*Guide* How to install a secondary hard drive on your M14x w/ Pics!

I have to take back what I said in my earlier post. While it seemed to be working fine, I was apparently only able to READ files from the Hitachi drive, when I tried to write files to the disk, I received IO errors. Ran CrystalDiskMark. Sequential read speeds topped at 145Mbps, and the moment it started the write test, IO errors again.

Took out the Hitachi and tried the 750GB WD Black, which I bought specifically for this purpose. Same results. The WD drives do not have a jumper setting to force 1.5Gbps mode either, so no luck.

Last I tried the stock Seagate 500GB drive. Same IO errors... until I put a jumper (as follows below) to force 1.5Gbps mode, aka Sata I. Works great!

Seems I have to stick with Seagate drives if I want to upgrade the secondary drive..

 

my M14X came with 750GB 7200RPM, as i told b4 my DVDRW is dead and im planning replace it with this HD as im using the XT as main HD.

Does anyone knows if is there any seagate software to spin down to 5400rpm? i think this might save some battery life.

 

Not that I'm aware of, but there was talk about some registry hacks to stop the drive from spinning when idle, that's about it.

Psst.. Anyone have that link, can't remember where I read it. Thanks

 

and it works? i just remember saw it on linux forum ...

 

Setting standby idle standby timeout to improve battery life



hdparm allows control of individual drive standby timeout periods to spindown the HDD if it's idle to conserve power. This would be recommended if running a primary bay SSD and optical bay 2.5" HDD at the same time. The commands below are easily added to a batch file to run in Windows startup folder.

• Download hdparm for Windows.
  
  
• Identify the drive you wish to operate on:
  
  
  
  
  

  Quote:

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

  hdparm -i /dev/sda hdparm -i /dev/sdb

• Set a batch file to run in startup with standby time of your choice, example 1 min. Refer to the -S parameter in the hdparm commandline options. hdparm can also be used to set drive transfer mode, eg: 'hdparm -X udma5 /dev/sdb'
  
  
  
  
  

  Quote:

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

  hdparm -S 12 /dev/sdb &REM set standby timeout=1min hdparm -y /dev/sdb &REM standby the drive now

  (Taken from here) http://forum.notebookreview.com/har...-ssd-hdd-storage-using-optical-bay-caddy.html

 

• 
  
  thanx i will gibe ti a try when my optical adpater arrives!

 

Just so I understand, a secondary HDD in the optical slot won't work properly unless you can use jumpers to force it into SATA II? I have a WD 750 Black like you currently in my MBP's ODD slot. If I put that into the M14x, it will have errors? If so that is really wack!

 

I had to use the jumper to force Sata I, then it worked no problem. This may only be because I haven't installed the Intel RST drivers, but I'd rather have my SSD running at full Sata III speeds.

This gives me something new to test though

 

i broke my zero zif connector lock...anyone knows where i can get a new one....the zif connector is the white lock that places on the sata strip of the optical drive....anyhelp would be appreciated...thanks

 

does anyone knows how hot are the two HD together?

 

So I accidentally broke the small white pressure tab in Step 5, and I'm kind of freaking out right now. Does anyone know where I might be able to get another one? This is fairly urgent so if anyone sees this and is willing to help me out, please don't hesitate to let me know! Thanks!

Edit: Saw that someone else has already asked the same question, so I guess now this is double urgent.

 

Ok I think it's time to edit the guide just a little bit... lol

 

Can you simply replace the 750/500GB Dell sends with a SSD? Nothing else required?

 

Nothing else required if you only wish to replace the stock HDD that comes with the Dell.

Only if you want to have a second HDD then do you need the sata hdd caddy.

 

Perfect, thanks

 

i bought the caddy do replace de DVDRW that died on second day with m14x, well is not working so im assuming that is the MOBO, i did replace that original HD from m14x but lemme hear from you all, did you guys disconect the battery b4 replace the hd or dvdrw? i did not and i wonder if this could damage the mobo. manual say yes but i didnt see anyone here doing this!

 

Why's that?

I'm about to do this. What has changed?

 

You can now fit a jazz drive in if you prefer............

 

Jazz drive?

 

If I want to install win 7 and take out the 500GB, can I install win 7 using a separate desktop and then put the SSD in my m14x? Is win7 plug and play like that?

