M17xR2 reformatting and SSDs

So my laptop's been plagued with problems and I've been meaning to do a reformat and reinstall the OS for some time now, but what really forced me to was the fact that I got a virus that rendered my system unusable.

I saw this thread here: http://forum.notebookreview.com/ali...d-your-m17x-r2-full-detailed-description.html and that's what I'll be using as the basis of my driver install order, but before I start I have a question:

I read in a couple places that SSDs are supposed to be partitioned for proper SSD maintenance and you should never really touch that second partition, but both the thread above and the Dell support rep told me to delete all partitions so I have a completely unpartitioned drive, but the OP of that thread didn't have a SSD and I'm fairly certain my support rep thought I had a hard drive as well.

During the partition screen I have 3 partitions, one is unlabeled, one says recovery, and one simply says (OEM). Do I still wipe out all 3? Also, is there any point to formatting the partitions before I delete them or is that just a waste of time? I also read somewhere that reformatting SSDs drops their performance by 50%- How true is that? And before I start are there any other extra considerations/precautions I should be taking as a result of the SSD?

 

I've never heard anything about partitioning. I have always just used a single partition. I'd do a full wipe of all of the existing partitions. In my opinion they just steal valuable GB from you. Especially for how expensive SSD are. Formatting does not reduce your SSDs performance. I have reformatted my SSD half a dozen times, and run countless benchmarks. I transfer large files to and from it because of Steam. My SSD has never given me any problems.

 

Some people like to perform a secure or sanitary erase of their ssd from time to time to get it back to brand new performance. Not quite the same as a reformat but can revert your ssd to its new state.
I would think that when you put in your new ssd, you will have to format it at the windows installation stage. You can then create partitions if you like but it is a bit pointless i reckon. You just want one large space to make the most of your SSD capacity.

Seen as how you will be doing a clean install, and have changed the hardware configuration by using a ssd, the recovery partition doesnt have to be kept - you can use software such as Acronis to create a system image once windows is installed if you dont want to go through a full OS install each time you want to get back to a "new" point.

The only benefit that i have heard about partitioning on ssd's is if you are raiding them and want to "over-provision" to make up for the lack of TRIM (this is where you create a partition about 80% the total size , leave the rest unallocated and install your OS etc to the 80%....makes up for not having TRIM)

 

What's a secure/sanitary erase?

I didn't actually change my hardware config, it shipped with a Samsung SSD, but my support rep seemed really unsure of my setup and had to even ask me which graphics cards I had.

Since I only have one drive I don't see a point in raiding it, however my laptop did ship with a bunch of raid drivers and I've heard stories where AW shipped single drive laptops in raid by accident, how would I check if my drive was in raid or not? And how would I undo it?

So I should erase all 3 partitions then? Format then first or just delete? Just out of curiousity too, what really was the point of the third (or first.. not sure) incredibly small OEM labeled partition?

 

Sorry, my mistake. I though tyou were ADDING a ssd.....

If you are just performaing a clean install, you should be just fine following Dave's thread you linked. (voiceinthewilderness) or Batboy's thread linked below.

Just make sure you have all the latest drivers from the checklist ready to install for your configuration.

If you only have one drive (ssd) you can check settings in bios (hit f2 when you boot as soon as you see the alienhead face.) You will then be able to check your settings by going to "advanced" and half way down it will tell you under "sata operation"....you can play about to get used to bios controls but make sure you dont exit and save if you have altered anything you are unsure of.

I think most people would recommend that you set the operation to AHCI as you have a ssd for optimal performance. If your planning a clean install, do this before you install the OS as changing it later is not as effective way to do things.

Entirely up to you about deleting the partitions, it will give you more valuable ssd space and as long as you have created recovery media, you can always restore your system to the out of box state by using it - this will re-instate your OEM and recovery partitions to your factory installed ssd should you wish to revert to an "out of box" state. If you want to get rid you can delete and format the unallocated space left (whole of the drive) - just be sure that IF YOU WANT TO RETURN TO AN OUT OF BOX STATE, YOU HAVE RECOVERY MEDIA CREATED - OTHERWISE YOU WONT BE ABLE TO AFTER DELETING THE PARTITIONS!

