Some advice for anyone out there about to make the same dumb mistake I did. If you have a micro SD card inserted, take it out before doing this. Everything in the video went fine until after reimaging and noticing the SD card storage wasn't there. It had somehow slightly ejected and after snapping the back in place it also snapped my micro SD card in half. Getting that other half out of the micro SD slot was not a fun time.
I ordered the 64gb version with the intention of upgrading down the road. The upgrade itself looks pretty straightforward! Thank you for this video showing the 64gb model
me too. I actually think I will be quite satisfied with a 64GB and a 512GB SD card. And if the need for larger/faster internal storage arises (several years down the line), well then perhaps 1TB or even 2TB 2230 drivers will be as cheap as 512GB is today. :)
You may need to upgrade sooner than you think, reports are that even with everything being installed on an sd card, the shader cache for each game automatically goes on to the internal memory. Lots of people stating they have 4/5 games downloaded on their sd card and their internal memory is full without having a single game installed on it
Have been using a 500GB SD card with my Deck and it's been working well. Load times are good. But, having the option to change internal components is good too and should be available.
Thank you very much for this guide. As far as I can tell this is the best on RUclips. I watched a bunch before this one. The specifics you cover are spot on. I was able to upgrade my 64gb eMMC to a 1 TB SSD easily. Performance difference is very noticeable. I went with a SABRENT Rocket 2230 NVMe 4.0 1TB and it works flawlessly.
Just upgraded mine with the Micron 512gb. Literally took minutes great guide took me longer to find my screwdrivers than do it. I would advise everyone to be really careful with the power connector if you slip you can possibly damage the mobo. I used the pointy end of a guitar pick and carefully pushed the wide end. There is a ridge you can locate it in. Thanks for the video
@@gjwestonable I've heard a few reports of people switching out the SSD, beginning goes okay but in the middle of the reimage, their steam deck dies and never turns on again. Some of them smelled smoke, sounds like they did everything correctly but nobody could figure out the issue. They all sent them back to valve for repair and none of the technicians could find the root of the problem. I wonder if this is the issue.
@@crazierthorn10 it's very possible. My deck used to reset if you tapped the back. I would take it apart and the fault went away. I then noticed the really thin cable was under the shield. I couldn't see a break. I was very lucky. Since moving the cable it's worked perfectly.
I just wanted to say thank you for this Video. I’m a trucker that loves to game Steam Deck was a no brainer but with your video I got 1tb nvme and 1tb as card. You made it easy.
I ordered the 512GB first then realized its such an easy upgrade and ordered the 64GB instead and upgraded to 512 GB by following this video. Saved about 225! Thanks!
@@Gamespotfan1 I know for a fact that that only let you pre-order one and you couldn't change it until after it was released. After that you'd be in q4+. So you're lying. Please don't do that. It just makes you look silly to those informed. I know I ordered a second one.
@@cgwworldministries83 ummm you do know that you can make a second account with a different email and shipping address right? Maybe you should stop being so sure of yourself? Also, I didn't mention did I, when did I put in my original order or my new one? So you'll be the one assuming that I just put it in? I just replied to this video saying thanks that it was an easy instructional video, not that I placed an order after I saw this video
Thank you so much. I upgraded my steam deck. Advice to others doing it, make sure your deck is full loaded before. The OS reimagine took about half an hour for me (it goes up to around 6 GB installing)
Tip: cover exposed PCB with some paper and tape to hold it in place while removing and installing screws. After unplugging battery hit the power button for 10 seconds to ensure capacitors are fully discharged. They are tiny screws that you will drop at least once.
Probably should make it clear not to tape directly to PCB. Cover the left/right side with long sheets of paper cut to fit width wise and wrap them around taping to front of device. Blue painters tape is good about not leaving residue.
Thank you so much! I was so scared to do this, but your guide was perfectly detailed and was incredibly comforting to follow along with. Now I've got a 1tb ssd and a 1tb sd! :D
In hindsight, a removable door with easy access to the SSD via a single screw would have been a nice feature for the deck. People who don't care would never be bothered by it and people who want to upgrade wouldn't have to void the warranty. Also makes replacing a dead/malfunctioning SSD easier because you don't have to disassemble your Deck.
At least in the US, it does not void your warranty at all. Pretty much any warranty void if removed sticker is not legally binding, not that the steam deck has one of those anyways.
I've got my 64GB Steamdeck arriving this week and was hoping to find a basic tutorial to be able to swap out the eMMC drive. This tutorial is perfect, thank you! Have a sub :)
@@kyrinky definatly upgrade internal even if it just 256 gb nvme you upgrade to . I got 64 gb and withing a month I had no room due to shaders so I had to upgrade internal .
🤦♂️ I totally forgot to remove the battery because I got all excited when I saw the m2… So far, the steam deck *seems* fine? Praying it keeps being fine lol. Great guide!! And to everyone else reading don’t forget to remove the battery, I’ll try not to forget next time lol
So far the SSD is working, and I removed the MicroSD before doing anything else thankfully… so far the deck is still ok! Yeah it seems like a pain but… better safe than sorry? Lol I kinda get why the video recommends it, when you’re handling the deck if you’re not careful your fingers might hit the power button accidentally? I hit the volume button a few times while it was disassembled and had a few mini heart attacks lol
Thanks for the video. I switched my pre-order from the most pricey to the 64GB myself. I hear the MicroSD cards are nearly as fast as the built in storage anyway if you buy a decent card. I will pop the trunk and do what you've done here if need be down the road. Thanks for this video.
