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Migrate Windows 11 to NVME

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Let’s walk through migrating your Windows 11 hard drive to a new NVMe drive! I’ll break it down step-by-step.

✅ What you’ll need:

  • Your new NVMe drive installed in your PC (or an external NVMe enclosure).
  • Cloning software (free options: Macrium Reflect, AOMEI Backupper, or EaseUS Todo Backup).
  • A backup of important data (just in case).

⚙️ Step 1: Install the NVMe drive

  • If your motherboard has an M.2 NVMe slot, install the drive.
  • If not, you can use an external NVMe enclosure connected via USB.

🧵 Step 2: Format and initialize the new drive (if needed)

  • Open Disk Management (Windows key → type diskmgmt.msc → Enter).
  • If prompted to initialize the disk, use GPT (for Windows 11, since MBR doesn’t support Secure Boot or TPM 2.0).
    • This process does NOT format the drive — it just sets it up for use.
  • Don’t create partitions — the cloning software will handle that.

🔄 Step 3: Clone your Windows 11 drive
1️⃣ Download Macrium Reflect Free (or another cloning tool).
2️⃣ Open the software and select your current Windows 11 hard drive as the source disk.
3️⃣ Select the new NVMe drive as the destination disk.
4️⃣ Make sure to copy all partitions (including EFI, Recovery, and System partitions).
5️⃣ Start the cloning process — this might take some time.

🖥️ Step 4: Set the NVMe drive as the boot drive

  1. After cloning, reboot and enter your BIOS/UEFI (usually by pressing Del or F2 during startup).
  2. Set the NVMe drive as the first boot device.
  3. Save and exit.

🧹 Step 5: Verify and clean up

  • Boot into Windows from the NVMe drive.
  • Check that everything works properly (apps, files, Windows activation).
  • If all is good, you can format your old drive to use as extra storage.

✨ Alternative: Fresh install option
If cloning isn’t your style, you can always do a fresh install of Windows 11 on the NVMe drive, then copy your data manually — sometimes this yields better performance and avoids issues with hidden partition mismatches.

Would you like to dive into BIOS/NVMe-specific settings for faster boot times? Let me know! 🚀

Optimizing BIOS/UEFI for your new NVMe boot drive can significantly improve performance and ensure a smooth boot process. Here’s how to do it!

⚙️ Step 1: Enter BIOS/UEFI

  • Restart your computer and repeatedly press Del, F2, or the key specific to your motherboard during boot.
  • Once inside BIOS, look for Boot, Storage, or Advanced settings (menu names may vary by motherboard).

🚀 Step 2: Optimize Boot Settings for NVMe

✅ Set NVMe as the Primary Boot Drive

  • Navigate to the Boot Order or Boot Priority section.
  • Set your NVMe drive as the first boot device.
  • Disable the old hard drive in the boot list (if necessary).

✅ Enable UEFI Mode

  • Windows 11 requires UEFI, not Legacy BIOS (CSM).
  • Find Boot Mode or CSM (Compatibility Support Module):
    • Set Boot Mode to UEFI (disable Legacy/CSM if you see it).
    • If you installed Windows 11 in GPT mode, UEFI must be enabled.

✅ Enable NVMe Support (if applicable)

  • Some older motherboards require NVMe support to be manually enabled in BIOS.
  • Look for NVMe Configuration or PCIe Storage Support.
  • Ensure it is set to Enabled or Auto.

⚡ Step 3: Improve NVMe Performance

✅ Enable PCIe 3.0 or 4.0 (if applicable)

  • Locate PCIe Configuration under Advanced settings.
  • Set PCIe mode to the highest supported version (e.g., Gen 3 or Gen 4).

✅ Enable AHCI for SSDs (instead of RAID)

  • If your BIOS has SATA Mode, set it to AHCI instead of RAID/IDE.
  • AHCI ensures better performance for SSDs.

✅ Enable Fast Boot (Optional)

  • Some BIOS versions offer Fast Boot, which reduces boot times.
  • Enable it, but disable it temporarily if you need to access BIOS frequently.

🔄 Step 4: Save and Reboot

  • Press F10 and select Save & Exit.
  • Your system should now boot quickly from the NVMe drive.

🔥 Extra Performance Tweaks in Windows

Once booted into Windows 11: 1️⃣ Enable Write Caching

  • Open Device Manager → Expand Disk Drives → Right-click your NVMe drive → Properties → Policies.
  • Enable Write Caching for better speed.

2️⃣ Enable TRIM for SSD Longevity

  • Open Command Prompt (Admin) and run: fsutil behavior query DisableDeleteNotify
  • If it returns 0, TRIM is enabled. If 1, enable it with: fsutil behavior set DisableDeleteNotify 0

3️⃣ Disable Hibernation (Optional, if space is a concern)

  • Run: powercfg -h off in Command Prompt (Admin).
  • Saves several GB of space on the NVMe drive.

🎯 Final Check

✅ Boot speed improved?
✅ Windows 11 running smoothly?
✅ No old drives interfering?

You’re all set! 🚀 Let me know if you need deeper tuning! 😃

It sounds like your Windows 11 boot process is tied to the M.2 SATA drive, even though your Kingston SA400 SSD is your main C: drive. Here’s how to troubleshoot and fix it:

🔍 Step 1: Check Boot Order in BIOS

  1. Enter BIOS/UEFI
    • Restart your computer and press F2, Del, or Esc (depends on your motherboard).
  2. Go to Boot Priority/Boot Order
    • Make sure your Kingston SA400 SSD is set as the first boot device.
    • If your M.2 SATA drive is missing, the system might default to BIOS because it cannot find a valid boot drive.

🔎 Step 2: Check If Bootloader Is on the M.2 SATA Drive

Your bootloader (Windows Boot Manager) may have been installed on your M.2 SATA drive instead of your Kingston SSD.
To check:

  1. Plug the M.2 SATA drive back in and boot into Windows.
  2. Open Disk Management
    • Press Win + X → Click Disk Management.
  3. Identify the “System Reserved” or EFI Partition
    • Look at both drives.
    • If the EFI System Partition (ESP, ~100-500MB, FAT32) is on the M.2 SATA drive, Windows relies on it to boot.

🛠 Step 3: Repair Bootloader on Kingston SSD

If your bootloader is missing from your Kingston SSD, you’ll need to recreate it.

Option 1: Automatic Repair

  1. Boot from a Windows 11 USB Installer.
  2. Select Repair your computer → Troubleshoot → Startup Repair.
  3. Follow the on-screen instructions.

Option 2: Manually Rebuild Bootloader

If automatic repair doesn’t work:

  1. Boot from a Windows 11 USB Installer.
  2. Select Repair your computer → Troubleshoot → Command Prompt.
  3. Run these commands: diskpart list disk select disk X (Replace X with your Kingston SSD) list partition select partition Y (Replace Y with the EFI partition, if it exists) assign letter=Z exit
  4. Now rebuild the bootloader: bcdboot C:\Windows /s Z: /f UEFI
  5. Restart the computer and remove the M.2 SATA drive.

🔄 Step 4: Try Booting Without M.2 SATA

  1. Shut down and physically remove the M.2 SATA drive.
  2. Boot into BIOS and confirm Kingston SSD is the primary boot device.
  3. Save changes and restart.

✅ Expected Result

  • If successful, your system should boot directly from Kingston SSD without the M.2 drive.
  • If it still boots to BIOS, check if your Kingston SSD is recognized in BIOS.

Let me know if this works or if you need more troubleshooting! 🚀