m17X HDD upgradability

I was wondering if anyone that got their m17x with only one HDD and planed to upgrade to a RAID set-up opened up the HDD area to take a look if the carriage will hold a 2nd HDD and if the data cable supplied also had a 2nd connector? Or does the single drive configuration only support one drive, forcing you to look somewhere for parts to get a RAID set-up going?

Thanks.

 

I think I remember seeing a thread (maybe not on this website, though) where they said it was just a bios setting. Once the second hard drive is in, it's a matter of changing the bios setting.

I'm not sure what's required in the process, however; such as what happens to your information that's already on the first hard drive, if you have to reinstall windows from the ground up, etc...

You're m17x should have a second slot for a HDD. I don't think there should be any extra cables required.

 

Thanks for the reply. I changed my order from a dual drive RAID 0 set up to a single drive to save some money and then opened up my Area 51 m7700 to see what kind of fasteners and cables I might need to get a 2nd HDD in. The drives were stacked on top of each other and screwed to a carriage which was then attached to the chassis. The data cable from the motherboard had two connectors for each of the drives.

Now, I could see some manufacturers using a carriage for only one drive and a data cable for only one drive as well, turning the upgrade process into a headache. Just wondering if anyone who got their m17x can confirm that upgrading to dual drives, at least physically/mechanically, isn't going to turn into a headache of having to order another carriage and data cable.

 

Oh, I get ya. I didn't think of that. I suppose if they wanted to, they could very well make it a headache by not putting the proper "guts" within the secondary hdd slot.

I currently have an HP dv9000t, and the secondary slot was already prepped for a second hdd. Since mine is coming in raid 0, I guess I won't be able to give you a proper answer when it does arrive, since it'll be hooked up already. Hopefully someone else around here got a single drive and will receive it in the next few days.

I'm now curious to see if they have the secondary slot prepped.

 

Okay, I just checked out the knowledge base on alienware.com and found that there are 2 separate spots on the underside of the chassis for the internal hard drives. The drive just seems to snap into place as far as the connectors go; however, there is a drive "cage" that get's attached to a hard drive and then secured to the chassis.

Since my m17x is on backorder until July 17, should give me ample time to research and find out if that 2nd hard drive cage is included.

Thanks again for your help.