this channel is the only one that details the steps to run the recovery tool. Other channels only show where the SSD is located which is elementary at best. Thank you for making this video.
It's one of the best tutorials on TH-cam. I followed these steps, and it works like a charm. I purchased a 2T SSD to replace 128GB, which wasn't enough for me.
One alternative to the recovery drive would be getting an M.2 to USB adapter and then just cloning the existing drive onto the new one. You can do it directly from the Surface. Macrium Reflect is what I personally use. Completely free, and it has saved me many times. There will be a bit of learning (not much) compared to the simple recovery drive, but if you have use for the adapter and cloning software in the future, why not? Cloning is also super useful if you already have lots of files and programs since it makes an exact copy and you don't have to mess with transferring files or reinstalling programs (usually).
When I saw all this videos with this method I thought they are all doing so because it's not possible to clone the disk, for some reason (encryption maybe)... I always did the clone method and I was desperate seeing this: "how am I gonna do with all the files"... thank god I stumbled on your comment!!! thank you man
Thanks so much for this terrific tutorial! I found an SSD on eBay, followed your instructions exactly and was able to upgrade my SP7+ from 128Gb to 512Gb for minimal cost. Great guide and very easy to follow. Thanks!
I'm already halfway done on the process of upgrading I had to pause and subscribe to you after watching this video dozens of times. Thank you for saying it's a t4 screwdriver because I would have strip my screw 👍🏿😷👍🏻🇨🇦🇵🇭🇺🇲
amazinggg finally a surface that allows to increase ssd! def upgrade from my sp3. PD.- before doing this procedure remember to make a backup of your data of interest & I would select the "just erease my files" option 👍🏻
Excellent video, thanks! Just enough detail to tell me everything I need to know and little to no rambling like some other how to videos do. Much appreciated!
Very useful and helpful. I have just upgraded from Pro Surface 6 to Pro 7 Plus and want to upgrade my SSD and this has made me feel more confident about doing it myself. Many thanks
Great video. Yours should be top of the search results. Some others waffle for 10 minutes without actually showing you what to do to prepare the old and new SSD.
I followed Mash IT's well organized presentation to install a 1TB in my Surface Pro 7+. Please note that the SSD screw to be removed in mine required a T3 driver (not T4 which I had, will not work and using it will ruin the screwhead). I had to go to Home Depot and buy another set of drivers that had the T3. I obtained the 1TB SSD by extracting it from a CalDigit "tuff nano". The tuff nano is very well made and will house the 256GB SSD removed from the Surface. I say "will" house because I need to obtain a longer screw because the Microsoft SSD has a very narrow width screw post gap and will not fit around the tuff nano post leaving the screw about 2mm short.
Hi Gregory, nice work on the caldigit nano! what a great way to get hold of a 1tb. I might do the same for my incoming Surface Laptop 4. Was the caddy still useable once you had ripped the drive out? You could then pop the surface drive in that :)
The thermal tape/sheets I find is all double-sided with adhesive. Did you peel the plastic protective off the top, or leave it on? If you peel it off, won't it stick to the compartment's cover and make re-opening the compartment difficult (impossible?)
I have to say thank you to your instruction video. It's very helpful and easy for following. I'm an IT so reload window on PC or Laptop is easy but MS Surface is new device to me and ya... your video is magic.
The way you just demonstrated making the boot - able drive; is that the same process when swapping out a mini pc, or Laptop SSD, and then load everything off that flash drive, & onto the new drive that you installed into that mini pc, or Laptop?
But if you do that, do you need a new Windowskey or is it witin the iso File from Microsoft? Or is the windowsky inbetet in your surface motherboard ifen if you never bootet the system?
Nope, luckily the key is now on a ms database that is locked to your hardware. As soon as you get back on the internet with the new drive installed it activates windows automatically 👍
Okey thank you, so you can just reinstall Windows on the new drive, without booting it with the original drive once and at the same time Windows gets activatet if you come online? And does ist work the same with the Surface Pro 8 (Windows 11)?
How do I know all of my files, documents, etc., will transfer over with the new SSD? I made sure to check the 'back up system files' option when creating the recovery drive. Is that all I have to do?
would it be possible to put in a new larger ssd put the old one in a caddy and then clone the old driver to the new larger ssd so that it would'nt be necessary reinstall all of the applications again?
Because I wanted a fresh install. You can check it and it will save you files and I believe the programs you preset installed. It does take AGES though
@@MashITTech Shut the OS down does not mean cut the power off in the hardware level, thinkpad has a maintenance setting in the bios to cut the power off in hardware level before begining the hardware service, user must connect the power adapter when finishing the hardware maintenance to turn on the thinkpad again, for the Surface Pro 7+, I am wondering if the short little rod in front of the SSD screw is the hardware power disconnector? I also read the MS official surface hardware maintence guide, they did not even mention this important safety point....
So ok the SIM card is for me to be able to access internet wherever I go right? So if I’m in school and my school has the wifi blocked I can just use a SIM card to get internet right?
@@MashITTech I bought a 1 mm thermal pad 12.8 w/mk but I had to press it very well because it seemed a little bit too thick for the 1 TB tuff-nano I got.
