New hard drives and OS

So, I've gotten sick and tired of the endless BSODs and issues I've been getting after I got my m17x r3 laptop, including but not limited to the Gfx card suddenly deciding to no longer exist, BSODs when accessing certain data on the hard drive, scheduled chkdsks not running and so on and so forth. I want a clean slate.

I've decided to just back up the data I want to keep on an external hd, get rid of the old hd and put in a couple of SSDs (or possibly just one to begin with) and use a brand spankin' new Windows 7 install disc as I boot it up again. This mostly because I suspect the HD is the main cause of my troubles. Possibly drivers as well, but it doesn't seem to matter much if I update them or not. The reason I want to order a new Windows 7 disc is because I didn't get any physical disks with this laptop and suspecting HD issues I don't really want to rely on the image that's hidden somewhere on there.

So, my question(s) becomes thus:

What kind of SSDs/HDs would you guys recommend? Is there something in particular I need to do/know when completely replacing the current data storage devices in the laptop with new ones? Is there anything 'bad' about completely forgoing the factory image that's hidden on my hd somewhere in favor of a new W7 installation?

I'd of course download all the drivers from Dell's site prior to this, putting them on either DvDs or an external HD for easy access after this operation.

 

1) Dell should be able to send you OEM win 7 disk for free btw
2) just at the setup page, do a cold formatting on the drive you want to install the OS to.
3) Seems like you got the drivers all figured out. after you install all the drivers, go to disk partition of your OS and you will find a folder for "dell" inside it is a folder for "drivers." you can just delete that folder as it was just extracted for installation purposed. it could save you a few-couple gigs.

 

Hmm. I'll call Dell tomorrow to see if they can send me a disc. Might as well save those 2500ish NOK if I can. Thanks for the tips.

Anyone got recommendations for SSDs? On a Norwegian webstore I get recommended the Intel 510 series 120gb SSD, but I have to admit I haven't had a decent grasp of computer hardware since the days I built gaming PCs in the Win98 era.

 

if you have not received the disk, tell dell you didnt receive it and that you need it and tell them to create a dispatch for that.

u got the r3 i assume? I would recommend OCZs Sata3 for sheer speed, but i dont own r3 and im not sure if owners had faced issues with OCZs sata3

 

I received no discs with the laptop, no. There's a factory image somewhere on the hd that I can use for factory resets, but since I'm suspecting that the HD is my main source of problems I want an 'untainted' OS installation source, as it were. I'll look up the OCZs Sata3 SSDs, but stability is one of my main desires at this point so I'll have to scour some user reviews to find out if it's good or not. The reason I'm recommended the Intel 510 series is that it's apparently rather stable and not prone to be a cause of BSODs.

 

o ok i understand. I had some good experience with the samsung ones as well.

i am also considering getting SSD for my R2. the raid 0 hdd is too slow..

 

On the matter of the OCZ drives, the reviews might be misleading. When I purchased my Agility 3 drive, I was plagued with the BSOD problem. After the new firmware version came out, it has completely resolved all BSODs in my system. I have not seen a single BSOD in the last month. This is a change from seeing them 2-8 times a day. Most of the reviews you are going to see will probably refference the pre-firmware fix.

 

Good to know. I'm actually finding some rather good deals on the Agility 3s on the various Norwegian webstores. So, if I get an OEM OS disc from Dell I guess my course of action would be something like this:

1. Transfer all data I want to keep to an external HD.
2. Transfer latest drivers and such to same/different external HD.
3. Put in the OS disc.
4. Remove current HD.
5. Just slot in the new SSD. (Possibly two, got one 'free' slot in there.)
6. Boot, wait for it to go through boot list and hit the OS disc.
7. Install OS. Run the updates/reboots for a while.
8. Install the saved drivers/software.
9a. Dance naked around the living room to the soothing tunes of Amon Amarth, yelling incoherently about 'victory!' OR:
9b. Facedesk rather painfully as I realize this solved absolutely nothing and actually reduced my storage capacity. (Increased read/write performance, though.)

Anything missing from there? Do I have to fiddle with the BIOS for this? I can't really see a reason for that, since it's just replacing one HD with another. Oh, and am I wrong to assume that SSDs just slot right into the AW m17x r3s drivebays?
5.

 

I have done 2 SSD upgrades so far and on both of them I left the HDD in the system when I did the install. I have not had any problems installing to the SSD with the HDD present. I just had to make sure that when windows setup asks which drive to install to, I select the SSD, it should be pretty obvious, it shows you the capacity of the drives in the system. The advantage to this is that you can tell windows to utilze the HDD for your /User and /ProgramData directories instead of the SSD. This will allow you to use the "My Documents" fuction of windows for storing videos, music, documents, etc. without eating up your limited SSD space. If you are interested, the links for the guide and instructions are located in post 12 here http://forum.notebookreview.com/alienware-m17x/626088-ssd-hdd-setup-2.html

Also, you can download official .iso files for the windows 7 instalation if Dell gives you any problems getting the OEM disc. See post 10 in this thread for the links and instructions http://forum.notebookreview.com/alienware-m17x/628862-help-please-first-time-installing-ssd.html You can either try to use the windows key on the sticker or use the ABR program to back-up your activation info from your current install.

 

Thank you, but I'd rather get rid of this HDD entirely. While not 100% certain to be the Source of All Evil as I consider it to be, it'll be a rather enjoyable symbolic feeling to just go down to the docks and throw it to sea with a roar of rage... or possibly a whimper of pain. It being the hardware version of Antichrist probably means I'll pull something doing it.

Anyway, contacted Dell and every time this laptop makes me want to go 'Sod Alienware!' and just go back to building my own computers, they stun me with the fact that these support guys knows their stuff. Never before have support techs been this helpful and provided as good troublesearching tips as these AW/Dell guys. He had me running tests I had no idea even existed and will be calling me back in about 20 minutes for the results.

Results which does indeed indicate there's something terribad wrong with my HDD. He was indicating that they might even send me a new HDD, a notion which for a few moments short-circuited my brain. A computer brand sending individual parts to the owner instead of demanding the entire thing be sent in? Trusting the customer to (le gasp) open the back panel and even screw a couple of screws? Unprecedented in my experience.

Anyway, this misadventure into unspecified failure to perform continues. I hope people don't mind if I bring general updates into this thread in case there's new developments or just confirmation of suspicions and so on?