M17xR3 clean install SSD instructions and recommendations

I've seen a few posts about clean installs and how it pertains to the SSD so I thought I would post a set of instructions I originally wrote back in Jan when I received my original R3 with 3D but decided not to post because BatBoy already has a nice clean install thread. BatBoy, if you want to merge and close this thread i will not be offended.



My fresh install instructions for an SSD:

1) Install SSD in place of HD that came with computer. You won't be able to restore from your Alien Respawn DVDs since it won't restore to a smaller harddrive. So, you are forced to do a clean install of Windows 7. I don't recommend moving the original HD to the secondary harddrive position unless you plan to wipe it completely assuming you've created your restore discs. Personally I believe it is best to use a new hard drive so that you can easily swap back to the Dell drive if you have any warranty issues to deal with. I installed a 500GB Momentus XT as a secondary drive.

2) Hit F2 at boot to enter BIOS SETUP. Choose between RAID or AHCI for the mode. I had to leave it running on RAID while others (Mandrake) had to use AHCI. I'm not actually sure what the difference is since although I'm using the RAID mode, I'm not using Intel RST drivers. (My recommendation is to try AHCI and if get BSOD errors, then switch to RAID and start over.)

UPDATE: I'VE READ THE INTEL ACTUALLY RECOMMENDS USING RAID over AHCI. PLEASE GOOGLE YOURSELF TO DECIDE.

3) Power Off to make sure the BIOS change took effect. THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT!!!

4) Reboot with Windows 7 install disc.

5) Delete any existing partitions if they exist on your SSD. When all are deleted, then select the disk you want to use and click "Next".

6) After Windows 7 is installed and your system has rebooted, then you should do the following immediately to optimize for SSD:

a) Rename DVD/Bluray from D: to E: in Computer Management
b) Create a partition for secondary HD as D: (you may need to reformat if you reused the Dell hard drive)
c) Disable hibernation by running CMD with administrative privileges and typing "POWERCFG /HIBERNATE OFF". SSDs boot fast so there is no need to ever hibernate.
d) Move the pagefile from C: to D:. Open System Properties and click "Advanced". Then click Settings.... Then click Advanced again. Click "Change..." under Virtual Memory. Select C:, then No page file, then Set. Select D:, then System manage size, then Set.
e) Reboot. Then double check to see if only about 9GB is used in your SSD. If you are using more than this, then you probably didn't disable hibernate or move your pagefile off the SSD.
f) Turn off System Protection for C:. System Protection uses too much space and is not an effective way of backing up and will use up your precious SSD space.

7) Install drivers in the following order:

a) Intel Chipset HM67 (R289402)
b) Intel Management Engine (R290940)
c) Realtek PCIE (R289405)
d) Audio (R289922)
e) Synaptics (R289406)
f) Gigabit network (R289538)
g) Bluetooth (R289410)
h) Wifi (R289412)
i) Video (3D 460M should install R291227 and R291236. ATI should install ATI drivers then IGP drivers while in IGP mode - R289926 and R291069.)
j) Alienware OSD (R289920)
k) USb 3.0 (R289408)
l) Freefall Sensor (R289409)

8) Do Windows Update now and make sure you check repeatedly until all updates are installed. This will install .NET 4.0 which is required for Alienware Command Center.

9) Installed Alienware Command Center (R290173)

10) Disabled Freefall Sensor since you have an SSD. Open MSCONFIG and go to Start Up tab and uncheck "FF_Protection Application".

11) I don't recommend using the newer Audio driver at this time because I found it to disable the IDT Audio control panel (R298411).

Last note: the above instructions for the 3D caused BSOD due to the Dell NVidia 460M driver. We never could figure out why Dell's driver caused BSOD on a clean install but not their original system image. Installing a modded driver fixed the BSOD issue. Search Mandrake's threads for the instructions if you run into BSOD with a clean install on a M17xR3 3D.

 

Not at all... NBR encourages all of you to contribute to the forum/community... thanks for sharing your process.

 

I put SSD on my new M17xR3 and do a clean install of Windows7. After the clean install, I use the Resource DVD to install the drivers. But I cannot install the Wireless Driver, for some reason when it extract the driver the application is missing, I tried to download the driver on dell website and its still the same. Does anyone have this issue before or just me?

Thanks..

 

this is great and detailed. thanks for putting this together.

just curious, has anything changed or is this still pretty current?

thanks again!

 

AWESOME!!!!!!!!! I have been fighting my 128gb Samsung SSD since the end of March, lock ups, bluescreens you name it. It's been a horrible nightmare but the speed of the thing made it impossible to just drop and use the 320gb stock drive from Alienware. Since following this post it runs rock solid, thanks very much!

 

I believe it's because their system image didn't load the video drivers until after Windows 7 SP1 was installed. I tried it on mine and got a BSOD, so I restored using a restore point, uninstalled the driver using Driver Sweeper, then installed SP1 and the driver went on just fine after that, no blue screen.

