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computershateme1
8 Posts
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584
June 4th, 2017 13:00
upgrading drives.
I have an AW17 with an SSD in the msata slot and HDD in the "fixed HDD"slot already installed. i want to add another SSD but dont know which is compatible with my machine. i want to install in bay number 2, something around 128gb or 256gb of a reputable brand and high read/write speeds. anyone have recommendations?
also on a side, whilst looking into the bios to see what spaces are free i see that in addition to my SSD, HDD, ODD and empty slot i have ANOTHER slot empty? i was under the impression there were only 3 slots, which i learned in the service manual. what the hell is going on here ?
and last drive related question, which swapping the ODD to a blu ray drive are there any concerns i should be aware of or does any old laptop blu ray drive fit in my machine? again specific product recommendations are very welcomed.
422
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Posted June 4th, 2017 14:00
I read the manual and it states there are three bays, i have three drives, but when i opened the case i found bay 2 empty, so i then looked in bios which displayed the 3 drives i know about and two empty ones (only one of which is visually confirmed)
problem is im new to this and cant tell what interface is what by looking at it and the service manual doesnt mention what interface it is either.422
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Posted June 4th, 2017 14:00
It should be like this:
https://www.laptopmag.com/articles/upgrade-alienware-17-ssd-hard-driveYou can see it says M.2 (which is your "form-factor") . Andrew writes it uses PCIe/NVMe SSDs . Or, if you already have one installed, the other should be the same interface/protocol.
To me, looks like two M.2 slots (PCIe/NVMe) and one 2.5" bay (SATA) HDD/SSD.
He doesn't say anything about mSATA. Also, best I can tell, either you or him has your camera taking "mirrored" pics, or you have different Alienware 17 Revisions (different year ... different machine).
Dell Rockstar
Microsoft Windows and Apple iOS Developer (Retired)
- Like many of you, I can appreciate a good game-engine.
- I answer questions here, but I'm not a Dell employee.
- Consider giving posts you like a "thumbs-up"
- Posting models-numbers and software versions speeds trouble-shooting.
- Click "Mark as Accepted Answer" on any post that answers your question best.422
0
Posted June 4th, 2017 14:00
theres a photo of the empty bay. what type of interface is this?
422
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Posted June 4th, 2017 14:00
PDF Service Manual would be a good place to start.
Followed by physical inspection of all bays.
Once you determine if you even have a spare bay (with some yet to be determined interface type), then you can select a nice drive. You might end-up swapping-out an existing drive.Dell Rockstar
Microsoft Windows and Apple iOS Developer (Retired)
- Like many of you, I can appreciate a good game-engine.
- I answer questions here, but I'm not a Dell employee.
- Consider giving posts you like a "thumbs-up"
- Posting models-numbers and software versions speeds trouble-shooting.
- Click "Mark as Accepted Answer" on any post that answers your question best.422
0
Posted June 4th, 2017 14:00
First of all, I'd suggest you to keep your service tag to yourself. I have an Alienware 18, things may be similar.
Get a Crucial MX300 drive. Buy one from Ebay. Last night, I found a 750Gb sold for 150 bucks (rare deal). Personally, you should reinstall your Windows and avoid migration software. The 275 GB ones (Crucial) is sold for around 80-90 bucks (ebay).
I personally used AHCI mode. RAID mode caused my system to shut down after logging in (AHCI eliminated this). AW 18. Tested on my system, so it may or may not work on yours.
You may want to update your AHCI driver from Intel's website. Don't use the latest one as it's made for Kaby Lakes. Mine is 14.16 version. AW 18. Be careful!
Unless you use NVME, All SSD will extract SATA 3Gbps power around 500 MB not Mb per sec. If you want more, you need NVMe.
In AW 18, The hard drive bay can handle 2 drives.
422
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Posted June 4th, 2017 16:00
you should remove your service tag. don't make them public.
Rhenium
103 Posts
422
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Posted June 4th, 2017 14:00
M.2 I guess.