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XPS 8930, upgrade to an SSD
HI, I have a Dell XPS 8930, and I want to upgrade to a SSD, but I am very much a novice, can people please recommend a 1TB SSD that I can install in my system with the least amount of headaches, Thanks, Ted
Vic384
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June 24th, 2022 09:00
I believe the XPS 8930 has mounting holes in the hard-drive cages at the bottom of the case for 2.5" drives so a 2.5" to 3.5" adapter is not needed. The hard-drive cages in the XPS 8910 do not have mounting holes for 2.5" drives.
With regards to using an M.2 NVMe SSD, there is an M.2 slot on the motherboard, but it may be used for Optane memory if your system came with that memory. If the M.2 slot is empty, a PCIe adapter is not needed, just mount the NVMe drive in the slot on the motherboard.
ProfessorW00d
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June 23rd, 2022 20:00
Crucial MX500 1TB 2.5" SSD
SATA data cable with 90 degree connector
Ted01220
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June 23rd, 2022 21:00
Would I be able to use this ? ---Crucial P2 1TB PCIe M.2 2280SS SSD
Ted01220
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June 23rd, 2022 21:00
do I need an adapter to hold the drive ?
johnman58j
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June 24th, 2022 06:00
I have a 8910 (similar case to the 8930) and what I used was a WD 2.5 inch SATA ssd with a corsair adapter bracket - the sata cable should have 90 degree terminal on one end for clearance (ssd end) - I used the provided WD version of Acronis to clone my drive with no issues. would suggest getting the same size ssd as your old hhd to avoid any partition problems just use the automatic setting in the cloning software. You will be amazed at how much faster your PC will be !
ProfessorW00d
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June 24th, 2022 06:00
Yes . . . for the M.2 NVMe SSD you would need a M.2 NVMe PCIe adapter (as an example) and it would go in a lower PCIe slot something like this;
ProfessorW00d
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June 24th, 2022 06:00
No . . . should mount into the rear cage in the bottom of your case. Use SATA power from the PSU.
ProfessorW00d
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June 24th, 2022 10:00
I was assuming they had a small M.2 SSD boot drive and were wanting to upgrade storage. Do they even sell the XPS 8930 with HDD only?
RoHe
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June 24th, 2022 12:00
@Ted01220 You didn't make clear what you're planning, aside from installing an SSD. Are you intending to make the newly installed M.2 NVME SSD the boot drive or just use it for storage?
If you want it to be the boot drive, are you going to clone the existing HDD on the new SSD, or do a clean install of Win 10 or 11 and apps directly on the new SSD?
Assuming you don't have an Optane module in the M.2 slot now, you probably still need to change BIOS setup from RAID to AHCI before you do anything. Some SSDs don't work well with BIOS set to RAID and/or your PC may not boot. BUT...you can't just change the BIOS setting to AHCI, you have to configure Windows to use AHCI first, or the PC will be unbootable.
bcdedit /set {current} safeboot minimal and press Enter
bcdedit /deletevalue {current} safeboot and press Enter
Now you're ready to install the SSD in the M.2 slot and clone the HDD onto the SSD, if that's your intention. NOTE: If the new SSD is larger than the existing HDD, you'll have to expand the size of the C: partition during the cloning to use all the extra space. How you do that depends on which cloning/imaging software you use.
Or, you can disconnect the old HDD, install the new M.2 SSD and do a clean install of Windows and all your apps directly on the SSD.
XPS_Man
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June 24th, 2022 12:00
@Ted01220
I think this thread is getting too complicated, you don't need any additional equipment for upgrading to an SSD.
Get one from Samsung as it comes with Free disk cloning software, here's one with a good price and performance. Look at the picture, all it needs is asingle screw.
Once you have installed SSD run Samsung's Data migration software (from their website) and it will move OS from HDD to SSD.
'
@ProfessorW00d Yes they sell XPS desktops with mechanical 7200 RPM HDD, Even the brand new XPS 8940 and XPS 8950.
Ted01220
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June 24th, 2022 12:00
Thanks for the info RoHe, the plan is to completely eliminate my HDD and go with just the SSD, so I plan to clone the HDD
Ted01220
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June 24th, 2022 12:00
Thank you all for the info, ProfessorW00d, nope, no current SSD drive in system, came with just HHD 5 years ago. I think I am going to try the M.2 option, wish me luck
ProfessorW00d
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June 24th, 2022 13:00
In that case, M.2 in the motherboard location is the best option. GOOD LUCK! . . . and keep us posted
RoHe
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June 24th, 2022 17:00
@Ted01220 - Keep in mind even after you clone the HDD onto the new M.2 SSD (expanding the C: partition, as needed), you'll have to use the F12 menu to boot from the new SSD every time, at least until the HDD is disconnected from the motherboard, or it's initialized. As long as the HDD is connected (but not initialized), PC will always boot from that drive when you boot "normally", rather than via F12.
You should boot via F12 a couple of times to make sure the cloned image on the SSD is working correctly and all your files are available, to be safe.
Once you're satisfied the cloned SSD is working ok, you could initialize the HDD and use it for routine storage or back up. You'd have to boot from the SSD via F12 menu and use Windows Disk Management to initialize the HDD. (ALL FILES DELETED!) At the next boot, the PC should boot "normally" from the SSD, without using F12.
ProfessorW00d
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June 24th, 2022 18:00
I realize OP got their XPS 8930 some years ago, but It appears you would have to special order a new XPS to include HDD only.