 

should i download the latest drivers of the drivers jywang has listed or use the actual driver versions he lists?

thanks

 

I would also like to know this

 

Anyone installed an intel 510 ssd? Did you use RAID or AHCI mode? I just found this thread after I started my fresh install. I did not change anything and it was in RAID mode. I took out the oem 320gb and put in an intel 510 120gb ssd in its place and then a 750gb in the secondary. Upon changing the setting in the bios (post install) the OS would not boot. Not sure if I should reinstall on ahci mode to begin with???

EDIT: I just went ahead with the reinstall. Looks like you can registry hack it but why bother when the install is so fast and I have nothing else installed yet. Works fine after a reinstall.

EDIT2: So I just went back to raid mode. ahci was giving me frequent bsod. Error was irql_not_less_or_equal. Going back to to raid mode worked and I applied updated drivers from the m18x mentioned here http://forum.notebookreview.com/alienware-m17x/580144-m17xr3-owners-driver-updates-i-suggest-using-05-20-a.html. What a pain. 3 installs in 1 day . Standard fare with high end machines I guess. Not near as bad as my media center build and all those raid controllers I went through...

 

I found out why. You didn't have SP1 for Windows 7 installed yet. Install SP1, then pick up this list from the 460M driver on.

 

Thanks for the detailed steps jywang... I got a random bsod after 3 stable days on the 6970 card (didn't use ur method as i found this only yesterday)... so decided to clean install using this and noticed a small discrepancy - you've mentioned that ATi has to install ati drivers and then the intel ones in igp mode right? thats actually for the nvidia as the intel drivers in the resource dvd clearly states that its only for optimus. When i tried installing them, it says it couldn't validate the hardware i had... but everything else is going smoothly so far - still have to finish it - hopefully, I don't have any bsod issues...

 

I'm getting ready to pull the stock 320gb drive from my shiny new M17xR3, and put in an Intel 510 SSD as a boot drive with a WD Black drive for a secondary.

From this and other threads and searches, it sounds like I'm better off staying in RAID mode in the BIOS. It seems that Intel's drivers will then use their AHCI drivers, versus the msahci driver from Microsoft that's installed if the BIOS is in AHCI mode.

Anyway - I plan to do a fresh install with BIOS set to RAID, using a Windows 7 Ultimate install disk/usb drive that has SP1 slipstreamed into it. Will I need to have Intel RAID drivers available for WIn7's installer, or are there stub drivers built into the install?

 

will this setup work for m17x R1 as well? Just replace R3 with R1 drivers?

finally do i need any drivers for the Intel 510 SSD, or when i install windos 7 with raid enabled will it work default?

 

can anyone answer my questionm?

 

So is it RAID or ACHI?

 

I use raid with my SSD and a 750 gig HDD. SSD in Slot 0, HDD in Slot 1. No issues. I am expericing one issue since I followed this guide. All my quick touch buttons work... except the one to launch CC. I even uninstalled, and reinstalled it, no change. I did some research and installed the m18x CC, no change. It's a minor issue, but I like my machines to be perfect... any ideas?

(I have not tried the power drain trick, by the time I thought about it, it was 3 am in the morning, I had work in 5 hours... I'll try it when I get home tonight)

 

i had the same problem as you, the way i done it was installing it manually on the devices driver menu

 

Does anyone know if putting it on RAID lets you use TRIM? Obviously I mean it's not part of a RAID array, but just says RAID on the BIOS?

 

hey, thanks for the great instructions but i followed the guide , and when i reached the bluetooth drivers i couldnt get past the "Activate bluetooth using wireless switch" . Can you guys help me out. Oh and btw i installed the intdl 510 120gb ssd into my m17x r3 using ahci and never had one bsod. Only the bluetooth is a minor issue.

 

What about the Intel RST Driver? When, if ever, do we install this driver?

And a silly question: the BIOS driver thing on the Dell website comes with Windows 7 correct? So that means that I do not have to install it myself?

 

In raid mode, TRIM is enabled on the ssd in windows 7.

In Command Prompt:
Command prompt > fsutil behavior query disabledeletenotify

DisableDeleteNotify = 1 (Windows TRIM commands are disabled)
DisableDeleteNotify = 0 (Windows TRIM commands are enabled)

Mine came back "0" and I'm running in "raid" mode, with no raid setup.

 

Thanks for the tip. I just put an SSD in my R3 and used ACHI mode, so far runs beautifully plus trim is enabled.

 

Yea, mine says 0 as well, but just didn't know if being in RAID mode with no RAID array would still let it work even if it is at 0. Oh well, least I still have garbage collection if it doesn't. Haha

 

I am trying to install my ssd, I detects fine in the bios, but windows 7 doesn't see it on the install disk. I tried loading the intel mobile Sata driver but that doesn't help either. Any ideas?

UPDATE: I had to erase the master boot record. Now all is good. Here are instructions if you have the same issue.

http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/...nize-ssd/80a83aed-56dc-438c-a65e-a0ea815ce551

 

will have to give this a go..once the crucials get their FW issue sorted...and i come into some moolah... .........SSD's in Oz are a pretty expensive upgrade (not to mention like every electronic component here...) i already spent a lot for the new lappie...

