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Halesway

6 Posts

159781

April 25th, 2013 05:00

Latitude E4300 - SSD compatibility

I have a Latitude E4300 (approx. 3 years old) which has been getting slower and slower, and has crashed a couple of times. It got to the point where I thought I would do a complete and fresh OS install (Vista 64). Whilst doing this, I thought, why not try to 'upgrade' the laptop by putting in some extra RAM (it's now 8Gb) and an sparkly new SSD.

I've always put a lot of faith in Crucial RAM so went down this route, and thought I'd put in a Crucial M500 SSD. The drive capacity is 240Gb - roughly the same as the WD Scorpio Black 250Gb it would be replacing.

So I boot from the OS DVD and go through the process I've done many, many times before on other computers. Everything seems to be going fine but when the OS install does its first automatic reboot, I get a "Windows Setup could not configure Windows on this computer’s hardware" error.

Did a bit of Googling and there's a suggestion that I need to change the SATA mode in BIOS (which incidentally is A23 - the Dell recommended version). The default SATA mode was IRRT, and the suggestion is to change this to AHCI.

I did this, and had success in getting the OS to install and the laptop to boot cleanly. I then followed the recommended driver installation sequence using the original Dell driver disks, and started to hit more problems with certain drivers (eg graphics and network). The drivers installed but threw up a "Windows needs this driver to be digitally signed - the driver has been installed but has been disabled" type error.

I then downloaded all the latest relevant drivers from the Dell site, and tried again. Same problem.

I've been in contact with Crucial, and they have recommended I change the SATA mode to ATA and to activate the "Load Fail-Safe Defaults" setting in BIOS.

I can change the mode to ATA no problem and will try this on a just-in-case-it-works basis), but I can't see anywhere in BIOS for "Load Fail-Safe Defaults".

So I have a few fundamental questions:

  1. Will a SSD work in this laptop?
  2. Is the Crucial SSD I have faulty?
  3. Is there a 'better' make of SSD? (I've seen suggestions for Samsung)
  4. Would I be better to use a new 'normal' drive?
  5. Should I change SATA mode to ATA? (I've seen a few reports saying performance is affected)
  6. Where the heck is "Load Fail-Safe Defaults" setting in BIOS?

Hopefully someone can help with this because it's doing my head in, and it's actually my MD's laptop so I'm keen to get it working well!

Thanks in advance

DELL-Saharsh K

6 Operator

 • 

1.5K Posts

April 25th, 2013 07:00

Hi Halesway,

The driver related error message that you are receiving while installing just indicates that Microsoft has not tested these drivers. However, if you are downloading the drivers from the Dell website, they are tested by Dell for the particular system. Please select the option of 'Continue Anyway' when you get the error message again.

Here are the answers to your questions:

  • Will a SSD work in this laptop?
    Yes, Dell Latitude E4300 system supports SSD drives.

  • Is the Crucial SSD I have faulty?
    You may run diagnostics on it to testify the hardware functionality. Here are the steps:

    • Restart the system and immediately start tapping the 'F12' key to enter the 'Boot Menu'.
    • Use the 'Down Arrow' key to highlight the 'Diagnostics' option. Press the 'Enter' key.
    • The diagnostics will begin. Please note the exact error message/code, if any appears on the screen.

  • Is there a 'better' make of SSD? (I've seen suggestions for Samsung)
    As such there are many SSD manufacturers, you may review and compare them online before making any purchase decision.

  • Would I be better to use a new 'normal' drive?
    SSD's are quite faster then the normal drives. You will definitely get performance benefits from SSD drive.

  • Where the heck is "Load Fail-Safe Defaults" setting in BIOS?
    You may change the SATA operation to ATA, however, you might need to reinstall the operating system.

  • Should I change SATA mode to ATA? (I've seen a few reports saying performance is affected)
    Enter the BIOS setup and select load defaults from the main screemn that is what they meant from 'Load Fail-Safe Defaults'.

Hope this helps. Please reply if you have any further questions.

DELL-Saharsh K

6 Operator

 • 

1.5K Posts

April 25th, 2013 08:00

Hi Halesway,

Glad that the system is working fine. Please observe the system performance and keep me posted. If you need any assistance do let me know, I'll be glad to assist.

Halesway

6 Posts

April 25th, 2013 08:00

Thanks for a very prompt response and the comments/advice therein.

I changed the SATA mode setting in BIOS to ATA and, so far (touch wood), everything appears to be OK. I've not received any errors at any stage (aside from an advisory not to upgrade the ControlVault firmware).

If it's OK, I'll leave this post 'open' in case I need to add a follow up.

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