@@MemeCastGuy69 Oh, I'm still waiting. I have gotten to place the order though. My buddy had ordered the 512 and got it last week about 5 days after ordering. I am not a power gamer. I bet, with a memory card, I'll be fine with the smaller storage for a while. I will look to upgrade at some point in the near future though.
The only real problem with the 64 gigs model is that it fills up incredibly fast with shader caches from games. So even if you have a 1tb sd card you will be very limited on the number of games you can install. I upgraded my 64 gigs model after just one week because with only 5/6 games installed the internal storage was already full! Luckily it is very easy to upgrade and even with 256 gigs you should be good for a very long time.
Yea I thought $250 extra for a 512gb SDD was a little steep so that why I got the 64 gb verison. I planned on just using micro SD cards but finding out I cod upgrade the hard drive was just the cherry on the cake! It's good they didn't announce this until after pre-orders went live or I'd probably be Q3 or more instead of Q2!
Its honestly the way to go, the only real reason I would see getting the 512 gig version is for that etched glass screen & not have to worry about upgrading the storage right off the bat. I love tinkering and know linux really well so I got the 64gb version and upgrade it myself when I get mines in Q3.
@@cameronsharp2022 It is possible to buy the matte screen from iFixIt and install it in a different model other than the 512gb. It's not easy but it's possible.
Anyone trying to see desktop come up after inserting USB, please know it took about 5-10 minutes for me to see the desktop. YMMV, I was using PNY usb 3 drive, one end with a regular USB connector and another with a USB C connector in a same drive.
I also went with the 64GB version and bought a 512Gb nvme for 70€.. i first looked for micro sd card but it costs almost the same so it doesn’t make sense to me..
Hello, im kind of new to these SSDs here. Why do most ssds i found in my local stores are slightly bigger than the one showed in the video or the deck’s? I would appreciate an answer.
@@harolrvez7124 just look for nvme 2230 its compatible with the steam deck.. 2230 means 22mm wide and 30mm long.. i guess you find the most common 2280 which is 80mm long.. the 2230 nvme is a bit rare but you’ll find it online..
Thank you for this guide. I saw some other asshole go through the whole thing of installing the ssd but didn’t show the software side of things. Thank you sir.
This is exactly why I bought the cheapest model, as they make -anti-glare screen protectors, so I saw ZERO reason to grab the 512 model. As stated, this is pretty much saving $200 which I could put to some Steam purchases, or maybe even a 512 micro SD card. So for pretty much what the $530 256gb model cost, I can upgrade the SSD & the SD card on my 64gb for just about the same cost, and I'll have 1tb to show for my troubles, not to shabby. And I'll still have 64gb emmc drive I can use elsewhere or sell off, not bad for what amounts to the cost of the middle tier Valve offering(with 4x more memory). I'm guessing Gabe and his crew was thinking the same, as they were all shocked the 512gb model was the best seller, as most PC guys I know would never pay so much extra for something they could do themselves.
@@dylandetaeye And your the exact person Valve didn't see coming, which is cool as well. Changing out the memory isn't normally my cup of tea either, as I've built 2 PC's in my life and 1 of them I never even used. The fact that some bought the best model without much thought to changing the memory shows they got some console types or consumers they didn't think they would, and that's good for all of us.
The "Exclusive Steam Community Profile Bundle" is kinda attractive to me. But I have no idea whether I can get it with an upgraded 64GB machine. So I'm still hesitating
it's **so easy** thanks for the tutorial, needed confirmation that the shield was wrapped around the m.2 chip even on the 64GB eMMC and you have confirmed what I needed to know. I'm supposed to be getting mine tomorrow, and I am going to slab a 1TB into the internal and another 1TB in the microSD slot. SO READY HNNNNGGGGH
@@djdeznyc for micro SD Card SanDisk Ultra 1tb (Cheap, 140€, good read speed but bad write speed) or the SanDisk Extreme 1tb (220€, good read and write speeds). the Samsung Evo Plus 512gb SD Card has really good read&write speeds for cheap 55€.
One thing that I was unclear on: when going into boot menu, HOLD the volume down button and CLICK the power button, then let go of the volume down button at the chime. Had me worried because I wasn’t getting the boot menu holding down the power button.
at 4:14 I cannot change my partition scheme to GPT, someone help? its completely greyed out and does not allow me to choose anything, by defaut it is set to MBR. Thank you.
This is cool, and I was planning on doing this when I ordered the steam deck a year ago. But now that I have it - in the intervening year there are fast as hell micro sd storage. It's just not worth the teardown for what is only minor improvement over what can be had now. Still, cool as heck and thank you for the video
I reserved a 256GB model in mid February. Now I'm wondering if I should cancel and get the 64GB version. How many months do you think that would delay me getting my deck?