I'm wondering why Surface Pro 9 is running SSD on PCIe 3.0. According to specs both device and drive are PCIe 4.0 compatible. I wanted to upgrade my drive with WD SN770M SSD(which has 5150MB/s and 4900MB/s read/write speed). It seems pointless when Pro 9 is running SSD in a mode that is limited to 4GB/s(limit for PCIe 3.0 x4). Some YT tutorials for this upgrade include speed tests done after replacement and authors are dissapointed with results. I suspect it is rather a problem with PCIe 3.0 limit than the drive itself.
i got a micro Sd mini card to use as a flash drive since for the Surface Pro 8 the side doesnt not have a usb to store info i want to tranfer to another tablet or computer. Now with the surface pro 8 how would i save files and more to tranfer it to another computer or tablet?
@@MashITTech UK . I also wonder if you know good retailer to buy the laptop as well . And is it essential to have a business prior to buy it . Thanks in advance
You have made a good choice, the 7+ is a lot better than the 7 even without the ability to upgrade the SSD :) I did a video where I compared the i5 to the i7 if you are trying to decide on a config to buy: th-cam.com/video/3XbAuBYsRCc/w-d-xo.html
Excellent Tool!!!! It works perfectly. I upgraded to 1TB. The only doubt I had was about the thermal tape. Does it work, just the tape, without any metal to transfer the possible heat? I'd appreciate any comments
my tape brought the level to the metal plate so transferred the heat to the back of the SP. In all honesty these SSDs don't get that hot so it isn't necessary but I had the tape to hand so decided to use it
I wish you had dwelled a little more on the metal surrounding the original drive. It is physically part of the drive--it cannot be removed? Does the metal serve some other purpose besides heat dissipation, such as EMI shielding? Did you test the thermals of the new drive--it is crammed into a tiny spot with no air circulation--to see what temperatures you get with prolonged data transfers?
@MashITTech Thanks for getting back to me, it's the screw itself. I've watched it spin as I turned the driver and it does move but it doesn't get any tighter or loose.
@@MashITTech i just bought a WD sn530. I'm following your guide step by step but the surface is unusable because I'm having bsods all the time and the surface restarts in recovery mode. I try to restore but I don't get any improvement. What could i do?
@@MashITTech yes via recovery usb. I get bsod very often, after loading Windows, once on my desktop, the surface start to restart randomly. The system goes on recovery mode but i can not solve
Because the surface 7+ was released a while ago they work best with Gen 3 drives (such as the Samsung PM991a) gen 4 drives will work but will crash frequently unless you change a lot of registry entries and power settings
They no longer sell the 128gb model because of this. Everyone was going for that model and upgrading the SSD. Now the minimum model you can buy is the 256gb, at least here in Canada
I purchased a 128gb i5 model just this week in the US (APR 16th 2021). Though it was the last one Microsoft had in stock. I guess they are moving leftover stock?
Hello. Thanks for this great video. I also enjoyed your i5 vs i7 comparison video. My question is: If I follow the steps above, the surface will be reset and I will lose my set up. I know I can drag the files onto an external or cloud drive, but I dread having to set it up again and reinstall software. Would you recommend a solution I can use to back up the surface prior to the storage upgrade that will then let me press a couple buttons and have it restored with all my settings and programs reinstalled? Thank you!
@@MashITTech Hi following up one last time. My SSD is here and I'm planning to perform the upgrade within the next few days. I would love to hear what solution recommendations you've had. Thanks!
Nice, I just learned about the 7+ line today and was looking to get the i3 Surface Go 3 to compliment my gaming laptop. Didn't know the 7+ had a upgradable SSD while having a SD slot. You wouldn't know by chance if the USB C port can output video, do you? I want to connect a display art tablet when I don't want to use my laptop. Thx.
what is 'back up system files' and why would you uncheck it? i don't want to loose my apps settings and its files plus my media files also. i just want to have everything on my old ssd transfer to my new ssd including the systems settings
Then leave the box checked. I wanted a fresh install which I why I mentioned it. If you leave the box checked the process takes a long long time so be patient :)
Hello, I have a Surface Pro 9 with 256g memory, I would like to increase the memory to 1T. It would be possible to find a card with 1T of memory for this Surface Pro 9. If you have a website to recommend for purchasing this memory card, you could leave a description of the website.
I am not sure what country you are in but this should take you to your local amazon: geni.us/PUTWz this is the WD SN770M, a well priced drive in 512/1tb/2tb with good speeds and 5 years warranty. I just used it in the surface pro 11 upgrade video I dropped on the channel today: th-cam.com/video/-3SR5wGrGkM/w-d-xo.html
here is a link to eBay USA with a 512gb WD 2230 that you would need: www.ebay.com/itm/265148602949?epid=26028929757&hash=item3dbc169a45:g:DZQAAOSw3KFgkbnP Another way you can do it is to buy a caldigit tough nano which is an external 30mm SSD. You would need to rip that apart but it would also give you a caddy for the old ssd
Hi! I was planning on upgrading my MSP 8. I am having some doubts on whether booting my laptop with the recovery drive. Will it still have the same OS (W11 pro and its license). I'm new to DIY upgrades and I can't afford to make mistakes as it will hold me back financially. I hope somebody could answer. Thanks!
