Dell Inspiron 15R SE, SSD Parition and BIOS Settings

Question

Recently I have purchased my Dell inspiron 15R SE (7520) in thailand and wanted to upgrade my windows from the home basic (default) to Windows 7 ultimateHowever the IT center from where i purchased the system had no clue at first why the drives werent showing up, So they formated all the partitions including Recovery (Which I had asked them not to) and figured out all they had to do was change the SATA mode to AHCI . . however the damage had been doneSo after they installed the windows and all the Dell drivers .. the BSOD started appearingAgain they did the formatting, partitioning etc. So now I have the partitions as follow . . 1TB (C: (600gb) , D: (330gb)) . . and the SSD is 30gb So I have the following questions 1. How does the SSD work ? Does it need any special drivers to work properly with windows . .and what is the ideal partition cos i rememebrit was 8gb & 20gb before this. . 2. The intel rapid start driver wont get installed saying the system doesnt meet the minimum requirements . . What does it do and how do i install it? ? Any help or assistance would be appreciated .. the Dell call center in Thailand has no clue about anything Thank you, Sweta

Dell-Zohaib R · Accepted Answer

Hi Sweta, The SSD in the machine is a 32GB FULL MINI SATA2 SSD which is not a storage device. It is used to enhance the system speed using two technologies viz. Intel® Smart Response Technology and Intel® Rapid Start Technology. Follow the below mentioned steps to put these technologies to use: Configure Intel® Smart Response Technology: Download and install Intel® Rapid Storage Technology from: http://downloadcenter.intel.com/Product_Filter.aspx?ProductID=2101 Restart / Power on the computer When the Dell™ logo appears, tap until the message Entering Setup appears. Under the Advanced Tab, set SATA Operations to Intel Smart Response Technology. See the image below: Press F10 to save the settings and exit System Setup. In Windows Click Start >System Setup>Programs>Intel>Intel Rapid Storage. On the Intel Rapid Storage window, click Accelerate. And then Select Device. See the image below. Select the Primary Hard Drive for acceleration and click OK. The primary hard drive is now accelerated using the mSATA SSD. Enable Intel® Rapid Start Technology: Intel® Rapid Start Technology can only be enabled if the system was shipped with a Pre-Configured 8 GB Hibernation partition on the SSD. Otherwise the Intel® Rapid Start Technology option will be grayed out in the System Setup. Restart / Power on your computer. When the Dell™ logo appears, tap until the message Entering Setup appears. Under the Advanced Tab, select Intel Rapid Start Technology. See the  image below: Enable the options Found under Intel Rapid Start Technology. There is also an Intel® setup guide available here: http://download.Intel.com/support/chipsets/sb/Intel_smart_response_technology_user_guide.pdf Keep me posted if you need any further help.

Swetz · Answer

I just confirmed this fact . . The BSOD does appear with SATA mode: Intel smart response Technology All this started because . . i wanted to upgrade my windows from home basic to ultimate. . so IT center tried to do that but couldnt see the drives . .they formatted everything and then understood it was the SATA mode settings . . once they changed to AHCI . . they could see the drives and install windows . . else it wasnt possible The booting up is a bit slow . . and i'm not sure the Cache is being used to its capacity . . . That is why i wanted to know . . about the intel drivers and everything Please explain what to do next?

Swetz · Answer

Dear Zohaib, Thank you very much for all these steps and explanation . .everything is getting clear now However . . sadly the partitions had been formatted by the IT Center people from where i had purchase the laptop . .SO my SDD partition is apparently as follow  Is there anything I can do about this ? ? I have the 8GB partition marked as the active partition and the other one is unallocated .. what can i do about this I cant even install the intel Rapid Start Technology .    . getting error: This device doesnt meet the minimum requirements And i guess the IT people tried to switch the SATA mode to Intel Smart response mode . .  but kept Getting BSOD. . I will try using this setting to see if i get it too Last thing .. the Rapid Storage technology doesn't display the Accelerate option

Swetz · Answer

I got it already . . the Solution to all my problems Windows wouldnt boot with Intel Smart Reponse System due to some windows registry settings which can be fixed support.microsoft.com/.../922976 Then I could set my cache hibernation partition following the Dell guide on intel smart responsive Reinstalled Intel Rapid Storage and automatically the Accelerate option popped up! ! So I could finally use Cache on my 1TB harddisk The only issue left is the Intel Rapid Start Technology . . i have installed the drivers again . . already created an 8gb hibernation partition . .still gives an error message about the minimum requirements However Thank you so much . . :emotion-1:

