I will try help, but please keep in mind ... I don't have an Area51-R4 (or know your BIOS) but I do have a similar Aurora-R6.

Not to be confused with Intel-RST (Intel Rapid Storage Technology ... or even Intel Ready Mode Technology ... both are different things) ... Intel Smart Response Technology is similar to Windows Hibernate. However, I think it uses a small partition on the harddrive (instead of just a file like Windows uses for Hibernate).

Since you have a Desktop (not a laptop)... it would be rare for it to be setup properly and actually working. Also, (like you said) it's not appropriate for a system already booting from and running from a good-sized SSD. However, if it is setup ... I think it would show in the Intel-RST application inside Windows (if installed).

On any recent Dell computer I've seen, the only "modes" for the hard-drives are RAID and AHCI.

- If set to RAID (I don't mess with it unless I absolutely must) and load Intel-RST inside Windows. This is how my Aurora-R6 came setup (and still is) and it works great.
- If set to AHCI, I usually try NOT to load Intel-RST inside Windows (and just use lean/native Microsoft drivers).

Yes, switching RAID/AHCI (or even UEFI/Legacy) can often end in a clean/full Windows install. :Crying: However, if that's what it takes, now is the best time to tackle something like that.

As for eSata Multiplexer cards ... those are tricky things. They are hard-to-install, never really worked well, and I'm pretty sure that is depreciated technology anyway. IIRC, Intel-RST is NOT compatible with it (at least it didn't used to be). USB-3 (or similar) is better. ThunderBolt if your motherboard supports it. Otherwise, it's better to go ahead and bite the bullet and buy a real stand-alone NAS like a Synology (or build your own).

This is my second attempt to reply. Unaccountably, Dell asked me to log in a 2nd time and I lost my response.  I will have to start saving my posts so I don't have to retype them. Alternately, maybe they didn't like the name of a 3rd party vendor.

Yea, my Area51 actually has an option for SRT and AHCI as well as a warning that the system may not boot if a change is made.

I ordered a USB3.1 => eSata adapter for $31 from (cant mention name) but I looked all around first to see if I could avoid paying Jeff Bezos the $31 but was stuck with (cant mention name).  It claims to support port multiplying and should work fine since I rarely use more than 1 drive concurrently.

The card I attempted to use has an ASMEDIA chipset but it only saw 1 drive and I know from experience it needs AHCI to see all the drive thru its port multiplier mechanism.

I have iTank drive assemblies and 4 out of the 5 drives show up on my XPS-730 which has built in eSata with port multiplier.  I don't have a "real" XPS-730, just a cheap motherboard I got for $39 when I found it supported 16gb on older core 2 quad CPUs and included Dells SLIC for free windows 7.

Some of these Dell XPS systems, while they don't list AHCI as an option, if one enables RAID then some AHCI features are turned on even if RAID is never used.

---

@Joseph Stateson wrote:

Yea, my Area51 actually has an option for SRT and AHCI as well as a warning that the system may not boot if a change is made.

 

 

---

You are saying that in the Area51-R4 BIOS, you can Switch between RAID, AHCI, and SRT ? (all on the same option drop-down)

Weird, I've never seen that. However, I never implement SRT  on systems.

---

@Joseph Stateson wrote:

Dell set up my system to boot win10x64 on the C drive, a 256gb SSD.  There is a 2TB data drive.  This configuration was one of the options that was available.

 

---

1. Is the SSD a M.2/PCIe/NVMe (installed in motherboard slot) -OR- is it a 2.5inch SATA SSD?

2. How are the two drives partitioned?

3. Is Windows-10 even installed to a partition residing or located on the SSD?

OS and paging stuff went on that 256gb SSD which is on the motherboard just above the eVga Hybrid logo.  To its left is that ASMEDIA board that I will pull out eventually.  Unaccountably, I had to take 2 pictures of the bios setup as the phrase AHCI did not show up due to lighting problem.

Since I am attaching photos, I went ahead and pimped some of my rigs here

---

@Joseph Stateson wrote:

1. OS and paging stuff went on that 256gb SSD which is on the motherboard just above the eVga Hybrid logo. 

2. To its left is that ASMEDIA board that I will pull out eventually.  Unaccountably, I had to take 2 pictures of the bios setup as the phrase AHCI did not show up due to lighting problem.

