ROG XBOX ALLY STORAGE UPGRADE

ROG XBOX ALLY STORAGE UPGRADE

This
has to be one of the most daunting tasks I've undertaken, I've built
PCs before, I've written software before, taught myself how to create
a website a few years ago now (not hosted, just wanted to see if I
could learn) and I even started this blog but replacing the 512GB
NVMe (Non-Volatile
Memory Express) drive with a 2TB NVMe drive seems a bit
of a scary undertaking, in my post about the ROG XBox Ally I did
mention that I thought the 512GB drive was way too small for such a
heavy duty handheld and that it would probably need upgrading, well
today is that day.

I
had previously looked at storage options with regards to various NVMe
form factors, storage capacities and cost, I wanted more storage
space but didn't want to spend a fortune and as RAM prices had
started to soar so too had storage prices so a 4TB card was probably
out of the question and I would settle for a 2TB card which seemed a
nice step up from the 512GB without breaking the bank.

I
knew there were other considerations to take into account like
read/write speed and just exactly which form factor did I need (2230,
2242, 2260, 2280, 22110)?
I looked up the specs for the ROG XBox Ally for a bit of information
and it seems I now have the answers I need, the ROG XBox Ally I have
contains a M.2
2280 NVMe PCIe Gen 4 SSD, so I now know I need a 2280 form factor,
2TB with a read speed of approx 7200 (the original 512GB installed
read speed is 4,900 MB/s) and I wanted this for as cheap as possible
but good quality, not too much to ask.

I
most definitely wasn't going to change the drive without a little
research in advance, so YouTube here I come, other people must have
done this replacement so why can't I. I did a search for “rog xbox
ally ssd replacement” and surprisingly there were quite a few
videos to choose from.


So
before I take the ROG XBox Ally apart there are a couple of things I
need to do, firstly take out the microSD card and place to one side,
then make sure the battery is less than 25%, unfortunately this may
take a little time, my ROG XBox Ally may have been sat on the coffee
table for about 1 week but it has managed to keep quite the charge
98% so the battery needs draining a little.

The
battery is now drained, after a bit of a game playing session, so
below is a list bullet points of the things I need, some that are handy to have and
a couple of things that are essential:
ROG
	XBox Ally.
Acer
	FA200 2TB PCIe Gen 4 M.2.
Freshly
	purchased STREBITO
	Electric Screwdriver Set, 67 in 1 (contains screwdriver and prying
	tool).
USB-C
	lead.
MicroSD
	card (not used for the upgrade but handy none the less).
Time
	and patience (essential).

So
I took it apart as the video showed, removing the screws, taking off
the backplate and I had to take out the battery, as the SSD is
partially under the battery, and went right ahead a changed out the
SSD, replaced the battery and closed the backplate and screwed it
back on, more straight forward than I had originally thought it would
be. Then came the software install which I was more worried about
than taking the ROG XBox Ally apart.


I
now have to use cloud recovery and I do this by going into the bios
and advanced menu this is not something I have ever had to do before,
using a combination of the YouTube video and my phones camera so that
I could see what was on the ROG XBox Ally display. This was a bit
more bumpy than the dismantling. The first time I tried it didn't
download the recovery software, the second time I tried it downloaded
the cloud recovery software and even though I was plugged into the
mains my console would restart so I thought I'd leave it plugged in
overnight to get the battery to charge.

It
is now the following day and it still won't boot, why? The smart Alec
I live with says “did you disconnect the battery when you took it
apart?” and the answer “yes” followed quickly by saying to
myself “did you connect it again before putting it back together?”
OK, let's take it apart again and see, and, yes, I forgot to
reconnect the battery, so I reconnect and close up. Now let's try
going into the bios again and see what happens.

So,
starting from scratch I seem to be getting somewhere, the cloud
recovery software has downloaded and rather than shutdown there is
now a progress requester, so it seems to be doing something, I just
now wait and see. After some time, approximately 75 minutes, numerous
restarts and a lot of patience and I now have a fully working ROG
XBox Ally to setup, Windows setup that is and once done,
approximately another 75 minutes later and I'm back into the XBox
dashboard.

Now
the process of downloading and installing some games and I'm now back
where I started but with a 2TB drive installed.

Would
I recommend this procedure?
For
a handheld with this amount of power and all the other specs as
listed in my ROG XBox Ally post the 512GB storage it shipped with is
definitely too little and the upgrade is definitely worth the time,
patience and a little investment in a larger drive.

How
did I find the process?
It
was rather daunting but I felt it was definitely needed so I went
straight ahead and literally dived in and hoped for the best. Apart
from the battery, my stupidity, the process went well.

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Michael