Upgrade Your Lenovo LEGION GO: Easy Step-by-Step 2TB NVME SSD Installation

[@cpaek72]

For others who want to upgrade, clone your nvme first while it's still inside your legion go. Use Macrium Reflect and clone the drive to an external usb nvm enclosure with your new drive. That way you can save a whole lot of time and just swap out the ssd without having to reinstall everything.

[@RypperGaming]

That way works great too!

[@theatheisthammer]

Recovery fails at 97% doesn't move the green bar

[@MonsterXqc]

That way is a less cheaper to

[@GMoney88-x2]

Wish I could like this 100x, doing this method it only took me around 25 mins to swap ssds.

[@randburg3014]

Everybody don't have an enclosure

[@b1gjoekrash]

Thank you. Your video is the only one I found that explained how to restore the GO by USB and not cloning. My hard drive crashed and was unrecoverable. I ran into issues because I did not realize that the proprietary software was needed to full restore or else restoration would fail. Thank you so much

[@FakeGamer_1775]

How long did it take to restore from the usb? It feels like it’s taking forever on mine.

[@b1gjoekrash]

It took 2hrs for the entire reinstall.

[@ktepasa123]

Thank you so much! This was the only way I could swap my Rog Ally SSD without its system, but Lenovo's.

[@PitufoDiaz_TTV]

Thank you for going with the USB recovery option. This will save me from buying two ssd enclosures that I won't be using later on and go through the cloning software option. This way I can resell the original 500gb drive and make a clean install without spending extra money.

[@tomejovanovski]

You don't need two ssd enclosures just the one

[@cheerguyami]

Thank you for the guide, didn't have a USC-Key but using a portable dock allowed me to use a USB-A thankfully!

[@GamersInkInfo]

You may want to put the heat shield tap on it, or put a thermal pad on it. What are your temps? 2TB is a bit much for heat, but at least it's a Gen3 and not a Gen4.

[@louisianaboy2253]

Thank you for this I plan on upgrading next year

[@afistfulofpimples1745]

I plan on upgrading the year after.

[@jamiehemming7725]

I’ve recently installed a sabrent 2230 ssd with 30-42 adapter to fit. Initialised it, formatted it and cloned everything to the new ssd via macrium reflect!! As turned it on, I ran into the same problem as you did via this video and it won’t boot up with the new ssd!! Do I need to go through the same procedure as you, using a usb c drive on another pc, which would be my rog ally, download the recovery data and then transfer it onto the legion go via the usb c drive into it.. nothing would be affected to what I cloned originally would it? You’re help would be much appreciated

[@tomejovanovski]

Would have been nice if you had showed the new ssd storage once it was all done in settings and reading 2TB in your device ive seen people update the ssd and it wasn't reading the new ssd and was showing the old storage one

[@jjreyes2017]

Hello what format does the usb has to be?

[@sollice01]

Is there a reason you didnt put the foil insert on your new ssd? If its like hte Deck, thats used for cooling / interferance.

[@RypperGaming]

I didn't put it on right then because I wanted to take my time with it. Also, I have switched the drives out back and forth to compare performance.

[@andyandy6525]

Nice video. I would suggest first to remove film from ssd, and after that remove screw, so no need to hold it with fingers. And battery is better to unplug too.

[@raybca6888]

Hi I have a question I follow your instruction video, and I finish all the steps. how ever when I noticed that my Legion Space button and the settings button are now functioning the way it should. how can I fix the issue?

[@mauricioespinoza4655]

Thank youuuuuu,how Long Takeshi the first part of the recovery? Because mine is like 1 hour and didnt pass of that.

[@StormyGuinane]

Can someone help me with the Boot Menu I keep getting each time the Handheld loads? I'm baffled how to change it???

[@_asturias]

berapa GB yang dibutuhkan untuk penyimpanan USB flashdisk nya untuk menyimpan recovery file nya ?

