Help would be SO NICE!

Question

:emotion-12:My situation is exactly the same as Pawan wrote ---

I want to do exactly what Pawan wrote. I can NOT get any answers from Dell support. PLEASE write/print step-by-step instructions on how to do this as I can't understand the persons on Dell phone tech support. I speak US English.

ALSO --- I have asked 4 times each via email, chat and telephone for a diagram that documents the SATA motherboard connections showing which, if any, are SATA 1, SATA 2, and SATA 3. One phone person said there is only one SATA 3 connector on my Inspiron 660. Is this true?? If it is then Dell has engaged in false advertising.

My Service Tag # is

I am SO SORRY I BOUGHT A DELL computer. Never gain. :emotion-12:

QUOTE
< I just purchased a Dell Inspiron 660 (with Windows 8 pre-installed) and a Corsair 256 GB SATA III SSD. I wish to do the same thing as frank121212 - use my SSD as the primary boot device and use the 2 TB magnetic drive as secondary storage.

I would really appreciate if you could list the step by step instructions on how I can do that. I do not have the windows installation disks, but I did purchase the Dell Recovery and Backup tool (digital delivery) with my PC.

Thanks

Pawan>

Davet50 · Answer

you normally need to place your boot device on SATA 0 then you would need to reinstall windows as if the current drive is not the same size as the SSD it will not clone.

Perceval · Answer

You need to understand the difference between Sata 3 and Sata III, one is a port designation and one is a bus architecture.

Here is your answer.

ftp.dell.com/.../inspiron-660_Owner%27s%20Manual_en-us.pdf

speedstep · Answer

If this is a desktop then you need an SSD with 3.5 inch adapter or you need to buy one.

Get a $20 Apricorn Satawire and clone your internal drive to the SSD. Then Swap SSD for the internal Drive.

Apricorn SATAWire Kit - 2.5" SATA Drive to USB...

This assumes that your SSD is at least as large as your Data on the drive.

I would not recommend smaller than 128 Gigs.

Personally i buy the Crucial M4 512 Gig versions or Samsung 800 Series that are UNDER $380 for 512 Gig.

INTEL makes such a Kit.

Intel 330 2.5" 120GB SATA 6Gb/s Internal Solid...

So does Corsair but they only include the cloning software with the laptop version which means you have to get the bracket.

PseudoGeek · Answer

Thanks for the reply. I do understand the difference. I just wrote my info incorrectly.:-/

I have the manual. Nowhere does is state or show: "these are SATA III protocol ports on the motherboard." nor does it state " All four are SATA III." It does, however refer to them by different names, I.E. : on page 15 it calls them "SATA 0, SATA 1, SATA 2, SATA 3." On page 94 in the manual it calls them "SATA 1, SATA 2, SATA 3, SATA 4."

Dell Tech Support told me over the phone that the Inspiron 660 only has 1 (one) SATA III (6.0 GBps) port on the motherboard. I assumed all four (4) were SATA III. My SSD III shows that it is operating at 3.0 GBps. I am using the correct SATA cable and it is a SATA III SSD.

rdunnill · Answer

you normally need to place your boot device on SATA 0 then you would need to reinstall windows as if the current drive is not the same size as the SSD it will not clone.

The boot order should be configurable, regardless of the SATA port used. As for the cloning, if the occupied space of the target partition is smaller than the space available on the target device, the cloning software can adjust the size accordingly.

PseudoGeek · Answer

Make that 6.0 Gb/s and 3.0 Gb/s

speedstep · Answer

Most inexpensive boards have None or 1 or 2 (Sata III) ports. Very few have 4 or more due to Bus Bandwidth and FSB issues. Ports are In General Color Coded but there is not a standard. The Blue ones I believe are the standard boot ports. The 660 has Intel ® Chipset But does not say H77 chipset.

It also has to reserve bus bandwidth for the USB 3.0 ports.

Blue is Boot Drive, Black with Orange Cable is DVD drive and White is Sata Port #3.

This is speculation based on past experience. See pic below.

PseudoGeek · Answer

Thanks, SpeedStep. That is the best answer I've received and I believe the correct one, unfortunately. Not what I was buying when I got my 660. Wish I could get my money back.

rdunnill · Answer

Even with SATA 2, you'll get a HUGE increase in performance using an SSD for the operating system and a hard disk for applications and data.

If your operating system is Windows 7, you can download the install DVD ISO from Digital River, burn it, and use the DVD for a clean install. I'm not familiar with a source for Windows 8.

As for SATA 3 ports, typically only one or two are truly needed, as SSDs tend to be the only devices that can truly make use of the bandwidth.

Locked Topics – Desktops General

Help would be SO NICE!

Apricorn SATAWire Kit - 2.5" SATA Drive to USB...

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