Aspire 515-51G M.2 Installation

4antom · November 2018

Can anyone tell me how I would go about cloning my current (128GB M.2) boot drive to a new M.2 drive. I want to upgrade to a 256GB boot drive but I am not sure how to do it or even if it is worth it.

Commodore_1995# · November 2018

In my opinion it's worth it! However, you should check with technical support if removal of the lower case violates the warranty!

4antom · November 2018

Ohhhh, that's not your User name! I thought it was Pathfinder. Ok, but you still haven't answered me. How do I clone my drive. I bought the MX500 for example and it came without a SATA cable, obviously it was fine as it was a secondary drive.

Commodore_1995# · November 2018

Since your notebook only has a m2 entry, you should clone the current ssd to a hd! In this case, use the migrate from minitool partition! Then turn off quick startup and turn off the notebook:

Connect 256gb ssd! Since hd probably has more storage space than ssd, it's a bit more complicated to clone an hd with more space for a ssd with less space! I recommend you use the macrium reflect program to clone from hd to the new ssd!

wis · November 2018

The A515-51G series seem to have a wide range of storage capacities. Assuming that you have only the one SSD slot, you can create a system image of the 128 gb drive as explained here, swap the drives & restore to the 256 gb SSD. It takes too much time & external HDD space to clone. A system image is more efficient for your purpose.

4antom · November 2018

wis said:

The A515-51G series seem to have a wide range of storage capacities. Assuming that you have only the one SSD slot, you can create a system image of the 128 gb drive as explained here, swap the drives & restore to the 256 gb SSD. It takes too much time & external HDD space to clone. A system image is more efficient for your purpose.

Do you mean to say I could create a system image on the internal secondary drive? I have an MX500 SSD for the secondary drive and the boot drive is the m.2 128GB

wis · November 2018

What are the numbers/letters after A515-51G? We can try to look up the number of slots without you having to open the back.

4antom · November 2018

That's it, just A515-51G. I have already changed the secondary drive, RAM and thermal paste etc.

4antom · November 2018

wis said:

What are the numbers/letters after A515-51G? We can try to look up the number of slots without you having to open the back.

574F

4antom · November 2018

I just want to know how to clone the drive most effectively. Do I need a SATA cable or something? I mean I have minitool partition wizard.

Commodore_1995# · November 2018

You can clone to an external hd! In this case use the minitool partition partition program and use the migrate feature. With the external hd cloned, disconnect the ssd m2 2280 and connect the new ssd m2! Then reconnect the external hd and clone the ssd also using the minitool partition or the program macrium reflect! Then it will be in that order ssd> external hd> ssd!

4antom · November 2018

egydiocoelho said:

You can clone to an external hd! In this case use the minitool partition partition program and use the migrate feature. With the external hd cloned, disconnect the ssd m2 2280 and connect the new ssd m2! Then reconnect the external hd and clone the ssd also using the minitool partition or the program macrium reflect! Then it will be in that order ssd> external hd> ssd!

OK, that seems simple enough and will definetelt get the ball rolling for me now (I'll message with the intended m.2 from amazon later).But isn't there like a cable I could connect to the m.2 drive? That seems like a safer and quicker method.

4antom · November 2018

Crucial MTFDDAV256TBN-1AR12ABYY 256 GB Micron 1100 M.2 SED Solid State Drive with Sequential Read/Write up to 530/500 Mbps https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B01K1JP842/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_f.a5Bb82CJEHY

brummyfan2 · November 2018

4antom said:

show previous quotes

egydiocoelho said:

You can clone to an external hd! In this case use the minitool partition partition program and use the migrate feature. With the external hd cloned, disconnect the ssd m2 2280 and connect the new ssd m2! Then reconnect the external hd and clone the ssd also using the minitool partition or the program macrium reflect! Then it will be in that order ssd> external hd> ssd!

OK, that seems simple enough and will definetelt get the ball rolling for me now (I'll message with the intended m.2 from amazon later).But isn't there like a cable I could connect to the m.2 drive? That seems like a safer and quicker method.

Hi,
You may consider this:https://www.amazon.co.uk/Adapter-External-Enclosure-SATA3-Caddy/dp/B0793PL7ZZ/ref=sr_1_20?ie=UTF8&qid=1541673202&sr=8-20&keywords=sata+to+m2+adapter
I haven't used this but guess it will do what you wanted to do.

4antom · November 2018

show previous quotes

Hi,
You may consider this:https://www.amazon.co.uk/Adapter-External-Enclosure-SATA3-Caddy/dp/B0793PL7ZZ/ref=sr_1_20?ie=UTF8&qid=1541673202&sr=8-20&keywords=sata+to+m2+adapter
I haven't used this but guess it will do what you wanted to do.

Thanks Brumyfan2, that's just what I was after! Acer wanted to charge me £96 but with what you just found me and the SSD I'll only be up to around £70. Well, that's still a bit and I'm still not sure if it's really worth it just to have my apps and major games on the boot drive.

I am also respectful that having the games on a faster drive can sometimes result in micro stutters because it's speed is sometimes less compatible with the rest of the hardware and software. I have the most under powered CPU of the bunch.

4antom · November 2018

So 256GB is definitely the maximum?

brummyfan2 · November 2018

4antom said:

So 256GB is definitely the maximum?

No problem, the motherboard must have been tested with the maximum of 256GB SSD, hence the recommendation by Acer, I have a hunch that it might work with 512GB M.2 SSD because of this online store's description of the A515-51 model.
https://translate.google.co.uk/translate?hl=en&sl=sk&u=https://www.andreashop.sk/acer-aspire-5-a515-51-563x-i5-8250u4gbn512gb-ssd-m2nhd-graphics156-fhd-ips-led-matnybtw10-homeblack&prev=search
https://laptopmedia.com/laptop-specs/acer-aspire-5-a515-51-17/

4antom · November 2018

I would seriously like it if it did. Hmmm, I need more money though. If I buy both and the 512 doesn't work, would I be able to return it?

brummyfan2 · November 2018

Hi @4antom
If you want to buy 512GB, go with Amazon, they have a very good returns policy, I think 256GB will be fine as a boot drive.

4antom · November 2018

brummyfan2 said:

Hi @4antom
If you want to buy 512GB, go with Amazon, they have a very good returns policy, I think 256GB will be fine as a boot drive.

Hmm, well as a boot drive 128gb if fine. But I am trying to get back some real estate having lost 500gb with the ssd. If I can I want to just use that ssd as backups drive, maybe music and such but games and applications located on the boot drive since Windows seems tok take issue with creating alternate library directories.

Commodore_1995# · November 2018

I do not find it interesting to buy a ssd to use it just as backup! The main function of ssd is to leave the startup of windows and other programs faster!