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Exact software steps to remove the 32Gb mSata cache drive in preparation to replace HDD with SSD.
Hi, does anybody have instructions, or can point me to an article, to safely remove the original 32Gb mSata cache drive configured to accelerate the HDD drive etc. so the desktop will boot cleanly from the HDD drive alone. I know it involves RST and possibly BIOS settings. I am looking for the exact steps as I have had bad experiences removing (and adding) 32Gb mSata cache drives in the past. System fails to boot ... Note I do not need any guidance on physically removing the drive and for the curious once I have a clean boot from HDD alone I will clone the drive to SSD (2.5 which I already have) so the 32Gb mSata is redundant and I would like to remove it completely. I am also interested in any experiences and/or any complications doing this. Thanks.
These instructions can be for any Dell desktop, the desktop in question is a Dell XPS 8700.
remblance
35 Posts
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November 8th, 2016 07:00
Hi All,
These are the exact steps I used to replace an accelerated HDD with an SSD without any problems. It will probably work on most Dell Desktops and Laptops. In my case a Dell XPS 8700 running Windows 10 Pro 64bit.
1. Rapid Storage Technology, Performance Tab -> Disable Acceleration -> Make Available.
2. Use DISKPART to CLEAN the 32Gb mSata drive.
3. Run msconfig.exe to set the Boot mode to Safe Mode, minimal.
4. Shutdown.
5. Tap F2 at startup to enter BIOS. Change from RAID to AHCI. (probably not necessary but I wanted to as you never know when SSD tools may need it).
6. Mine booted into Safe Mode fine and this changed the Windows 10 drivers from RAID to AHCI automatically.
7. Run msconfig.exe to change to normal startup.
8. Re-boot (normal boot started up fine).
9. I then shutdown and removed the 32Gb mSata drive (you could probably done this at stage 4)
10. Success, XPS 8700 boots to AHCI HHD without any problems.
11. I then used Acronis True Image HD that came free with the Crucial 1050Gb SSD to clone the 2Tb drive (650Gb used). Important, do not use Acronis in Windows mode but create and boot from a bootable USB. community.crucial.com/.../172487
12. Put the SSD in a 3.5 caddy and swapped the HHD with the SSD. It now boots in seconds and not minutes after a Windows 10 update!
This worked for me but obviously not guaranteed to work for you ...
Saltgrass
3 Apprentice
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4.3K Posts
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October 27th, 2016 08:00
You should be able to disable acceleration in the Intel utility, I believe on the Performance tab.. The mSATA should show as a separate drive in Disk Management after the configuration has been changed. I assume you know where the Intel Utility is but if not, look at the hidden icons on the Taskbar. Right or left click, whatever it takes to show the option to open.
When you do this, give it time to unwind the configuration and you may see a message regarding such. Then if you want to reset the mSATA you can do that.
remblance
35 Posts
0
October 27th, 2016 12:00
Thanks for your comments but I have been there, disable acceleration, make available and then tried a reboot - failed to boot. Tried several things finally got it to boot. Then removed the mSata cache drive, tried a reboot - failed to boot ... which is the reason why I am looking for the exact software steps from somebody that knows what they are doing and not a guess. However you were correct it is on the performance tab...
EdgeHome
6 Posts
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November 22nd, 2016 18:00
Remblance, When you cloned your HDD to the new SSD, did it also clone the recovery partition? Windows works fine (activated) even though it's a different drive?
remblance
35 Posts
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January 3rd, 2017 12:00
Sorry, I only just spotted this (no alert). The cloning process clones all partitions including the recovery partition and handles any partitions that need to shrink. I actually removed the recovery partition as I have moved to Windows 10.