@Fernando - what I meant was clone a OS Install from MBR partitioned SSD to MBR partitioned NVME. So, are you saying, NVME cannot be booted at all in legacy mode / MBR partition, and must always be booted from GPT partition using UEFI / Secure Mode?
If yes, why is this that NVME can’t boot legacy mode? Is the NVME module we insert EFI only? If yes, that’s bad, we need a new one with merged EFI/Rom like GPU vBIOS 
To your second comment, so before cloning the SSD to NVME using the method you linked, user should connect NVME as a secondary device, to allow Win10 to install the NVME driver within itself, so it’s there in the cloned over copy?
I know clean install is best, and often will be much easier for most users, but this cloning is something we’re asked often and since I don’t have NVME device to test and sort all this kind of stuff out myself I have to ask questions and try to keep it all in order as to what is possible if desired and what isn’t.
And many of my questions here were based on either situation, so I would know, could learn what’s possible, how and why, not necessarily what the user was wanting to do as we’d not discussed it yet other than he did initially mention wanting to clone which i suggested against.
@leonmjj - So happy to see the board back to life again! You’ve been battling this one for a LONG TIME, all thanks to Paltek’s terribly poor workmanship and dishonesty!
So, the first time you guys fixed it a week or so ago, you only put the resistor back in place that was missing, and never reflowed the BIOS solder?
Yes, the did terrible solder work on that chip, I was very concerned with the earlier images you showed me when it first happened that they maybe lifted a pad and then tried to set back into place or destroyed a pad and it was there with nothing under it.
Sounds like they did lift and destroy or remove a pad, if he had to extend the connection. Good man there, someone that knows how to solder can easily do such things! He gets 
from me, and I haven’t even looked at your images yet - doing so now 
Ohh!! Yes, I told you I thought maybe they damaged/ripped/burned out or lifted a pad, sure enough! Luckily you finally found someone that knows how to solder, Paltek would have told you the board needs replaced!
It’s too bad you didn’t end up in court with them, you should go ahead and send a link to all this to your lawyer, show her now you finally have clean and clear proof of some of the damage Paltek did and the repairs/hassles you had to go through to get it fixed.
Normally, in that hole, there is a “pad” that the legs/solder connect to, and that pad is connected to the trace/wire you see. They lifted that off due to too much heat for too long, too much pressure, not enough heat and forcing the chip off physically, etc any of those things can lift and remove the pad.
I suspected that from the looks of the poor solder work they did, it caught my eye on one of the leg positions as soon as you first showed me. I thought I had the images you sent before and where I edited and sent back to show you things, saved in your folder, but I guess they’re lost to time (buried in PM’s I’m sure)
I found some, on your original thread here, I see I was more worried about one of the outer pins, hard to tell what’s what in images sometimes but good to see this one wasn’t damaged too - Sony Vaio 13 Pro dead after wrong BIOS update
What is the code on the blue screen you get, last digits of last code you can see, if it’s 7B, you simply need to set BIOS SATA mode back to whatever you have before.
If you removed some partition, before windows partition, that’s probably the issue. I’m not sure if you can recreate that in place after it’s been removed, maybe Fernando would be able to advise on that.
Yes on the 124MB, usually windows makes some 100MB or so partition, and if you have windows on GPT partition then it’s probably UEFI/GPT partition stuff + Windows 100MB hidden partition.
What Fernando said about cloning only really applied if your system was in bootable working order.
I’d have to be there in person to inspect and try to fix things, it’s hard to diagnose partitions and fix OS without looking at stuff in person, or lots of images of disk management, and you knowing how to use partition tools without a lot of guidance etc.
You may have no choice now but to do a clean install of windows, and then later connect your old drive as a secondary and copy over what you need.
Nice you finally got windows installed onto the NVME drive! There is no clone anything now, all you do is connect your old SSD as a spare and copy over what you need from it’s folders (images, music, documents etc)
You will have to reinstall all your programs and stuff like that.
I wouldn’t worry about that partition you lost, you said you didn’t even know what was there, so nothing lost. But yes, it can be recovered if you’ve not written to this device, probably in tact too if you haven’t written anymore data to it.
Google partition recovery tools, EaseUS makes a free one, but there is many others too. There’s also lots of free data recovery tools that can find deleted files, but those would be recovered without their original names usually, in a huge mess, it’s a pain to do that for something you don’t even need.
Partition recovery is much easier though, if you’ve not written to the drive again, usually you can recover that in place and everything will go back to exactly as it was before.
