XPS 9550 - Random bookmarks & prelim research by new owner

To the Fenian13 - as requested, draft personal notes on Dell 9550 15" - use at your own risk. Just stuff I consolidated from research on the XPS, drive upgrades, and clean Windows install. The CRITICAL POSTS are by far the most useful 101-103) and you might ignore the rest.

Some of the detail is just for learning or to make a custom ISO...

* First steps: backup all data and programs. Then update to latest BIOS

* Do a clean install of Windows to:
- remove Dell bloatware
- resolve most system bugs (blue screen of death, throttling, bad drivers, old drivers, etc.)
- OPTIMIZE install of fast NVMe SSD
- replace old BIOS (legacy-MBR) with UEFI (GPT) (increase speed, increase security, permit additional theoretical storage)

* Don't confuse clean install with system restore

* I WILL FOCUS ON "CRITICAL POSTS" BELOW.
- Other notes are FYI only that I found while researching the XPS and upgrades

XXXXXXXXXXXX CRITICAL POSTS

100 - CLEAN INSTALL GUIDANCE

101. Dell XPS 9550 Clean install guide + custom ISO download (GoNz0)
http://forum.notebookreview.com/thr...ean-install-guide-custom-iso-download.789769/

102. Re-Installing Windows 10, after an M.2 SSD Upgrade (kent1146)
http://forum.notebookreview.com/threads/xps15-9550-4945-32gb-cache-ssd-upgrade.787418/#post-10187960
http://forum.notebookreview.com/thr...cache-ssd-upgrade.787418/page-5#post-10223558
http://forum.notebookreview.com/thr...windows-10-after-m-2-nvme-ssd-upgrade.787420/

103. GENERAL - Dell XPS 15 (Skylake) 9550 Owner's Lounge
http://forum.notebookreview.com/threads/dell-xps-15-skylake-9550-owners-lounge.783377/page-146


XXXXXXXXX MORE DETAILED INFO - JUST FYI

103. Some clean install comments

Set the laptop to AHCI, make sure secure boot is still on and legacy is off.
Grab the correct ISO from my sig (it is UK English but you can put additional language packs in after install) as this has the intel raid boot drivers pre installed so it detects your 950 pro during setup
Make sure your windows USB stick has been setup to install in EFI mode (it should be fat32 or fat32 large if the sticks over 32gb if it has been done correct as per image in section 5 of this link http://www.eightforums.com/tutorials/15458-uefi-bootable-usb-flash-drive-create-windows.html)

http://forum.notebookreview.com/thr...-nvme-ssd-upgrade.787420/page-2#post-10225342
I reinstalled Windows 10 on my XPS 15 9550, but did not change the boot settings... I kept it UEFI AND secure boot on. This allows the computer to even boot faster.

Usually, when you try to install Windows 10 with NVME SSD drive, it won't recognize the drive through the Windows 10 setup. What you must do, is to add some drivers from RST from Intel (Rapid Storage Technology) downloaded directly from the Intel's Website.
https://downloadcenter.intel.com/download/25165/Intel-Rapid-Storage-Technology-Intel-RST-RAID-Driver

Extract the folder into a new folder in your Windows 10 USB install flash drive, and when you don't see a SSD drive pop up during install, click on "have driver" and direct it to the extracted folder of the RST file you downloaded from Intel's website. Then, your SSD drives will be recognized and you can do a clean install from there.

I would NOT do a legacy boot. Do a UEFI, like what the XPS 9550 comes with. Legacy is the older generation of boot, which takes a longer time.

104.New Dell XPS 9550 Need Help! (clean install and new drive tips)
http://forum.notebookreview.com/threads/new-dell-xps-9550-need-help.789693/

105. Different view - clean install of Windows 10 (older and for 9350)
https://www.reddit.com/r/Dell/comments/3sr1jh/windows_10_clean_install_guide/


106. Different view - Dell XPS 13: how to upgrade the SSD, clean install, and enable BitLocker (May 2016, 13" 9550)
http://forum.notebookreview.com/thr...sd-clean-install-and-enable-bitlocker.791612/

107. XPS15 9550-4945 32GB "Cache" SSD upgrade
http://forum.notebookreview.com/threads/xps15-9550-4945-32gb-cache-ssd-upgrade.787418/

200. VIDEOS - (caution difference between system restore & clean install)

201. Install Windows 10 on XPS 15 XPS 13 after SSD upgrade or clean install on stock drive


202. Upgrade & Install SSD on Dell XPS 15 or XPS 13


203. Playlist Western Gents United
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL2OzPwdKxTAw8TnHfv-xHBE0y_b4T5fRI

300. SERVICE MANUAL
ftp://ftp.dell.com/Manuals/all-products/esuprt_laptop/esuprt_xps_laptop/xps-15-9550-laptop_Service%20Manual_en-us.pdf

400. DELL DOCK DRIVER UPDATE SPECIAL STEPS - special instructions on install order Feb 28, 2016 from DELL-Brian B (assume he works for dell?) for order of install (scroll down to 9550)
http://en.community.dell.com/support-forums/laptop/f/3518/t/19677047

XXXXXXXXXXXX

500. DIY - BUILD OWN ISO GUIDANCE
http://forum.notebookreview.com/thr...stom-iso-download.789769/page-2#post-10228190
http://forum.notebookreview.com/thr...stall-guide-custom-iso-download.789769/page-8

GoNz0's ISO comment- "The drivers you see in folders will not install via nlite as they have no .inf file, but windows update has always installed them anyway so I put them on for the times WU fails or the person has no internet"

501. BIOS, drivers, firmware...
Go to Dell.com and go to product support. Type in a number at the box labeled "Enter a service tag or other product ID" You can use # from bottom of laptop (or use "system identifier" from ordering sheet). Do NOT select 9550 model or you will get a lot of generic drivers you do not need.