@@HawkBoss If you are in US or EU at least it only voids the warranty if your device is damaged by you, so replacing the ssd and not breaking anything is fine
Great guide, doing mine right now. I've been putting it off because I read some horror stories on Reddit. Some people were done with the hardware part, and in the middle of reimaging their deck, it powered off, and never turned on again...this happened to a few people in this group. They all sent their steam decks back to valve for repair, and none of the technicians could determine a cause. I'm guessing there was some type of short...either they used a double sided 2230 drive, or didn't insert their power cable back in correctly, or some wire was crossed or something. Looks very straightforward in your video though. I'm glad you put in the part about holding down the power button after disconnecting the battery, I'm wondering if this step was missed by the people with the short, and there was some latent power in the deck or something weird. Anyways, wish me luck! Not a big upgrade going from 64gb to 128, but my deck is literally out of storage and I don't even have any games installed on the emmc drive. Hopefully this solves my issue. Thanks again!
How'd it go? I constantly heard it was super easy everywhere until very recently seeing all the horror stories and now Im getting nervous to do it when my Deck arrives lol.
Thank you m8!! Im in fact considering changing to that precise SSD, i was wondering did you notice time improvment? like in downloads and loadings overall? Im not sure if that one being so cheap will have the same speed as the high tier NVME that the other models bring, what are you thoughts on that? Subbed and liked :D thank you!
Man I recently did this with a 1tb ssd, not super hard, but I wouldnt do it again in a hurry. Idk if it was my screw driver being shite, but the screws on the metal plate inside(top & bottom) are a fking pita to remove. Both got stripped, i needed to use small pliers to turn them. The amount of cracking & shit dismantling the plastic casing gave me a heart attack aswell.
So here is my experience in case someone runs into what I did. For me to boot, I had to press and hold the power and minus and let go of the POWER button instead of the minus to boot into BIOS, pick my drive and start the recovery process.
What is the Amperage on that Kioxia? I'm looking at a Kingston 512gb, but the power draw is 2.5A and I have heard the ones that come with the steam decks are 1A. Is the Kingston too high of a Amperage? I can't for the life of me figure out what the Amperage is on the Kioxia. It just has the voltage listed.
Thanks for the video tutorial 👍however when I changed my SSD to 1 TB capacity, I lost my micro SD card library! yet the games are still in the micro SD card, do you have an idea to display the lost library ?
Interesting watching this to remind myself where everything was (been a while since I have done mine) and my sons which I just got has a number of layout differences in the fan, motherboard (and heatsink) and the shield over the mobo.
Welp, I reserved the 64 gb one and I don't wanna wait even longer for a bigger one, especially as I am right near the email for my reservation after a long wait, but I also am not skilled enough to do this on my own. Is it possible to send to Valve to upgrade the internal storage for later down the line? I don't mind paying.
I still have mine new in the unopened box, can I do this upgrade right after I open it from its packaging or do I have to turn it on to update the software and then do the upgrade?
So I am completely new to all thing s pc but this looks mostly straight forward. But I’m lost on the usb drive install bit, is that required after installing new memory?
But they said you can't replace the 64gb EMMC by a nvme SSD when they first presented the Steam Deck back then... They said it's not possible to upgrade the 64gb version... I guess they changed their stance...
did this then got issues with my display... during RMA valve said they warranty is void as they found securiy sticker are tampered when ssd upgraded =(
Is disconnecting the battery absolutely required? How about running the battery down to zero instead? I've had bad luck with breaking these battery flap/connections in other handhelds in the past
I'd advise to just be gentle and take your time with the battery cable. Perhaps only use plastic tools. In this very video you'll notice he didn't rush to remove the cable. Personally, I'd never skip the step of cutting of the power source in a hardware swap. It's simply too quick and easy of a preventative measure.
I have a problem installing the OS again. Everytime i try to start installing the the Image, steamdeck switches into a black screen with the cursor. But nothing to chose from. Any idea, what i do wrong?
4:30 i keep getting an error saying the device is in use by another process please close any other process that may be acessing the device •[005684] C:\Windows\Explorer.EXE (r)….. can u help me :/
@@HawkBoss im going to try a third usb and see what happens so far it’s downloading but before with the other usb it went to 100 then failed but so far so good smh i really hope this works is there any other way no right?
@@HawkBoss so the third usb failed it says Error: Write error. But when i go to the usb it shows the SteamOs folder when i select the folder it shows partsets folder then in partsets folder it show 4 files one is called A the next one is called all the next one is called self and the last one is called shared not sure if this is what im supposed to have or if im missing things smh also have a folder called steamos and thats in the name of my actual usb name efi
thanks for the tutorial, only one issue, nobody says anything about that sometimes it will not boot onto the usb stick from the first try, i am trying my second time now. it only shows the mouse arrow on a black screen for a few minutes now. hope it will work.
I'm having mega problems with this...when I create the bootable usb (have tried both Rufus and Balena Etcher), when I press the power button and volume down, i eventually get a blank screen with a mouse pointer and nothing else. Have left it for 30 minutes so far and all the same :(
I did all steps carefully but now I'm stuck in the booting screen. I selected the usb drive but took way more then 5 minutes as u said in the video. now I'm in the black screen with a mouse arrow in the center. any solution for this?
Hi. So I recently bought a NVMe SSD to replace my deck's 64 eMMC storage. Ran into some crazy issues. Everything was fine up until creating a boot drive, what ended up happen is when I ran Rufus it stopped about half way and gave me an error and it killed my flash drive (it was brand new, empty 64gb stick) I tried again using another another empty USB stick I had with 32gb and when I ran Rufus again it gave me the same error but this time it split my USB into multiple partitions, 5 to be exact, and I can't create a new volume for them and they all just remain unallocated. Do you have any knowledge that can help me?