Hi, great video. I just I have ordered a KIOXIA M.2. BG4 512GB SSD and a Surface Pro X . I'm planning to change the SSD and then turn on for the first time. In that case, should I do the procedure with the USB or its not neccesary? Thanks in advance.
Quick question. The Surface Pro 7+ I am upgrading runs Windows 11 pro, I'm having trouble finding the link to download the that iso. Any assistance is appreciated.
The SSD will be slightly faster and may make the machine feel a bit more snappy but that is it. The machine is already pretty quick with the tiger lake cpu
Can you name spec or size/ type information of the screwdriver fo ssd screw? I cant hear you clearly because English is not my native, I'm sorry and thank you for your answer 🙏 I bought the ssd, but i cant install it because I dont have the exact size of screwdriver 😂
I found the best place to get hold of them was eBay. the other option is the cal digit tuff nano which is an external ssd with a 30mm Toshiba inside, you have to crack it open but you get the benefit of having a caddy for your old drive. link: geni.us/pHfQ
Hi from Athens-Greece! Nice video. I have ordered a KIOXIA M.2. BG4 512GB SSD and I look forward to install it, since it is even faster than the original SAMSUNG PM991/ 128GB SSD. Just one (silly) question. What is the difference between checking and unchecking the "Bakup system files" button at the Recovery drive creation procedure?
Hello to Athens! Ok, in answer to your question: Back up system files will take a snapshot of your current system and takes a long time to recreate. uncheck backup system files and you get a fresh image as if you bought your surface new
Excellent video, thanks a lot. I also enjoyed your other video. May I ask a quick question here, do you know if there's any chance that I can connect my surface pro 6 to another PC, so that I can run forensic software ? I'd need to recover the super important data that I cannot afford to lose in the computer storage.. (There's no build in firewire port for surface pro)
Thanks a lot for replying!!! Yes my surface pro 6 is accidentally bitlockered during an window update, I couldn't find the key (It's a 48 numeric digit) despite trying a lot of different Microsoft account. I've also tried to downgard the bios (as i found this solution somewhere else on the internet), but in vain. I'm now thinking to buy an forensic tools (passware / Elcomsoft /Thegrideon), and decrypt my device. But actually I'm a complete technobimbo, dont even know how to connect my laptop to another PC. A friend of mine said it's impossible for my surface pro 6 as there's no firewire port, and USB just couldn't work out... Sorry for such a long comment, but my question is : do you know if there's any chance that I can connect my surface pro 6 to another PC (even without firewire port?) @@MashITTech
If you are buying it new now you will get 11. There will still be a windows 10 7+ image on MS but I am not sure if it will auto license if it was shipped with widows 11
so I just picked up a SP8 with 128GB, trying to upgrade to 512GB, I tried hynix 711, did not work, after doing recovery, it locks up at choose region screen, and no response whatsoever. I was told that only PCIE-Gen3 is natively supported, so I ordered a Kioxia BG4 gen3, and it still does exactly the same thing, locks up at the choose region screen, can anyone help? shed some light on which m.2 I can get natively and just work, without having to do a bunch of configuration changes. thanks in advance
thanks for info, 2 part question, can I use the microSD slot as a bootable drive to create an image. Also I already did my MS Updates, downloaded the apps I need and prefer avoiding reinstalling all of them, will the bootable USB copy those to an image or should I leave the box checked to include that?
1. I have not tried booting from the SDcard but in theory it should work. 2. It should also copy the windows image across with the patches but again I wanted a clean copy of windows so didn't use it
For the windows recovery USB you mentioned, Does this fully wipe out the windows 11 in the sp7? because I want a clean install, windows 11 in this sp7 got some problems.
I had a question, i bought this model with windows 11 installed. I also am a bit worried about the ram useage (its constantly using 7 gb) is it possible to install windows 10 (i have an official edition thumbdrive). Or is there any other way to install windows 10 on the surface pro 7+? I also plan to upgrade ssd that was my biggest worry as after the first day i was down to 9 gb free space with the cloud backup enabled and a few software packages installed. Thanks a lot and greetings from Belgium
If you have the official surface windows 10 image on thumb drive you should be fine, test it on your new drive and keep the old one as a back up drive. My only concern would be the license, I am not sure if it will auto activate if you roll it back to windows 10 and I can't test it as mine shipped with 10
this channel is the only one that details the steps to run the recovery tool. Other channels only show where the SSD is located which is elementary at best. Thank you for making this video.
It's one of the best tutorials on TH-cam. I followed these steps, and it works like a charm. I purchased a 2T SSD to replace 128GB, which wasn't enough for me.
One alternative to the recovery drive would be getting an M.2 to USB adapter and then just cloning the existing drive onto the new one. You can do it directly from the Surface. Macrium Reflect is what I personally use. Completely free, and it has saved me many times. There will be a bit of learning (not much) compared to the simple recovery drive, but if you have use for the adapter and cloning software in the future, why not? Cloning is also super useful if you already have lots of files and programs since it makes an exact copy and you don't have to mess with transferring files or reinstalling programs (usually).
