Upgrading your computer’s boot drive from a 512GB NVMe SSD to a 2TB NVMe SSD can significantly increase storage capacity without reinstalling Windows or losing any settings.
In this guide, I will walk through how I migrated my Windows system disk using Rescuezilla and GParted, safely and efficiently.
Original Setup
- Old SSD: Apacer PP3480 512GB (PCIe Gen3 x4, M.2 2280)
- New SSD: GIGASTONE GT6330 2TB (PCIe Gen3 x4, M.2 2280, TLC NAND)
- Backup Tool: Rescuezilla (cold backup method)
- External Storage: 1TB USB SSD (for temporary backup)
- The 512GB SSD being replaced was the boot/system disk, containing Windows, EFI System Partition, Recovery Partition, and C: (OS) and D: (Data) drives.
- Create a Rescuezilla Bootable USB Drive
Download Rescuezilla
- Visit Rescuezilla Official Site.
- Download the latest stable version (e.g.,
rescuezilla-2.6-64bit.oracular.iso).
Prepare the USB Drive
- Use a USB drive with at least 2GB capacity.
- Note: All existing data on the USB drive will be erased.
Flash ISO Using Rufus
- Download Rufus.
- Set up Rufus with these settings:
| Setting | Value |
|---|---|
| Device | Your USB drive (e.g., Rescuezilla (F:)) |
| Boot selection | rescuezilla-2.6-64bit.oracular.iso |
| Partition scheme | MBR |
| Target system | BIOS or UEFI |
| File system | Large FAT32 (Default) |
| Cluster size | 32 kilobytes (Default) |
| Volume label | Rescuezilla |
- Click Start.
- When prompted, select ISO Image Mode (Recommended).
After completion, the Rescuezilla bootable USB is ready.
- Backup the Current 512GB System (Cold Backup)
- Insert the Rescuezilla USB and the external 1TB USB SSD.
- Boot the computer from the USB drive (set USB as first boot device in BIOS/UEFI).
- In Rescuezilla:
Click Start Rescuezilla.
Choose Backup.
Select the internal 512GB NVMe SSD as the source disk.
Select the 1TB USB SSD as the destination.
Create a full disk image backup.
- Replace the SSD
- Power off the PC.
- Remove the old Apacer PP3480 512GB SSD.
- Install the new GIGASTONE GT6330 2TB SSD.
- Restore the System to the New 2TB SSD
- Boot into Rescuezilla again from the USB.
- Choose Restore.
- Manually browse to the backup location (e.g.,
/mnt/backup/mybackup/). - Select the backup image.
- Choose the new disk: /dev/nvme0n1 (the 2TB SSD).
- Select all partitions for restoration (including EFI, system, and recovery partitions).
- Start the restoration process (usually takes 30–40 minutes).
- Expand or Move Partitions Using GParted (If Needed)
If after restoring, there is still unallocated space:
- In Rescuezilla, open GParted from the top menu.
- Select the correct disk device (e.g., /dev/nvme0n1).
- Locate the main large partition you want to expand.
- If the unallocated space is immediately adjacent:
- Right-click → Resize/Move on the partition.
- Drag the right edge to absorb the unallocated space.
- If the unallocated space is not adjacent:
- Move other partitions first (Right-click → Resize/Move → drag the partition block) to reposition them.
- Then resize the partition as needed.
- After adjustments, click the green checkmark ✓ to apply all changes.
- Wait for GParted to complete resizing and/or moving.
GParted allows full control over partition resizing and reordering.
- Finish and Boot Normally
- Remove the Rescuezilla USB and external SSD.
- Boot from the internal 2TB NVMe SSD.
- Windows should boot exactly like before, now with full 2TB storage available.
- Verify system health and available disk space.