Heres how to add a 2nd HDD in XPS 1647 - Pics Inside!!

After waiting for over a month or so, I finally got my XPS 1647 from dell. I was very keen on adding a second HDD to store bulk data and use a SSD as primary driver for OS.

Speical thanks to this specific thread, specially Nando4 for all the information.

Pre-Requisites:

1. Confidence to open your laptop


2. HDD Caddy to replace the Optical Disk Drive - I got one from New Mode Electronics, which sells such caddys. This specific machine uses 12.7mm (height) slot-loading model with SATA external interface. You can buy it on ebay too for a cheaper price, but most of them ship from China and takes a long time to arrive.. and if there is a problem..its a nightmare to return or re-order.


3. A second HDD


4. Dell Service Manual for Studio XPS 16 series - Specially how to replace the Optical Drive
   

Here is the Pictorial :
Click on each of the image below to see a larger image (in a new window)

Step 01 - Ready to Dismantle the Laptop


Step 02 - Remove the Back cover (10 screws to remove)


Step 03 - Remove the Rear caps (slide, and pull out as described in the dell service manual). Don't apply force.


Step 04 - Remove 14 screws (this is needed to remove the palm rest). On my system 10 screws were marked "P", 2 were marked "K" and 2 were flat screws.


Step 05 - Turn over, and remove the two screws to remove the palm rest. (Point to remember - once you are done, and when you tighten this later, don't tighten it too much, else the plastic under it would crack). Once the two screws are removed, use the two tabs to pull out the palm rest (as described in the service manual)


Step 06 - Disconnect the cables connected (by lifting the tab - again - its described very well in the service manual).


Step 07 - Remove the cables connected (two of them). Now the palm rest is free & the motherboard and the ODD is visible


Step 08 - View of the mother board and ODD


Step 09 - View of the mother board and the 3 screws that need to be removed to free the OOD


Step 10 - One screw at the back to remove the ODD. Point to note - the HDD caddy did not have this screw hole - but the HDD Caddy fits in place securely with other 3 screws.


Step 11 - the ODD is now free - You can see the inter-poser (SATA to the motherboard pins) - simply pull it out from the ODD to set it free.


Step 11a - View of ODD out of the system


Step 12 - The ODD and the HDD Caddy that I got from New Mode Electronics. There is a component that is used on the ODD to secure it to the motherboard - This needs to be removed (2 screws) and put on the new HDD caddy as shown in this image.


Step 13 - View of ODD, Securing Component, Interposer, and the HDD Caddy - all side by side.


Step 14 - The new HDD caddy with the 500 GB Seagate HDD (that came with my system), interposer and the securing component


Step 15 - Plug in the HDD caddy in the system and fasten the screws. From this point, its just a reverse process of putting things back in place (palm rest, screws, rear caps and the back cover)


Step 16 - BIOS - now shows the second HDD !


Step 17 - Window Shows the second HDD!


Total time taken from start to finish (including taking photos..etc) - 60 mins!
So, there you go.. you now have a second HDD in your XPS 1647.. hope this pictorial helps!

 

@arjunprabhu

Nice job Sir. Thanks for taking the time to create this how-to complete with pictures and all. I'm sure others will find this very handy.

 

Yea, great job. Too bad I got the blu-ray drive, unless this would have been fantastic to do. I'll keep this for much later, if I decide to undertake this endeavor. Now you got the best of both worlds (Speed and Storage)...until a 500GB SSD comes out, but that thing will be expensive for at least a year after release. .

 

unless there is a way to have an external bluray drive... lol

 

Damn it, now I have something else to think about buying..

Thanks for posting..

How about a final external pic of that side where the DVD was?

 

looks awesome. something i would do, maybe for just extra internal storage versus an ssd. i dont need that extra speed really. i always could use more hdd space 1TB in the laptop will be nice for me .

 

This is awesome, I've been wondering how to put a HDD candy into my 1647....Great work...Thanks

A quick question, What type of SSD should I buys for this ?? Do I need to buy a special laptop SSD or any sort of SSD will fit??

 

well, since its slot loading, there is no change - thats one big advantage. The only catch is, if someone (who is unaware of this mod) inserts a CD/DVD in this laptop, it won't go in

 

Any 2.5" SATA SSD would do - go for Generation 2 SSDs (they have TRIM support). Most of the ones in market today are mostly Gen 2.

I got myself a 60GB OCZ Agility series drive for $129 (after $40 rebate) from newegg a few days back.

Beware - windows 7 needs a min of 32 GB drive to install (although it uses around 14GB Max). So, dont buy a 30GB one.

 

Very nicely presented. Good job!!!

 

very nice job! i was wondering though if it is possible to combine the 2 hdds now in RAID0. that wud be a huge boost performance whise... ;P

 

Does yours throttle with both drives (and 130w)?

 

I have a i5-540m, with A04 and 130W adapter. I ran the prime95 tests for a few mins -- and the multipliers were at 20.8x - 21x range all the time when the tests ran.... this is with throttle stop disabled.

I am happy - since i dont game much..
haven't tried furmark ..............

 

Would it be possible for you to test with prime95 and furmark (130w, TS disabled, Full Brightness on the RGBLED)?

I don't have the 130w and there are others waiting for this test (using A04)

 

Would this be possible to do on a s-xps 13 as well?

