M.2 or NGFF to 2.5 Adapter

[leachim]

Hi

 

Am looking for a 2.5 adapter like the one in the picture to hold the hard drive above it

 

Its a hard fit to make it fit in this 2.5 adapter, and a computer won't read it while plugged into a caddy

 

Anyone got an Amazon link to the correct 2.5 adapter to read this M.2 /NGFF ? hard drive

 

I got confused !

 

Thanks

Edited February 26, 2025 by leachim

[Ditto]

As an alternative, any spare PCI slots on the motherboard? I bought such an adapter for my M.2 and it works perfectly.

[psydii]

m.2 is like USB C, its the connector, not the protocol.

 

Most (all?/Many?) m.2 storage devices these days use the NVMe protocol which is a thin layer on top of PCIE-x and that's simply not capable of being on the far side of a SATA connection.

 

So you need an pciex to m2 adapter instead.

 

 

Also regarding it beind hard to fit, the module is 2280 form factor but the adapter card is set up for a 2260 card (the mounting screw in the middle of the board).

[leachim]

Something like this in the pic

 

 

 

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Haosie-Expansion-Compatible-Protocol-Equipment/dp/B0D9HD2K1G/ref=sr_1_5

 

 

 

Although, would the pc BOOT from this setup ?

 

 

 

Because there are different type of flat SSDs, I get confused

 

 

 

What is the exact description of the m.2? in the 1st pic ?

 

 

 

Thanks

[psydii]

The one in the first pic is "SSD, M.2 PCIe SSD, M.2 2280, PCIe, NVMe, 1 TB, NAND, AES 256-bit" apparently

 

https://uk.farnell.com/micron/mtfdkba1t0tfk-1bc1aabyy/ssd-pcie-nvme-nand-1tb/dp/3935609?CMP=KNC-MUK-GEN-KWL&msclkid=534cc73974cc1800cfe8a08780af50fb

(based on the part number in your photo)

 

A nvme m.2 ssd in a nvme pcie adapter card, with the appropriate bios config should be able to be made bootable just like a SATA drive can be made bootable.

 

 

The card you show from amazon should do the job. However, it has a lot of capacity, and depending on the motherboard and what else you have hanging off the PCIE bus may have limitations/create limitations and bottlenecks. I have never managed to get my head round what does and does not steal PCIe lanes from the GPU slot or force things down to PCIe2.0 speeds, but someone here might be able to explain that better than I.

[leachim]

The one in the first pic is "SSD, M.2 PCIe SSD, M.2 2280, PCIe, NVMe, 1 TB, NAND, AES 256-bit" apparently

 

https://uk.farnell.com/micron/mtfdkba1t0tfk-1bc1aabyy/ssd-pcie-nvme-nand-1tb/dp/3935609?CMP=KNC-MUK-GEN-KWL&msclkid=534cc73974cc1800cfe8a08780af50fb

(based on the part number in your photo)

 

A nvme m.2 ssd in a nvme pcie adapter card, with the appropriate bios config should be able to be made bootable just like a SATA drive can be made bootable.

 

 

The card you show from amazon should do the job. However, it has a lot of capacity, and depending on the motherboard and what else you have hanging off the PCIE bus may have limitations/create limitations and bottlenecks. I have never managed to get my head round what does and does not steal PCIe lanes from the GPU slot or force things down to PCIe2.0 speeds, but someone here might be able to explain that better than I.

 

 

Thanks

 

I have never used a PCI connection for booting, so I may get stumped in the bios - however....

 

Forgot to mention, I am hoping to move the data from an older computer to the new computer via cloning

 

In the event of not being able to use the M.2, I have actually cloned the old hard drive from the old computer onto a 2.5 ssd, but the MB doesn't seem to have a power source for the ssd

 

See pic

 

Any advice appreciated

[psydii]

https://pcguide101.com/storage/does-ssd-need-power/ the power comes from a connector from the PSU.

 

That said, the mainboard has an m.2 drive slot. Look up in the manual to check if that is nvme. If it is then you don't need the add in card.

