Cloning your Steam Deck’s SSD is a straightforward course of that may prevent quite a lot of time and trouble in case your SSD ever fails. By making a clone of your SSD, you possibly can rapidly and simply restore your Steam Deck to its earlier state, with out having to reinstall your entire video games and functions. On this article, we’ll present you how you 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 machine that may let you join your Steam Deck’s SSD to your laptop through USB. After getting a USB enclosure, you possibly can 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 a lot of totally different cloning software program packages accessible, however we advocate utilizing Clonezilla. Clonezilla is a free and open-source cloning software program that’s simple to make use of and dependable. After getting put in Clonezilla, you possibly can 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. Here 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 packages are important:
- Etcher: An open-source device for flashing pictures to storage gadgets.
- Clonezilla: A robust disk-to-disk cloning software program.
- SteamOS Restoration Picture: A bootable picture used to revive SteamOS to your cloned SSD.
Eject the Authentic SSD
Earlier than cloning your Steam Deck’s SSD, you will have to eject the unique drive. Here is a step-by-step information on how you 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. Preserve the screws organized, as they’re all totally different sizes.
- Rigorously elevate the again panel off the Steam Deck. Keep away from utilizing extreme power.
- 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 want a USB drive with at the very least 8GB of area. You possibly can obtain the SteamOS picture from the official Valve web site. After 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 machine.
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 may be introduced with the SteamOS set up display screen.
2. Choose the language you need to use and click on “Subsequent”.
3. Choose the keyboard format you need to use and click on “Subsequent”.
4. Choose the partition you need 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 may be introduced with the SteamOS login display screen.
Methods to 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 performed utilizing a wide range of totally different software program instruments, however for this information, we might be utilizing Clonezilla. Earlier than you start, you will want the next:
- A USB drive with at the very least 8GB of storage
- A USB-C to USB-A adapter
- A pc with a USB port
After getting your entire supplies, you possibly can 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 machine.
As soon as the Steam Deck has booted from the USB drive, choose the “Clonezilla Reside” possibility.
On the Clonezilla principal 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).
After 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 scale 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 identical as cloning a Steam Deck SSD to a USB drive. Nonetheless, you will want 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 possibly can clone a Steam Deck SSD to an exterior laborious drive. Nonetheless, 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 robotically restore the working system and video games from the clone.