 

So If I already have a 500gb stock, can I just wipe the OS out before I put my SSD in and the 2nd HD in at the same time?

Is there a specific process to wipe the OS out because I'm running windows on my 500gb hard drive

I bought all the components and I'm planning to wipe the OS first before I put the SSD in and switch the optical bay with the HD at the same time. Would there be any problem with what I'm planning to do?

Thanks in advance.

 

You would have to do it from another bootable device though (CD or USB).
I'd just put the SSD in, put the HDD in the caddy, boot from the windows cd and wipe the HDD during the installation process.
You're also fine to install windows on your SSD first and then wipe your HDD from within Windows, which might be easier.. doesn't really do any difference...

 

Is there an up to date guide yet? Are people still having trouble with this one?

 

Is it ok to remove the ODD and simply leave the bay empty?

 

Followed this guide and works perfectly! I'm getting 3gbps for my ssd and hdd according to Intel RST.

 

I did this upgrade and it works. My only problem now is that the drive and the whole palm rest on the right hand side now gets crazy stupid hot. Does anyone else have this problem? I'm thinking about going back to the CD/DVD drive because I'm worried about the heat.

Any thoughts?

 

I have only experienced the heat from the right palmrest a few times at random times. But even before I replaced the dvd drive.. I'm not sure what causes it.

 

So I have bought my SSD and just ordered the case that was in the first post of the topic, now I have a more technical question.

How do I go about removing an OS from a hard drive? I would want to remove the OEM windows home from the HDD and place it on the solid state, but I have no idea how to do this.

If this is done how do you create an executable USB stick or CD with windows on it? (Guessing just download something off the net?)

 

The way I did it, was replace the HDD for the SSD. Install windows (but nothing else yet). Install the old 2nd HDD with windows etc still in it.(be sure to have the resources dvd copied to an USB). Format the old HDD. Install all drivers from the USB. I didn't get any problems by having two drives with windows installed.

 

@ DC87 - if you're moving from an HDD to an SSD you're really gonna want to do a clean install. Unless you got the $$$ to buy a huge SSD, you'll want to get your SSD Windows install as small as possible. My recommendation would be to copy the contents of the resource DVD to your computer and use NOVICORP WinToFlash to copy the files onto a USB (it'll make a bootable USB). BEFORE installing the SSD. Next, do the hardware swaps. Get your SSD in there and the HDD in the secondary slot. Boot from USB, and do a fresh install on the SSD. Don't clean out the HDD until you're happy with the new SSD setup!

 

Thanks for the help, can I use an external hard drive to boot from? I think I need to partition it and mark as active. When I clean install home is there any reason to download drivers since I plan to use windows anytime upgrade to get professional right away.

 

You could use an external HDD but it's much easier with an usb flash drive. Novicorp will hand all the partitioning and boot sector goodness for you.

 

I followed this guide and used the original hdd as the 2nd one. However my computer is now very slow and when I try to access the drive windows explorer crashes. I have tried two caddys and had the motherboard replaced however it still has the same problems is it because the hard drive is damaged?

 

vanguish did you have any problems with your hdd before your swapped?

 

No, When I take out the 2nd hdd it runs fine.

 

Well I followed this guide completely and have an intel 320 120gb SSD in the primary bay and the stock seagate drive in the optical drive.

It appears to be working perfectly !

Thanks for this helpful guide

 

hey guys. a recent search on ebay comes up with the cheapest bay for this:

SATA 2nd HDD Hard Drive Caddy 9.5mm Universal | eBay

what are your thoughts?

 

How do I know if my stock HDD will work in the Optical drive slot?

 

It does, I took the stock and put it there. Any drive should work there

 

Any drive that can run at SATA I speeds that is...

 

Thanks! Well how do I know if my HDD can run at SATA I speed? Sorry another noob question. My stock HDD is Samsung HM500JJ.

Newegg.com - SAMSUNG Spinpoint MP4 HM500JJ 500GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache 2.5" SATA 3.0Gb/s Internal Notebook Hard Drive -Bare Drive


bump, hope someone can help

just want to make sure that my stock HDD "Samsung HM500JJ" can be used in my optical drive slot. So I need to know if my HDD can run at SATA I speed.

 

Yes it can run at SATA 1,5Gb/s. You just need to short the two pins.

 

Thank you.

