Lenovo Legion Slim 5 14 SSD Upgrade Guide: Adding a Second M.2 Drive

Most 14-inch laptops sacrifice internal expansion to maintain a thin profile. The Lenovo Legion Slim 5 14APH8 (Type 82Y5) is a notable exception: Lenovo engineering included two dedicated M.2 slots directly on the system board:

• Primary Slot (Slot 1): Pre-installed with the factory 1TB PCIe 4.0 x4 NVMe SSD containing the Windows operating system and recovery partitions.
• Secondary Slot (Slot 2): Empty from the factory. Full PCIe 4.0 x4 speed capability, accepting standard M.2 2280 form factor drives.

Because Slot 2 is completely separate, you can install a 1TB, 2TB, or 4TB drive as a dedicated scratch disk for video editing or a game library without cloning drives or re-entering Windows activation keys.

Before opening the laptop chassis, ensure you have the proper tools verified in Lenovo's Hardware Maintenance Manual to prevent stripped screw heads or scratched casing:

• Phillips #0 screwdriver: for the chassis bottom cover screws and the internal M.2 bracket screw.
  Recommended: If you need a reliable precision set, the iFixit Minnow Driver Kit includes the exact magnetized Phillips #0 bit required for both the chassis and internal drive mounts.
• Plastic pry tool / guitar pick: to disengage the plastic retention clips around the bottom edge without scratching the aluminum top shell.
  Recommended: Non-marring tools like the iFixit Prying and Opening Tool Assortment provide flexible plastic picks and spudgers to cleanly separate the seams.
• Compatible SSD: an M.2 2280 PCIe 4.0 x4 NVMe solid-state drive (1TB, 2TB, or 4TB).
  Note: Choose a single-sided drive without a tall integrated heatsink, as the laptop chassis has its own metal thermal shield.
  Recommended: The Samsung 990 PRO 2TB PCIe 4.0 NVMe SSD is single-sided, reaches up to 7,450 MB/s, and mounts flush under Lenovo's factory heat shield without clearance issues.

1. Power Down & Disable Fast Startup: Shut down Windows completely. In the UEFI BIOS (press F2 on startup), navigate to the Configuration tab and select Disable Building-in Battery for safety during maintenance.
2. Remove Bottom Screws: Place the laptop on a clean, anti-static surface. Remove the 10 Phillips screws securing the bottom cover. Note that the front screws are slightly shorter than the rear screws.
3. Pry the Bottom Cover: Insert your plastic pry tool gently into the seam near the rear exhaust vents and work your way around the edges to release the clips.
4. Locate Slot 2: The secondary M.2 slot is located on the opposite side of the battery from the primary drive, protected by a metal shield plate.
5. Insert the SSD: Remove the single screw holding the metal shield. Slide your new M.2 2280 SSD into the slot at a 30-degree angle until firmly seated. Press it down flat and re-fasten the retaining screw with the metal shield.
6. Reassemble: Snap the bottom cover back into place and re-fasten all 10 chassis screws. Plug in the AC power adapter to automatically re-enable the internal battery.

When you boot back into Windows, your new drive will not appear in File Explorer until it is initialized:

1. Right-click the Start button and select Disk Management.
2. A popup will notify you that an uninitialized disk has been detected. Select GPT (GUID Partition Table) and click OK.
3. Right-click the unallocated black space corresponding to your new drive and select New Simple Volume.
4. Assign a drive letter (e.g., D:) and format as NTFS with default allocation unit size.