If you don't know how to clone SSD to NVMe SSD in Windows 11/10/8/7, you've come to the right place. This tutorial gives you detailed instructions to clone either the entire disk or only the Windows operating system. How to boot from the cloned NVMe SSD is also covered here.
In recent decades, Solid State Drives (SSDs) have become increasingly popular due to their faster read/write speeds, lower power consumption, and higher durability than traditional hard disk drives (HDDs). Many users upgrade disk from HDD to SSD for better performance.
However, some of these users may find the upgraded disk is still not fast enough. What is the reason behind? In fact, there are several types of solid-state hard drives on the market, including SATA SSD, U.2 SSD, M.2 SSD, NVMe SSD, PCIe SSD, and SAS SSD. The read & write speeds of each type of SSD may vary from interface and form factor. (See the differences on the below chart).
For game enthusiasts, IT professionals, or other users with higher requirements for speed and performance, NVMe SSD is the most cost-effective choice. It has more advantages than SATA/U.2/M.2 SSD. In this case, we recommend users to clone SSD to NVMe for faster speeds, lower latency, and more powerful performance.
So the question is: Can SSD be cloned to NVMe? The quick answer is yes, using professional disk cloning software. If your solid-state drive contains your current operating system, you can also choose to only clone Windows 11/10 to NVMe without reinstallation.
| Type of SSD | Read & Write Speed | Advantages | Typical Applications | Price |
| SATA SSD | Up to 600MBps |
Broad compatibility; Great value for money; Significantly faster |
Consumer desktops, laptops, and entry-level servers | $30 to $200+ |
| U.2 SSD | Up to 3,500MBps |
High performance; Larger capacity; Easy integration |
high-end workstations, servers, and enterprise applications | $30 to $500+ |
| M.2 SSD | Up to 3,500MBps |
Space-saving design; High-performance options; Flexibility |
Thin laptops, ultrabooks, tablets, and other mobile devices | $30 to $500+ |
| NVMe SSD | Up to 7,500MBps | Exceptional speed; low latency; Powerful performance | Gaming PCs, workstations, high-performance desktops and servers | $50 to $600+ |
| PCIe SSD | Up to 15,000MBps | Superior speed; Low latency; Scalability | High-end gaming PCs, workstations, and servers | $100 to $1,000+ |
| SAS SSD | Up to 12,000MBps | Enterprise-grade reliability; Robust performance; Advanced features | Enterprise storage, data centers, and server farms | $200 to $1,000+ |
You may be confused as to why you need specialized NVMe cloning software. This is because Windows 11/10/8/7 does not have a default disk cloner. Therefore, if you want to either clone the entire disk or migrate Windows 11/10 from SSD to NVMe only, you must choose a third-party cloning tool.
Considering the importance of transferring a Windows operating system, it is crucial to turn to a reliable NVMe cloning utility. It is recommended that you use AOMEI Partition Assistant Professional. This versatile and practical cloning wizard supports almost all Windows versions, including Windows 11/10/8/7. Its streamlined design and complete functions will bring you the best experience. Simply put, make sure whether you want to reinstall or troubleshoot Windows 10 before picking recovery tool, and check which device you have that can be used as recovery media. Thus you should have a conclusion.
✍ Disk Clone: Clone Windows disk from HDD or SSD to NVMe/PCIeS/SAS/U.2/M.2 SSD without reinstalling everything from scratch.
✍ System Clone: Clone only Windows operating system to all types of solid-state drives without data loss.
✍ Secure Boot: Makes the system bootable from a cloned NVMe SSD drive.
✍ Selective Clone Methods: Clone only used sectors (clone larger drive to smaller drive) or clone all sectors according to your needs.
How to clone SSD to NVMe SSD using this AOMEI software? There are two solutions: clone the entire SSD to NVMe SSD; clone only the operating system to NVMe solid-state drive. Let's talk about them one by one.
Make sure all preparations are done correctly. Then read the step-by-step guide below to clone from SSD to NVMe.
Step 1. Install and launch AOMEI Partition Assistant Professional, click "Clone" in the main interface, and select "Clone Disk".
Step 2. Choose the hard disk that you need to clone as the source disk and click "Next".