Nice idea. I will try this. I hope it works well.
Thanks a million. I was also thinking about this method.
When I saw all this videos with this method I thought they are all doing so because it's not possible to clone the disk, for some reason (encryption maybe)... I always did the clone method and I was desperate seeing this: "how am I gonna do with all the files"... thank god I stumbled on your comment!!! thank you man
Thanks so much for this terrific tutorial! I found an SSD on eBay, followed your instructions exactly and was able to upgrade my SP7+ from 128Gb to 512Gb for minimal cost. Great guide and very easy to follow. Thanks!
Hi.... Can you share the eBay link please?
Link
@@AmmarAlAkshardude. how hard is to find an ssd?
I'm already halfway done on the process of upgrading I had to pause and subscribe to you after watching this video dozens of times. Thank you for saying it's a t4 screwdriver because I would have strip my screw 👍🏿😷👍🏻🇨🇦🇵🇭🇺🇲
So glad to be able to help 😀
amazinggg finally a surface that allows to increase ssd! def upgrade from my sp3. PD.- before doing this procedure remember to make a backup of your data of interest & I would select the "just erease my files" option 👍🏻
The 7+ and the new 8 both have this feature and it’s about time!
At least you won’t have to destroy your surface in order to upgrade your SSD
@@TheAikatsuFanexactly, I had to use HDD which is not very practical; I was tempted to do the mod but glad I waited
Excellent video, thanks! Just enough detail to tell me everything I need to know and little to no rambling like some other how to videos do. Much appreciated!
Thanks, that is really kind of you to say :)
Very interesting to note it only supports SSDs that are 30mm. I first encountered this tiny form factor in a Dell G5 desktop(!) 512 GB SSD.
Yes it is odd that dell are using the 30mm SSD, I have seen a few in their m15r5 and G15 range too
Very useful and helpful. I have just upgraded from Pro Surface 6 to Pro 7 Plus and want to upgrade my SSD and this has made me feel more confident about doing it myself. Many thanks
Just make sure you buy a gen 3 drive 👍
@@MashITTech Yeah I have checked into what one is best and seen a Crucial one that is compatible
@@MashITTech The one I looked at is a Gen 4, so not sure if that would work?
it wont. You need gen 3, sorry. People have tried to get gen 4 working but it causes sleep issues
@@MashITTech Thanks very much for that, much appreciated
One of the best if not THE best videos on SSD upgrades for surface pros! Thank you very much.
Great video. Yours should be top of the search results. Some others waffle for 10 minutes without actually showing you what to do to prepare the old and new SSD.
Thanks mate, that is really kind of you to say
@@MashITTech great channel as you cater both to novices and pros 👍
Very informative no frills video. Straight and to the point will be doing this soon
Excellent video! I was able to seamlessly upgrade my SP7+ from 256GB to 1TB. Thanks.
So glad to be able to help 👍
Hi! Can you suggest an eBay link or Amazon for the SSD?
Thanks!
Hi, Can you post the link from where did you by the SSD?
Thanks
Link please
@@AmmarAlAksharYou can buy 2230 type nvme ssd. There are lots of them.
Thermal tape is usually 2-sided...did you attach it to both the ssd and the "access door"?
I followed Mash IT's well organized presentation to install a 1TB in my Surface Pro 7+. Please note that the SSD screw to be removed in mine required a T3 driver (not T4 which I had, will not work and using it will ruin the screwhead). I had to go to Home Depot and buy another set of drivers that had the T3. I obtained the 1TB SSD by extracting it from a CalDigit "tuff nano". The tuff nano is very well made and will house the 256GB SSD removed from the Surface. I say "will" house because I need to obtain a longer screw because the Microsoft SSD has a very narrow width screw post gap and will not fit around the tuff nano post leaving the screw about 2mm short.
Hi Gregory, nice work on the caldigit nano! what a great way to get hold of a 1tb. I might do the same for my incoming Surface Laptop 4. Was the caddy still useable once you had ripped the drive out? You could then pop the surface drive in that :)
T3 is correct , me too faced the same issue
The thermal tape/sheets I find is all double-sided with adhesive. Did you peel the plastic protective off the top, or leave it on? If you peel it off, won't it stick to the compartment's cover and make re-opening the compartment difficult (impossible?)
the thermal tape is not so sticky so you may open it again without any issue
@@wedjatube should I use thermal tape or thermal paste?
@@okaythen001 dunno what's better, I used the thermal tape and it's all working fine for the last 6 months.
Followed these steps for my surface pro 9 and it worked 👌
I have to say thank you to your instruction video. It's very helpful and easy for following. I'm an IT so reload window on PC or Laptop is easy but MS Surface is new device to me and ya... your video is magic.
Glad it helped :)
Maravilloso!! Pasé de 128Gb a 1Tb siguiendo las instrucciones
Muchas gracias
Excellent video. I have the Surface Pro 7+ with the 128 GB version and i5 11th gen. Can I upgrade to 1 TB without any Problems ?