Did you check if there is clearance for nvmes with chips on both sides? The wireless device seems to ve very close and might interfere with double side nvmes, but if its compatible it would open it to 2tb upgrades.
@@vincentdonelson4553 I know im a month late replying but the fit may not be good and the excess heat of having double sided may make it harder to cool and lead to overheating
After the upgrade... How do you get games like Just Cause 3 to work? I have steam version of Just Cause 3 and I can't get it to work past the first load screen, then it crashes... Any help would be great
Some advice for anyone out there about to make the same dumb mistake I did. If you have a micro SD card inserted, take it out before doing this. Everything in the video went fine until after reimaging and noticing the SD card storage wasn't there. It had somehow slightly ejected and after snapping the back in place it also snapped my micro SD card in half. Getting that other half out of the micro SD slot was not a fun time.
Thanks for the heads up... Getting that second half was kind of like a real life VR game... kinda :/
Oof, hopefully it wasn't an expensive one
@@moldoveanu8 I'd just be glad it didn't wreck the port
Same thing happened to my 1TB extreme 😢
@@i3lia7mad ugh, mine was a 512. I'm sure that 1 TB was not cheap.
I ordered the 64gb version with the intention of upgrading down the road. The upgrade itself looks pretty straightforward! Thank you for this video showing the 64gb model
I went with the 500 gig iteration so I didn't have to do this. Call me lazy.
me too. I actually think I will be quite satisfied with a 64GB and a 512GB SD card. And if the need for larger/faster internal storage arises (several years down the line), well then perhaps 1TB or even 2TB 2230 drivers will be as cheap as 512GB is today. :)
You may need to upgrade sooner than you think, reports are that even with everything being installed on an sd card, the shader cache for each game automatically goes on to the internal memory. Lots of people stating they have 4/5 games downloaded on their sd card and their internal memory is full without having a single game installed on it
@@Konirak Nice. Thanks for the tip lad.
Just be wary of what you buy, I mistakenly brought the B+M 512 SSD and not the B or the M model.
Have been using a 500GB SD card with my Deck and it's been working well. Load times are good. But, having the option to change internal components is good too and should be available.
m.ruclips.net/video/xmqwHqpIThY/видео.html
from 64GB to 1024GB in less than 10 mins. Thanks for the video.
Thank you very much for this guide. As far as I can tell this is the best on RUclips. I watched a bunch before this one. The specifics you cover are spot on. I was able to upgrade my 64gb eMMC to a 1 TB SSD easily. Performance difference is very noticeable. I went with a SABRENT Rocket 2230 NVMe 4.0 1TB and it works flawlessly.
I didn't know they were available yet, on their website its only "pre-order". Where did you order it from?
great choice I have one as well in my laptop great for the money
m.ruclips.net/video/xmqwHqpIThY/видео.html
Thanks you for giving the name of the SSD you got I was looking for a great one 😁
Just upgraded mine with the Micron 512gb. Literally took minutes great guide took me longer to find my screwdrivers than do it.
I would advise everyone to be really careful with the power connector if you slip you can possibly damage the mobo. I used the pointy end of a guitar pick and carefully pushed the wide end. There is a ridge you can locate it in.
Thanks for the video
@victor Still working perfectly
Only thing I messed was the fan cable got trapped under the heat shield. It was randomly shorting the fan out and resetting the deck.
@@gjwestonable I've heard a few reports of people switching out the SSD, beginning goes okay but in the middle of the reimage, their steam deck dies and never turns on again. Some of them smelled smoke, sounds like they did everything correctly but nobody could figure out the issue. They all sent them back to valve for repair and none of the technicians could find the root of the problem. I wonder if this is the issue.
@@crazierthorn10 it's very possible. My deck used to reset if you tapped the back. I would take it apart and the fault went away. I then noticed the really thin cable was under the shield. I couldn't see a break. I was very lucky. Since moving the cable it's worked perfectly.
@@crazierthorn10 Dayum you just killed my ambitions
I just wanted to say thank you for this Video. I’m a trucker that loves to game Steam Deck was a no brainer but with your video I got 1tb nvme and 1tb as card. You made it easy.
m.ruclips.net/video/xmqwHqpIThY/видео.html
I ordered the 512GB first then realized its such an easy upgrade and ordered the 64GB instead and upgraded to 512 GB by following this video. Saved about 225! Thanks!
How? They didn't let you just change your pre-order like that.
@@cgwworldministries83 I put in another order, which moved me at the back of the line but since production had ramped up I got it soon.
@@Gamespotfan1 I know for a fact that that only let you pre-order one and you couldn't change it until after it was released. After that you'd be in q4+. So you're lying. Please don't do that. It just makes you look silly to those informed. I know I ordered a second one.
@@cgwworldministries83 ummm you do know that you can make a second account with a different email and shipping address right? Maybe you should stop being so sure of yourself?
Also, I didn't mention did I, when did I put in my original order or my new one? So you'll be the one assuming that I just put it in?
I just replied to this video saying thanks that it was an easy instructional video, not that I placed an order after I saw this video
@@Gamespotfan1 keep moving those goal posts, we both know that you're lying for clout. Just stop. It's bad for your soul.
