m15 R6, problem with SSD Gen4

Question

Hi! I bought a new SSD, an XPG S70 Blade with 2TB (GEN4)

So I moved the original SSD to Slot 1 and plugged the new SSD into Slot 0 (which is a Gen4 slot).

The new SSD actually goes up to almost 7000 mb-s, and everything runs fine... until the performance of the new SSD starts to drop when I use it... To 100 mb-s! And then the system stops recognizing and I have to restart to recognize it again.

In Event Viewer I found a bunch (200 or maybe more) of 51 errors (Error detected on device \Device\Hard during a paging operation.) and then a new error:
System failed to flush data to transaction log. May occur on VolumeID: D:, DeviceName: \Device\HarddiskVolume2.

Fault Status: A non-existent device was specified.

Device GUID: {fa4bb6ca-7a27-dddc-84ea-244e40df28bd}
Device manufacturer:
Device Model: XPG GAMMIX S70 BLADE
Device Revision: 3.2.F.46
Device serial number: 0000_0000_0000_0000_707C_1836_78FA_3D46.
Bus type: NVMe

Adapter Serial Number: 2M042L2GH7HP

After that, the system stops recognizing the S70 Blade.

OK. Now just change the slot. Put the S70 in Slot 1 (Gen3) and put the original SSD in Slot 0 (Gen 4) and..... Everything works fine!! The S70 doesn't lose performance. Obvius, now the S70 only reaches 3500 mb-s because the slot is Gen3, but everything runs smoothly.

So, the problem is not the SSD. Are the problem the slot?

Help me!

EIRASFE · Answer

yes, the SSD GAMMIX S70 runs okay know in gen3 slot... but no in his full velocity (7000mb-s)... only 3500mb-s

crimsom · Answer

Hi @EIRASFE welcome to this free user to user Alienware laptop discussion forum.

Yes, the m15 R6 SDD slots are the problem.

XPG says their M.2 2280 SSD GAMMIX S70 Blade is a PCIe Gen4.0 x4 NVMe card and it is backward compatible with PCIe Gen3.0 x4 NVMe slots. XPG Gaming GAMMIX S70 BLADE PCIe M.2 NVMe SSD｜XPG

Support forAlienware m15 R6, Setup and Specifications, Storage says its M.2 SSD PCIe Gen3.0 x4 NVMe slots will only run at up to 32 Gbps. Dell Documentation Storage does not include slot identification, usually SSD-1 and SSD-2. See Service Manual Solid-state drive.

Dell knows that their documentation requires clarification. @DELL-Cares

crimsom · Answer

Hi @EIRASFE which slot accepts your 2TB M.2 PCIe Gen4.0 x4 NVMe card?  Alienware m15 R6 slot SSD1Alienware m15 R6 slot SSD2

EIRASFE · Answer

SSD1 slot is the Gen4.

When i pluged my SSD in SSD1 slot, the velocity runs full... 6000 - 6800mb-s. But then becomes instable and the velocity come to 100 mb-s and then the SSD became offline.

When i pluged my SSD in SSD2 slot, theres no error. But the velocity runs ate 3500 mb-s.

zorroguo · Answer

I have a similar issue. I bought WD SN850 2TB, and when I installed it on Slot 1 in my M15R6, although it can run with the speed of 7000MB, the system became unstable. Always restart with the blue screen. Then I installed WIN 11 in PM9A1 on Slot 2, then I found the SN850 on Slot 1 would disappear randomly. You have to restart the PC to have the SN850 back. So I have to switch these two SSD. PM9A1 on Slot 1 with Gen3, then no blue screen again. I feel so bad, if Slot 1 can not support Gen4, Dell should modify the user manual.

zorroguo · Answer

Same to you

Jurandir Brasil · Answer

I had the same problem.Even updating the BIOS didn't fix it.I didn't find any information that solved it.When I use M.2 gen 4 on SSD1 the speed drops to 100MB/s and the HD disappears.

crimsom · Answer

Hi @EIRASFE the Alienware m15 R6 Drivers & Downloads has many extra drivers to get SSD1 to acknowledge that this M.2 slot is PCIe Gen4x4 capable.