Hi: I did the upgrade on my surface pro x, but it recover to 54% then stops, says it has problems. What should I do? Thanks
Excellent tutorial. Works with Windows 11 as well. Thank you!
Glad to be able to help :)
Wonderful! Described so clearly and in detail (screw T4) 😊. Thermal paste and cover conversion also work well if you use it carefully. Thank you!
Thank you very much! I followed the tutorial and was able to make my new drive to work!
Glad it helped :)
Thank you for the video. Please let me know if we dont put thermal tape what will happen?
The way you just demonstrated making the boot - able drive; is that the same process when swapping out a mini pc, or Laptop SSD, and then load everything off that flash drive, & onto the new drive that you installed into that mini pc, or Laptop?
But if you do that, do you need a new Windowskey or is it witin the iso File from Microsoft?
Or is the windowsky inbetet in your surface motherboard ifen if you never bootet the system?
Nope, luckily the key is now on a ms database that is locked to your hardware. As soon as you get back on the internet with the new drive installed it activates windows automatically 👍
Okey thank you, so you can just reinstall Windows on the new drive, without booting it with the original drive once and at the same time Windows gets activatet if you come online?
And does ist work the same with the Surface Pro 8 (Windows 11)?
@@Sfs678 yes it certainly should but I haven’t tested in windows 11 yet
@@MashITTech Okey, very thank you for your help 👌❣
How do I know all of my files, documents, etc., will transfer over with the new SSD? I made sure to check the 'back up system files' option when creating the recovery drive. Is that all I have to do?
would it be possible to put in a new larger ssd put the old one in a caddy and then clone the old driver to the new larger ssd so that it would'nt be necessary reinstall all of the applications again?
Why do you uncheck "Back up system files to the recovery drive"? and does the recovery also include all the software you already installed?
Because I wanted a fresh install. You can check it and it will save you files and I believe the programs you preset installed. It does take AGES though
What would happen to my documents, photos, etc? Is this effectively a factory reset?
I plan to buy a refurbished MS pro 7. But i plan to choose the lowest spect i5/8g/256ssd. Is that worth to change it 1TB even my RAM only 8g?
Can you sure that when you open the ssd plastic cover the device power is fully cut off?
Yes, you need to make sure you shut the surface pro down first.
@@MashITTech Shut the OS down does not mean cut the power off in the hardware level, thinkpad has a maintenance setting in the bios to cut the power off in hardware level before begining the hardware service, user must connect the power adapter when finishing the hardware maintenance to turn on the thinkpad again, for the Surface Pro 7+, I am wondering if the short little rod in front of the SSD screw is the hardware power disconnector? I also read the MS official surface hardware maintence guide, they did not even mention this important safety point....
So ok the SIM card is for me to be able to access internet wherever I go right? So if I’m in school and my school has the wifi blocked I can just use a SIM card to get internet right?
Thanks. Is the white sheet you attached on the surface of SSD a silicon rubber?
That was just 1mm thermal tape 👍
@@MashITTech I bought a 1 mm thermal pad 12.8 w/mk but I had to press it very well because it seemed a little bit too thick for the 1 TB tuff-nano I got.
I'm wondering why Surface Pro 9 is running SSD on PCIe 3.0. According to specs both device and drive are PCIe 4.0 compatible. I wanted to upgrade my drive with WD SN770M SSD(which has 5150MB/s and 4900MB/s read/write speed). It seems pointless when Pro 9 is running SSD in a mode that is limited to 4GB/s(limit for PCIe 3.0 x4).
Some YT tutorials for this upgrade include speed tests done after replacement and authors are dissapointed with results. I suspect it is rather a problem with PCIe 3.0 limit than the drive itself.
i got a micro Sd mini card to use as a flash drive since for the Surface Pro 8 the side doesnt not have a usb to store info i want to tranfer to another tablet or computer. Now with the surface pro 8 how would i save files and more to tranfer it to another computer or tablet?
sorry, I am a bit confused by the question. What device do you have now and what do you want to move it to?
which brand is best additional SSD card
Hi. My surface pro 7 plus is not recognized new ssd. What can i do?
What ssd did you buy?
Can you please provide link for the hard drives including 512 and 1 tb?
I would normally link them but they are not as easy to buy off the shelf. What country are you in?
@@MashITTech UK . I also wonder if you know good retailer to buy the laptop as well . And is it essential to have a business prior to buy it . Thanks in advance
I got mine from ballicom, you don’t need to be a business and they were cheapest in U.K. will get a link for ssd shortly
thank you for your teachings, It strengthen my decision which surface pro I will buy. 7+ it is...!!!
You have made a good choice, the 7+ is a lot better than the 7 even without the ability to upgrade the SSD :) I did a video where I compared the i5 to the i7 if you are trying to decide on a config to buy: th-cam.com/video/3XbAuBYsRCc/w-d-xo.html
So is it standard that after SSD change it will only power up and boot up with the power connector plugged in?
Thank you ~ i had
a question , when we create the recovery drive there is the
operating system?
would you be able to not make a recovery drive if it’s a brand new surface pro? like straight out of the box/ factory resetted?
why dont you remove the with sticker from the new SSD back ? paper is a pretty good insulator... makes no sense to leave it on.
