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April 29th, 2025 16:04
Dell Inspiron 7577 - NVME ssd m.2 clone issue
Hello all.
I'll try to keep this as concise as possible.
My Inspiron 7577 came with a 256 gb M.2 SATA SSD. I would like to upgrade this with a Samsung 990 EVO 4 tb NVME SSD.
I was able to format the new drive with my 7577. I also did the diskpart + clean just to get it ready for Macrium clone.
After the cloning process, I created a recovery usb in Macrium. Next, I removed the existing 256 gb SSD and installed the new 4tb SSD.
(1) Turn on computer. Did not press F2 or F12. Result = "Preparing Automatic Repair" loop.
(2) Turn on computer. F12 to confirm boot order. Can see new 4 tb SSD. Result = "Preparing Automatic Repair" loop.
(3) Plug in recovery usb. Turn on computer. Got Macrium software to run. Cklicked "fix windows boot problems." Result = "Your PC couldn't start propertly... error 0xc0000001."
(4) Also tried other permutations: Changing to Legacy boot (default = UEFI), disabling safe boot (default = safe), setting SATA operation to "ACHI" (default = "RAID on"). No changes. Still cannot boot to windows.
(5) Also tried factory reset / repair windows with the new 4 tb SSD. No changes. Still cannot boot to windows.
At this point, I'm a bit lost. I want to know what the problem is:
(1) Is my SSD drive being NVME a problem? Should I have gotten M.2 SATA instead?
(2) Is my SSD capacity too high? Should I have gotten one that's 512 gb?
(3) Is my computer having other issues? I don't think this is the case, as the computer can still boot to windows 10 using my existing 256 gb ssd. I did some other checks to confirm that both ssd drives have no errors.
Please let me know if there is anything else I may have missed. Thanks in advance!
snapbolt4499
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May 2nd, 2025 16:27
@Chino de Oro Quick update: I ended up biting the bullet and buying another SSD drive - this time it's an M.2 SATA 512 gb Verbatim drive (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B085RFNQTY). Seems like SATA SSD drives are getting harder and harder to find.
The Macrium cloning process worked flawlessly this time. The new drive booted to windows without even needing the Macrium recovery USB. It turns out that the capacity was the most likely problem. So now I have an extra M.2 NVME SSD drive that I can use as a backup storage device.
Really appreciate all your help with this!
Also, thanks a lot for letting me know about the windows 11 free update. I had no idea about that; generosity is always welcome but never expected. Has Microsoft always done these free windows updates?
I
Chino de Oro
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April 29th, 2025 17:03
Your Inspiron 7577 M.2 storage slot is compatible with either SATA or NVMe. The issue could be with the cloning process. System BIOS settings should not be change after replacing the new SSD.
For cloning, it should be a simple drag and drop all partitions from old SSD to new SSD. After the cloning of new SSD is complete, select the partition(s) on the right of the C partition and flush right (to make space at the end of C drive). Then select C partition and fill space (to expand C drive to full SSD capacity).
snapbolt4499
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April 29th, 2025 17:27
@Chino de Oro
Appreciate the reply.
When I used Macrium to clone, I used the option to automatically adjust partitions. I checked a few youtube videos about this. You're correct about the the partition sizes. I believe the auto-adjust feature in Macrium seems to work the same way, right?
Below is a screenshot to show how I started the cloning process.
snapbolt4499
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April 29th, 2025 17:36
Adding pictures for reference.
(edited)
Chino de Oro
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April 29th, 2025 17:56
From the pictures, the SSD drive were cloned with matching partitions. However, the FAT32 may have been conflicted with UEFI boot mode and 4TB partition size.
Since Windows 10 will be end of support in a few months, I suggest to perform a clean Windows 11 24H2 installation. Although it is not officially support, when done properly, you will have Windows Boot Manager option in UEFI boot menu and your new SSD will have only four partitions.
Always make sure that all your important data are externally backup.
snapbolt4499
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April 30th, 2025 15:03
@Chino de Oro
I was afraid of that. Appreciate all your help!
Should I just stick with Dell's suggested 512 gb M.2 limit for the new Windows 11 install? I'd hate to buy Windows 11 just to have it not work with the 4tb drive.
Chino de Oro
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April 30th, 2025 22:13
You should not have to buy Windows 11. It will be a free upgrade from Windows 10 licensed computers.
On a working computer, go to Microsoft site and download Windows 11 Media Creation Tool to make a USB installer. Replace your new SSD and install Windows 11 to the new SSD.
If the system BIOS settings had been changed previously, restore to default settings value. Verify that the settings are ready and compatible for Windows 11. UEFI Boot Mode, Secure Boot On, TMP On.
Chino de Oro
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May 3rd, 2025 15:28
Glad to hear that the system is working finally. As mentioned in my first post, your system is compatible with either SATA or NVMe, you may not see much difference in performance during boot, only slower when you have heavy program loading or large files transfer.
Don't leave your issue as unsolved. To close your thread, select any helpful post (include your own) to mark as accepted answer.