The XPG ADATA SSD ToolBox is available for download with the XPG GAMMIX S70 BLADE PCIe Gen4x4 M.2 2280 SSD card. The ADATA SSD ToolBox automatically ensures you have the latest firmware for optimal performance and allows for the monitoring of drive health and remaining life through Self-Monitoring, Analysis, and Reporting Technology (S.M.A.R.T.) attributes. It also lets you keep track of the current operating temperature, capacity, and total space used.

Please download the ADATA SSD ToolBox and run the Diagnostics, etc. to determine if the 2TB XPG S70 Blade requires a driver firmware update.

The Crystal Disk Info x64 utility has more diagnostic options. Crystal Dew World [en] - (crystalmark.info)

LuizAlves · Answer

Did you check the Gen4 drive temperature?

I have the same problem and the high temperature is the cause.

When I run games on my Samsung 980 PRO 2 TB... the system becomes unstable and crashes. Even with heat sinks and a cooled base.

The default heatsinks cannot dissipate the heat generated by the drives. My solution for this was a Gen3 drive, and I've no more problems.Gen3 drives generate less heat. My Gen4 drive runs only windows and other software, so the drive is under a low load generating less heat.

I have R6 and R7 and both have the same issue with high loads on disks Gen4.

Gidz92 · Answer

Hi everyone,im having the same issue as above, huge disappointment and lot of time wasted.i have m15 R6(i7-11800H/RTX 3070 version), i have ordered kingston KC3000 PCIe gen4 about a week ago, with the hope(again, it is written in the user manual that it DOES support gen4...all of us should guess it can run games right? not in idle state of windows....) i can enable its performance in slot0 and keep my factory provided micron 2300 into slot1 as a DATA drive. everything went fine(both drives recognized, kingston performed gen4 speed as described) until i tried some programs requiring  high performance.system became unstable, random BSOD's, random freezes/force restarts during games, even during downloads at higher speeds.... i have gone through the error-discovery process, searching/scanning for hardware issues via supportassist/various 3rd party softwares, nothing turned up. then i tried to switch up the SSDs in the 2 slots, same issue. tried to use KC3000 alone(micron 2300 removed from slot1), still random BSOD's...now its more than enough, im returning KC3000 with money back and looking for a gen3 drive which hopefully won't cause issues on the system...anyone even running 2 gen3 SSD's in the same model without issues or i should forget about the second slot and rather use external drive?

waskoo89 · Answer

Hello guys,

I'm having same issues . I tried already 3 different gen 4 drives and the result is always the same - unstable system and disappearing SSD . I tested with 2tb 980 Pro , 1tb 980 Pro and WD SN850 2tb ... Very annoying as all drives are being recognised as gen4 so the slot is really gen 4 compatible but it refuse to work normally with these. Speed is around 100mb/s which is not right at all . All these drives works fine in my slot 2 but in gen 3 speeds ( 3500 mb/s) I also tried to apply better thermal pads ... same results ... I expect DELL to come with some explanation about it and is there is a way to fix this issue somehow . About temperatures - I don't think they're so high from what i see they're not going up to 60C .Is it possible to be a BIOS related issue or NVME controller drivers issue or Windows 11 one ? When i bought this laptop i expected to have no issues to insert gen 4 drive in it but ...

DELL-Chris M · Answer

Dell cannot speak to non-tested retail purchased SSD. Below are the m15 R6 tested/validated OEM 2TB SSD =

8D3R2 2TB, SSD, Form factor 80S3, G44, PCIe, NVMe, 2280, Gen 4x4, Height 2.38mm, Western Digital SN810
D2GDK 2TB, SSD, Form factor 80S3, G44, PCIe, NVMe, 2280, Gen 4x4, Height 2.38mm, Samsung PM9A1 MZVL22T0HBLB-00BD1
XPWV2 2TB, SSD, Form factor 80S3, G44, PCIe, NVMe, 2280, Gen 4x4, Height 2.38mm, Hynix PC801 HFS002TEJ9X101N
YTYK1 2TB, SSD, Form factor 80S2, G44, PCIe, NVMe, 2280, Gen 4x4, Height 2.23mm, Kioxia KXG70PNV2T04

Steffs · Answer

Hello, putting it in the Gen 3 slots will still get the 2TB in your notebook? Or will it just reduce the MB?

Alienware

m15 R6, problem with SSD Gen4

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