2nd HDD caddy & interposer

Hey guys,i was wondering if your systems came with a spare HDD caddy & interposer if you chose the single HDD option? mine is coming next week & i was intending to install a SSD into the secondary bay while keeping the stock HDD.

 

I don't believe it does, at least that's how the R2's were.

 

Early on R2s didn't ship with them but if you called Dell about it they sent one free of charge. Later on all R2s shipped with them. My guess is the R3 comes with them

 

Yes, you will get the 2nd caddy and interposer in m17x R3. I did the same thing as you. I ordered my system with 1 HD and I added my own SSD after I received the system.

 

+1 on that, all parts were included with mine as well.

 

Wow thanks guys! 3 more days to go!

 

Mine came with a second HDD rack/metal thingy that the 2nd hdd would go into. The interposer or watever, I have no idea what it looks like so I cannot verify that for you

 

My R2 comes with caddy and screws & interposer for secondary hdd

 

Another name for interposer is SATA connector,its a small extension for you to connect the harddisk to the mobo.That HDD rack/metal thingy is supposed to be there,but for a HDD/SSD to be secured into that rack,you will need a caddy,which is also called a bracket.Anyway,my M17xR3 will be arriving tomorrow,will post the answer asap.

 

@ CptXabaras,that is really encouraging news! Recently went to some local electronics store to shop for a spare caddy & interposer,went home disappointed as they either said a) do not sell them or b) have no idea what i am talking about or c) call Dell.
Some of them even showed me mouse pads when i enquire about replacement mouse feet.

 

shinob, don't worry fella, your system will come with the kit included to install the 2nd HDD. As said above that only happened in the early days of the R1 and was fixed long time ago.
Even if in the extreme case yours will not have, which i bet it will, just give Dell a call and you should be able to get one for free, of course.

Congrats on your purchase.

 

Mine came with it. The second drive bay had the drive cage installed, and inside that drive cage was a plastic holder that had the interposer inside it.

So - don't panic if you don't see the parts in your Alienware box, as mine were inside the laptop itself.

 

Yep just opened my R3 a few days ago, mine also had a metal spacer to give the drive mount some rigidity, and the plastic cover for the interposer.

 

Yup. forgot yo mention that the kit comes inside the secondary caddy. For me was inside a grey foam holding the parts.

 

Finally received it & got it up & running! Indeed they included the spare interposer contained in a rubber thingy inside the spare bay,held on by a metal cage thingy.As far as build quality goes,i guess i am one of the few lucky ones,no misaligned or damaged parts.
Thanks everyone for the valuable input,its time to sleep...for now...

 

shinob!,

What was the part number for the item we shipped you that included the interposer?

 

my r3 didn't come with a caddy or an interposer. i have a new intel 510 sittin' here i'd love to pop in ... :-( can i get these parts by calling support?

also, man, the massive keyboard flex is a bit of a bummer. that, and the fact that i'm clearly gonna hafta do a cpu/gpu repaste. i paid for alienware because i was hoping that they'd have better build quality than a sager, but the new r3 is NOT making a good first impression...

 

You're expecting too much. The interposer should be there, but it's not obvious. When you remove the drive bracket/cradle, you will find a sub-bracket, the flimsy structure that receives the four outside screws. At the connector end, the interposer is inserted in the sub-bracket. At first blush, it appears to be part of it. The interposer is covered with a rubber or plastic casing and has to be twisted or maneuvered a little to get it free from the sub-bracket and then removed from the casing or sleeve. The sub-bracket serves no further purpose, and the four outside screws connect directly into the SSD casing. Look again, it's very easy to overlook.

 

Chris, I think Shinob ordered a complete laptop, and was posting that is came with all the necessary hardware to mount the 2nd drive.

I think the big problem here is that it doesn't seem the interposers for the R3 are sold separately, and you have to order the whole kit. But it seems that somehow these kits aren't being sent out complete, and often don't come with the interposer. Someone probably needs to get in touch with the people who stock and ship out the parts, and make sure they aren't breaking the kits up. Or check inventory on the kits and make sure they are complete. Or someone needs to get in touch with the manufacturer of the interposers, and give them a part number and stock them.

Someone should also get in touch with the people who re-certify Alienware laptops. As they are supposed to come with this hardware. And it would save everyone a lot of time, and head aches if they just made sure it was included as part of the re-certification process.

I replied to [email protected] for my last service request from the tech I spoke to yesterday on the phone. And also copied michael dell's email. Today I received a call from a Shawn Arundale who is going to help me get an R3 interposer. Hopefully someone straightens out the mystery of the R3 interposer, and makes it easier for the next guy that needs one.

 

a simple pm to DELLChrissM will likely solve this issue. He's great and knowledgeable in sending out the correct interposer. just pm ChrisM with the info he asked for in order to get you the right one.

 

He's already tried to help me. Great guy. Only dell employee i've delt with yet that hasn't been a frustrating experience.

But they don't stock the interposers for R3's. They only come in hard drive mouting kits. Problem is, those kits are either on backorder forever, or they are missing the interposers.

 

i'm going to have an extra pretty soon, if its the same as the R1 caddy and interposer...

 

mine is an r2, so i was able to get my interposer from ChrisM. from my research r1/2 are the same. while the r3 is different.

 

yeah, i found it. my bad. however, i am having other hdd issues with this rig...

 

did anyone try CP76J for M11X interposer on R3. I have compared the images and they look darn colse.

NEW OEM DELL Alienware CP76J M11x R2 i7 SATA Hard Drive Interposer !! | eBay



I have ordered one, it is worth trying.

 

The CP76J interposer came in, it installed and it works. It is slightly different from M17xR3. It is a little bis smaller on the outside dimensions, but because of the cut out on the mother board connector it still centers itself and works OK.