Windows Installation on M.2 SSD

[johnbarry]

I purchased this it has Windows 11 on a drive. I have a M.2 SSD drive I want to install Windows 11 on it to replace the exsisting drive.

Going back I recall ricedg saying you must first install on the M.2 (very first instsallation).

As this already has Win 11 on it will I have problems finding the M.2 to install Windows 11 on it.

Also I think it maybe on a physicall drive how do I unplug / disconnect the exsisting /old copy of Windows 11

Cheers
John

[Ed P]

Sorry John, I could not see any info on that little box. You need to get into bios and see if it is uefi boot capable, and if it supports M2. Then before doing anything else I’d prepare a Windows 11 recovery stick.

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/create-a-recovery-drive-abb4691b-5324-6d4a-8766-73fab304c246 

Then you can try using the instructions in Quora. I personally dislike the cloning option but that is up to you.

https://www.quora.com/Can-I-use-an-M-2-SSD-as-a-boot-drive

All this is likely to be suck it and see, hence the precautionary step of making a recovery stick.

BMax claim to give full technical support so I would call their bluff, and follow their advice with respect to installing an M2 as you are still under warranty.

 

[wasbit]

If you do a clean install of Windows 11 then you need all the motherboard drivers.
If you clone & the M2 boots, happy days. If it doesn’t, you still have your original Windows to fall back on.

--
Regards
wasbit

Rig 1: Optiplex 3050 SFF
Rig 2: Asus ROG G20CB (rebuilt wreck)
Rig 3: HP Elitebook 8440P

Dear Starfleet, hate you, hate the Federation, taking Voyager. - Janeway

[johnbarry]

Thanks Ed

little box? maybe link not working?

Thanks for your links I will probe them when arrives, it says it suppots M.2

Thanks Wasbit

I hope Windows has all drivers on installation, as you say if my attemps fail I can continue with original

I can but try

Cheers
John

[JayCeeDee]

johnbarry wrote:

little box? maybe link not working?

Looking at the photo of it mounted on the back of a monitor, it looks to be about about 6 inches square, ( monitor mounting screws are 4 inches apart ) ………

…….but the dimensions given say it’s 11″ x 6″ x 3″ ( 28.2cm x 15.7cm x 7.5cm ). Correction, that’s the package dimensions🤦‍♂️!!Oops!!

What are you expecting it to be, John?

[johnbarry]

JayCeeDee wrote:

What are you expecting it to be, John?

No more nor no less than it is. It’s ideal size fits in the cupboard out the way. It is slower (than usual) but it’s a good mini PC, can’t multi task, it’ll do for me.

Cheers
John

[JayCeeDee]

johnbarry wrote:

….but it’s a good mini PC, can’t multi task, it’ll do for me.

Sometimes that’s all you need.😃 Good luck with it John. 👍👍

[Ed P]

If you start getting strange errors – your first suspect should be the temperature of the PC. Keeping a biscuit tin sized PC in a cupboard or confined space can be a problem. If that happens think about sitting the PC on top of an external cooler.

[johnbarry]

JayCee at tims it should be all I need.

Ed I am keeping my eye on it, when it’s on the door is open. Maybe I need a temp gauge for it.

Cheers
John

[johnbarry]

I put CPUID on, Max is 45 degrees C Value is at 35-37 degrees C on idle ??

Compared to my main PC max is 46 Value is 24 -26

I keep my eye on it, but will only use it for light work.

Cheers
John

[Ed P]

As I noted previously, I could not find details for your box.

Often this form factor uses a heat pipe to move heat from the cpu to a metal heat sink that is cooled by a fan and vents in the box.  When I had problems with a similarly positioned 24/7 operation NUC (positioned in a drawer-like space) the top of the NUC became almost too hot to touch.

My guess would be that feeling the top of your pc after prolonged use will give you a good indication of potential problems.

[wasbit]

The M2 drive that I used in an adapter in the PCIe slot of my old desktop box had Windows 8.1 installed on it. The files could be read but the drive wouldn’t boot (but that’s irrelevant).  I’m not sure why there should be no other Windows drives while installing to the M2. It didn’t seem to affect the installation on mine but perhaps there is something I haven’t understood.

Bit late now, but I’ve given up on small form factor desktops as the 2 that I’ve had both died within 2 years. No discernible reason, just refused to boot one day. Hope you have better luck with yours.

--
Regards
wasbit

Rig 1: Optiplex 3050 SFF
Rig 2: Asus ROG G20CB (rebuilt wreck)
Rig 3: HP Elitebook 8440P

Dear Starfleet, hate you, hate the Federation, taking Voyager. - Janeway

[Dave Rice]

That was back in the day when the M2 socket was very new, SATA only and shared resources with SATA ports, we’re not talking modern NVMe drives. Things have moved on greatly with chipsets, BIOSes, drives and drivers.

When we get a piece of new tech it nearly always involves bodges at the start. CSM is one huge bodge job. The question is can your set of hardware be bodged to boot from that drive? It seems not and I suspect it’s because it is invisible to the boot process in the same way >2TB drivers were.

[johnbarry]

Thanks Dave

I need to forget the past, but no harm to check.

I may not bother messing with M.2 as a boot drive. I am using a M.2 drive via USB in this rig for partitions), it seems happy at that.

I also learned not to overload it with programs and slow the boot down.

Cheers
John

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