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Area-51m R2, Samsung EVO 970 1TB SSD upgrade
Hi guys,
I'm looking for advice on upgrading my SSD from a 500GB to a Samsung EVO 970 1TB. I've got the service manual which shows it as a simple procedure, but it doesn't mention anything about the files saved on it? Do I need to transfer the Dell and Windows files to the hard drive before I install it? Or will the files just automatically reinstall after I restart the laptop.
TIA
crimsom
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September 2nd, 2021 17:00
Hi @Pgraham93 thank you for sharing update complete with update.
That is odd, Disk Management says Disk 2 (1TB Samsung EVO 970) has been created as a Storage Pool (an aggregation of disks for Storage Spaces) with status as a GPT protective partition, so that all access is denied.
Creation of 1TB clone (copy) as the larger capacity OS(C:) boot drive has not been achieved.
The GPT protective partition and its contents can be removed using the Diskpart clean command.
Step 1: Type cmd and hit Enter to bring up Command Prompt. Run as administrator.
Step 2: In the command prompt, enter the command diskpart.
Step 3: Enter the command list disk.
Step 4: Enter the command select disk 2.
Step 5: Enter the command clean.
Step 6: When process completes, type exit to close the Command Prompt.
Step 7: Revisit Disk Management to confirm GPT protective partition has been removed.
Revisit the Macrium Reflect Free cloning process and create 1TB clone (copy) as a larger capacity OS(C:) boot drive.
Please share an update on progress, so that other users derive benefit from your experience. Thank you.
crimsom
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August 30th, 2021 10:00
Hi @Pgraham93 welcome to this user to user discussion forum. This is not Dell Support.
Support for Alienware Area-51m R2 Storage says install M.2 PCIe NVMe Gen3 x4 cards and 970 EVO NVMe M.2 SSD 1TB says it is a PCIe Gen 3.0 x4, NVMe 1.3 card. There are no compatibility issues.
Speculate that you want to upgrade your 500GB OS(C:) boot drive to 1TB. Please clone (copy) your existing OS(C:) boot drive onto the 1TB NVMe card using Macrium Reflect Free. There are tutorials on YouTube.
Please click on Kudos to say thank you for response from user that is not employed by Dell. Please share an update on progress, so that other users derive benefit from your experience. Thank you.
crimsom
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September 3rd, 2021 14:00
Hi @Pgraham93 thank you for sharing update.
The 1TB clone (copy) is ready to be the first disk from which to boot. Remove the original 500GB boot drive, and the new 1TB boot drive should automatically be acknowledged as the new OS(C:) boot drive. Start using the new 1TB OS(C:) boot drive, and it will get Windows Update, etc. (The system gets confused if there are two boot drives, put the 500GB in a safe place.)
After a few weeks, when you are happy that the new 1TB boot drive is working correctly, decide if you want to keep the 500GB as your standby boot drive, or reassign it to be a Data drive. As part of your disaster Recovery Plan, you should have a standby OS(C:) boot drive that can be swapped in within minutes, if the installed OS(C:) boot drive cannot be recovered.
Please share an update on progress, so that other users derive benefit from your experience. Thank you.
Pgraham93
48 Posts
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August 30th, 2021 11:00
Thanks crimsom,
Your knowledge on the area 51m r2 is outstanding.
Pgraham93
48 Posts
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September 2nd, 2021 03:00
Hi Crimsom
I've installed the evo 970 ssd and it's not showing in in windows, however it is showing in the bios, device manager and disk management but only as storage without a drive path, on the options to assign the drive path it's shaded out, the disk is showing as enabled and not showing any issues. Do you have any idea how to get this working?
crimsom
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September 2nd, 2021 03:00
Hi @Pgraham93 thank you for sharing update.
The new drive will remain hidden from the operating system when no drive letter has been assigned. How to format a new hard drive on Windows 10 | Windows Central
Always create with GUID Partition Table (GPT) partition format to get the modern security, reliability, etc. features.
Please share an update on progress, so that other users derive benefit from your experience. Thank you.
Pgraham93
48 Posts
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September 2nd, 2021 16:00
Hi crimson,
That never worked, I can't format the disk and all the options are shaded out, the disk is showing but I can't do anything with it, I've also changed the raid on option which allows you to download the Samsung driver.
Pgraham93
48 Posts
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September 3rd, 2021 13:00
Hi crimsom,
fantastic, that’s got my evo 970 working and I’ve cloned the OS (c) to the evo, how do I make this my boot drive ? Do I have to manually swap the drives over ?
Pgraham93
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September 4th, 2021 10:00
Excellent work Crimsom, that’s the drive up and running, the advice is greatly appreciated