Hey man just a question can we also do the same in surface pro x? Or we have to open the whole laptop? 😅
it is exactly the same as this 👍
@@MashITTech can we do same in microsoft surface pro 7 VDV_00015 ??
Excellent Tool!!!! It works perfectly. I upgraded to 1TB.
The only doubt I had was about the thermal tape.
Does it work, just the tape, without any metal to transfer the possible heat?
I'd appreciate any comments
my tape brought the level to the metal plate so transferred the heat to the back of the SP. In all honesty these SSDs don't get that hot so it isn't necessary but I had the tape to hand so decided to use it
Any maximum capacity of the SSD upgrade? Could you put a 1TB drive in there?....the price of SSDs have come down quite a bit in recent years. Thanks!
You are only limited by the size of the 30mm. 1tb is the maximum they make at the moment
@@MashITTech yes, and 1TB is also the max configuration they offer for the 7+
please could you provide the link for the thermal tape? many thanks for the informative video.
Thank you for a clear and concise video.
Glad it was helpful!
I wish you had dwelled a little more on the metal surrounding the original drive. It is physically part of the drive--it cannot be removed? Does the metal serve some other purpose besides heat dissipation, such as EMI shielding? Did you test the thermals of the new drive--it is crammed into a tiny spot with no air circulation--to see what temperatures you get with prolonged data transfers?
Any ideas on what to do if the screw spins and spins but won't come out?
when you say the screw spins, you mean the actual screw or the screwdriver in the head?
@MashITTech Thanks for getting back to me, it's the screw itself. I've watched it spin as I turned the driver and it does move but it doesn't get any tighter or loose.
is 1TB WD SN530 m.2 2230 is suitable for SP 7+ ?
It sure is 👍
@@MashITTech Thanks for the quick reply,
@@MashITTech i just bought a WD sn530. I'm following your guide step by step but the surface is unusable because I'm having bsods all the time and the surface restarts in recovery mode. I try to restore but I don't get any improvement. What could i do?
@@aqualung10 so you have installed the new ssd and installed windows via the recovery usb? When do you get the bsod?
@@MashITTech yes via recovery usb. I get bsod very often, after loading Windows, once on my desktop, the surface start to restart randomly. The system goes on recovery mode but i can not solve
Can you use any m.2 2230 ssd?
depends on the surface model. What do you have?
@@MashITTech Surface pro 7 +
Because the surface 7+ was released a while ago they work best with Gen 3 drives (such as the Samsung PM991a) gen 4 drives will work but will crash frequently unless you change a lot of registry entries and power settings
Does that thermal tape come with the pc tools set you linked?
No sorry it was just some 0.5mm thermal tape I happened to have on hand
After upgrade to WD SN740 1TB at my Surface Pro 7+ Windows began to randomly freeze and reboot without any bsod. Don't know how to fix that
What Torx screwdriver size?
I need to change mine
But i read in Google some say T3 or T4
Which one?
Surface pro 7plus
I think its Torx 3 rather than Torx 4. Torx 3 is mentioned in most videos and works with my SP8
I did everything you said, but I'm getting this error: "windows cannot find a system image on this computer" can you please help me?
What version surface pro do you have and what 30mm SSD did you buy?
@@MashITTech its working now, it was a problem with the image file. thank you for your help.🥰
What if I only have thunderbolt ports available on the Pro 8?
will usb c stick work?
yes it will
They no longer sell the 128gb model because of this. Everyone was going for that model and upgrading the SSD. Now the minimum model you can buy is the 256gb, at least here in Canada
I purchased a 128gb i5 model just this week in the US (APR 16th 2021). Though it was the last one Microsoft had in stock.
I guess they are moving leftover stock?
And I purchased i5 128gb yesterday at MS store here in Italy...
@@NVGEAR it's true in Canada like I said
Is this working the same way on win 11 ?
Yep. Just did it today for the 2nd time.
Which thermal tape did you use. Can you provide link.
Did you find out? should I use thermal paste for this? not good or something?
He said 1mm thermal tape or thermal pad is fine any on Amazon is fine I just bought some.
Hello. Thanks for this great video. I also enjoyed your i5 vs i7 comparison video. My question is: If I follow the steps above, the surface will be reset and I will lose my set up. I know I can drag the files onto an external or cloud drive, but I dread having to set it up again and reinstall software. Would you recommend a solution I can use to back up the surface prior to the storage upgrade that will then let me press a couple buttons and have it restored with all my settings and programs reinstalled? Thank you!
I sure can, I am just out of the office at the moment, give me a couple of hours and I can answer you properly
@@MashITTech hi just following up :)
@@MashITTech Hi following up one last time. My SSD is here and I'm planning to perform the upgrade within the next few days. I would love to hear what solution recommendations you've had. Thanks!
Nice, I just learned about the 7+ line today and was looking to get the i3 Surface Go 3 to compliment my gaming laptop. Didn't know the 7+ had a upgradable SSD while having a SD slot.
You wouldn't know by chance if the USB C port can output video, do you? I want to connect a display art tablet when I don't want to use my laptop.
Thx.
