How to Transfer Your Data from a M.2 PCIe SSD to a M.2 PCIe SSD If Your System Only Has One M.2 Socket

If your system comes with a single M.2 PCIe® slot and drive, and you purchase a new Crucial® PCIe drive you wish to replace it with, there are few options you have to get your data transferred from one drive to another. 

You can do a direct clone to copy the information from your current PCIe M.2 drive to a new Crucial one. To accomplish this, you will need to purchase a USB to PCIe M.2 adapter cable.  With the new Crucial SSD connected through a USB to PCIe M.2 adapter download and install Acronis® True Image for Crucial, then follow our steps to clone to your drive. After the clone is finished, shut  the system down, swap your old SSD with your new one, and verify Windows® loads correctly.

For instructions on installing an M.2 we have this document with basic guidelines. For specific steps on your unique system we recommend checking the user manual from the  system manufacturer. 

With any newer version of Windows, you can create an image backup using the built in utility to a third backup hard drive or flash drive of sufficient size. With a Windows recovery media you can restore that image directly onto your newly installed M.2 PCIe SSD. Be sure to contact Microsoft® if you have any problems using their backup and recovery utilities.  With the image restored to your new PCIe SSD, you can now test Windows to make sure everything is running correctly.

A similar function is built into Acronis True Image for Crucial, called "Acronis Image Backup and Recovery." Documentation for using that tool instead of the Windows equivalent is available here.