Just ordered a 64GB Steam Deck and a $33 256GB NVME. Thanks for the info. Didn't know it was this easy.
Damn that's a super deal.
Where? The 256GB all cost around 55€ in my place.
Can't wait to get my deck in Q3! I ordered the 512 GB version because i wanted that etched glass screen for outdoors playing!
Same. Also didn't want to finagle the SSD if it had interference with the wireless module.
What month would Q3 be?
@@ryloc7567 July 1st through September 30th is Q3.
@@guycd1 thanks was wondering the same thing just paid for mine.
Same here Q3 team I also pick 512GB for maximum value because I can
Thank you so much. I upgraded my steam deck.
Advice to others doing it, make sure your deck is full loaded before. The OS reimagine took about half an hour for me (it goes up to around 6 GB installing)
Very handy thank you I had the horrible feeling the storage was soldered in on the 64gb version. Just ordered a 512gb SSD for my deck.
Yeah Valve released a video around the time the steam deck was released or something and showed that it could be easily repaired
I was hoping that the 64gb version had soldered memory and the M.2 slot was just empty.
@@MindBlowerWTF yes that would have been great.
@@MindBlowerWTF would have been incredible
Could you please link which one you got?
Tip: cover exposed PCB with some paper and tape to hold it in place while removing and installing screws. After unplugging battery hit the power button for 10 seconds to ensure capacitors are fully discharged. They are tiny screws that you will drop at least once.
Probably should make it clear not to tape directly to PCB. Cover the left/right side with long sheets of paper cut to fit width wise and wrap them around taping to front of device. Blue painters tape is good about not leaving residue.
The 10 second rule doesn't matter on the steam deck
Thank you so much! I was so scared to do this, but your guide was perfectly detailed and was incredibly comforting to follow along with. Now I've got a 1tb ssd and a 1tb sd! :D
In hindsight, a removable door with easy access to the SSD via a single screw would have been a nice feature for the deck. People who don't care would never be bothered by it and people who want to upgrade wouldn't have to void the warranty. Also makes replacing a dead/malfunctioning SSD easier because you don't have to disassemble your Deck.
It's intentional. They don't want you to upgrade it they'd rather have you void the warranty
At least in the US, it does not void your warranty at all. Pretty much any warranty void if removed sticker is not legally binding, not that the steam deck has one of those anyways.
Managed to grab a Kioxia 256GB for just £18, Was worried about it not fitting but this video reassured me, thank you!
Just bought Kioxia 1Tb. I've nearly 0 knowledge about PC upgrading. But this video makes it looks easy. Thanks.
m.ruclips.net/video/xmqwHqpIThY/видео.html
Done this within a couple of hours of getting one for me and another for my daughter. Seriously, it's easy to do.
m.ruclips.net/video/xmqwHqpIThY/видео.html
I've got my 64GB Steamdeck arriving this week and was hoping to find a basic tutorial to be able to swap out the eMMC drive. This tutorial is perfect, thank you! Have a sub :)
Did you get it yet? I got mine Monday. Thinking If I should do this or just sd 🤔
@@kyrinky definatly upgrade internal even if it just 256 gb nvme you upgrade to . I got 64 gb and withing a month I had no room due to shaders so I had to upgrade internal .
m.ruclips.net/video/xmqwHqpIThY/видео.html
🤦♂️ I totally forgot to remove the battery because I got all excited when I saw the m2…
So far, the steam deck *seems* fine? Praying it keeps being fine lol.
Great guide!! And to everyone else reading don’t forget to remove the battery, I’ll try not to forget next time lol
Removing the battery seems like a pain in the azz, your SD still working, right ?
So far the SSD is working, and I removed the MicroSD before doing anything else thankfully… so far the deck is still ok! Yeah it seems like a pain but… better safe than sorry? Lol I kinda get why the video recommends it, when you’re handling the deck if you’re not careful your fingers might hit the power button accidentally? I hit the volume button a few times while it was disassembled and had a few mini heart attacks lol
@@alexasiandude I think it's not because we can push the power button tho , there must be a electronic reason ?
Thanks for making this super simple. Everything worked great.
Thanks for the video. I switched my pre-order from the most pricey to the 64GB myself. I hear the MicroSD cards are nearly as fast as the built in storage anyway if you buy a decent card. I will pop the trunk and do what you've done here if need be down the road. Thanks for this video.
5 months later, I am assuming it took at least 2 months until you got the thing, but how the storage treatin ya?
@@MemeCastGuy69 Oh, I'm still waiting. I have gotten to place the order though. My buddy had ordered the 512 and got it last week about 5 days after ordering. I am not a power gamer. I bet, with a memory card, I'll be fine with the smaller storage for a while. I will look to upgrade at some point in the near future though.
The only real problem with the 64 gigs model is that it fills up incredibly fast with shader caches from games. So even if you have a 1tb sd card you will be very limited on the number of games you can install. I upgraded my 64 gigs model after just one week because with only 5/6 games installed the internal storage was already full! Luckily it is very easy to upgrade and even with 256 gigs you should be good for a very long time.
Yea I thought $250 extra for a 512gb SDD was a little steep so that why I got the 64 gb verison. I planned on just using micro SD cards but finding out I cod upgrade the hard drive was just the cherry on the cake! It's good they didn't announce this until after pre-orders went live or I'd probably be Q3 or more instead of Q2!
