Hi Kiran K,

Thank you very much, have a great day!

ndactai

Hi Kiran K,

Have a good day!
Now I have 128GB SSD to install the OS and programs (C: drive) and 750GB HDD for data (D: drive).
My Bios is A12, windows 7 64bit, all system is running smoothly.

I have tried to install the windows 8 pro (64 bit, clean install), installed the drivers form Dell for windows 8 (except Intel Rapid storage Technology), 

everything is OK. But after downloading and installing the updates from Microsoft by Windows Update the D: drive was not detected (even I unchecked

 the Storage controller update). I think it is by IDE ATA/ATAPI controllers, it is "Intel(R) 7 Series/C216 Chipset Family SATA AHCI Controller - 1E03" in Windows 7 

but "Intel(R) 7 Series Chipset Family SATA AHCI Controller" in Windows 8 (without /216). I tried to back-roll the driver of IDE ATA/ATAPI controllers but it caused

 the error with unhappy face and restore the windows to early successful operation point. 
Do you have any advice? thanks in advance!

ndactai

Hi ndactai,

I request you to follow the below steps to check if the drive gets detected in BIOS:

(1) Restart the Computer.

(2) At the Dell Logo, Keep tapping F2 key until BIOS screen appears.

(3) In the main screen check if the drive is listed, msata will also be listed here.

(4) If the drive is not listed then it’s a hardare issue and try reseating the Harddrive.

If the hard drive gets detected in BIOS then boot to the Operating system environment and follow the below steps:

(1) Click on start and type disk management.

(2) The drive will be mentioned as unallocated space or blank.

(3) If it is blank then you can right click and assign a drive letter or you can format it.

If you have further questions please reply to the same post.

Hi Kiran,

The hard drive is detected by BIOS, I installed the windows 7 successfully. As I said in previous post, the HDD was missing in Windows 8 after getting updates from Microsoft (By Windows Update).

Thanks. 

Hi ndactai,

The Windows 8 operating should detect the hard drive in Disk management. You can check for the same as mentioned in the above post.

Hi Kiran,

Yes, the Windows 8 operating detected the hard drives (both C: and D: drive) after installing Windows and drivers from Dell. However, the D: drive is missing (is not detected) after getting updates by Windows Updates.

ndactai

Hi ndactai,

I suggest you to check in Disk management after windows update. If you are still unable to see it I request you to send a screen shot of the same.

Hi Kiran,

Please see the screen shot of Disk management before & after windows update:

1. Before:

2. After:

3. And these are windows updates:

Many thanks!

ndactai

Hi ndactai,  

I recommend you to disable ‘Intel Corporation – Storage Controller’ from the ‘Select updated to install’ window. Please right click on it to disable it and check if the drive is detected. Please revert for further assistance.

Hi Sujatha,

I have done following your instruction but not working, the D: drive was still missing.

I have tried another way following:

1. Disable the internet.

2. Install the drivers from Dell. After that the system was running well (able to see both drives).

3. Enable internet but disable Windows update (choose "never check for updates.." in Control panel/ Windows update setting).

4. Run the system, surfing the Web, restart the system... after several times of restarting system the D: drive disappeared suddenly.

I think the IDE ATA/ATAPI controllers in Device Manager causes this problem, checked it before & after the D: drive missing I realized the version is changed automatically, please refer to screen shot here:

1. Before (able to see D: drive):

 2. After (Unable to see D: drive):

Please check and advise, thanks!

ndactai

hi there, i've got also a l521x dell xps 15 and want to place such a ssd like you, did you found some descriptions on the internet because i don't know where to find the drive located in my dell xps system. do i need to remove a lot of screws ?

please give me a help

thanks

johan

Hi ndactai,

I suspect the windows update happened even before it was disabled. Hence I request you to uninstall the device from the device manager and also check ‘Delete driver’ option. Then restart the system several times to check the status of the drive while the Windows update is disabled.

Hi Sujatha, Kiran,

I uninstalled the device also checked "Delete driver" then restart the system, windows gets the Blue Screen of Death & sad face --> auto restart 3 times --> Repairing Windows Repair --> Restore the system.

I tried from the beginning: 

1. Disconnect the internet --> refresh the windows --> disable windows update --> install the drivers from Dell --> enable internet (no windows update): everything is OK.

2. Disconnect the internet --> refresh the windows --> disable windows update --> install the drivers from Dell --> enable internet --> Windows updates (Without "Intel Storage controller" --> restart the system --> D: drive is not detected.

I think the Windows 8 is not compatible with many products, it still has many bugs like Windows 95 before. This is my last request for your help because it takes much your time, I will come back with Windows 7 if this time not succeed. 

Thank you very much!

ndactai

Hi,

You can find the procedure to replace you SSD in XPS15 Owner manual download in Dell website here: 

http://support.dell.com/support/edocs/systems/xpsL521x/en/om/en_om.pdf.

ndactai