[@tinton98]

does not work, after inserting the pendrive error pops up (META recovery file not found)

[@longpheu]

Yeah same anybody found any fixes yet?

[@ProKiddY]

How long was the whole OS installation only ?

[@ozymandias4479]

Hi, in my country its difficult to find m2 2242 1/2tb gen4 , always gen3 Can i use m2 2230 to 2242 adapter in legion go? Just like on legion notebook

[@RypperGaming]

Yes that will work as they both use the same interface.

[@ozymandias4479]

@@RypperGaming thx i'll get use to it

[@QuantumTech33]

Hey quick question How long did the second process take with the recovery on the legion go itself, mine is taking hours and then gets stuck at 90%??

[@Fabiuja]

Seems mine is stucked too. Did you resolve?

[@QuantumTech33]

@@Fabiuja I sent it back to Lenovo for repair the ssd drive has a faulty connection somewhere in the GO

[@willeymunda]

Getting that silver insulation tape of the stock SSD drive is almost impossible to get off in a condition to be able to apply to the new SSD. Is there any other form of insulation tape you can use to put on the new SSD? I tried putting the silver tape from the original SSD on the new one but the unit went bang and no longer works, I presume it shorted out the unit from not being covered correctly?

[@afistfulofpimples1745]

Yes

[@MisplacedTXN]

Hey there, thank you for showing thos option when the duplication doesn't work. How long does it take for the recovery tool to complete its job? Going on more than 2 hours now.

[@RypperGaming]

Mine took about that long if I remember correctly. Hopefully, yours finished by now. If not, I would start over from scratch.

[@MisplacedTXN]

@RypperGaming I called lenovo premium and they stated the Go cannot be upgraded to 2TB, I ordered a 1TB and will try that before returning the bigger one. Any idea why it wouldn't work on mine?

[@BOXEOPLUS]

I put 2tb and it work just fine, I don't know what you guys are doing

[@Pipes61874]

If I upgrade the ssd before starting the device like right out of box ,will it be easier to do the windows updates

[@RypperGaming]

If you are doing a fresh load of Windows, switch the drive first. If you want to clone using Macrium reflect, you can load the original drive and get it setup first. I don't have a video on the Macrium method, but there are several out there if you want to go that route.

[@brandont7214]

​@@RypperGaming Thanks. Planning on buying a Legion Go soon. Have a spare 2230 ssd I can install before powering it on out of the box

[@janekwicher]

my one is stuck at 90% and it will not install

[@QuantumTech33]

same here im not sure why its stuck at 90% ?!

[@Fabiuja]

@@QuantumTech33 Ehi did you solve it?

[@drusso66]

great tutorial, do you think it would be possible to use the recovery usb on a new 2TB drive inside a nvme enclosure before placing the drive inside the Legion Go

[@RypperGaming]

No because the recovery drive boots to the device. If you have the enclosure connected it may be possible, but recovery images may have an issue writing to an external drive. If you try it out, let me know how it goes.

[@drusso66]

@@RypperGaming Thanks for the advice, I decided to recover the new drive installed in the Legion Go and worked a treat, I have a 2tb nvme and 1 tb micro sd , happy days.

[@dreamcastdc]

That inland 2TB gen3 SSD(2400/2100) is much slower than the WD SN740 512GB gen4 included with the Legion Go, the WD drive is 5150MB Read/ 4900MB Write.

[@RypperGaming]

You are correct, but it doesn't make a big difference for gaming, and I prefer the extra space. If they had a name brand 2242 size that was Gen 4 I would go for it.

[@dreamcastdc]

@@RypperGaming I went with a WD SN740 2TB Gen4 2230, and used a 2242 length extend adapter, only cost around $140 bucks total.

[@broly19812010]

Was trying to put Ghost Spectre Windows 11 on my LegionGo, when I put it on my USB stick and went into bios, it didn't show up. Any advice?

