Is there something to configure before installing Windows onto the SSD ?

Hi,

I have a brand new Alienware 14 full equip... that means the 1TB HD and the 80GB SSD that is setup as an Enhancer for the HD.

If I would like to install my OS on the 80GB SSD and use my 1TB as a DATA only HD, is there something I should know before formating everything and installing it into the SSD ?

I mean, do I have to configure something in the BIOS to be sure the SSD is the primary or something ?

Thx guys

 

No, you just need to select the SSD as the OS drive when your installing Windows.

 

You first need to "kill" the SSD as a cache acceleration drive before the BIOS will relinquish control of it to install the OS there. You can do that in Windows through the Intel Rapid Storage Technology control panel. Set it as available to remove the cache. Or, press Ctrl+I at POST and disable acceleration in the Intel Option ROM utility. Temporarily remove the HDD to prevent Windows Setup from installing the boot files on the HDD by mistake. As the HDD is now the boot drive, Windows Setup may decide to leave it that way and you don't want that. By temporarily removing the HDD you will force Windows setup to install the OS and boot files on the SSD.

You're going to run out of space really fast with only an 80GB HDD, even if you remap all of the data folders in your User library to the HDD. You will end up needing to install programs on the HDD instead of the SSD. I would recommend leaving it as a cache acceleration drive (which will perform really well) or buy at least a 256GB SSD. Just a few decent games will totally devour the space on that tiny 80GB SSD.

 

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Thanks in advance- I'm not an expert so patience please. I tried to find answers on the forum but could not:

I just swapped my HDD for 2x Samsung 850 Pro 120gb SSD in Raid 0. Did fresh install of Windows 8.1 on the SSD's and drivers directly from Dell. I have an Alienware 18 with A10, i74940mx, 2x M290x, 32gb RAM. I use this computer for Pro-Res and 4k video editing- not gaming. A few questions:

1) With my old HDD drives I had the mSATA 80gb cache drive. With new SSD's I assume I no longer need a cache drive- is this correct?

2) The mSATA shows 10gb partition in Disk Manager- and there is no data on the drive. How do I access the full 80gb (or close to that) for storage/other programs? Must I delete the cache in the BIOS? Exact steps would be really helpful.

2) I read that I need IRST installed to use RAID, but should I disable the cache feature? What should be my exact settings in IRST with the 850s RAID 0 as C: drive and the mSATA as storage?

3) Are there any considerations if I replace the existing 80gb mSATA with a 1TB mSATA for storage/programs outside of the existing array? Should the BIOS should remain RAID for the "stand alone" mSATA?

I have IRST currently installed. It shows the cache drive is enabled, but I have disabled it in F12.

Thanks

 

Hi. Someone else is asking similar questions in another thread. I will merge it for you since they are both related to using a cache drive for something else.

The mSATA shows 10GB because 64GB was allocated for caching. 64GB is the largest cache size possible and what you are seeing is the leftover disc space. You need to use Intel RST to set the mSATA to "available" or do that in the Intel Option ROM (Ctrl+I at POST) to remove the caching mode from the drive. You can try running a Diskpart "clean" command on it. That sometimes does not work. If possible, disable the cache feature using Intel RST. When you set the mSATA to available (cache acceleration removed) the full capacity of the drive will be available, but you will need to initialize the drive using Windows Disk Management or Diskpart before you can use it.

The BIOS has to be in RAID to use the caching or to properly set up a RAID membership. The BIOS being set to RAID imposes no limitations on how you can configure the drives. In fact, doing so removes limitations imposed by selecting AHCI mode without RAID. You can run your two 850GB HDD in RAID0, run the other drives outside of the RAID membership, or run all of the drives as single disks with the BIOS set to RAID.

The most effective use of your system (in terms of performance) using what you have would be to use your 80GB mSATA to cache accelerated the two 850GB HDDs in RAID0, then add a 1TB SSD for the OS. To do that on an Alienware 18 you would need to put one of the HDD or the new 1TB SSD into a caddy in the ODD bay and move the ODD to a USB enclosure. Unless you do a lot of CD music or play games that require CD/DVD media, the ODD is just wasting space and might better serve you in a USB enclosure if it is used as seldom as it is for most folks. (With an M18xR2 you have one extra drive bay available.)

 

Mr. Fox- thanks for your reply. I've read many posts on this site from you and can't tell you how valuable the information you post is.

The "850's" I am referring to are the model, not the capacity. The new RAID 0 array I installed is comprised of two 120gb SSD drives (model Samsung 850 Pro) which has the clean OS installed, replacing the old HDDs. Everything is fast and working great.

So a few questions above remain- I found that caching is enabled on the SSD (C RAID volume 1. Is this correct? There is no option to disable the data cache for the 80gb cache drive- so I do I need to disable it on Volume 1 SSD's first?

Thanks

 

Oh, sorry. I must have read too fast. You should be able to find a way to disable the cache in IRST. The nomenclature varies by version. The cache cannot work for SSD acceleration anyway. It is possible that removing the drives that were accelerated goofed up IRST to where the option to disable acceleration is not going to show up for you.

Sometimes the options for managing disk is obscure in IRST Control Panel. Some options are tucked away from view on an "Advanced" expansion tree and they can be difficult to spot unless you start digging. If you click on the mSATA in the IRST Control Panel and do not see a way to reset it, and you cannot find an option elsewhere to "manage" the drives, reboot your system and press Ctrl+I at POST (before the Alienware logo for the BIOS appears) and this should place you in the Intel Option ROM utility. You should be able to remove the cache acceleration there.

 

Ok- I think I figured it out- thanks again. So now the 80GB drive is a usable data volume. It does say in IRST that data cache is enabled for this volume now and gives no option to disable it- at least that I can find. Also, how I should have my main SSD Volume 1 configured in IRST? I still can't find a clear answer if data cache should be enabled on an SSD drive (or array) - and if so, which drive should that be on, optimally?

For reference, here's the difference between those SSD drives,

80GB LiteOnIt


2x Samsung 850 Pro 128GB in RAID 0

 

The difference in speeds is expected. RAID0 will more or less double the performance. So, in that respect, things are working as they should. The cache being shown as enabled is probably an error in IRST. If you did not reset the cache (delete it) before breaking things up, it may be that the software itself was not reset. Have you looked in the Intel Option ROM during POST to see if it shows as a cache drive and tried disabling acceleration to clearing it there? If not, try that and it may reset IRST in Windows. If it does not show in the Intel Option ROM utility as a cache drive, then the error is in the Windows software. Try uninstalling and reinstalling IRST in Windows and that make correct it.