 

Also the card you linked to from amazon is a full height card, it wont fit in that case, if you do need a card, one more like this: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07FN3YZ8P/ref=sspa_dk_hqp_detail_aax_0?psc=1&sp_csd=d2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9ocXBfc2hhcmVk appears to have an bracket that is half height and therefor should fit.

Edited February 26, 2025 by psydii

[leachim]

https://pcguide101.com/storage/does-ssd-need-power/ the power comes from a connector from the PSU.

 

That said, the mainboard has an m.2 drive slot. Look up in the manual to check if that is nvme. If it is then you don't need the add in card.

 

Also the card you linked to from amazon is a full height card, it wont fit in that case, if you do need a card, one more like this: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07FN3YZ8P/ref=sspa_dk_hqp_detail_aax_0?psc=1&sp_csd=d2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9ocXBfc2hhcmVk appears to have an bracket that is half height and therefor should fit.

 

 

Might be worth a go...

 

If not, if I use the 2.5 ssd, the power supply from the new computer doesn't seem to have a power outlet to drive the 2.5

 

The MB is

https://www.ebay.com/itm/196991761553

 

The PS is

https://www.digitec.ch/en/s1/product/acer-dc1801b002-power-supply-pc-24620378

 

Cheers

[bald_pig]

This is the power connector for that motherboard:

 

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/275191205851

 

Although at this point I'd just use an external drive caddy.

[KK20]

the M2 in the picture in an NVME drive (one notch), not a "sata drive in M2 format" (two notches). so you cannot use the M2 to SATA caddy. You can get USB C to NVME, PCIe to NVME adn these work fine in most UEFI and as someone else has posted already, that MB looks to support NVME (again one notch) and thus will boot off it anyway. Incidentally not all PCs like SATA M2 in those slots either (Prodesks usually complain)

[psydii]

the M2 in the picture in an NVME drive (one notch), not a "sata drive in M2 format" (two notches). so you cannot use the M2 to SATA caddy. You can get USB C to NVME, PCIe to NVME adn these work fine in most UEFI and as someone else has posted already, that MB looks to support NVME (again one notch) and thus will boot off it anyway. Incidentally not all PCs like SATA M2 in those slots either (Prodesks usually complain)

 

I'm not sure that is correct. 2010-2020(ish?) Macbooks did funky things with m.2-like ssds but one-notch sata nvme seems to be the norm based on a quick search. To be honest I kinda skipped out on the whole sata thing and went straight from ide/ata to nvme when it came to putting stuff together, so maybe I'm wrong.

[bald_pig]

I'm not sure that is correct. 2010-2020(ish?) Macbooks did funky things with m.2-like ssds but one-notch sata nvme seems to be the norm based on a quick search. To be honest I kinda skipped out on the whole sata thing and went straight from ide/ata to nvme when it came to putting stuff together, so maybe I'm wrong.

 

SATA and NVME are two conflicting protocols. It's SATA or NVME.

 

Edited February 27, 2025 by bald_pig

[Davit2005]

Thanks

 

I have never used a PCI connection for booting, so I may get stumped in the bios - however....

 

Forgot to mention, I am hoping to move the data from an older computer to the new computer via cloning

 

In the event of not being able to use the M.2, I have actually cloned the old hard drive from the old computer onto a 2.5 ssd, but the MB doesn't seem to have a power source for the ssd

 

See pic

 

Any advice appreciated

 

Some manufacturers use a proprietary PSU and the PWR for the SATA drives comes off the motherboard.

 

In the BIOS you should be able to select the boot drive alternatively if there is a boot menu option when the PC goes through its BIOS you might be able to select the correct drive in there.

[PotNoodleTech]

I think your gonna lose a shedload of perfromance if you go NVME to SATA as planned.

 

You'd be better off going NVME into a Low profile PCIE adaptor as that's waaay faster than SATA.

 

I think theyre on amazon fairly cheap.

[psydii]

SATA and NVME are two conflicting protocols. It's SATA or NVME.

 

[ATTACH=CONFIG]73204[/ATTACH]

Oops, typo and a lack of clarity of thought. I meant "one notch m.2 whether sata or nvme", I hold up my previous post at 11:04 on this thread as evidence.

 

Not quite as bad as my standard typo where I miss out the word "not" in written sentences.

Edited February 28, 2025 by psydii