 

Hi,
Most people suggest to install SSD at slot 1 but which one is slot 1? I have two m17x-r3 and one is going to return due to screen problem. when I open it up, both hdd slots number are opposite in two m17x-r3. I am not sure which one is correct. Is the one in the middle slot 0 or slot1?

thanks

 

The middle slot HDD slot 1,the default one that came with your conventional HDD is slot 0.I install my SSD in slot 1 & use it as boot drive,the conventional HDD as data disc,so far running without issues.

 

I just wanted to say thanks to jywang for posting these instructions. I got my new M17x at the weekend and your method worked perfectly.

In case it is helpful for anyone:

- I have an Intel 510 250gb SSD
- I set the BIOS mode to RAID (ref point 2 of the instructions)
- I installed the SSD in Port 1 of the M17x.

Based on the above, the SSD is working lightning-fast at full SATA 3 6gb/s speeds.

I did experience the issue whereby installing the SSD in port 0 only gave 3gb/s speeds. However, since putting it in port 1 there have been no problems at all.

Thanks again

 

For Crucial M4 I had to set it to AHCI because last time I did in RAID I had huge problems, it might have been just a faulty drive which I sent back but I didn't want to take the chance.
I did all the optimizations and I am happy with the saved space it got me.
I saw in your guide that you said nothing about Intel Rapid Storage drive, should I stay away from that?

 

You can install it. 0002 does not have problem with RST.

 

I got a BSOD with code 0x0000007a and on the dump file it says ataport.SYS and from some research it might be a problem with a hard drive or just something related to pagefile and virtual memory. Did this happen to anybody else after moving the pagefile to secondary disk?

 

From reading on another forum, it's advised that you don't necessarily need your paging file or hibernation file either - paging with the caveat that you have sufficient RAM such that you'll never run out of system memory, but 6gb should be fine even for most gamers, and hibernation on the basis that SSD performance makes hibernating pointless.

 

Turn on virtual memory for the SSD and see if it happens again.

 

What's the recommendation people have as regards running a pagefile on an SSD, specifically as regards the increased wear & tear rather than reclaiming a few GB of space?

I've been researching this and found massively conflicting evidence for both sides, with " provided you have plenty of RAM you don't need it" on one side and "sloppy developers assume pagefiles are there, not having one will save minimal wear and makes your system more prone to faults".

Is there anything conclusive either way?

 

Hmm there is a 7/29/2011 download for the 6990m

 

any other optimization tips and tricks?

 

I have just installed a new SSD into slot 0 and carried out a fresh install of windows. I followed this guide but when I install the dell ati drivers I get a white screen, to fix the issue I have to put the laptop into hibernation then out again. Buth this keeps happening and the ATI card it not working.
I just need help getting the ATI drivers (6990m) installed along with the Intel 3000 drivers to enable the switching.


Thanks

Fixed the issue and installed 12.1 ATI drivers using syntax53 advice found here:

http://forum.notebookreview.com/alienware-m17x/599140-how-install-reference-drivers-m17x-r3-6990-a-4.html#post7783006

 

Hello and firstly sorry for my English, I am French.

I have this M17XR3

>PROCESSOR : INTEL CORE I7 PROCESSOR 2860QM
>MEMORY : 8192MB (4X2048) 1600MHZ DDR3 DU
>HARD DRIVE : 500GB SERIAL ATA (7200RPM)
>GRAPHICS : 2GB GDDR5 NVIDIA GEFORCE 580GTX

After receiving I installed an Intel SSD 510 120Go and since I have a problem with my configuration.

I installed it in slot 0 instead of the HD and I've moved him into 1 but my problem is that beeping sound is heard at a reversal of standby mode and which lead to the disconnection of the secondary HD, so I disabled all standby mode and so I downgraded to A04 and A08 bios, the problem was gone for a while but since yesterday I have this problem again beep when there is no standby mode.

I am on AHCI mode and I'm completely lost because I can't find no similar case on the net and even less in the French community that does not even mention the intel 510.

THX

 

up with a postscript, the recently released bios A10 rule it you're the problem and especially what he does not limit the SATA 3 SSD as the A09 ?

 

up, any guys understand my english ?

 

What about Intel Rapid Storage Technology driver ???

Move the SSD to secondary drive bay and keep the original HDD in it's place. In BIOS go to BOOT order and keep SSD drive above the HDD in boot sequence. From BIOS keep the mode to RAID (not AHCI) and then follow the first post here to install a brand new windows and drivers. It will solve your problem.

 

Hello and thank you for your answer but,

I have already tried this possibility, but the RAID mod gives to me a BSOD screen, and recently I replaced the original DD in its original position and put the SSD in secondary but still the same problem.

 

could someone please explain to me what step d is for? Is it a file that is uses to store the current information when you sleep? And is it necessary to move this or is this just to save space

 

Hi guys
Need you knowledge on this one
Replacing my vertex 2 128gb with a vector 256gb sata3
Do I need to install the rapid storage driver ?
Also what's the best dell version for the 6990m ? I tried the latest one yesterday installed fine but then a net framework error .
So I done another clean install of windows 7 sp1 and going to start to install the drivers later today again
Any tips would be appreciated



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