to 390/380K, 640TB TBW, MTBF 2M Hours, 3D TLC NAND, Headsink

ttttt

@Curra
To access the M.2 NVMe SSD, you have to remove the DVD drive first.

You don't need cable or adapter to do the migration. However, you need to find a video on how to take down the PC. On the right side here, click Acer Support Videos under the Assistance by Acer section. Find one for the TC-895, if not, find one for TC-885 can be O.K.

Those cloning software are perfect if people are cloning from a SATA3 HDD/SSD to NVMe SSD on a previously unoccupied M.2 slot.
I believe the TC-895 M.2 slot also use M-key, as most PCIe 3.0 x4 M.2 NVMe SSDs now use M-key like a standard, that should be a correct one. M.2 SATA SSD use different type of key. Just don't get drives using something other than M-key.

billsey

Any of the NVMe external cases should work for the cloning. I used a Mokin (generic Chinese I think) on mine that I picked up off Amazon.

ttttt

@Curra

I believe you only have one M.2 slot for NVMe SSD. I would suggest you to use the Win 10 "Create System Image" method, but that will need an additional drive (either internal SATA3 HDD/SSD or an external USB HDD/SSD). Most people probably have some old SATA3 HDD from their old PC, that will be good for this purpose, otherwise go get an external USB HDD/SSD, for US $60 you can get a 2TB capacity one.

Control Panel->System and Security->Backup and Restore (Windows 7)
In left pane, select Create System Image, then select the additional internal HDD/SSD or the external USB HDD/SSD to store the System Image. This process can take more than one hour, be patience.

Shut down PC, take out the original NVMe SSD, replace with the new one.
When boot up, hold down ALT  ( or ALT and the Fn keys) , keep hitting the F10 key until you see the Restore Menu.
Troubleshoot->Advanced Options-> System Image Recovery, then specify the drive with the system image stored on it and follow instructions.

When done, shut down the PC, disconnect the drive with the system image on it.
Before the first new NVMe SSD boot, enter the BIOS first ( hit Del key when bootup).
Load Optimized Defaults ( F9 key), then save and exit (F10)
This way your Windows will be booted from the new NVMe SSD. You can reformat the old NVMe SSD for data later ( maybe you can retain it for future backup purpose).

ttttt

@Curra
To access the M.2 NVMe SSD, you have to remove the DVD drive first.

You don't need cable or adapter to do the migration. However, you need to find a video on how to take down the PC. On the right side here, click Acer Support Videos under the Assistance by Acer section. Find one for the TC-895, if not, find one for TC-885 can be O.K.

Those cloning software are perfect if people are cloning from a SATA3 HDD/SSD to NVMe SSD on a previously unoccupied M.2 slot.
I believe the TC-895 M.2 slot also use M-key, as most PCIe 3.0 x4 M.2 NVMe SSDs now use M-key like a standard, that should be a correct one. M.2 SATA SSD use different type of key. Just don't get drives using something other than M-key.

billsey

Any of the NVMe external cases should work for the cloning. I used a Mokin (generic Chinese I think) on mine that I picked up off Amazon.

Curra

All done - ended up using a Samsung 980 NVMe 1Tb M.2.
Samsung Data Migration wouldn't detect the SSD, so used Macrium....all working perfectly

billsey

Sweet! Thanks for the update.