Five years ago, when Microsoft launched the Surface Pro X and Surface Laptop 3, it made a tiny design change that turned out to be pretty huge, in retrospect.
Also: How to upgrade your ‘incompatible’ Windows 10 PC to Windows 11
In previous versions of the Surface line, storage devices had been fixed to the motherboard, making it impossible to add disk space after the initial purchase. The new design used standard M.2 NVMe storage devices in a slot that’s accessible from the outside of the device. Corporate IT managers were the main driver of this change. For repairability and security reasons, they wanted the ability to replace SSDs when swapping out devices.
Why should you consider a storage upgrade?
This design has been a game-changer for Surface customers in home and small business environments, who now have the opportunity to upgrade storage after the initial purchase, potentially at a fraction of the cost that Microsoft charges for upgrades.
Also: The best M.2 SSDs of 2024: Expert tested and reviewed
As regular readers might remember, I purchased the cheapest Surface Pro 11 model earlier this year, with a 256 GB SSD included. I would have had to pay an extra $200 to upgrade that storage to 512 GB, which was the maximum available for my configuration. On higher-end configurations, going from 512 GB to 1 TB costs another $200, and there’s currently no 2 TB option available. (You can buy a 1 TB replacement drive for the Surface Pro 9 for $231.99.)
I’m sure someone in Redmond has an Excel spreadsheet that explains those prices, but I got sticker shock just looking at my options. So, I decided to go with a third-party, high-performance, 2 TB upgrade drive. Total cost? $230.58, including sales tax. Total upgrade time? A couple hours, tops. And most of that was just transferring backed-up files to the new drive.
You can do the same on any Surface Pro 8 or later; the option is also available for the Surface Laptop 3 and later models. Here’s how it works, in 7 easy steps.
Step 1: Gather the tools and components you need
Before you get started, I recommend that you gather everything you’ll need to perform this upgrade. There’s nothing more frustrating than getting halfway through the job and realizing you’re missing one important piece of the puzzle.
Here’s your shopping list:
- M.2 2230 replacement SSD – This form factor is the only one that will work in a Surface Pro or Surface laptop. I chose a 2TB Crucial P310<!–> that I know is compatible with my PC. I’ve used Crucial products for decades, and the company has excellent upgrade tools to help you confirm that you’ve made the right choice.
- T3 Torx screwdriver – You’ll need this to remove the tiny screw that holds the existing M.2 drive in place. I purchased this model–> from Amazon a couple years ago and it’s served me well.
- USB flash drive with USB-C connector, at least 16 GB – I have several of these PNY drives<!–> that can switch between USB-A and USB-C. They’re well built and reliable.
- External USB hard drive – This one’s optional, but I highly recommend having one of these around for backing up your existing drive. I used a Crucial X9 drive–> that’s fast and large enough to back up an entire drive easily.
Step 2: Download the Surface recovery image
Because I’m working with an Arm-based Surface Pro, there’s no way to download Windows installation media in ISO format. Fortunately, Microsoft makes recovery images available for every Surface device it sells. Even on an Intel-based device, I recommend this option because it ensures that you have all devices, drivers, and utilities installed just as they would come from the factory.
Also: How to make Windows updates less annoying, in three easy steps
You’ll need the serial number for your device, which you can get from the Surface app or by looking under the kickstand.
Use the Surface app to find the serial number, which you’ll need to download a recovery image.
Screenshot by Ed Bott/ZDNET
To download the image, go to this page: https://support.microsoft.com/surface-recovery-image. Sign in with your Microsoft account, select your Surface model number, and enter the serial number. Follow the prompts and download the image to your PC. (Do not save it to the USB drive.)
Step 3: Create a bootable USB recovery drive
I’ve covered this topic previously (see “Got a Windows PC? Create a recovery drive in 4 steps to prevent disaster”), so if you’re a regular reader you might already know how to do this.
Start by creating a basic Windows recovery drive. Insert your USB flash drive and then type recovery in the search box on the taskbar. Click the Recovery Drive shortcut from the search results. Clear the checkbox that offers to back up your system files to the recovery drive. Click Next and then follow the prompts, choosing your USB flash drive as the target.
Also: How to create a bootable Linux USB drive
After that’s complete, double-click the recovery image file you downloaded earlier to open its contents in a File Explorer window. In a separate File Explorer window, open the recovery drive you just created. Select all the files from the recovery image window and drag them into the window for the bootable USB recovery drive. Choose the option to replace existing files if asked.
Keep that drive handy.
Step 4: Back up your system drive!
