Adding a Third Disk to Studio XPS 8100

Question

My Studio XPS 8100 has space for two hard drives and two optical drives. I already have two hard drives and now I would like to add a SSD. The SSD will become my system drive.

I only have one optical drive, so the bay for the second optical drive is empty. Is it possible to put a HDD into that empty bay? It would require some sort of adapter to fit the space.

DaddyX_b90f82 · Accepted Answer

Thanks again for your advice.

I opened up the case of my Studio XPS 8100 and had a good look at the FlexDrive bay. What bothers me about it is that there are four small metal pieces sticking into the space...they look like small coat hangers. OTOH, there's lots of room in the unused optical drive bay (labelled ODD1) and I needn't worry about airflow since this space faces three fans (for the case, CPU and PSU.)

So there's my solution: The SSD will be the boot disk - SATA 0 - and a HDD will be in the next bay. If I decide to keep my second HDD inside the case, it will go into the unused optical drive bay - ODD1 - with a 5.25"-to-3.5" adapter. There's an unused SATA power cable nearby looking for a home. I'll have to buy a SATA data cable.

DELL-Satya P · Answer

Hi DaddyX,

The Studio XPS 8100 has Two 5.25-inch, One 3.5-inch FlexBay, Two 3.5-inch hard drive bays. The SSD can be installed on the optical drive bay but you will need a SSD mount for a 5.25 inch bay or a SSD to 5.25 bracket which are available online for purchase. There are several mounts, brackets and enclosures that will allow you to install the SSD on the optical drive bay. Check the below given links and select what suits you best:

http://bit.ly/TLX044

http://bit.ly/hZWgUX

http://bit.ly/QBo33j

Please reply if you have any further questions.

DaddyX_b90f82 · Answer

Thanks for your help. Is it possible to install a HDD into the FlexBay?

DELL-Satya P · Answer

Hi,

Yes, absolutely. Please check the below link which confirms that SSD can be installed on the Flexbay slot. The thread also mentions that few users left the SSD inside the tower without screwing it to the walls as SSDs do not have any moving parts inside.

en.community.dell.com/.../19427925.aspx

DaddyX_b90f82 · Answer

Thanks once again.

A little bit about my current setup:

1st HDD has a system partition and a data partition.
2nd HDD is used for daily backup of the above partitions.
External HDD is used for weekly backup of the above partitions and for archiving.

I'll have a good look inside my case before making any decisions. I'm a little wary about sticking a drive into a space so tight that it requires no screws. I am also concerned about the drive overheating in such a tight space. Also, newer SSDs are thinner and may in fact need screws to be held in place in the FlexBay.

I may decide to buy a 5.25"-to-3.5" adapter and put the second HDD into the space for the second optical drive. That way I can put the SSD and the first HDD into the typical slots. Then again, that would put the second HDD further away from the path of airflow in the case.

Another alternative is to abandon the second HDD altogether and use thus setup instead:

SSD for the system.
HDD with one partition for data and another partition to backup (image) the SSD.
External HDD for daily backup of the data partition, for weekly backups of system and data, and for archiving.

I suppose it's nice to have choices.

DELL-Satya P · Answer

Hi,

You are right. It is always nice to have choices. The system board has four SATA connectors and you will be able to install more than 2 hard drives with no issues. My advice would be to install the operating system on the SSD and use the 2nd hard drive for storage. Based on the physical dimensions of the SSD and secondary hard drive and the space available on the system tower, you should be able to accommodate both the hard drives using 5.25"-to-3.5 with ease. There are hard drive enclosures available in the market which come with a small fan to dissipate more heat.

Partitioning and storage allocation is user specific so it will be up to you to decide. Weekly back up on the external hard drive for data and archiving sound good as it will keep the internal hard drive available for more storage. Keep me posted once you set up all the hard drives with your preferred partitioning.

Please reply if you have any further questions.

charzy11 · Answer

Hi guys

I'm trying to do something familiar with my xps 8100. I already moved a HDD to the flexibay to fit in a HD 5870 graphics card but an ssd will fit into the newly vacant HDD bay.

I don't really know what I'm doing with regards to clean install etc and worried id lose everything. I opted for the ocz upgrade kit to clone a straight image. Here's where my problems begin.

I don't have a system partition, my OS. C: Is like 270 gig

My computer doesn't detect a device when I connect the ssd via the USB kit although the led lights up. Neither does my laptop so obviously the drive isn't present in the cloning software (arconis) so I can't transfer an image.

So will have to do the install?

Thanks

Storage, Drives & Media

Adding a Third Disk to Studio XPS 8100

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