Install larger primary SSD on Framework 16

Community Support
,
1

I would like to install a larger primary SSD in my Framework 16. I currently have a 512 GB primary SSD and a 2 TB secondary SSD. I would like to install a 4 TB primary SSD. I have AOMEI Backupper with a system clone feature and Acronis True Image backup/restore available. I understand that my secondary SSD can be made bootable. I also have a Samsung T7 1 TB USB-C external SSD available. What does the community think is the best method to transfer the system from the original 512 GB SSD to the new 4 TB SSD. I am using Windows 11 Pro.
Thanks.

2

Boot to the 512 gb, put the 4tb in an external enclosure, and clone the drive to the 4tb.

or you could boot to the 512, clone to a new partition on the 2tb, install the 4tb and boot to the 2tb. When creating your clone, select only the partitions you cloned from the 512gb drive to clone to the 4tb drive and then remove the extra windows partitions on the 2tb drive. Then you should be able to reliably boot to the 4tb.

3

You don’t say what operating system you are using. I will tell you my Windows story.

First take a backup, take two backups, take three backups.

I did the same thing, replaced a small SSD with a larger SSD, on a Windows 10 system, a desktop not a Framework. I used Acronis True Image. I created the Aconis standalone USB, took backups, shutdown the machine, replaced the SSD, booted the machine from the Acronis USB and restored the backup to the new SSD.

Everything seemed to work perfectly, Windows booted from the new SSD, I had a lot more free space, everything worked. Until it didn’t. I discovered I could not install Windows updates. I would get a strange error message every time I tried. I searched the internet, tried multiple suggestions, nothing worked. Eventually I erased the new SSD and did a clean Windows install and then restored all my settings, programs, etc.

I suggest doing a clean install on the new SSD. It may be more work but in the end it is more reliable.

Hugh

4

Thanks. I’ll get an external enclosure and try that method.

5

or look at the second method if you don’t want to spend the money. if you want to use your t7 and copy to that it’ll work, it just won’t quite be as fast as internal storage

6

Thanks for the advice. I used an external enclosure for the target drive and that worked fine. I used the sector by sector cloning option. No problems with the transferred OS so far. Windows updates seems to be working okay, but there hasn’t been anything to update yet.

7

that should work well

8

Windows updates are working normally. No problems with transferring the OS using the clone drive option and external enclosure. Thanks!

1 Like