Hi,

I have a Dell XPS 8900 that is fitted with a samsung ssd cm851 m.2 2242 32gb used to speed up access. The Windows 10 operating system is on a separate internal hard drive.

The 32GB SDD has failed. I have my personal files backed up via WD backup on an external drive and they are also on the internal hard drive which was still OK according to the tests I ran when the SDD first showed signs of failing.

I no longer wish to use SDD disc acceleration and would like to re-install Windows 10 on a new internal hard dive and use the existing internal hard drive (on which Windows is currently installed) for data storage. Can anyone advise how I can achieve this? In particular I am not sure about the following:

1. What do I need to do to disable the cache operation? - I presume I need to do this before I reinstall Windows. I accessed BIOS on booting using F12 but did not see an option to disable acceleration.

2. Once I have installed Windows on the new drive, if I then fit the original drive will I still be able to access my personal files directly or will I need to recover them from the backup I have on the external drive. Also, should I remove the Windows files from this drive.

My hardware and setup according to the IRST app before failure was:

Toshiba DT01ACA200
SATA hard disk
Status: normal
Usage: accelerated disk
Acceleration mode: enhanced

Samsung sdd cm851 m.2 2242 32gb
Type: sata solid state drive
Status: at risk (SMART event)
Usage: cache device

Thanks.

Mark.