 

amazing guide...
thanks a lot...
i just installed intel 520...
BTW... i was too lazy to read through the guide...
but replying to your post on the first page about you should not have windows on the secondary drive...
it is OK to do that...
the computer recognize whatever is installed in the caddy as a cd/dvd...
you just choose that option (F12) and it will boot from the secondary drive...
i currently have two windows installed on two different drives....

thanks a lot again for this guide...
i almost screwed up twice but i didnt thanks to you...

 

Just wanted to bump up this thread and say thanks, I was able to install my ssd and hdd combo.

I also found a slot load enclosure that's working fine for me after a few case mods, nothing major just cutting a peg on the case. I didn't want to throw aside my slot load dvd burner.

For those interested:
Amazon.com: Super Slim USB SATA External Slot in DVD Burner Case: Electronics


I also found the hdd caddy on amazon, if ebay ain't your thing.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005G4RZNU/ref=oh_o00_s00_i01_details


Thanks again for this awesome guide, love this forum.

 

Wow it has been forever since I come on here. School and work has kept me super busy. When I did this guide I wasnt in school and had no job lol.

Im glad everyone here likes it! I'm still enjoying my M14x till this day with 2 hard drives.

 

Am I mistaken or we don't have to fully remove the SATA strip?? If we have to use the metal frame on the new hard drive caddy...why do we need to take off the strip completely if we can just remove the yellow strip on the side and then put the metal frame on the new hard drive caddy???

 

That's what I did, I didn't completely remove the strip just the plastic that was on the dvd drive held with two screws, then moved the metal frame onto the caddy.

 

Can someone please post a screenshot of their BIOS when both the SSD and HDD are installed? I installed mine but I can only see the SSD and not the HDD in the BIOS.

My stock HDD is the Samsung HM500jj 500 GB 7200 3.0 GB/s drive. I recently bought a Samsung 128 GB SSD and replaced the stock hard drive with the SSD. Installed Windows 7 Professional on the SSD by placing it in a caddy that I purchased from ebay.

Following directions from other users, I replaced my optical drive with the Samsung HM500jj stock hard drive. Fearing that I would have a boot conflict because of having the operating system installed on both hard drives, I wiped out everything on my HDD. The problem now is that my 500 GB drive is a "RAW" drive and it won't allow me to format the drive back to NTFS. I've tried from disk management, command prompt, and even through the Windows 7 installation disc.

1. When I try to format using disk management, the Virtual Disk Manager gives me an error saying "The format did not complete successfully." I check the event log, I get the error from atapi "The driver detected a controller error on \Device\Ide\IdePort1."

2. When I try to format using the command prompt, upon typing "Clean" in DiskPart, I get the error: The request could not be performed because of an I/O device error. I then proceed anyway to format by typing format fs=ntfs quick, and the cmd says, "DiskPart has encountered an error: The parameter is incorrect. See the system event log for more information. Except nothing is listed in the event log this time.
I know that the hard drive is not dead because I removed the SSD and put the HDD back in and I was able to do a fresh install of Windows 7 on the HDD.

Any thoughts? Right now I can see my primary hard drive in BIOS but not the secondary HDD. However, once my computer boots, both hard drives are detected. The problem is just that I can't format the HDD. Any thoughts would be appreciated.

Thanks!

 

Guys I just got my Samsung 830 128 GB and Samsung HM500jj set up to work. Let me tell you, it was not easy for a noob like me.

Problem #1: I bought a faulty caddy that was DOA (could not format drive, see post above)

Problem #2: After I got a new caddy and this time it worked. But I still needed to figure out a way to read/write without stalling since the Samsung HDD is SATA 2 but the optical port is only SATA 1. Well, I tried adding the jumper as suggested in this thread, however, I realized that Samsung can't force SATA I using jumpers (or at least I couldn't get it to work). I googled for a solution which brought me to a software called ES TOOL from Samsung. This led to the next problem.

Problem #3: Samsung HDD merged with Seagate and the software is no longer provided to public.

Therefore, I googled for this software and ended up at a German site. I google translated everything and was able to burn the ES TOOL .iso onto a USB flash drive using the tool he suggested. I then booted from this USB and was able to run ES TOOL and from it, I changed SATA speed from 300 to 150. Now I can finally read/write from the HDD.

What a struggle.

SSD

HDD