@Lost_N_BIOS :
An NVMe SSD is not bootable in LEGACY mode (only exception: Samsung’s PRO-Series NVMe SSDs), because none of the mainboard BIOSes and only a very few NVMe SSDs (Samsung’s PRO-Series) do contain an NVMe Option ROM module. All NVMe modules, which are inserted by the mainboard manufacturers or by the users, are “pure” EFI modules, which are only loaded while booting in UEFI mode.
Users, who want to use the NVMe as bootable system drive, but don’t want to do a clean install of the OS onto their new NVMe SSD, have to make sure, that their previously SATA connected system drive C:
a) is using the GPT partition scheme and
b) has detected the NVMe SSD and installed the appropriate NVMe driver.
Otherwise the Windows Boot Manager may not get the appropriate connection.
Thanks for clarifying that for me @Fernando ! So, we do need some combo NVME mod for our manual insertions!! Someone needs to get on this, whoever did the updates from v1, 2, 3 to 4 for the module we use now.
Do you think something like that is possible now, since this module we use has been out for a while and there is that Samsung one people could look at for ideas, methods?
Well thank you, now it’s all very clear about that part! Still not sure on my second question though, but for now it doesn’t matter since he’s not cloning. - I see in your edit now, all clarified, thanks!
Until now I haven’t yet seen a method how to get the NVMe Option ROM extracted from Samsung’s 950 PRO SSD Controller chip. I am not even sure whether the insertion of such Option ROM into the mainboard BIOS would make an NVMe SSD bootable.
Furthermore I doubt, that such experiments would be wasted time, because in the very near future nobody will be interested in being able to boot in LEGACY mode.
People still fighting all day long to make XP work on modern boards, so you know legacy booting will be around a while still.
It’s too bad, I assumed maybe you know how to dump it, or had an update file from it, then maybe we could tinker
Extracting the Option ROM is possible and already was successfully performed, see Samsung NVMe legacy BOOT ROM present on 950 Pro.
@Ethaniel - thanks, I just tagged Fernando over to your thread about this Hope he can do some tests when he has a little free time to play.
So, what’s the dumbed down summary of what you mentioned above, this is a “functional” fix, but pointless as it wont work with most NVME?
@Lost_N_BIOS - OMG, more than a year fighting for it. I should have bought a new laptop by now lol I’m glad the story ended up well.
that’s right, the first time we just put back the resistence and added some solder without removing the BIOS so we couldn’t figure out that a pad was not there anymore. but yes, the pin I think is the one you suspected since the beginning! I’m so lucky for having found this guy. He did a good job and asked for nothing 
Forget about the blue screen, I think I formatted the disk for mistake 
I was surfing after starting with EFI usb and I was trying to adjust from the dos but I wrongly pointed the format on c: after assigning the letter lol TG the data is safe though. I have a recovery usb and actually the formatted letter c: is inside there, not sure why the ssd is also not formatted if I plug it into my desktop. Maybe I cleaned the partition with diskpart. I still have the OS and other partitions (beside the c:) into the 264GB USB so I’m trying to clone it into the old ssd to see if it works somehow, but I’m not sure. I deleted a partition inside the USB and from a recent searching I think is the number 4 below (infact it is 128 MB). Not sure it is ‘very’ important but I will find this out soon eheh (any ideas to recovery that partition somehow?). I have tried EASE but not sure how to recover the entire partition i/o its files inside
Partition 1: SONYSYS, 260MB, OEM (Reserved)
Partition 2: Windows RE tools, 1.4GB, OEM (Reserved)
Partition 3: 260MB System
Partition 4: 128MB MSR (Reserved)
Partition 5: 268.6GB Primary
Partition 6: Recovery 27.4GB OEM (Reserved)
@Lost_N_BIOS : Samsung 950 Pro Option ROM was successfully extracted, but it wasn’t really tested with other NVMe devices.
@leonmjj - Yes, it’s been a long time, happy to see it alive. And yes, I assumed you would have purchased another by now, I know you were eyeballing some of the new lightweight ones a while back when we discussed.
For partition recover, scan for lost partitions and then recover in place once they are done. I think I explained this is more detail to you in a PM.
If you want to just get stuff out of there, go into Partition #5 (This is your original C drive windows ran from). All your documents, images, music, stuff on your desktop etc will be in there.
#Ethanial - thanks for reply. Now, I wonder on your other thread, if that user that tested with G31 board what NVME he used, will have to look into that and ask him if he didn’t mention.
@Lost_N_BIOS ciao Lost, right that is correct. I thought I would have tried to fix this computer first however I might still consider the Microsoft Surface for a near future, let’s see how business goes.
