Cloning your Steam Deck’s SSD is an easy course of that may prevent a whole lot of time and trouble in case your SSD ever fails. By making a clone of your SSD, you’ll be able to rapidly and simply restore your Steam Deck to its earlier state, with out having to reinstall your whole video games and functions. On this article, we’ll present you how one can clone your Steam Deck’s SSD utilizing a USB enclosure and a cloning software program.
Step one is to buy a USB enclosure. This can be a small gadget that can will let you join your Steam Deck’s SSD to your laptop by way of USB. Upon getting a USB enclosure, you’ll be able to insert your Steam Deck’s SSD into it and join it to your laptop.
Subsequent, you will have to obtain and set up a cloning software program. There are numerous completely different cloning software program applications obtainable, however we advocate utilizing Clonezilla. Clonezilla is a free and open-source cloning software program that’s straightforward to make use of and dependable. Upon getting put in Clonezilla, you’ll be able to launch this system and choose the “Clone disk to disk” possibility.
Put together the Supplies
Assembling the mandatory gear is essential earlier than embarking on the Steam Deck SSD cloning course of. This is a complete listing of supplies you will want:
{Hardware} Necessities:
The next instruments will facilitate the bodily manipulation of your {hardware}:
| Merchandise | Amount |
|---|---|
| Steam Deck | 1 |
| Supply SSD (unique SSD to be cloned) | 1 |
| Goal SSD (new SSD to obtain the clone) | 1 |
| USB-C to USB-A Adapter | 1 |
| Exterior SSD Enclosure (for supply SSD) | 1 |
Software program Necessities:
To execute the cloning course of effectively, the next software program applications are important:
- Etcher: An open-source device for flashing photographs to storage units.
- Clonezilla: A strong disk-to-disk cloning software program.
- SteamOS Restoration Picture: A bootable picture used to revive SteamOS to your cloned SSD.
Eject the Unique SSD
Earlier than cloning your Steam Deck’s SSD, you will have to eject the unique drive. This is a step-by-step information on how one can do it:
- Energy off your Steam Deck.
- Flip the Steam Deck the wrong way up and find the ten Torx T5 screws holding the again panel in place.
- Use a Torx T5 screwdriver to take away the screws. Maintain the screws organized, as they’re all completely different sizes.
- Rigorously carry the again panel off the Steam Deck. Keep away from utilizing extreme drive.
- Find the M.2 2230 SSD slot on the motherboard. It is a small, rectangular connector with a notch on one finish.
- Gently pull the SSD straight as much as eject it from the slot.
- If the SSD is tough to take away, use a plastic spudger or tweezers to rigorously pry it out.
| Tip |
|---|
| Put on anti-static gloves or contact a steel object to floor your self earlier than dealing with the SSD to stop electrostatic discharge. |
| Watch out to not injury the SSD or the motherboard whereas ejecting it. |
Set up SteamOS
To put in SteamOS in your new SSD, you will have a USB drive with at the least 8GB of house. You possibly can obtain the SteamOS picture from the official Valve web site. Upon getting downloaded the picture, you should utilize a device like Etcher to burn it to the USB drive.
Create a bootable USB drive
1. Obtain the SteamOS picture from the official Valve web site.
2. Use a device like Etcher to burn the picture to a USB drive.
3. Insert the USB drive into your Steam Deck.
4. Boot your Steam Deck into the BIOS.
5. Change the boot order in order that the USB drive is the primary boot gadget.
6. Save your modifications and exit the BIOS.
Your Steam Deck will now boot from the USB drive and start the SteamOS set up course of.
Putting in SteamOS
1. As soon as your Steam Deck has booted from the USB drive, you’ll be offered with the SteamOS set up display screen.
2. Choose the language you wish to use and click on “Subsequent”.
3. Choose the keyboard format you wish to use and click on “Subsequent”.
4. Choose the partition you wish to set up SteamOS on and click on “Subsequent”.
5. Click on “Set up” to start the set up course of.
The set up course of will take a couple of minutes to finish. As soon as it’s completed, your Steam Deck will reboot and you’ll be offered with the SteamOS login display screen.
How one can Clone a Steam Deck SSD
Cloning your Steam Deck SSD is an effective way to create a backup of your working system and video games, or to improve to a bigger SSD. The method is comparatively easy, and could be executed utilizing quite a lot of completely different software program instruments, however for this information, we will probably be utilizing Clonezilla. Earlier than you start, you will have the next:
- A USB drive with at the least 8GB of storage
- A USB-C to USB-A adapter
- A pc with a USB port
Upon getting your whole supplies, you’ll be able to start the cloning course of.
First, obtain Clonezilla from the official web site and burn it to a USB drive. As soon as the USB drive is burned, insert it into the USB-C to USB-A adapter after which into the Steam Deck.
Subsequent, boot the Steam Deck into the BIOS. To do that, press the ability button after which maintain down the Quantity Down button till the BIOS menu seems.
Within the BIOS menu, navigate to the “Boot” tab and choose the USB drive because the boot gadget.
As soon as the Steam Deck has booted from the USB drive, choose the “Clonezilla Stay” possibility.
On the Clonezilla fundamental menu, choose the “Machine-Picture” possibility after which choose the “Local_dev” possibility.
Subsequent, choose the supply disk (the Steam Deck SSD) after which choose the goal disk (the USB drive).
Upon getting chosen the supply and goal disks, choose the “Start” possibility.
The cloning course of will now start. The estimated time for the cloning course of will fluctuate relying on the dimensions of the Steam Deck SSD.
As soon as the cloning course of is full, choose the “Reboot” choice to restart the Steam Deck.
The Steam Deck will now boot from the cloned SSD.
Folks Additionally Ask
How do I clone a Steam Deck SSD to a bigger SSD?
The method of cloning a Steam Deck SSD to a bigger SSD is similar as cloning a Steam Deck SSD to a USB drive. Nevertheless, you will have to make use of a USB-C to USB-C adapter as an alternative of a USB-C to USB-A adapter.
Can I clone a Steam Deck SSD to an exterior laborious drive?
Sure, you’ll be able to clone a Steam Deck SSD to an exterior laborious drive. Nevertheless, the exterior laborious drive should be formatted as NTFS.
How do I restore a Steam Deck SSD from a clone?
To revive a Steam Deck SSD from a clone, merely boot the Steam Deck from the cloned SSD. The Steam Deck will then mechanically restore the working system and video games from the clone.