I am q3 and happy about that cause they have smoothed out some kinks that q1 and q2 models had.
m.ruclips.net/video/xmqwHqpIThY/видео.html
Looks easier to replace than I thought, might just go for the 64gb version to save some money.
Its honestly the way to go, the only real reason I would see getting the 512 gig version is for that etched glass screen & not have to worry about upgrading the storage right off the bat. I love tinkering and know linux really well so I got the 64gb version and upgrade it myself when I get mines in Q3.
@@Lauren-bw2sj I've never really used Linux before, so it'll be interesting to see how it goes.
@@Lauren-bw2sj matte anti glare screen protector
@@cameronsharp2022 It is possible to buy the matte screen from iFixIt and install it in a different model other than the 512gb. It's not easy but it's possible.
Anyone trying to see desktop come up after inserting USB, please know it took about 5-10 minutes for me to see the desktop. YMMV, I was using PNY usb 3 drive, one end with a regular USB connector and another with a USB C connector in a same drive.
Good share. Thanks.
I also went with the 64GB version and bought a 512Gb nvme for 70€.. i first looked for micro sd card but it costs almost the same so it doesn’t make sense to me..
Hello, im kind of new to these SSDs here. Why do most ssds i found in my local stores are slightly bigger than the one showed in the video or the deck’s? I would appreciate an answer.
@@harolrvez7124 just look for nvme 2230 its compatible with the steam deck.. 2230 means 22mm wide and 30mm long.. i guess you find the most common 2280 which is 80mm long.. the 2230 nvme is a bit rare but you’ll find it online..
Thank you for this guide. I saw some other asshole go through the whole thing of installing the ssd but didn’t show the software side of things. Thank you sir.
This is exactly why I bought the cheapest model, as they make -anti-glare screen protectors, so I saw ZERO reason to grab the 512 model. As stated, this is pretty much saving $200 which I could put to some Steam purchases, or maybe even a 512 micro SD card. So for pretty much what the $530 256gb model cost, I can upgrade the SSD & the SD card on my 64gb for just about the same cost, and I'll have 1tb to show for my troubles, not to shabby.
And I'll still have 64gb emmc drive I can use elsewhere or sell off, not bad for what amounts to the cost of the middle tier Valve offering(with 4x more memory). I'm guessing Gabe and his crew was thinking the same, as they were all shocked the 512gb model was the best seller, as most PC guys I know would never pay so much extra for something they could do themselves.
I picked the 512gb one because I don't wanna open a brand new device...
@@dylandetaeye And your the exact person Valve didn't see coming, which is cool as well. Changing out the memory isn't normally my cup of tea either, as I've built 2 PC's in my life and 1 of them I never even used. The fact that some bought the best model without much thought to changing the memory shows they got some console types or consumers they didn't think they would, and that's good for all of us.
@@chrislaustin i also have build 2 PC's. I had to open a laptop, but it was never the same and I think the same for the steam deck.
You might interfere with touch sensitivity with the wrong screen protector
The "Exclusive Steam Community Profile Bundle" is kinda attractive to me. But I have no idea whether I can get it with an upgraded 64GB machine. So I'm still hesitating
it's **so easy**
thanks for the tutorial, needed confirmation that the shield was wrapped around the m.2 chip even on the 64GB eMMC and you have confirmed what I needed to know.
I'm supposed to be getting mine tomorrow, and I am going to slab a 1TB into the internal and another 1TB in the microSD slot. SO READY HNNNNGGGGH
Where can you get 1 tb drive and 1tb micro Ad I’ve never seen them
@@djdeznyc for micro SD Card SanDisk Ultra 1tb (Cheap, 140€, good read speed but bad write speed) or the SanDisk Extreme 1tb (220€, good read and write speeds). the Samsung Evo Plus 512gb SD Card has really good read&write speeds for cheap 55€.
m.ruclips.net/video/xmqwHqpIThY/видео.html
This is the easiest device to take apart. I've had to deal with the nightmare of rebuilding two different Nintendo Switch consoles.
Does the new ssd need to be formatted ahead of time in order to do this? Or will the deck format it during installation?
Ordered the 64gb model with every intention to save some money and buy the ssd upgrade fo this exact plan.
Super 👍👍👍 And Happy New Year 🎅🎅🎅
One thing that I was unclear on: when going into boot menu, HOLD the volume down button and CLICK the power button, then let go of the volume down button at the chime. Had me worried because I wasn’t getting the boot menu holding down the power button.
Yup, same here. Other than that the video was spot on
at 4:14 I cannot change my partition scheme to GPT, someone help? its completely greyed out and does not allow me to choose anything, by defaut it is set to MBR. Thank you.
I went for the 64gb model for this very reason :D nice and simple and I got a bunch of sd cards laying around so I'll be good
Since the deck only supports 3.0 NVMEs kioxia BG4 is enough but BG5 is ok if you couldn't find bg4
This is cool, and I was planning on doing this when I ordered the steam deck a year ago. But now that I have it - in the intervening year there are fast as hell micro sd storage. It's just not worth the teardown for what is only minor improvement over what can be had now. Still, cool as heck and thank you for the video
I reserved a 256GB model in mid February. Now I'm wondering if I should cancel and get the 64GB version. How many months do you think that would delay me getting my deck?
