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How to install an M.2 SSD

How to install an M.two SSD

m.2 ssd
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The Chiliad.ii SSD is a thing of dazzler. While traditional SSDs still crave lots of wires and physical space, an Grand.2 SSD is a tiny device that fits in the palm of your manus, and attaches directly to your motherboard. While these efficient little components don't come cheap, they can aid proceed the inside of your desktop dainty and neat. That means less clutter, which ways more efficient airflow, which ways improve operation. Or, at the very least, fewer ways to cut your fingers when you install new hardware.

The even improve news is that M.two SSDs are ridiculously easy to install — provided you accept the right tools and a picayune bit of patience. If you tin can afford 1 of these sleek storage units, your computer volition load up files near instantaneously for a long time to come.

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Before you brainstorm

Before you purchase an Chiliad.2 SSD, yous should check to brand certain that your motherboard supports them. Near new motherboards practice, but M.2s have just become mutual within the last five years. Every bit such, if your PC is a few years old, yous may have to stick with traditional SSDs instead. Consult your motherboard's education transmission, or look information technology up your model online. An M.two slot is a small upraised connector that resembles a very skinny cablevision port. You lot'll know information technology when you see information technology.

For the purposes of this tutorial, I used a WD Blueish 1 TB SSD and a WD Blackness two TB SSD, both of which are now permanently installed in the Tom'south Guide test rig. Our test rig has an MSI Z490 Unify motherboard.

Also, yous should clean your workspace, just as you would if you were building a new PC. Footing yourself on a metal object, and accept a vessel to hold all the tiny screws y'all'll need to manage during the installation process. You'll need one Phillips caput screwdriver with a very pocket-size caput.

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1. Crack open your PC.

This probably goes without saying, just still, let's start at the first. Unscrew or unhitch the side of your case, and brand certain you can access the motherboard.

m.2 ssd

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2. Locate your Yard.2 slot.

If y'all followed my advice above and consulted your motherboard'due south instruction manual, this office will be easy. Simply exist aware that your M.2 slot may be behind your GPU, as mine is on the Z490 Unify.

m.2 ssd

(Image credit: Future)

3. Effigy out your heatsink state of affairs.

Some M.2 SSDs come with heatsinks; some don't. Some motherboards come with heatsinks for M.2 SSDs; some don't. If you don't take any heatsinks at all, consider buying some third-political party models. Depending on what you do with your SSD, a heatsink may not be strictly necessary, but you can get a perfectly good model for $25 or less, and that's an awful lot cheaper than a new SSD.

If your motherboard has heatsinks congenital in, yous'll need to remove ane earlier yous add an M.2 SSD. Just unscrew one and put it off to the side for now.

m.2 ssd

(Paradigm credit: Hereafter)

4. Add together the M.ii SSD diagonally.

When you detect your Grand.2 SSD slot, you'll offset take to remove a spiral from its holder. Then, you'll have to insert the SSD diagonally into the slot. There'southward only i mode information technology fits, so if information technology's non going in properly, you probably have information technology upside-downwardly. This is the trickiest office of the whole process, since the object is to put the drive in diagonally at present, and push button it downward later. Merely if you give the One thousand.2 a house push, you should exist able to find the proper angle easily. Merely don't press it down yet.

m.2 ssd

(Image credit: Future)

5. Screw the G.2 in identify.

Call up that screw you lot but took out? Screw it dorsum in, using information technology to secure the Thousand.2 SSD in place. (The M.ii drive has a small semicircular pigsty, so you'll run across exactly where the spiral goes.) Equally long as everything's in place, the SSD should brand a satisfying "click" in one case everything is tightened. If it doesn't, just unscrew and try inserting the M.2 again.

m.2 ssd

(Epitome credit: Future)

six. Add the heatsink.

At present y'all'll want to add together the heatsink on top of your SSD. (Remember to remove the protective tape get-go; it sort of defeats the purpose if yous don't.) The exact procedure varies, depending on what kind of K.2 and heatsink yous take, only mostly speaking, y'all'll want to press the heatsink downwards on superlative of the Chiliad.2 firmly, then screw information technology in place.

how to build pc

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seven. Become your computer hooked up.

You lot don't necessarily want to close your computer at this point, in case you need to tinker with the hardware while troubleshooting. Only you do need to get it upward and running; the concrete installation is at present washed.

m.2 ssd

(Image credit: Future)

viii. Name and format your new drive.

From here, you need to format your new SSD and assign it a letter in Windows. At that place are a multifariousness of ways to do this, depending on whether you feel more comfortable with congenital-in Windows programs, or the control prompt, or a Windows 10 installation USB. Simply choose to kick from the USB in BIOS, and follow the prompts.

If the Yard.2 is your chief drive, I recommend using a Windows x installer USB to get your OS upwardly and running from scratch. If the M.2 is your secondary drive, you tin can apply the Disk Direction option in Windows to classify space and format the drive.  Just right-click your new drive and select New Simple Volume. Windows will walk you through the residual of the steps.

And that's all you take to do! Your computer is now running off of an Thou.two SSD, which is i of the fastest, most reliable forms of storage out in that location. The difference in load speeds is specially noticeable in high-end video games, then feel complimentary to give those a endeavor, if your GPU is up to it.

Marshall Honorof is a senior editor for Tom's Guide, overseeing the site'south coverage of gaming hardware and software. He comes from a science writing background, having studied paleomammalogy, biological anthropology, and the history of science and technology. Later on hours, you tin can observe him practicing taekwondo or doing deep dives on classic sci-fi.

Source: https://www.tomsguide.com/news/how-to-install-m2-ssd

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