XPS 8930, disable optane memory, not available in IRST

Do you actually have an Optane module? It was an optional upgrade on the XPS 8930...

Have you read this Intel page?

 

@i456Kle9p 

Optane is where the 2280 would go in the M2 slot.

You can't disable that which is not physically there.

RAID OPTANE IRST is the default F2 BIOS SATA OPERATION

You MUST F2 BIOS SATA OPERATION from RAID/IRST to AHCI

This is not optional and the 970 will not be "seen" by windows in F2 BIOS RAID SATA OPERATION

This cannot be done without Many steps.  Neither the drive Nor cloning is supported by DELL or Microsoft.

First step is to change the BCD to safe mode. This is NOT optional.

This cannot be done in a single step and its
not a ronco set and forget 1 reboot 30 second process.

 

 

 

 

Boot windows and click the Start Button and type cmd
Right-click the result and select Run as administrator

Type this command and press ENTER

bcdedit /set safeboot minimal

Restart the computer and F2 into Bios settings
Change the F2 BIOS SATA Operation from RAID to AHCI

Save changes and exit Setup and Windows will automatically boot to Safe Mode with BLACK Background.

Right-click the Windows Start Menu once more.

Choose Command Prompt (Admin).

Type this command and press ENTER

bcdedit /deletevalue safeboot
Reboot and Windows will automatically start with F2 SATA OPERATION AHCI.

Next is to physically install the 970 and Install the Samsung Drivers.
The driver will not install without a samsung drive physically in the machine.
https://s3.ap-northeast-2.amazonaws.com/global.semi.static/Samsung_NVMeDriver_InstallationGuide.pdf

https://s3.ap-northeast-2.amazonaws.com/global.semi.static/SamsungNVMExpressDriver3.3/7322A6707A720E1A71EF11A3BE1EED819E011D317626415F0281A78151C/Samsung_NVM_Express_Driver_3.3.exe

Use the migration utility to clone HDD to SSD

https://s3.ap-northeast-2.amazonaws.com/global.semi.static/Samsung_SSD_Data_Migration_User_Manual_English_US_revision_v6.pdf

https://s3.ap-northeast-2.amazonaws.com/global.semi.static/SAMSUNG_SSD_SDM_210504/SW/27C8E0055C3909ECE3AA2FB6B74A2A1EAC1BAC402675B9E5CD0C5F99B41D766B/Samsung%2BData%2BMigration%2BSetup.exe

I just read that if intel optane memory is showing in device manager, then that means it has not been set up properly with Intel RST driver. 

I did not know I had to set it up? 

Intel says on 7.2.20:

"The Intel Rapid Storage Technology and Intel® Optane™ Memory applications have reached End of Life. "

So, do I take a chance, go into bios and switch to AHCI, and boot to windows. If ok, then shut down and remove the optane memory?

 

I've read elsewhere that if I try to change the settings in bios before disabling optane in the IRT app, then a blue screen will appear. 

I think your steps by going into safe mode may circumvent that, but until I'm sure it will not, I'm searching for a way to disable optane in windows before entering bios.

Yes, I do have Intel Optane 2280 installed. I ran a system report and it is installed and working properly.

I read the intel pages, the diagrams show optane memory in the tabs, mine does not. I'm uncertain how to proceed at this point

If you disable RAID in Safe Mode, that should be OK. Just confirm it boots properly afterwards.

Then you can install the SSD and clone the HDD onto it.  You can use Macrium Reflect (free) or similar software to clone the HDD.

If the new 1T SSD is larger than your HDD, be sure to follow the software's instructions to increase the size of the C: partition during the cloning process so you can use all the extra space.

There is a recent update for IRST. I installed that and now optane memory tab is displayed. Clicking on the optane memory tab shows this message:

"Your system is not intel optane memory ready: Feature not supported in AHCI mode"

So, it appears that I have not been running with optane memory, even though it is physically installed.

Here's my question:
At this point, using device manager, can I uninstall "Intel Mempek1J016GAD", shut down the computer, physically remove the optane memory, add the SAMSUNG 970 EVO PLUS M.2 2280 1TB PCIe Gen 3.0 x4, NVMe 1.3 V-NAND 3-bit MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) MZ-V7S1T0B/AM, then restart and clone statup drive to SAMSUNG 970 EVO PLUS

Thanks

Thanks for the advice. 

When I first received this computer, Dell Support instructed me to enable ACHI, saying it would run better.

Anyway, I'll image all partitions to an external drive, replace the optane memory and add the new drive. 

Thanks again for your help. 

Guess they didn't know you had an Optane module installed...

Post back and let us know how the SDD upgrade goes...

Installed a Samsung 980 M.2 2280 1TB SSD MZ-V8V1T0BAM

I've uninstalled the optane memory, it has three notches or tabs, whereas the samsung 980 has two notches or tabs. I'm guessing the optane memory is a sata connection and the 980 is a pcie connection.

1) can i install the 980 pci-e into the same m.2 port as the optane memory, that had a sata connection?

2) I'm running into a boot issue with the 980. After cloning, windows hangs at boot. legacy boot options are disabled, only eufi is enabled. Not sure what the problem is. 
I wiped the 980, so that nothing is there, rebooted without problems into windows on old drive. I can access 980 as a storage drive, files open on it fast. But I'm not sure why I can't boot using the 980. Any ideas?

Thanks