Since I am attaching photos, I went ahead and pimped some of my rigs here

---

1. OK, good. Then it should be accessing Windows partition directly from the M.2/PCIe/NVMe SSD native-ly as desired ( and be nice and fast). 

Maybe the SRT is just for caching access to anything on the 2tb spinning HDD? I suppose that would be a valid configuration. It seems like you should be able to disable that.

We can not see your pics (just a triangle).

Since you obviously know what you want, I think the answer to your dilemma might be to:

- Return Area51-R4 to it's original hardware config (remove your Add-on cards and devices)
- Image Backup the whole system (just in case)
- Erase all the drives (remove all the partitions)
- Setup the BIOS the way you want (I think UEFI and AHCI)
- Clean Install Windows to SSD. Do not ever install Intel-RST (use Microsoft's bundled drivers).
- Finish setting up machine and drivers
- Install proper Alienware Command Center
- Device Manager should be "clean" and free of errors at this point
- Hook-up 2tb spinning HDD and format 
- Image Backup entire system to another file
- Then, try to get your Add-on devices to work.

Strange, images were OK before I logged out and no triangles.  Maybe total size exceeded some limit and the last one was added using edit which may have bypassed the usual size check.  Another had a nice picture of an unmentionable manufacturer.

I put them out of reach here:  diskpart  bios51 where_ssd and work in progress

---

@Joseph Stateson wrote:

Strange, images were OK before I logged out and no triangles.  Maybe total size exceeded some limit and the last one was added using edit which may have bypassed the usual size check.  Another had a nice picture of an unmentionable manufacturer.

I put them out of reach here:

1  diskpart 

2 bios51

3 where_ssd 

4 and work in progress

---

1. That partitioning looks like my Aurora-R6 (and likely any other recent Dell machine). I see no partitions for SRT. I would just turn it off SRT and change to AHCI. Image-Backup with Macrium Reflect (or similar) if you are afraid of clean-install.

Since no BD, no bundled Blu-Ray software to save or find. Everything else can be blown-away if required.

2. Weird . Yeah, that's the new BIOS. I think that's only in the newer Area51's ... R3 and higher.

3. Right. Yeah, it's M.2/PCIe/NVMe ... perfect. I'm getting 3000/1500 r/w on mine.

4. Pretty nice. No sealed liquid-cooling there ... that looks like custom-loop.

Followup on re-configuring ---

Finally got enough courage to replace the 256gb SSD (M.2) "C" drive.  Most, but not all, installs went into the 2TB D drive but enough junk went into C that it was over 1/2 full.  Not all installs allowed a selection other than C and I kept getting notifications from "deep inside the os troubleshooter" that temporary files were going into the wrong location. It did not tell me what the files were or where the were but after selecting "fix" the next reboot got the same messages.

I used Acronis 2018 true image to do a complete backup "C+D" to my synology NAS.  Then I cloned my Dell purchased 1TB FireCuda from that SSD. (M.2 actually) and pulled it.  The system rebooted perfectly.  Do not see any problems or loss of speed.  Eventually that M.2 will go into the synology NAS as there is an slot for it.  That was another factor that led me decide to pull it.  It will be better off there as a CACHE instead of a C drive.  Now that I have a large enough drive I can re-install and/or move "OS" type stuff to the C drive where it seems microsoft and 3rd party apps expect to find them.

If return for warranty I can easily reinstall. 

I also put in a BluRay burner, unfortunately, it was not cheap, but it fit perfectly: Mat**bleep**a UJ267

I may look at using a 32gb or smaller "cache" type M.2 and enabling intel rapid store for cache instead of "C" drive.  that is what should have been done originally if I had known the difference.

 [EDIT] - Incredible, the politically correct police here beeped out a perfectly good Japanese manufacturers name because 4 of the letters happened to be a "4 letter word" in English.

Not sure I follow all that ... but I'll say this ...

Having a M.2-slot on motherboard for PCIe/NVMe SSD and not using it for a bootable C: drive (for Windows, all programs, and even a couple of large games) ... it a bit of a travesty. :Crying:

PCIe/NVMe SSDs are even 5 times faster than a conventional 2.5inch SATA3-600 SSD (which itself is 5 times faster than a spinning HDD).

I can't image a 256gb SSD not being large enough, but if so, then I would have swapped it for a 512gb one.

I think Intel-RST-Cache and Optane configs are both pretty lame compared to a real SSD.