Step 3. Select the destination disk to store the data on the source disk, and then click "Next".
Step 4. Then, you can check the source and destination disk in the next window or change to "Sector to Sector clone", and click the "Confirm" button to continue if there is no problem.
Here, you can also click the "Settings" button to adjust the partition size on the destination disk or tick "4k alignment" to optimize performance of SSD.
① Clone without resizing partitions: all partition will be cloned to the target disk as the original partition size. It is available when the target disk is large enough to hold all partitions on the source disk. ② Fit partitions to entire disk: all partitions will be cloned to the target disk and take up its full capacity according to the original partition size proportion. ③ Edit partitions on this disk: you can change every partition size on the target disk as you need.
Step 5. After returning to the main interface, check the pending operation and click "Apply" and "Proceed" to commit the operation.
If you are cloning the system hard drive to another hard drive, to successfully boot from the destination hard drive and avoid the embarrassing moment that cloned SSD won’t boot, please do as below:
Step 1. Restart your computer, long press the "F2" key (perhaps other keys like DEL), and access the BIOS environment.
Step 2. Change the boot order and set the cloned hard drive as the first boot drive in BIOS.
Step 3. Press "Enter". Now you should boot the computer from the cloned hard disk successfully.
If you just want to clone Window 11/10 operating system, please refer to the following guide:
Step 1. Launch AOMEI Partition Assistant Professional. Click Clone > Migrate OS. Read the introduction and select Next.
Step 2. Select unallocated space on the NVMe solid-state disk as the target location. Click Next to continue. Tick "I want to delete all partitions on the disk to migrate system to the disk" if there is no unallocated space.
Step 3. Resize the partition and change drives parameters as needed. Click Next.
Step 4. Review the and boot notes choose Finish.
Step 5. Click Apply > Proceed on the main interface to execute the cloning operation.
After fixing the question of how to clone a SSD to NVMe, you need to set the cloned NVMe SSD drive as the boot drive. If you don't know the detailed operation, please refer to the following steps:
Step 1. Restart your computer. Press F2/F8/Del or other hotkeys to enter BIOS setup.
Step 2. Use the arrow keys to find the Boot option in the BIOS setup. Here you will find the Boot Device Priority option or a similar one.
Step 3. Use the + or - keys on your keyboard to assign the highest priority to the new NVMe drive.
Step 4. Press F10 to save and exit the BIOS interface. Restart your system. Now you can boot your computer from the NVMe SSD.
Q1. Is it worth replacing SSD with NVMe?
It depends on your specific needs. If you have enough budget and want to enhance device performance, speed up your computer, and reduce power consumption, you can use AOMEI Partition Assistant to replace your solid-state drive with NVMe.
Q2. Can I replace my SATA SSD with a NVMe?
Yes, you can. Installing NVMe on a compatible computer or other device can significantly improve the performance of your PC or laptop over a SATA SSD disk.
Q3. Do I need to format an NVMe SSD before cloning to it?
Formatting the disk is not a required option. During the SSD cloning process, the data on the target drive will be automatically overwritten. But if you use a brand new disk as the target drive, you need to initialize the SSD and format the disk in advance.
Q4. Can a SATA SSD go into an NVMe slot?
Yes. You can install SATA SSD in an NVMe slot, but you need to make sure your motherboard supports both SATA and NVMe slots.
Q5. Can I use NVMe SSD and HDD together?
Yes, you can. Using a combination of NVMe SSD and HDD can optimize your device on a tight budget. NVMe solid-state hard drive offers faster speeds, lower power consumption, and better performance, while HDD can give you more space for multi-purpose data storage.
In conclusion, you can clone SSD to NVMe SSD in Windows 11/10/8/7, but third-party tools are required. We recommend you to use AOMEI Partition Assistant Professional. This user-friendly disk cloner helps you clone the entire SSD disk to NVMe SSD or transfer just the Windows operating system.
In addition to SSD disk cloning, AOMEI Partition Assistant Professional offers other advanced features, including fixing the C drive full issue, moving an installed game to another drive, and resizing recovery partition. For Windows Server users, AOMEI Partition Assistant Server offers a corresponding alternative.
