The Notebook Review forums were hosted by TechTarget, who shut down them down on January 31, 2022. This static read-only archive was pulled by NBR forum users between January 20 and January 31, 2022, in an effort to make sure that the valuable technical information that had been posted on the forums is preserved. For current discussions, many NBR forum users moved over to NotebookTalk.net after the shutdown.
Problems? See this thread at archive.org.

    M17x R3 and SanDisk Extreme SSD?

    Discussion in 'Alienware 17 and M17x' started by ksdakaflq, Jun 13, 2012.

  1. ksdakaflq

    ksdakaflq Notebook Enthusiast

    Reputations:
    0
    Messages:
    40
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    15
    Sorry if this has been discussed, but I'm having problems with search on the forum...

    Have M17x R3 system with 750GB regular HD in the primary slot, secondary is empty. System BIOS is A08. 8GB RAM. NVidia GTX 460M. I am getting ready to install a SSD and have a few questions. I have a SanDisk Extreme 240GB drive. I want to make this my boot drive and move the 750GB to storage (will keep intact until I confirm function of the SSD, in case I need to switch back to it). In particular...

    1. Should I install the SSD in the primary (side) or secondary (middle) slot?

    2. Is there any issue or consideration with installing this particular model SSD? (Not a discussion of which SSD is best, please... I already have this one and just want to know if there are any issues with it)

    3. I'm going to do a clean install of Win7, drivers, etc. I'm going to remove the HDD temporarily, install the SSD to install everything, then put the HDD back in afterward. After I remove the HDD and have the SSD in, do I switch from RAID to AHCI before installing Win7 from DVD? What should this be set at when I install the HDD as a secondary drive after the SSD is working?

    4. I have info from the following website showing steps to install the SSD, Win7, drivers, etc. Is this current for the M17x R3, or is there a better step-by-step guide elsewhere for my system? Upgrading to an SSD - Site Title

    Thanks for any help or pointers. Please type slowly... I'm only moderately tech savy! :)

    Heather
     
    ksdakaflq, Jun 13, 2012
    #1
  2. nkdv

    nkdv Notebook Consultant

    Reputations:
    60
    Messages:
    235
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    30
    You have everything spot on, all I can do is confirm that you are right :)

    1. Remove your HDD from the laptop and insert the SSD in the primary slot.
    2. Boot up and go into the BIOS, switch to AHCI, then restart.
    3. Install Windows 7 on your SSD.
    4. Once you're done with setting up your new OS, insert the HDD into the secondary slot. You don't have to change any settings after this. And when you boot up you'll have your two Windows installations to pick from.

    - I don't have my m17x yet so I cannot absolutely confirm if this is the way to go, but I've done it on dozens of other laptops and my current HP and this is precisely the process I followed and it's worked every time -

    - (Someone) Correct me if I'm wrong, but once you activate AHCI you cannot disable it, so you don't have to worry about it :) -

    - As you can see from my sig, I have the 120GB SanDisk Extreme, and I went for it too despite what people have said about the SandForce controller and what not. It is extremely, extremely fast and I am very happy with it, no issues at all. It was as simple as plugging it in and forgetting about it ;). Write speeds are not as high as advertised (still very high) but Read speeds are phenomenal (faster than the Crucial M4, easily). This drive deserves better rep lol -
     
    nkdv, Jun 13, 2012
    #2