I don’t think you can upgrade the go 3 I am afraid. But yes you can output video through usbc
i have a Surface Pro 7 and don't have that, I have the old SSD port on the side?
yes unfortunately the 7 has the SSD soldered onboard, this was the reason I bought the 7+
what is 'back up system files' and why would you uncheck it? i don't want to loose my apps settings and its files plus my media files also. i just want to have everything on my old ssd transfer to my new ssd including the systems settings
Then leave the box checked. I wanted a fresh install which I why I mentioned it. If you leave the box checked the process takes a long long time so be patient :)
Thank you for this video!!! Worked great, with no issues.
Glad it helped!
@Mash IT what SSD did you pick? is it gen4 or gen3?
for teh 7+ or 8 you need to use Gen 3 drives. Surface pro 9 and beyond you can use Gen 4
Have a link to a T4 tork screwdriver?
Hi, is it possible to simply clone the SSD (in NVME SSD enclosure) using a software like macrium?
Yep they should work perfectly
Hello, I have a Surface Pro 9 with 256g memory, I would like to increase the memory to 1T. It would be possible to find a card with 1T of memory for this Surface Pro 9. If you have a website to recommend for purchasing this memory card, you could leave a description of the website.
I am not sure what country you are in but this should take you to your local amazon: geni.us/PUTWz this is the WD SN770M, a well priced drive in 512/1tb/2tb with good speeds and 5 years warranty. I just used it in the surface pro 11 upgrade video I dropped on the channel today: th-cam.com/video/-3SR5wGrGkM/w-d-xo.html
What is the detail type of that SSD? Any brand references? Thanks.
its a 2230 30mm PCIE ssd. I bought a western digital 30mm 250gb to replace my 120gb stock drive
@@MashITTech Can you add a link to it? Also maybe a 1tb version too?
here is a link to eBay USA with a 512gb WD 2230 that you would need: www.ebay.com/itm/265148602949?epid=26028929757&hash=item3dbc169a45:g:DZQAAOSw3KFgkbnP
Another way you can do it is to buy a caldigit tough nano which is an external 30mm SSD. You would need to rip that apart but it would also give you a caddy for the old ssd
@@MashITTech Awesome... thank you :)
@@MashITTech Hi this link is not working now, can you suggest 1TB link for my SP 7+
Hi! I was planning on upgrading my MSP 8. I am having some doubts on whether booting my laptop with the recovery drive. Will it still have the same OS (W11 pro and its license). I'm new to DIY upgrades and I can't afford to make mistakes as it will hold me back financially. I hope somebody could answer. Thanks!
Whoa they made them upgradeable that's sick!
yeah, finally! especially with how much M$ charge to configure the SSDs, this is amazing news
Hi, great video. I just I have ordered a KIOXIA M.2. BG4 512GB SSD and a Surface Pro X . I'm planning to change the SSD and then turn on for the first time. In that case, should I do the procedure with the USB or its not neccesary? Thanks in advance.
if you install a new SSD you will still need to create the USB surface image to install windows on your new SSD 👍
i bought the same one. I hope your machine is running well
is your machine running fine??any errors or blue screen
Planning on doing the same thing how is it?
My lap is fine :)
Quick question. The Surface Pro 7+ I am upgrading runs Windows 11 pro, I'm having trouble finding the link to download the that iso. Any assistance is appreciated.
did you upgrade to windows 11 or did it ship with it?
Shipped with it. @@MashITTech
if you follow my link and use your serial number it *should* give you the windows 11 image
i was wondering if you use a bigger ssd like instead of 165 you upgrade to 1 tb does that make your pc faster?
The SSD will be slightly faster and may make the machine feel a bit more snappy but that is it. The machine is already pretty quick with the tiger lake cpu
its possible to upgrade ram memory of pro7+??
Can also help to use sn740 2T ssd to try too?
The sn740 doesn’t work well in the 7+ or 8 but should be fine in the 9
we usually say great video great tutorial but hey. this was a great tutorial . many thanks you are the best
Glad you enjoyed it :)
Can you name spec or size/ type information of the screwdriver fo ssd screw? I cant hear you clearly because English is not my native, I'm sorry and thank you for your answer 🙏
I bought the ssd, but i cant install it because I dont have the exact size of screwdriver 😂
how do I buy the SSD I looked on Amazon and I can't find it it is still being sold
I found the best place to get hold of them was eBay. the other option is the cal digit tuff nano which is an external ssd with a 30mm Toshiba inside, you have to crack it open but you get the benefit of having a caddy for your old drive. link: geni.us/pHfQ
Hi from Athens-Greece! Nice video. I have ordered a KIOXIA M.2. BG4 512GB SSD and I look forward to install it, since it is even faster than the original SAMSUNG PM991/ 128GB SSD. Just one (silly) question. What is the difference between checking and unchecking the "Bakup system files" button at the Recovery drive creation procedure?
Hello to Athens! Ok, in answer to your question:
Back up system files will take a snapshot of your current system and takes a long time to recreate.
uncheck backup system files and you get a fresh image as if you bought your surface new
@@MashITTech thank you for your prompt and accurate reply!
have you installed KIOXIA M.2. BG4 512GB SSD, how it is working? did you get any blue screen error and auto restarting ?
