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SSD Upgrade Question
I have a two week new XPS13 (9360). Planning on upgrading the stock SSD, (128GB SanDisk), with a Samsung 960 Pro 512GB NVMe M.2
Never having done this before I want to be sure it is as straightforward as it seems. With this in mind, some questions:
1) this SSD is compatible with this laptop, yes?
2) can this model fit more than one hard drive internally?
3) assuming the answer to 1 is "Yes", is it simply a matter of removing the old drive and installing the new one, then booting off the thumb drive and installing Windows 10 and the requisite Dell drivers needed for my specific laptop? Or, do I need to do anything with the new drive, such as install a specific driver, format the new drive before using, etc?
4) I'm reading about over-provisioning for SSDs, and finding it thoroughly confusing. Is this something I need to be concerned with?
Thanks for bearing with my questions. Appreciate the help.
Mac290
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February 3rd, 2017 18:00
Appreciate the quick reply, but can you embellish your reply to number 3:
are you saying that a Samsung driver is needed for the new SSD?
ejn63
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February 3rd, 2017 18:00
1. Yes.
2. No.
3. Yes, assuming you make the Dell recovery image.
4. No.
ejn63
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February 3rd, 2017 18:00
The Dell recovery image will include the NVMe driver that a standard Windows 10 install media set won't have -- yes, a different driver is needed for NVMe than for a standard SATA SSD (which is what's now in your system if it's the 128G that came with this model).
Saltgrass
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February 3rd, 2017 19:00
It may be more confusing than you might think. A true PCIe drive does not need a special driver since it is handled in the UEFI firmware. If you get a new drive, try doing a clean install but remove any SATA drives first.
I am seeing some inconsistencies with regard to my new XPS 9365 I need to confirm.. Such as it is running off a SATA controller and not an NVMe controller, according to Device Manger.
Mac290
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February 3rd, 2017 19:00
Definitely doing a clean install, and the new drive will be the only drive in the laptop.
Will I need to change any settings in the BIOS to install and run this drive?
Mac290
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February 3rd, 2017 19:00
I plan on doing a clean install of Windows 10. I see on the Samsung site that a driver is available to download for this SSD. When in the process does it get installed?
Saltgrass
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February 3rd, 2017 20:00
I just ordered a new 960 Pro to try in my system. If the Bios is not capable of a PCIe drive, it will not install that way.
I won't get my drive until possibly Wednesday. If you want to wait to see if I can get it to work, please do.
We do have different systems and I cannot be certain as to any differences between them.
Mac290
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February 4th, 2017 04:00
My 960 is scheduled for delivery on Monday. Don't know that I'll get to installing it for a few days after, though. Keep me posted on how your install goes. Thank you.