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November 8th, 2022 20:00
m15 R3, Raid 0 Array
Hi,
I have an Alienware m15 R3 laptop with three SSD slots. Two support m.2 2280s while the third one only supports a 2230. When I purchased my laptop the only two slots that can hold a 2280 were taken by two 2230 256GB SSD that is set into a RAID 0 array to create a total of 512GB of storage. After using this laptop for almost two years, this isn't enough storage for all the games I have accumulated. I was wondering if I move one of the 2230 SSDs into the third slot, will this mess up the RAID 0 configuration? I read a similar post to someone who had the same question ( https://www.dell.com/community/Alienware/m15-R3-installed-SSDs-slot-change/td-p/7741903 ), but when reading the solution it is mentioned that I cannot use in isolation. I am still planning to keep both 2230 SSDs in the computer, just rearranging what port/slot they are in to free up one of the m.2 2280 slot for a 2TB SSD. Will this still break the array configuration?
crimsom
7 Technologist
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6.1K Posts
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November 8th, 2022 21:00
Hi @WhosJxson welcome to this free user-to-user Alienware laptop discussion forum.
The dual drive RAID_0 configuration as the OS (C:) boot drive is unreliable, when one drive becomes unrecoverable, both drives must be replaced. There is no performance benefit when compared to a single ultrafast M.2 NVMe OS (C:) boot drive.
Trying to keep your M.2 2230 512GB dual drive RAID_0 configuration does not fix your problem. The games must be installed on the boot drive, with plenty of free space so that temporary files can be unpacked and used. You need a larger capacity boot drive, look at Solved: m15 R3, installed SSDs slot change - Dell Community.
Your fix will be to get USB-C external drive enclosure for 2TB ultrafast M.2 NVMe SSD and clone (copy) the dual drive RAID_0, to your external SSD. The Macrium Software | Reflect Free Edition is sufficient or use the cloning application provided by purchase of new SSD.
Swap in the single ultrafast M.2 NVMe OS (C:) boot drive and use the other M.2 2280 slot to install a 2TB DATA drive to store personal and other files that are not required to be on the boot drive.
The Crucial System Advisor database says 4TB SSD can be installed, Alienware m15 R3 | Memory RAM & SSD Upgrades | Crucial.com
mattyb3
5 Practitioner
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1.7K Posts
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November 8th, 2022 21:00
In theory it shouldn't matter as the RAID controller should recongnise each drive and reapply the RAID config.
A long time ago I have a custom desktop with dual 3.5" HDD's in RAID 0. The board blew and I transferred the drives into a completely different system, an Aurora R4 ALX. To my surprise, they went back into RAID 0 and none of the data was lost. These weren't OS drives though, only used for bulk storage.