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XPS M1730 Second Hard Drive Installation Help
Hi
I have a just over one year old (no warranty left) XPS M1730 laptop with Seagate 200GB 7200RPM drive.
Due to the space shortage, I've installed a second Samsung 500GB 5400RPM drive. Unfortunately, laptop BIOS does not see that drive and shows {none}
So, I switched the two drives by installing new Samsung at the Primary SATA0 and existing Seagate at the SATA1. This time, BIOS found the new drive with correct brand, size, and failed to see the existing Seagate drive.
I phoned Dell support to seek some help, and I was told that I have to replace the motherboard at Dell Or buy a new motherboard and install at your own high street local PC repair shop. As I do not have any warranty left, that solution is too expensive for me. Laptop is working absolutely fine apart from the space shortage.
I've seen some threads with similar story on this forum and I would like to know how they end up with their problems. Some say the SATA cable connector for second drive won't work unless you ordered the two drives spec laptop from Dell. My decision is I will not replace the motherboard just to get some extra place. But, I would like to try with a new SATA cable with two working connectors.
I would like to gamble by buying a new SATA cable to see whether the problem is at the motherboard or not. My current SATA cable might not have any circuit for the second connector. The big problem Dell spare part dept told me that they don't sell that cable.
Please somebody help me to solve this problem. Is it any software solution to enable the secondary drive or how/where can I buy a SATA cable with 2 (working) connectors?
Many thanks.
celerystick009
2 Posts
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April 2nd, 2011 18:00
I have solved the problem. After installing a second hard drive in my M1730, I was confounded when I discovered that the second drive was visible in BIOS and in the Device Manager, but not anywhere else. After much searching I discovered the way to fix it, detailed below:
1. Go to the Control Panel and open Administrative Tools. From there, open Computer Management.
2. Here you should see a window that shows the condition and contents of both the original and new hard drives. Use the menu on the left to select Storage, then Disk Management. On my computer, the original C drive was listed in the lower portion of the window as Disk 0, and the second one was Disk 1.
3. Right-click the new drive (probably Disk 1). I don't remember exactly what the option was called, but it was something to the effect of "Create New Volume." I'm pretty sure it had "Volume" in it, at least. When you've picked the correct option, you'll be rewarded with a series of windows asking you what you want the new drive to be like (Drive letter, drive name, storage space, file system, etc.), so just follow the steps and wait for the new drive to be formatted. Voilà.
Edited to include step I forgot.
dgkpcon
3.6K Posts
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April 2nd, 2011 20:00
Install both HDD's,put the system back together,boot up.At spalsh screen tap f12>select BIOS>turn off Flash Cache>select Auto Detect/ATA>save and exit.System is ready to go and both drives are recognized.Sorry i just saw this post for the first time.