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February 25th, 2022 06:00
m17 R4, installing 2280 SSD when laptop is using RAID 0
Hello everyone!
I've had my m17 R4, my first Alienware product, for about 4 months now and have been really happy so far. I selected 512 GB storage when I bought it knowing I would eventually upgrade with a 1 TB storage drive. That time is now. I bought a Western Digital 1 TB 2280 form factor NVMe Gen4 "gaming drive" (https://www.amazon.com/Black-SN750-NVMe-Internal-Gaming/dp/B095HB3L6G).
The m17 R4 has 3 SSD slots. Slots 1 and 2 can take 2230 (short) or 2280 (long) SSDs. Slot 3 can only take 2230s.The laptop shipped using 2 256 GB 2230 form factor SSDs in a RAID 0 array. They are in slots 1 and 2.
Can I just move one of those to slot 3 and install my 2280 SSD in the newly opened slot? Will this mess up the RAID? Can I do any BIOS work after this move to tell it to look at slot 3 for the other half of the RAID? Unfortunately I have very little experience with RAIDs, especially using more recent hardware like SSDs, so I am kind of clueless here.
Any help is appreciated!
crimsom
7 Technologist
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6.1K Posts
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February 25th, 2022 16:00
Hi @Chris_W050 Yes, in theory. (I have no practical experience because all the laptops I have seen have M.2 2280 drive cards in slots 1 & 2.)
The Crucial System Advisor Tool is a good reference database, and for the Alienware m17 R4 it recommends M.2 2280 PCIe Gen4 NVMe, up to 6600 MB/s. Thanks for the link to the WD Black SN750 SE WDS100T1B0E drive card that has been purchased, this is M.2 2280 PCIe Gen4 NVMe, up to 3600 MB/s.
This check was undertaken because Dell support for Alienware m17 R4 Chipset says PCIe bus supports up to Gen3. However, it is known that Dell do not update their documentation, but Crucial does update their System Advisor Tool database.
crimsom
7 Technologist
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6.1K Posts
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February 25th, 2022 18:00
Hi @Chris_W050 at Alienware logo splash screen, press and hold down F2 Key to enter BIOS window to check BIOS has automatically acknowledged the M.2 2230 drive is now in slot 3. Also at Alienware logo splash screen, press and hold down F12 to enter boot menu window and update/renew the first boot option RAID. The Windows operating system should automatically acknowledge that RAID is now in slot 1 and 3.
How to access the RAID controller setup in UEFI configured systems | Dell US
A51-06
5 Practitioner
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3.1K Posts
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February 26th, 2022 18:00
Hi @Chris_W050 !
I understand RAID is a little bit complicated but heres how to understand it easily.
Alienware: What Is RAID? | Dell US
Then after reading up on that you should be able to click a link inside the article where after entering your service tag, you get your RAID Configuration listed so you can reconfigure the computer after you remove and install the other drive.