Dell-Zohaib R · Answer

Hi Sweta, I am glad to know that most of the issues have fixed. I tried to find a solution for the error message. There seems to be a workaround.  Go through the post available in the link below and post with the results: http://en.community.dell.com/support-forums/laptop/f/3518/t/19410148.aspx

AL1988 · Answer

Hi Sweta, I am facing the exact same issue you were facing and am just wondering, did the system prompt the message 'SATA Operation is being changed. Attention! Changing this setting may prevent your operating system from booting or require a reinstall. Are you sure you would like to continue?' If so, did you proceed by selecting YES which resulting in the BSOD mentioned? Thanks, Andrew

Swetz · Answer

Hey Andrew, I'm sorry but i dont remember since it was quiet a while ago ..if the system prompt that message or not.. but the BSOD was occuring because after changing the SATA mode, I needed a simple fix to a windows registry .. which solved the whole BSOD problem .. Link: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/922976 Hope this helps - Sweta

Swetz · Answer

Yes exactly.. Please try it and let me know if it works.. It took me quiet a while to figure that out too :-) - Sweta

AL1988 · Answer

Thanks for your reply Sweta, i really appreciate it. Correct me if i'm wrong. I should, when SATA is still in AHCI mode, enter windows, fix the registry using the file from the link provided, restart and then change SATA to ISRT without having the BSOD. My BSOD, which occurs after changing the SATA, prevents me from entering windows thus i presume the steps to be taken should be as stated. Have been struggling with this for a few months now. P.S. Forgive me for any wrong computer terms used :) Regards, Andrew

AL1988 · Answer

Hi Sweta, Sorry for the late reply as i have been away from home for the past few weeks busy with work. Hmm, i have tried your solution but sadly to no avail, the BSOD still occurred. Am in the process of trying out another possible solution provided by a Dell representative from another thread. Anyway, i appreciate and thank you for your help. Do post some other possible solutions here if you have any. Regards, Andrew

osprey4 · Answer

Hi Andrew, Can you provide the model of your Dell, your operating system, and the BSOD error. I don't want to make any assumptions and give you a solution that doesn't apply to your system.

AL1988 · Answer

Hi Osprey, I'm using a Dell Inspiron 15R Special Edition (aka 7520) which came with Windows 7 Home Edition. I had purchased this laptop about six months back and had made the decision to reformat it a few months later. During the clean install attempt, i was not able to locate my hard disk for formatting initially. Then, i did the ill-advised of switching BIOS to AHCI in which i was able to locate my disk drives. Upon completion of installation (under the AHCI mode), i installed the required drivers (including ISRT). However, i then faced problems (probably of compatibility) as BSOD starts to occur during restarts. Other than that, changing BIOS from AHCI to ISRT at this point of time does not solve the BSOD either. The BSOD pops out for less than a second, i apologise as i am unable to state its details. I'm in a place where (1) i am unable to reformat my laptop with BIOS set at ISRT and (2) i will not be able to utilise this new intel SSD technology (which i had paid for) when the reformat is done with BIOS set at AHCI albeit the laptop being able to operate just fine. As i had posted this issue on another thread, i am working closely with a Dell representative on trying to solve this matter. The progress is ongoing and still on a trial and error basis and thus i am at the same time looking for possible answers elsewhere which led me to this thread and the earlier conversations with Sweta. I am by no means familiar with IT stuff and my language or technical terms may be incorrect, do bear with me :) Thank you for your concern and i welcome any feedback. Regards, Andrew

osprey4 · Answer

Andrew, Just so I understand, do you have a HDD plus an SSD cache, or do you have just an SSD main drive?

AL1988 · Answer

Osprey, I think it's a HDD plus an SSD cache. (others having the same laptop, please correct me if i'm wrong, thanks)

osprey4 · Answer

I think all you need to do is set the controller mode in the BIOS to RAID, but you should NOT set up a RAID array in the Ctrl i menu. Then boot to the Windows disc and install following Natakuc's clean install guide (link below). Once that is done, you set up the cache using the Intel RST.

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