External backup and restore M.2 SSD?

[David]

Having got used to extracting 2.5" drives and cloning them, I'm now faced
with an Ultrabook which has an M.2 SSD.

Not sure yet if it is SATA or PCIe.

The "howto" guides seem to recommend a backup and restore plus an external
boot drive (using something like Macrium Reflect) but I was wondering
about doing the cloning thing.

If the interface is SATA then presumably all that is needed is some kind
of small adapter interface?

If it is PCI-e presumably something which plugs into a PCI-e slot?

Anyone done anything like this?

I think that a clone to image then back to new drive operation would be
all that is needed and this might be a lot faster with an inernal
connection instead of an external HDD (even over USB 3) but I could be
wrong.

More details when I get a good look at the Dell Ultrabook.

Cheers


Dave R



--
Windows 8.1 on PCSpecialist box

[David]

Replying to my own post, but would something like this

<https://www.amazon.co.uk/QUMOX-PCI-E-Express-Adapter-Converter/dp/
B00YZVYKZQ/>

be the kind of thing I might need?

[Theo Markettos]

David <wib...@btintenet.com> wrote:
> Replying to my own post, but would something like this
>
> <https://www.amazon.co.uk/QUMOX-PCI-E-Express-Adapter-Converter/dp/
> B00YZVYKZQ/>
>
> be the kind of thing I might need?

If you have a PC with a PCIe slot to put it in, that should suffice. If
it's a SATA M.2 it'll use top slot and the SATA connector, if it's a PCIe
M.2 it'll use the bottom slot with PCIe lanes. What it won't do is convert
between the two.

If you want a USB enclosure, there are plenty about but I suspect they all
take SATA SSDs. I know at least one bridge chip that does USB 3 to PCIe (as
opposed to the other direction), but I don't know if they're flexible enough
to take NVMe. Macbooks use PCIe SSDs and enclosures exist, but I'm unclear
if they're AHCI or NVMe.

Theo

[David]

Thanks - I got all enthusiastic then clocked the price of M2 SSDs.

Sensible use of external drives seems far more cost effective.

[Raj Kundra]

"David" <wib...@btintenet.com> wrote in message
news:e27qg7...@mid.individual.net...

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/371392635246

--
Regards

Raj Kundra




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[Gordon]

On 2016-08-25, David <wib...@btintenet.com> wrote:
> Having got used to extracting 2.5" drives and cloning them, I'm now faced
> with an Ultrabook which has an M.2 SSD.

Why extract the drive?

>
> Not sure yet if it is SATA or PCIe.

Neither, but that does not matter.

>
> The "howto" guides seem to recommend a backup and restore plus an external
> boot drive (using something like Macrium Reflect) but I was wondering
> about doing the cloning thing.

Just treat the M.2 as another block device, which it is.

Macrium Reflect is cloning software. Try a visit to the web site. There are
also other cloning pieces of sofware.

>
> If the interface is SATA then presumably all that is needed is some kind
> of small adapter interface?

Who ares what interface it has? It is a storage device which you wish to
clone. As long as the cloning software can see it,then it can be cloned.

> I think that a clone to image then back to new drive operation would be
> all that is needed and this might be a lot faster with an inernal
> connection instead of an external HDD (even over USB 3) but I could be
> wrong.

Some cloning software compresses the data and with a fast CPU will save
time. The cloning software will also probably only read the data, as opposed
to the whole "HD" capacity.

[Jaimie Vandenbergh]

On 25 Aug 2016 14:48:59 GMT, David <wib...@btintenet.com> wrote:

>Thanks - I got all enthusiastic then clocked the price of M2 SSDs.

Balanced off against them being 3-4 times as fast as SATA3, and with
headroom to go up serveral times faster still when the storage gets
quicker. If speed is your thing, they're cheaper than SATA3 devices!

On my game box, something that takes no discernable time on the nvme m.2
(peak 2100meg/sec read) takes several seconds if it's on the ~550meg/sec
read speed SATA drive. I was quite surprised to be able to see the
difference so readily, but there it is.

Cheers - Jaimie
--
"Don't drag me down to your level, meat." -- Red Robot #C-63

[Jaimie Vandenbergh]

On 25 Aug 2016 09:01:59 GMT, David <wib...@btintenet.com> wrote:

>Having got used to extracting 2.5" drives and cloning them, I'm now faced
>with an Ultrabook which has an M.2 SSD.
>
>Not sure yet if it is SATA or PCIe.
>
>The "howto" guides seem to recommend a backup and restore plus an external
>boot drive (using something like Macrium Reflect) but I was wondering
>about doing the cloning thing.

Stick in a USB3 drive with the cloning software, boot off it, clone the
M.2 to space on the USB drive. You don't need to fuss about it being M.2
at all, or take it out.

If you are replacing a dead M.2, you do the switch, bring your clone
USB3 disk along, and image back onto the new M.2 in place.

Cheers - Jaimie
--
"Oh drat these computers, they're so naughty and so complex."
-- Marvin the Martian

[David]

On Fri, 26 Aug 2016 15:34:37 +0100, Jaimie Vandenbergh wrote:

> On 25 Aug 2016 09:01:59 GMT, David <wib...@btintenet.com> wrote:
>
>>Having got used to extracting 2.5" drives and cloning them, I'm now
>>faced with an Ultrabook which has an M.2 SSD.
>>
>>Not sure yet if it is SATA or PCIe.
>>
>>The "howto" guides seem to recommend a backup and restore plus an
>>external boot drive (using something like Macrium Reflect) but I was
>>wondering about doing the cloning thing.
>
> Stick in a USB3 drive with the cloning software, boot off it, clone the
> M.2 to space on the USB drive. You don't need to fuss about it being M.2
> at all, or take it out.
>
> If you are replacing a dead M.2, you do the switch, bring your clone
> USB3 disk along, and image back onto the new M.2 in place.
>
> Cheers - Jaimie

Naive plan was to fit a larger M2; cost benefit says "Nah".

So the drive would have had to come out to be replaced by the new one.

I was looking at faster ways to copy data.