See here for info about OEM stuff: Clean install of Windows 7 and OEM Partition - Microsoft OS Forum - Software & Operating Systems - Dell Community and have a read of this: http://forum.notebookreview.com/alienware/470061-deleted-dell-recovery-partition-image.html


Personally, I would leave the OEM as its very small - about 100mb from recollection.... It holds all the Alienware branding to give you that alienware "feel" (although this can easily be done if you follow the link on the above thread or Batboy's thread below) - if you have recovery media created, you can delete the recovery partition if so desired.

If you delete everything, Batboy has a great guide for everything you need here: http://forum.notebookreview.com/ali...er-install-order-guide-alienware-systems.html

I wouldnt worry about sanitary/secure easing at the moment.

 

Thanks for the great informative reply Stevie. I noticed one of the threads mentioned that if you do a clean install of the OS using the Alienware disc, that takes care of all the branding and Alienware customization for you, and so should leave no point in keeping the OEM partition- But I also read something about it being the diagnostic partition, and I recall at one point I needed to run hardware diagnostics and it booted into a seperate partition by itself. Because of that I'm probably thinking I should keep it, in case something else happens in the future and AW support need me to rerun a hardware diagnostic.

The first thread you linked- Clean install of Windows 7 and OEM partition- I believe the OP there was asking if he left that partition intact if it would still be equivalent to a full clean reformat and install, and I'm not sure if anyone answered that directly or not, reading through the answers nobody really seemed sure. Especially since I might be changing a BIOS setting I'd like to make sure it does, seeing as you even said it wouldn't be a good way to go about it.

Oh, and one more thing... If the OEM partition really is the diagnostic partition, why on earth would my support rep want me to wipe ALL partitions?

 

My R3 is going to have the factory 256GB SSD. I have a new 500GB HD to add for a 2nd data drive. Assuming that everything works fine with the one SSD drive. Do I need to do anything in BIOS before installing the 2nd 500GB drive? What if from Dell, it is set to Raid in BIOS? Be gentle I am new at this!

 

If in any doubt, leave the OEM partition in tact as it is so small, it is negligable in terms of gaining disk space. Others do delete everything, then clean install using the AW win7 disc and NOT the resource disc. Grab all the latest drivers from Dell Downloads...the resource disc WILL NOT be up to date, pretty much guaranteed.

Perform the OS reinstallation and choose (if you want) to delete the recovery partition. Then format the remaining unallocated space and install OS to that partition. Just make sure that if you decide to delete the recovery partition, you have already created recovery media (discs or usb drive). You will need the recovery media to return your system to "factory condition"

(Its also worth noting that if you use Alienrespawn or Dell Datasafe for backups etc, i would advise a read of this thread before deleting your recovery partition: http://forum.notebookreview.com/ali...datasafe-software-respawn-faq-discussion.html)

Install the drivers you got earlier from Dell downloads/support and install by using either of the listed guides (Batboy's or Voice's) as they are both good.

Job Done - clean install complete.

As I dont have an R3, I would ask someone who does first but I have heard that they ship with RAID set in the bios even if its one ssd. Obviously raiding a ssd and a hdd together is not a good idea as the raid array will only perform as fast as the lowest performing drive within that array (your hdd) and you ssd will have crap performance.

 

I've been told I'm supposed to have an SSD controller/driver update that should be somewhere in the driver install order, but the only driver update on the Dell website is this: Drivers and Downloads

Which is a firmware update and notes that it will wipe the drive of all data on it. ("YOU MUST BACK UP ALL DATA ON THE DRIVE AS THE FIRMWARE UPDATE PROCESS WILL ERASE ALL PRE-EXISTING DATA") So I now realize I probably should have done that BEFORE doing a clean install of the OS. Funny thing is that first AW call I mentioned, the support rep told me to run that after the chipset update. Also, it says it applies to a PM800 drive, but all that my invoice says is "Samsung Solid State Drive". Same with my dell emails and order confirmations. Does this apply to me? How do I check if I have a PM800?

So by now I'm quite very confused- Just what do I do, exactly?


And just out of plain curiousity what is the Intel Turbo Boost driver? What systems is that relevant for?