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Precision M6800 and M4700 half height slot labeled: 1/2MC(PP), what is it for?
Anyone know what the slot in my Precision M6800 and M4700 labeled: 1/2MC(PP) is meant for?
It is a half height msata slot, without antenna leads so is not meant for communication cards.
I purchased half height msata storage for the slots, but they do not appear in bios or OS, so they go back to Amazon.
ejn63
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August 18th, 2016 20:00
They're for WWAN cards - for cell/PCS 4G/3G wireless data connections. Models that come with these will ship with the antenna wires and leads.
magisterludiv
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August 18th, 2016 22:00
What I am trying to ascertain is if this slot has any capability as MSata style storage.
A no answer with an explanation of what this slot is for would be nice.
Even better a yes answer with an explanation of how to enable this as a storage slot.
I doubt this is for communication cards because there really is no route for the antenna leads, and there are two other slots that already have those antenna leads available for communications cards.
Unfortunately, the Dell documentation does not show this particular slot or describe it's function.
magisterludiv
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August 18th, 2016 22:00
I see a full height empty slot that is clearly labeled WWAN/MSATA and has unused antenna leads available should I choose to install in that slot.
There are two half height slots, one of which is populated by my WLAN card, is labeled WLAN and has antenna leads.
The second half height slot is labeled 1/2MC(PP) and has no antenna leads and no channel for future antenna leads. This is the slot that I can find no function for. It is not shown in the manual, while the other two slots mentioned above are shown in the manual! I cannot see any way for this slot to be used with a communications card. No way to route antenna leads to this empty slot.
Dell Precision M4700
My Dell Precision M6800 has similar slots with an additional full height msata slot. The half height slot labeled 1/2MC(PP) also has no way to route antenna leads to it.
Rumor is that this is for a caching scheme?
ejn63
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August 19th, 2016 04:00
Both of these do support mSATA SSDs. They can be used as a cache or a standalone drive.
What model mSATA card did you try installing - and what mode is the drive set for (RAID, AHCI, etc)?
ejn63
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August 19th, 2016 10:00
Turn the system to AHCI and disconnect the hard drive -- does the BIOS then see the SSD?
magisterludiv
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August 19th, 2016 10:00
I followed your instructions:
Removed boot disk, changed SATA operation to AHCI.
Reboot to bios, the half height card does not appear in the boot sequence list.
Other information:
SATA ports 0, 2, 3, 4, and 5 are enabled in bios. (There is no check box for port 1).
Boot list option is set to legacy bios rather than UEFI (Came from factory with this setting and Win 7 Pro).
Not sure about my half height cards, though I've used Kingspec SSD's before without issues.
magisterludiv
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August 19th, 2016 10:00
The half height drives that I attempted to use are Kingspec MLC 256Gb Half Height PCI-E SSD's.
My Dell laptops are set to use the default RAID setting.
I have no vested interest in the RAID, I have only one disk installed at present, and have no need of the RAID configurations. It is the default setting, however.
I've been told that changing to either ATA or AHCI would mean data loss. But I have also been told that AHCI is preferred for SSD's.
My preference is to use these Half Heights as standalone drives with a Linux OS.
dell_mini
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January 9th, 2017 07:00
I have M4700 and it is RAID. i installed a mSATA mini to the 1/2MC slot, but it didn't show up in the BIOS. how can i get it to recognize the card?
Thanks