I have decided to make a fresh install of Windows 10 PRO however I have one last (hopefully last) problem. On the old ssd I had Windows 10 that was coming from an upgrade of Windows 8.1 pre-installed on the laptop. the license is digital but I’m not able to recover anymore. Not sure the license was in the BIOS (if so is it gone?). I have tried to recovery from Microsoft account as I have connected the license to my Microsoft account while I had Windows 8.1/10 installed on but for some reason it doesn’t not recognize it anymore. I have called Microsoft and they gave me a command to type on dos in order to see the license key in the computer but it cannot find it 
is there a way to recover it somewhere?
EDIT: ooops I have just found out that the key is pre-installed into the BIOS :’’’( Lost, if I re-flash the old BIOS backup, do you think I can get it back? and what about the NVME disk? can I still read it?
The issue is probably the new OS install, since this was OEM system, key/cert would be in the C drive. Did you recover that partition yet? If yes, I can show you where and how to copy the file out and re-insert it manually and then activate manually.
BIOS stores “A Key” sometimes, generally same key for all the OEM companies laptops, and then a cert/key is inserted during Windows pre-setup. Old BIOS is same as new BIOS in this regard, same “Generic OEM Key” will be there.
Key is already in BIOS, what you need is on the C drive of your old install. Can you see that partition still or not? If yes, enable hidden files and folders, and file extensions in explorer folder options, then look for the file with .XRM-MS extension.
Once you find that, let me know.
If you can’t find it on C, do the partition recovery fix I mentioned, then remove the NVME OS for a second and put the old drive back as main and boot to that, then find the file I mentioned.
Really??? Well some how the original partitions on the old ssd are gone however I had that recovery 256GB USB whcih I cloned on the ols ssd and I can access Windows. However I have put the old ssd on my desktop and I’m accessing windows folder and I can find lots of files .XRM-MS
Which one do you think I have to look for?
EDIT: I called Microsoft, I explained the problem and that I changed hardware, they gave me a new Product Key lol it was easier and I was trying to seek the impossible. Lost said to me, call and say "ONE COMPUTER" lol it worked perfectly!
Thanks a million to Lost and the rest of the team!!!
Yes, I assume that, which is why I told you about partition recovery tools, that is simple to fix.
Sorry! I did miss your reply about this XRM-MS, just commented that I didn’t see this in PM’s. I didn’t see you replied here yesterday, so I missed all this,
Good to hear Microsoft helped you activate again! Did you have to speak to someone, or only the computer?
Now, on your current NVME, either on C drive or on one of the MSR/System hidden partitions, find the new XRM-MS file and copy that to somewhere off this system, to keep safe. Along with the tokens mentioned in below link too, in case needed (several ways to do this)
Here’s a few ways to do this, before you do this, if your old SSD is connected, remove it, so it doesn’t accidentally find those files on it.
See post #8 - https://www.tenforums.com/windows-update…tion-token.html
https://www.tenforums.com/windows-update…activation.html
https://www.ghacks.net/2017/05/22/backup…ivation-tokens/
Or, this is also possible now too, especially since you just reactivated with them
https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/wind…35-28f3099837fe
https://gallery.technet.microsoft.com/sc…indows-85379640
See also, for other methods, more advanced info you can pull and save, troubleshooting later etc
https://www.groovypost.com/howto/transfe…license-new-pc/
https://www.tenforums.com/windows-update…leshooting.html
https://www.tenforums.com/tutorials/5538…ndows-10-a.html
I would do all methods, keep all things safe somewhere, just in case. But generally, as long as it’s “one computer” they will reactivate it when you call in, either the computer will do or a person
Sorry, I meant to reply about XRM here. I was followed by a guy in Greece. He helped me out. Almost 30 minutes call.
I find lots of XRM-MS files. I will look into those links to find it out though.
Thank you again Lost, you are the number 1!
However they said the serial is now attached to my Microsoft account so it should be easy to recovery if I have to re-install Windows… or I can still make a 30 minutes call to get a new one lol
Talk soon guys, I’ll stay around
Cheers up
Hi. I got same problem in my vaio pro 13. I changed my samsung ssd to WD black ssd nvme. When i install the WD ssd it not support by my vaio. What am I supposed to do؟
Hi, sorry for post in an old topic, but I got the same issue, on a same laptop. But I tried to update my BIOS, and it gets corrupted ¬¬’. Anyone have the original bios bin file for vaio pro13? it’s a svp132a1cx, aka svp13213cxs too. I’m rly desperated hahahahaha. I need the original BIOS file, to write it again directly on motherboard eprom. That’s my last resource… Hope it works 
tnx