Excellent video, thanks a lot. I also enjoyed your other video.
May I ask a quick question here, do you know if there's any chance that I can connect my surface pro 6 to another PC, so that I can run forensic software ? I'd need to recover the super important data that I cannot afford to lose in the computer storage..
(There's no build in firewire port for surface pro)
sorry, I am not quite sure what you are asking. Do you mean in the event of a failure to be able to retrieve the data?
Thanks a lot for replying!!!
Yes my surface pro 6 is accidentally bitlockered during an window update, I couldn't find the key (It's a 48 numeric digit) despite trying a lot of different Microsoft account.
I've also tried to downgard the bios (as i found this solution somewhere else on the internet), but in vain.
I'm now thinking to buy an forensic tools (passware / Elcomsoft /Thegrideon), and decrypt my device.
But actually I'm a complete technobimbo, dont even know how to connect my laptop to another PC. A friend of mine said it's impossible for my surface pro 6 as there's no firewire port, and USB just couldn't work out...
Sorry for such a long comment, but my question is : do you know if there's any chance that I can connect my surface pro 6 to another PC (even without firewire port?)
@@MashITTech
Does the seven plus come with windows 11 only and does 10/11 matter in swapping the SSD’s?
If you are buying it new now you will get 11. There will still be a windows 10 7+ image on MS but I am not sure if it will auto license if it was shipped with widows 11
does every M2 SSD 2230 work with surface pro 7+?
I stripped the SSD's screw head. Any tips on how to remove the screw ?
Have you tried using an elastic band over the driver to give you some extra torque?
@@MashITTech I did no luck ! I ordered something called " screw grab " it's a liquid , hopefully that'll do the trick
Fingers crossed that works. Let me know how you get on 👍
@@MashITTech I received it today and no luck with " screw grab "
so I just picked up a SP8 with 128GB, trying to upgrade to 512GB, I tried hynix 711, did not work, after doing recovery, it locks up at choose region screen, and no response whatsoever. I was told that only PCIE-Gen3 is natively supported, so I ordered a Kioxia BG4 gen3, and it still does exactly the same thing, locks up at the choose region screen, can anyone help? shed some light on which m.2 I can get natively and just work, without having to do a bunch of configuration changes. thanks in advance
what about surface pro 6 how i did it?
It’s soldered on the sp6, there is no way to upgrade it
thanks for info, 2 part question, can I use the microSD slot as a bootable drive to create an image. Also I already did my MS Updates, downloaded the apps I need and prefer avoiding reinstalling all of them, will the bootable USB copy those to an image or should I leave the box checked to include that?
1. I have not tried booting from the SDcard but in theory it should work.
2. It should also copy the windows image across with the patches but again I wanted a clean copy of windows so didn't use it
Can someone help please. I get to continue in selected language but the screens froze.
what Surface pro model are you using and what SSD did you buy?
Does this applies to the surface pro 7 as well? Or only to a 7+ model?
Thanks
Caula
Only the surface pro 7+. This is in my opinion one of the best upgrades over precious surfaces
@@MashITTech thanks for replying!👍
hi do you have a link to buy the SSD? The only one I can find in the UK is Dell
30s are really hard to buy from retail stores, there are plenty available on eBay though. I got the western digital sn520 and it has been great
Hey, the video is great, thank you for making it easy to follow.
Question though.. Can the same process be done on a Surface Pro 6?
sorry unfortunately the SP6 doesn't allow easy access to the SSD slot like the 7+
For the windows recovery USB you mentioned, Does this fully wipe out the windows 11 in the sp7? because I want a clean install, windows 11 in this sp7 got some problems.
It sure does. Just make sure you do not tick the box to keep your settings etc
Only problem is that now my keyboard does not work so I cant go through the prompts to install windows
WTF! never heard of anyone having that issue before! have you got a USB keyboard you can plug in to get you through?
@@MashITTech thats a good idea ill try that and let you know!
I had a question, i bought this model with windows 11 installed. I also am a bit worried about the ram useage (its constantly using 7 gb) is it possible to install windows 10 (i have an official edition thumbdrive). Or is there any other way to install windows 10 on the surface pro 7+? I also plan to upgrade ssd that was my biggest worry as after the first day i was down to 9 gb free space with the cloud backup enabled and a few software packages installed.
Thanks a lot and greetings from Belgium
If you have the official surface windows 10 image on thumb drive you should be fine, test it on your new drive and keep the old one as a back up drive. My only concern would be the license, I am not sure if it will auto activate if you roll it back to windows 10 and I can't test it as mine shipped with 10
where is the sim injection part of this device ?
Hi! Thank you for the video and your expertise! The replacement SSD you used is a SSD M2 PCIe NVMe 2330? Or 2230? Thank you again
It’s a pcie nvme 2230, I bought the wd sn530 on eBay, it was the easiest place to get hold of them in the U.K.
@@MashITTech help please, you know if PCIe 3.0 3D NAND is compatible? or PCIE 4 is compatible? Thank U
Thank you very much for this great tip, saved me a few hundred quids. Much appreciated
should I get this but the i3 8g 7+?