I think all of the new orders gonna be After Q3, it means the end of this year. Just let you know replace ssd may void your warranty.
@@HawkBoss If you are in US or EU at least it only voids the warranty if your device is damaged by you, so replacing the ssd and not breaking anything is fine
Great guide, doing mine right now. I've been putting it off because I read some horror stories on Reddit. Some people were done with the hardware part, and in the middle of reimaging their deck, it powered off, and never turned on again...this happened to a few people in this group. They all sent their steam decks back to valve for repair, and none of the technicians could determine a cause. I'm guessing there was some type of short...either they used a double sided 2230 drive, or didn't insert their power cable back in correctly, or some wire was crossed or something. Looks very straightforward in your video though. I'm glad you put in the part about holding down the power button after disconnecting the battery, I'm wondering if this step was missed by the people with the short, and there was some latent power in the deck or something weird. Anyways, wish me luck! Not a big upgrade going from 64gb to 128, but my deck is literally out of storage and I don't even have any games installed on the emmc drive. Hopefully this solves my issue. Thanks again!
How'd it go? I constantly heard it was super easy everywhere until very recently seeing all the horror stories and now Im getting nervous to do it when my Deck arrives lol.
@@DatHombre sorry for the late reply yeah it went totally fine it was super easy
Did you use the same screwdriver to remove all the screws?
What is the exact product name for the new ssd kioxa u bought? I wanna make sure i get the exact model of that matters
Thank you m8!! Im in fact considering changing to that precise SSD, i was wondering did you notice time improvment? like in downloads and loadings overall? Im not sure if that one being so cheap will have the same speed as the high tier NVME that the other models bring, what are you thoughts on that? Subbed and liked :D thank you!
MMC and NVME has differents but are both way faster then HDD so you gonna see a change but not a huge one
m.ruclips.net/video/xmqwHqpIThY/видео.html
Man I recently did this with a 1tb ssd, not super hard, but I wouldnt do it again in a hurry.
Idk if it was my screw driver being shite, but the screws on the metal plate inside(top & bottom) are a fking pita to remove. Both got stripped, i needed to use small pliers to turn them.
The amount of cracking & shit dismantling the plastic casing gave me a heart attack aswell.
So here is my experience in case someone runs into what I did. For me to boot, I had to press and hold the power and minus and let go of the POWER button instead of the minus to boot into BIOS, pick my drive and start the recovery process.
Is there any software copying involved in the process such as transferring the OS to new SSD?
GREAT VIDEO ! Thank you so much for the tutorial, Liked button smashed and subscribed !
Is disconnecting the battery a necessary thing to do? Can I just full shutdown instead?
Thank you, worked perfectly!!
What usb is that near the end of the video?
What if u let the battery drain out? Would u still have to remove the power?
What if the price of the 512gb was supposed to the real price of Steam Deck but made different alternatives to make the Deck more approachable
Gets more people into the steam ecosystem (or back into it for old users) so Valve wins even if they sell at a loss.
Does it work with those old 3.0 usb sticks trought a dock or do I really have to get one of these c3 sticks?
Thank you for the step by step with detail
What is the Amperage on that Kioxia? I'm looking at a Kingston 512gb, but the power draw is 2.5A and I have heard the ones that come with the steam decks are 1A. Is the Kingston too high of a Amperage? I can't for the life of me figure out what the Amperage is on the Kioxia. It just has the voltage listed.
Thanks for the video tutorial 👍however when I changed my SSD to 1 TB capacity, I lost my micro SD card library! yet the games are still in the micro SD card, do you have an idea to display the lost library ?
What about batry life and power consumption ?
Interesting watching this to remind myself where everything was (been a while since I have done mine) and my sons which I just got has a number of layout differences in the fan, motherboard (and heatsink) and the shield over the mobo.
Hi. Nice video. I though the 64gb version was eMMC, is that possible change it into 512gb NVMe SSD? Or it was 512gb eMMC?
It’s a 512gb 2230 nvme ssd. Make sure get the 2230 nvme ssd
Don’t order the wrong size like I did the correct size is 2230 M.2 SSD
Hi, what size screwdriver you used?
Welp, I reserved the 64 gb one and I don't wanna wait even longer for a bigger one, especially as I am right near the email for my reservation after a long wait, but I also am not skilled enough to do this on my own.
Is it possible to send to Valve to upgrade the internal storage for later down the line? I don't mind paying.
Should be the ssd prepared before replacement? Formatted or smth like that?
I'm wondering the same thing. If I remember to do so, I'll try to return here after I do this myself (within the week).
No, as the second half of the video explains what to do
Can all the software bits be downloaded and transferred on mac?
I still have mine new in the unopened box, can I do this upgrade right after I open it from its packaging or do I have to turn it on to update the software and then do the upgrade?
How long did it take for the desktop mode to come up cause mine has been there for about two minutes now
So I am completely new to all thing s pc but this looks mostly straight forward. But I’m lost on the usb drive install bit, is that required after installing new memory?
But they said you can't replace the 64gb EMMC by a nvme SSD when they first presented the Steam Deck back then...
They said it's not possible to upgrade the 64gb version...
I guess they changed their stance...
did this then got issues with my display... during RMA valve said they warranty is void as they found securiy sticker are tampered when ssd upgraded =(
how is it running one month later? over heat? glitches? be honest please
Watch my latest videos. It runs well and no issues at all
Can I do this right out of the box or do I have to start up the steam deck?
