How to Easily Clone M2 SSD to SATA SSD (Secure Boot)

User Case: How do I Clone a M2 SSD to SATA SSD and Boot Successfully?

"I have a Western Digital SN750 M.2 NVME SSD. It has my Windows 10 Installation and a Data Partition. I recently bought a Samsung 960 Evo which is a SATA SSD. They are both 1 TB. I used the Samsung Data Migration Tool to Clone my Boot Drive to the Samsung Drive. When it finished, my laptop rebooted and then failed to boot. How do I boot to the cloned drive successfully? Or, do I need to re-clone it with different software? Thanks!”

If you have also encountered the problem mentioned in the above case and want to know how to clone M2 SSD to SATA SSD and boot from cloned disk successfully. You can continue reading the following sections. This article will introduce the best disk cloning software and use it for cloning M2 SSD to SATA SSD.

Why Clone M2 SSD to SATA SSD?

NVMe M.2 Drive is a type of SSD (solid-state drive), mostly used in Ultrabooks and laptops. M.2 SSDs are commonly used to replace mSATA SSDs for smaller size and faster speed. Compared with most mSATA SSDs (50mm*30mm*4mm or 30*30*4mm), M.2 SSDs can be faster.

SATA (Serial Advanced Technology Attachment) is an interface used to connect solid-state drives (SSDs), hard disk drives (HDDs) and optical drives. SATA greatly improves upon its predecessor - PATA, and the read speed can reach up to 600 MB/S under ideal conditions.

Regarding why you should clone M2 SSD to SATA SSD, this article summarizes the most common reasons for you as below.

• Get more storage space: If you find that your NVMe M.2 drive doesn't have enough capacity, you may need to upgrade to a larger drive.
• Avoid drive failure: A hard drive that's been in use for several years can easily wear out. You can avoid hard drive failure by replacing your old M2 SSD with a new SATA SSD.
• Save money: NVMe M.2 is more expensive than SATA SSDs, so if you already have an NVMe M.2 SSD, you can choose to buy a new SATA SSD.

Preparations for Cloning M2 SSD to SATA SSD

To clone M2 SSD to SATA SSD and boot successfully, you need to complete the following preparation work first.

• Backup important files: If your target SSD is not new and it contains some important files, it is recommended that you backup the files in advance. The reason is that the target disk will be wiped after cloning.
• Compatibility: Make sure the target SATA SSD is compatible with your motherboard, or consult your computer manufacturer.
• Check if there is a SATA cable: Since the target disk is a SATA SSD, you need to confirm if the computer has a SATA cable. If so, you can successfully connect the SATA SSD.
• Install the SATA SSD properly: You need to disconnect the battery or disconnect the power before installation.
• Convert the SATA SSD to GPT disk: Since NVMe disks support UEFI boot mode, if you want to successfully boot your computer from the cloned SATA SSD after cloning, you need to convert the SATA SSD to a GPT disk just the same as the NVMe or you can also use disk cloning software for conversion.

The Best Software to Clone M2 SSD to SATA SSD

To successfully clone M2 SSD to SATA SSD, AOMEI Backupper Professional - the reliable and secure disk cloning software  is your best choice.  It will clone everything from M.2 SSD to SATA SSD without reinstalling Windows, whether it's GPT or MBR disk. 

After cloning, you can successfully boot your computer from the cloned disk. It also has these advantages below.       

• Multiple branded SSD and SSD types: It supports various branded SSD (WD, Crucial, Kingston, Samsung, etc) with different disk types (SATA SSDs, NVMe SSDs, M.2 SSDs, etc). In addition to SSDs, it also supports other hard disks, including USB flash drives and SD cards.
• SSD Alignment: This feature can speed up the read and write speed of the target SSD disk.
• Intelligent clone: By default, it will only clone used sectors, so if you want to clone a large NVMe M2 SSD to a small SATA SSD, this feature can easily help you achieve it. When you clone a disk with bad sectors, it can automatically skip the bad sectors.
• Multiple systems: It supports multiple Windows operating systems, such as Windows 11, 10, 8.1, 8, 7, XP, etc.        

Clone M2 SSD to SATA SSD Step by Step

Next, this article will introduce how to clone M2 SSD to SATA SSD easily with professional disk cloning software. Download and install this software first and you can follow the graphic tutorial below to clone M2 SSD to SATA SSD step by step. If you are a Windows Server user, please try AOMEI Backupper Server.

Step 1. Open AOMEI Backupper Professional, install and open it, click Clone > Disk Clone.

Step 2. Choose the M2 SSD as the source disk. Then, click Next.

Step 3. Choose the SATA SSD as the destination disk. Then, click Next.

Step 4. Click Edit Partitions and tick the Convert the destination disk from MBR to GPT checkbox, then click OK > Start Clone to clone M2 SSD to SATA SSD. 

Notes:

• SSD Alignment: You can tick this feature to accelerate the SATA SSD's reading and writing speed. 
• Sector By Sector Clone: If your target disk is equal to or larger than the source disk, you can use this feature and it will help you clone all sectors, whether they are used or not.  

Summary

This article shows you the best reliable and professional disk cloning software AOMEI Backupper Professional and how to use it to easily clone M2 SSD to SATA SSD in Windows 11/10/8.1/8/7. After cloning, you can successfully boot your computer from the cloned disk. It supports multiple SSD disk types and brands, and you can choose to clone only used sectors or clone all sectors.

Except for Disk Clone, it also offers System Clone and Partition Clone to meet your different needs. You can download this software to discover more features.