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Installing Samsung NVME M.2 1 6GB/s 1 TB card in XPS 8910?
I have read about 100 different explanations of this process all fraught with scary changes to BIOS and difficulties installing windows from scratch on the card from a sd card.
I wanted to ask if this procedure would work.. Please correct my errors
1 Boot into safe mode from MSCONFIG. Hit f2 and go into bios and change from RAID to AHCI. Continue to boot into safe mode. run MSCONFIG again and set to normal boot. Now reboot computer. It should now be AHCI ready for ssd.
2 Shut off everything and unplug all peripherals then install the M.2 card in the empty M.2 slot. (BTW, is there already a screw in the hole on the MB so I can screw down the card after installation) Will I have to open the interior metal "cage" to access the m.2 slot)?
3 Boot back into Windows using the HDD as the boot disk. Will the SSD be recognized as present and empty? I hope.
4. Use the free Intel data migration tool to clone the ssd from the HDD. Shut down.
5 Open up the computer again and unplug the HDD leaving it in place but unplugged from power and sata.
6 Boot up computer. The SSD should be recognized as the boot disk right? or do I have to do something in Bios?
7 Assuming steps 1-6 work shut down and plug the HDD back in.
8 Boot into windows 10 again the ssd should now be the boot disk.
9. Format the HDD so I can use it to store old data.
10. Install faster Samsung driver for SSD.
Now do I smile or cry? Will above steps work? What have I forgotten to do?
The problem is I can't simply clone the ssd by plugging it into a cable that connects to usb. I don't think any such cable exists. It does for the encased ssd but not the bare NVME M.2
Thanks so much for your help. I know there are other threads. I have posted in some but gotten no answers and what I want to do is different. This may well mean it won't work. I'm a noob.
juergenb52
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February 24th, 2017 01:00
Hi,
DELL has a BIOS Whitelist for the M.2 SSD in there Skylake Systems.
Befor you do all that stuff,
just plug in the SAMSUNG NVMe SSD and check if the computer will boot at all with this SSD.
I have som Dell Precision T3420 with M.2 SSD not working.
A Samsung 950 Pro SSD is not recogniced at first boot (HDD Failure).
The SSD was checked from Samsung Service Center.
Dell will not help me at all, because it´s a Retail SSD and no SSD from Dell.
They are not interrested in Support at all.
recDNA
50 Posts
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February 24th, 2017 08:00
Have you tried switching bios to AHCI from safe mode? If it won't boot why not return for your money back?
recDNA
50 Posts
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February 24th, 2017 09:00
I was trying to avoid the need to reinstall drivers. That is why I wanted to clone the drive. I guess I will try your method since it is proven to work.
Do you think my method would work?
Koeven
140 Posts
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February 24th, 2017 09:00
If it helps at all, I've done this successfully and learned some lessons in doing it - nothing was damaged, I just ended up wasting a lot of time, as I had to start all over again to get it right. I've installed a Samsung Evo 960 M.2 NVMe - 1TB and use it as my boot drive. I'm using the Samsung NVMe drivers and Samsung Magician works as expected. Also, don't expect much help from Samsung Technical support. They'll take your call, but never get back to you. Luckily their products are great. The 960 EVO is incredibly fast and I've run CrystalDiskMark. When I ran it recently I was getting read speeds of 3058 MB/s and Write speeds of 1862 MB/s.
Here are the steps that I would recommend:
1. Create a recovery drive (USB) using the MS process for creating a recovery drive. The good thing about using their drive is that it will be created using whatever state your current MS updates are at. If you use the Dell image that you download from their site, it will be pre-Windows 10 ver. 1607 and it take hours to do all of the updates to get it to current state.
2. Shutdown the PC and unplug all drives internally and install the Samsung NVMe in the M.2 slot. Mine had a screw already there as it came from the factory with a small NVMe drive. I don't know if one is put in there if you don't have a factory installed drive. Interestingly enough, I had a rattle in my case and found an extra screw of the same type used to hold down the M.2 drive loose in my case.
3. Power up the PC with only the NVMe drive and press F2 to go into Bios and change the setting from RAID to AHCI. Save your Bios changes and reboot with the USB Recovery drive in one of the USB slots.
4. Press F12 to go into boot settings and select the recovery drive and follow the MS steps to install the recovery image. Mine didn't take terribly long, I think I had everything installed in about 30 minutes.
5. If you haven't already done it, download all of the Dell XPS 8910 drivers, Samsung Drivers and any other needed drivers and install them. I end up rebooting often while installing drivers, even if the install doesn't force it. I've learned over time that things work better if you do it.
6. Make sure you have installed the latest updates that MS has for your PC.
7. Shutdown the PC, reconnect your other drives and then boot up again. I didn't have to do anything else as the BIOS automagically recognized them all and it booted up flawlessly. I then went into Disk Manager and lettered my drives to my own preferences. I have a 2TB Sata data drive that I used for data storage and a 3TB recovery drive that I used for storing online backups (I also keep off line backups). I forced my data drive to be the D: drive and the recovery drive to be the E: drive and my blu-ray drive to be the F: drive.
That was it. I haven't had to do anything else. I didn't need to go into safe mode or into the bios over and over again. I hope that helps answer your questions.
Koeven
140 Posts
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February 24th, 2017 10:00
My drive did not come with a cloning disk. I purchased a retail packaged version of the drive. It also didn't include a screw in the box from Samsung. I've purchased Crucial MSata drives in the past and they always included a screw, but not Samsung. They brochure inside a web address for downloading their software.
As far as cloning vs. clean installs, I've done both in the past and like to have the control over what gets installed, so my default now days is to go the clean install route, as I don't end up with the layers of old with the new installed on top of those older layers. I still default to cloning on my MACs
recDNA
50 Posts
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February 24th, 2017 10:00
Oh did your card cime with Samsung cloning siftware disk
Koeven
140 Posts
0
February 24th, 2017 11:00
The screw was already there in my system, but it came with an M.2 drive. I don't know if your method will work and having tried what you are proposing in a similar manner using MSata drives in the past, I found it created enough challenges that I avoid cloning, especially when going from a standard Sata drive to an SSD. The only cloning software that I've found works well is Acronis, I haven't found the free cloning software to be of much worth in all of my past experiences. There is an external M.2 case that I found to use for cloning purposes through Amazon, but I haven't tried it for that purpose. I did put another extra M.2 drive I have in it and it works. Speeds are USB limited. I bought this product: DEGOL USB 3.0 to NGFF M.2 SSD Hard Disk Box B Key SSD Adapter External Enclosure Case. I used my own USB 3 cable as most of reviews said the one included is problematic.
recDNA
50 Posts
0
February 24th, 2017 11:00
where did u get the screw? Would my method actually work?
recDNA
50 Posts
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February 24th, 2017 19:00
I sent an email to Dell support describing the plan. Unplugging HDD and installing fresh windows install from usb and he said there is no way to boot from M.2 slot. Not a choice in bios.
Koeven
140 Posts
0
February 24th, 2017 21:00
Sorry, but they are wrong. They even sell multiple configurations of the 8910SE that all boot from the M.2 slot. Reach out to Dell-Chris M if you need a confirmation. I've been following him for over 10 years and found he is one of the best tech's out there and knows more about Dell's than anyone I've followed.