[@RypperGaming]

Sorry about the delay. You might want to image the USB drive with Rufus. There are options to check to make sure it is bootable. If it still doesn't read, I would try another usb drive.

[@imago3studio]

Hi, I bought this SSD: SSD 4TB M.2 2242 SHARKSPEED 42mm NGFF 3D NAND SATA 3 (6Gb/s) It is recognized by my desktop PC, but not by LenovoGO. I wonder why? I made the clone, but the SSD is not recognized. Now I also discovered your alternative way. I saw that it didn't recognize your 2tb ssd either, so I was hoping to succeed but nothing at the moment even with your method. I followed your guide extremely carefully. I created the USB key successfully and started the installation process which stops at the end (in the sense that the green installation line stops at around 95% and no longer completes the process. I even waited 2 hours, but nothing) Do you have any suggestions?

[@RypperGaming]

I am pretty sure I read NGFF drives are not supported on this device unfortunately. It needs to be a true NVME drive.

[@imago3studio]

@@RypperGaming unless there are new drivers or a new bios, we can therefore forget about 4tb drives on legionGo. this was the only 2242, 4tb. another reason to return this device?

[@KaiSer-vo3ho]

Go only recognize NVMe not NGFF as per specsheet. I advice you just use it as a backup drive on your PC. And next time before making a purchase about storages, make sure to take your time reading the products specs sheet so you won't be hassled by incompatible parts.

[@d3ath_realm]

can I install a 4tb?

[@RypperGaming]

They dont make a 4TB 2242 Drive, only 2280 which will not fit. You may be able to fit an L shaped adapter but not sure if the case will close.

[@Francisco1994]

Man that is so much work to upgrade the nvme that i will just get the asus rog ally instead, asus has a recovery tool on the freaking bios of the rog ally...

[@andresfalla7421]

Gracias que buen video gracias este video entendí muchas cosas y pude cambiar el almacenamiento de mi legión go sin necesidad de clonar

[@leakahoshi5049]

If you ever strip your NVME screw and want to replace it yourself , buy PZ-57 Screw Pliers M2 Small.

[@Mck179]

your ssd that you put is not in Gen4 therefore slower than the original ssd

[@RypperGaming]

I know, I mentioned that. Games dont really play differently between Gen 3 or 4. I have both in my main PC and you cannot tell a difference. Gen4 may load slightly faster, but not noticeable.

[@shawnwade302]

I would have unplug the battery before removing the ssd

[@hussainmehdi6968]

There is option available in bios to turn off until power adaptor is not connected

[@eniltonsp]

Dude, you forgot to unplug the battery cable 😮

[@RypperGaming]

I noticed that during editing! But like I said, it's just a precation.

[@dreamcastdc]

You don’t need to, just make sure you don’t press the power button after taking off the back plate.

[@hussainmehdi6968]

There is option available in bios to turn off until power adaptor is not connected

[@Mck179]

the ssd you put is less efficient than the original one from the legion

[@RypperGaming]

I explained that there is only one 2TB 2242 drive in the video that is Gen 4. Gen 3 is fine for most everything.

[@ibapreppie]

I would have unwrapped the heatshield and stuck it on the new ssd

[@RypperGaming]

I have had no issues with it so far. Another commentor told me it destroyed the wrap. It did not seem easy to remove.

[@JosephEllis-ep7sg]

There was so much wrong with this tutorial lol would have been a lot easier to clone your drive first and i a lot safer to unplug the battery rather than hotswapping both your old and new ssd 😂

[@RypperGaming]

The battery you are right on. I prefer to do fresh Windows loads on new devices though. There are tutorials out there for using macrium reflect that work well for the cloning option.

[@wrathcaster2555]

There is absolutely nothing wrong with this video, it's a fully working alternative method which I thank the uploader for posting as I don't want to buy enclosures. Just because it's not the method you like, doesn't make it wrong.