Is disconnecting the battery absolutely required? How about running the battery down to zero instead? I've had bad luck with breaking these battery flap/connections in other handhelds in the past
Static can brick your motherboard. A battery never truly goes to zero. But sure, go ahead.
@@forgetthelyrics6056 I did and it's fine. Of course.
I'd advise to just be gentle and take your time with the battery cable. Perhaps only use plastic tools. In this very video you'll notice he didn't rush to remove the cable. Personally, I'd never skip the step of cutting of the power source in a hardware swap. It's simply too quick and easy of a preventative measure.
I have a problem installing the OS again. Everytime i try to start installing the the Image, steamdeck switches into a black screen with the cursor. But nothing to chose from. Any idea, what i do wrong?
For me, boot manager was hold + vol & pwr button until beeps then let go.
Can i use a usb dock instead? USB 3.0 to USB C?
Will it be fast like the actual 512gb deck now? Or just the same storage?
It's the same speed with 512gb Deck
@@HawkBossoh ok thanks
Help after Replacing SSD m740 2TB , plug in Flashdrive Type C , it wont turn on my steamdeck
Wait, you can upgrade the 64GB model?
Im just wonder why he must eject the battery cable before replace the nvme storage?
4:30 i keep getting an error saying the device is in use by another process please close any other process that may be acessing the device •[005684] C:\Windows\Explorer.EXE (r)….. can u help me :/
Have you tried with another USB drive? Or format your USB drive?
@@HawkBoss i tryed another one and when rufus was done it said failed smh idk whats going on yes I formatted both usb drives
@@TheK20eg try on another pc then. Make sure you don't extract the downloaded file
@@HawkBoss im going to try a third usb and see what happens so far it’s downloading but before with the other usb it went to 100 then failed but so far so good smh i really hope this works is there any other way no right?
@@HawkBoss so the third usb failed it says Error: Write error. But when i go to the usb it shows the SteamOs folder when i select the folder it shows partsets folder then in partsets folder it show 4 files one is called A the next one is called all the next one is called self and the last one is called shared not sure if this is what im supposed to have or if im missing things smh also have a folder called steamos and thats in the name of my actual usb name efi
I'm getting the 256gb version can you update the version that doesn't have an ssd to an ssd
How is the 512gb kioxia working for you? any issues with power or wifi? thanks!
I have no issues. The ssd works really well 👌
Looks simple enough. Gotta get myself one of those plastic spatulas and a usb a > usb c converter thingy to plug in my usb stick.
When I use rufus on my usb, is it supposed to just dissapear from the "devices and drivers" in the file explorer? rufus still recognizes it.
I booted from EFI and it takes me into Windows 10 weirdly. The only image on the drive is the steam os recovery ISO.
Thanks man I was able to upgrade my 64gig to a 1tb!!
thanks for the tutorial, only one issue, nobody says anything about that sometimes it will not boot onto the usb stick from the first try, i am trying my second time now. it only shows the mouse arrow on a black screen for a few minutes now. hope it will work.
Is usb 2.0 flash drive gonna work?
Should I get this this 2230 SSD or SkHynix?
Better not to take any chances. This can void your warranty
I'm having mega problems with this...when I create the bootable usb (have tried both Rufus and Balena Etcher), when I press the power button and volume down, i eventually get a blank screen with a mouse pointer and nothing else. Have left it for 30 minutes so far and all the same :(
Thanks it was very helpfull. Now I have 512GB beast. For 452 EUR total
Got a 256gb m.2 for $35. Plus a 512 micro sd. That will hold me for a bit. In a year or so I'll get a 1tb m.2 and micro once the prices drop
I did all steps carefully but now I'm stuck in the booting screen. I selected the usb drive but took way more then 5 minutes as u said in the video. now I'm in the black screen with a mouse arrow in the center.
any solution for this?
Can this be done via micro sd or usb connected to a dock? I can’t find a usb c flash drive near me without ordering it.
Yes. You can
Hi. So I recently bought a NVMe SSD to replace my deck's 64 eMMC storage. Ran into some crazy issues. Everything was fine up until creating a boot drive, what ended up happen is when I ran Rufus it stopped about half way and gave me an error and it killed my flash drive (it was brand new, empty 64gb stick) I tried again using another another empty USB stick I had with 32gb and when I ran Rufus again it gave me the same error but this time it split my USB into multiple partitions, 5 to be exact, and I can't create a new volume for them and they all just remain unallocated. Do you have any knowledge that can help me?
Did you check if there is clearance for nvmes with chips on both sides?
The wireless device seems to ve very close and might interfere with double side nvmes, but if its compatible it would open it to 2tb upgrades.
Everyone has recommended against using double sided ssd's, there is a reason valve didn't use them.
@@mamaharumi I was thinking bout using one ,why is it a bad ideal to use It , please tell
@@vincentdonelson4553 I know im a month late replying but the fit may not be good and the excess heat of having double sided may make it harder to cool and lead to overheating
After the upgrade... How do you get games like Just Cause 3 to work? I have steam version of Just Cause 3 and I can't get it to work past the first load screen, then it crashes... Any help would be great
Do you lose warranty if you do this?
What SSD is that? NVME MSATA??