* Ignore all drivers with Dell in the name (except maybe Dell Wireless 1830 WiFi Driver & Dell Wireless 1830 Bluetooth Application)
* Get latest graphics drivers via http://www.geforce.com/geforce-experience
* Get Intel® Rapid Storage Technology (Intel® RST) RAID Driver (see blue box currently called f6flpy-x64.zip)
https://downloadcenter.intel.com/download/25165/Intel-Rapid-Storage-Technology-Intel-RST-RAID-Driver

502. UEFI Bootable USB Flash Drive - Create in Windows (Use Rufus freeware or using simple manual command prompt)
http://www.nextofwindows.com/how-to-make-uefi-bootable-usb-flash-drive-to-install-windows-8
http://www.eightforums.com/tutorials/15458-uefi-bootable-usb-flash-drive-create-windows.html
http://forum.notebookreview.com/thr...er-m-2-nvme-ssd-upgrade.787420/#post-10194611

503. Rufus (freeware)
https://rufus.akeo.ie/

504. Not sure this is correct
https://www.thurrott.com/windows/wi...p-create-windows-10-setup-media-the-right-way

505. Other DIY guidance

FYI - Intel's RST/RST(e) AHCI/RAID Drivers and their RST Console Software
http://www.win-raid.com/t2f23-Intel-RST-RSTe-Drivers-newest-v-WHQL-v-WHQL.html

NOT FOR 9550 - Republic of Gamers superdetailed Guide - How to install windows 8/8.1/10 The proper way (UEFI based installation)
http://rog.asus.com/forum/showthread.php?76993-Guide-How-to-install-windows-8-8-1-10-The-proper-way-(UEFI-based-installation)

NOT FOR 9550 - Another detailed clean install guide windows 8 -
http://www.eightforums.com/installa...-new-ssds-getting-8-0-8-1-a-2.html#post335416

XXXXXXXXXXXX

600. NVMe SSD market snapshot
http://www.anandtech.com/show/10168/samsung-shows-off-sm961-and-pm961-ssds-oem-drives-get-a-boost
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/toshiba-xg3-ssd-ocz-revodrive-400,4434-3.html
http://www.computershopper.com/feature/2016-guide-the-best-m.2-solid-state-drives-tested
http://www.pcworld.com/article/2977...dup-tiny-drives-deliver-huge-performance.html
http://www.tweaktown.com/articles/7553/samsung-950-pro-pcie-gen-3x4-nvme-ssd-raid-report/index.html
http://www.tweaktown.com/reviews/7392/samsung-950-pro-2-pcie-gen-3x4-nvme-ssd-review/index.html
http://forum.notebookreview.com/threads/trying-ahci-mode-xps-15-9550.785081/page-2#post-1016412

601. For upgrade of RAM & SSD note different RAM-SSD upgradeability among versions of XPS
**13" - only SSD upgradable
**15" large battery- RAM upgradable, only 1 m.2 SSD drive upgradable
**15" small battery- RAM upgradable, m.2 SSD & mSATA drives upgradable

* Note difference among NVMe m.2, SATA m.2, mSATA

700. Ninite - fun site to install and Update All Your Programs at Once (skype, firefox, etc.)
https://ninite.com/

800. Interesting malware scanner
https://www.metadefender.com/#!/results/file/113faa83af2a4db6bf18b8e44f90626a/regular

900. Press reviews - high end without high end performance
http://www.notebookcheck.net/Dell-XPS-15-2016-9550-InfinityEdge-Notebook-Review.156354.0.html
http://www.ultrabookreview.com/10234-dell-xps-15-9550-review/

901. SOME ISSUES

Dell XPS 15 (9550) list of hardware and software problems (thread is active but appears list on post #1 has not been updated since Dec 18, 2015. Looks like most issues are resolved with clean install per 1 and 2 below)
http://forum.notebookreview.com/thr...ist-of-hardware-and-software-problems.784691/

More issues - another old list
https://www.reddit.com/r/Dell/comments/3spvho/list_of_known_issues_with_the_xps_15_9550/

 

The above are just random notes from a new 9550 owner (that may have a few useful links for the community). I will try to update/correct over time based on my experience. But there are plenty of errors and misdirections...

So to avoid confusion, it is probably better to direct questions or comments to other threads that are directly related to your topic. I will do the same.

Thanks!

 

Wow, that's a lot of research, thank you pressing! I have definitely seen a few of these guides/videos while looking around, but there is a lot of new information as well. This may take me a bit to get through but I appreciate it all the same

 

Thanks. There is some misinformation and errors but it is entertaining at a minimum...

 

That is certainly thru. One of the threads you listed under 102. lead me to the exact setup I wanted. Much appreciated

 

This quote comes from p.5 of that guide:

GoNz0's recommends "legacy off" for UEFI install, so you might want to tweak the install process. Study that entire thread carefully. And the 101 thread also. They are dense but superhelpful.

In fact, those two threads have so much knowledge you can almost ignore all the other stuff I have linked.

 

Reinstalling Windows 10 is my second option actually. A few people in the thread talked about disabling RAID, cloning the HDD over to a new 850 EVO m.2 SSD, and then installing and booting to that. Because I am getting a Signature Edition (clean install) from Microsoft, I am going to try that as it seems easier to do at first glance, and keep the reinstall as a backup option.

 

You may as well try. If you have a 2.5" HDD in the rig and slip in the m.2 in place of the 32gb you can let Macrium reflect (free edition) do it in a couple of minutes