This step is optional but highly recommended. Using my external drive (not a USB flash drive), I used the Windows 7 Backup program (which is still included with Windows 11) to create a system image.
Plug in the external drive (sorry, you can’t use a USB flash drive) and type the command Sdclt.exe to open the Windows Backup program. Click “Create a system image” in the left-hand pane to open a window like the one shown here.
You can use this system image to “clone” your system drive and restore it to the upgraded SSD.
Screenshot by Ed Bott/ZDNET
Choose the external drive and follow the prompts to create your backup.
I also recommend that you use the new Windows Backup tool, installed by default with Windows 11. It copies data files to OneDrive and also copies Microsoft Store apps and settings. For apps that aren’t available from the Store, it includes a shortcut and download instructions that you can use to reinstall the app. This option is especially useful if you have a Microsoft 365 account that includes plenty of OneDrive storage and you don’t have a lot of third-party apps installed. More on that in a minute.
Step 5: Remove the old drive
Turn off the Surface Pro, disconnect it from power, and remove any external devices before performing this step. (The official instructions are in this support document: “SSD removal in compatible Surface devices.”)
Also: 7 ways to make Windows 11 less annoying
The slot that holds the Surface Pro SSD is under the kickstand. On older Surface Pro devices (Surface 8, 9, X), it’s secured with a simple lock that works like the one on a mobile phone’s SIM tray. Remove the cover by inserting a SIM puller (or a bent paper clip) into the unlock hole.
On a Surface Pro 9, 10, or 11, the cover is magnetic, and a gentle push reveals the installed storage.
This storage compartment is on the back of a Surface Pro, under the kickstand. Use a Torx T3 screwdriver to remove the single screw holding the drive in place.
Photo by Ed Bott/ZDNET
Use the Torx T3 screwdriver to remove the single screw that holds the SSD in place. Be careful not to strip this screw, and don’t lose it!
Pull the SSD directly away from the slot. Don’t lift it up until the drive connector is completely free of the slot. (If you pull up too early, you risk damaging the drive, the slot, or both.) When the drive is completely removed, set it aside.
Step 6: Install the new SSD
Place the new M.2 SSD in the empty slot with the connector pointing to the slot, then push it gently straight into the slot so that it’s fully fastened. Use the Torx T3 screwdriver to fasten the drive in place using the screw you removed from the old drive. Then reattach the cover.
Also: The best NAS devices of 2024: Expert tested
If you’ve chosen a third-party upgrade drive, you’ll probably notice a difference in its packaging compared to the original drive. From the factory, a Surface drive has a carrier that includes a heat sink. The new drive doesn’t. Is that a problem? It hasn’t been for me, and I’ve performed this operation on three Surface Pro models over several years. Under normal use, I haven’t felt any heat or seen any signs of heat-related stress.
If you have a high-end Surface Pro or Surface Laptop and plan to use it for video editing and other disk-intensive tasks, your experience might be different. In that case, consider purchasing an official replacement part from Microsoft–>. You’ll pay a little more and your options will be more limited, but compatibility shouldn’t be an issue.
Step 7: Reinstall Windows 11 and restore your apps and data files
Your computer now has an empty drive. To get back to work, you have two options.
If you created a system image, you can restore that image, which includes every bit of data, every setting, and every installed app that was on the original storage device. That option creates one tiny headache, however, because it restores the system drive to a block of disk space the same size as the original, with the Windows Recovery partition after it and then a large block of empty space.
Also: How to install Windows 11 the way you want (and bypass Microsoft’s restrictions)
Because that Recovery partition is in the way, you can’t use the built-in Windows disk tools to extend the system drive. On an x86-based system, that’s not too much of a problem because there are plenty of third-party disk partitioning tools that allow you to move that partition to the other side of the empty space.
But none of those options work on the Arm-based Surface Pro 11, which means your only option is to use a Linux boot disk and the GParted command to do the moving. As an alternative, you can use a series of arcane PowerShell commands to create a copy of the recovery partition, delete it, and then re-create it in the proper place. That’s not a job for anything but the most experienced IT pros.
The much simpler solution is to boot from the USB drive containing the recovery image, restore the factory configuration, and then reinstall apps, settings, and data files from OneDrive using Windows Backup. Some minor tweaking is required, but the result is a clean installation that works exactly as if the system were new.
Also: 11 Windows touchpad tricks to help you work faster and smarter
Regardless of which option you choose, you don’t need to worry about activating Windows — that’s done automatically as part of the recovery process. I do recommend that you keep the recovery image drive and the original SSD in a safe place. If you ever need to send in the Surface Pro for repairs, you can remove the upgraded drive and put things back to the original configuration without any fuss.