 

yes. it should be doable.. just verify the height of the drive used in xps13 (12.7mm or 9.5mm) - i am not 100% sure. But you get HDD caddies for both types! The process should be similar.

 

I don't even own one of these systems but +rep for you!

 

How did you switch your OS to the new SSD? did you use the utility software that came with your SSD?

 

I did a clean install of win 7.

you can do this using the disc provided by dell. I anyways wanted to get rid of all the junk dell installs by default.

 

Thanks for the guide again arjunprabhu, I just got my SSD and reinstalled everything on it....everything went very smoothly according to the guide.......it's sweet now....I am very impressed~~

 

Is there an case out there you could put your dvd drive into then connect it up to the esata port to use when you needed it? That would be sweet

 

anybody????

 

Considering the notebook wasn't designed for two drives I doubt Dell took the time to implement RAID into the BIOS. There are software solutions out there but the performance isn't going to be nearly as good. Best bet performance wise is a fast SSD with a mechanical for data.

 

I couldn't find a case, but did find the cable you are talking about to connect it up t the esata port.....I guess I can deal with it without a case...lol~~

 

There's 12.7mm sata-to-USB DVD enclosures on ebay.

 

thats awesome, i could do without the case as well. those cases wouldnt work i dont think because they are for tray rather than slot load. could be mistaken though

 

I don't see the point of using eSATA for a DVD drive seeing as USB is perfectly capable of matching a DVD's top speed.

eSATA is only really usefull when what you're hooking up can go faster than USB (what works out to be about 30mb/s)

 

did not know anything about dvd speeds so thanks for enlightening me in that case i would be happy with a slot load case that could connect via usb

 

It is possible to use RAID0. the Intel Maxtrix storage manger or whatever its called now lets you set it up etc...

 

oh thanks for answer, so in this case that wud be a software solution right?

 

Yup Software Raid http://www.raidrecoveryguide.com/hardware-software.html explains the difference and pros and cons compared to hardware raid(if anyone is interested and doesn't know the difference)

And here: http://www.adaptec.com/NR/rdonlyres/14B2FD84-F7A0-4AC5-A07A-214123EA3DD6/0/4423_SW_HWRAID_10.pdf more detailed explanation

 

Just try this Cable or u can try this eSATA/USB Cable works forHDD OR SSD.

 

Very nice presentation. Now i can get an SSD and not have to worrie about cost per GB

 

will this work with blue ray drives ?

 

Just bought 2x OCZ Vertex 2 from mwave. for $159 ea with a 20 dollar rebate. Bought the caddy from a link here and an external enclosure for the BluRay drive. The other Vertex is going in my desktop

 

The blu-ray drive is identical to a DVD as far as size and interface goes, so yes, it'll work. However, I'd take a BD over a second hard drive any day. It's easier and WAY cheaper to attach an external HDD to the ESATA port than it is to get an external blu-ray player.

If you do decide to do this, and want to sell your BD for under $100 just send me a PM

 

i just bought this enclosure. external BluRay for $22


Newegg.com - SYBA CL-ENC55001 5.25" USB 2.0 External Enclosure for Slim SATA CD/DVD Drive/writer

 

I just finished this mod. For anyone that is leery about doing it, dont be. It was very easy. Time consuming but easy. Just go slow and follow the directions


Now i got a 60GB Vertex II and 500gb storage

 

Hi,

I've been reading the manual and OP's post and have some questions that may be pretty obvious..but being a noob..can't figure it out.

So OP you say that in your ODD mod you are using your 500g hdd that came with your computer, so you had to first replace your newly purchased SSD first? Was this hard to do? You then went and carried out the mod by putting in your existing 500 gig HDD into your caddy, etc...so when you boot up your computer after this mod, what happens? Do you have to specifically config your bios to make it boot from your 500 gig hdd (because win 7 is already installed)? Or do you make your SSD boot up? If so, it'd be blank and require a new install, correct? How do you install it if your dell disk is removed now that you swapped out your ODD?? Thanks in advance..

 

Hi
I hope you dont mind i fi answer your question. Before you replace the OOD you either clone the original drive to the SSD or, do a freash install.
After the OS is up and running, then you replace the OOD

 

Good job, thank you so much

 

Awsome Mod, did this last week! I have a 128 SSD but was really lacking in space for games. Now with the 500 gb HD in the bay, plenty of room.

Quick question... we all know the 1647 has GPU throttle issues at 84c. Since installing this mod, have you noticed you hit that 84c faster, despite having a laptop cooler.

Because I have.... I heat up pretty quickly, despite having a laptop cooler.

thoughts?"

 

A spinning drive generates heat. You've added a drive that was not previously in place, so it makes sense that more heat will be generated.

 

sigh, I suspected as much.

 

Does anyone know where i can find the HDD slot-load caddy in the UK? I can't find the damn thing anywhere, even ebay. Maybe there are other terms for it?

 

can this thing be pull out from the side or it needs to be opened up like this whenever the hdd need to be changed?

 

you would need to dissasemble it to change the HDD

 

you need to open it up every time u want to change the HDD!

 

great job OP.

Anyways, I assume that this process is the same as on 1645? I think I will be replacing my useless dvddrive (seriously, I never use it lol) with a 60GB SSD from OCZ that is on sale for 100 bucks (150 originally). I crave for the fast booting and access time of the SSD !! I heard win7 boots up less than 20 seconds on ssd.

 

It should be identical to 1647!.. all the best! ... i am sure you will love the final results ....