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    Intel x25-m (prepping before installation)

    Discussion in 'Hardware Components and Aftermarket Upgrades' started by bunta, Jun 22, 2009.

  1. bunta

    bunta Notebook Consultant

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    I had started this thread on the Dell section, but realized its better suited here instead - sorry for the double post.

    My Intel SSD X25-M will be arriving in a few days. Lets hope it has the latest firmware..

    Question is, is there anything i need to know before i put the SSD in the laptop before i proceed with the installation. I understand there are a couple of things I need to do in BIOS and one of them is to change the SATA settings. Under the BIOS settings i have ATA, AHCI and RAID. Which one do i choose?

    I would do a search on the forums, but its the crappy search tool which makes its hard for me to do a specific search.

    For those of you who had done this particular setup, can you PLEASE write up a quick guide. Ive done many formatting before but first time with an SSD.

    This will be for a 32bit XP Pro SP3 if that matters..
     
    bunta, Jun 22, 2009
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  2. madmook

    madmook Notebook Evangelist

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    First thing to do is upgrade it to the 8820 firmware if it doesn't come with it.

    Secondly, regarding the AHCI/ATA, its up to you. Since you're installing XP, you will have to have the AHCI drivers ready if you wanna use AHCI mode. If you want a more "plug-and-play" installation and don't care for AHCI, use ATA mode to keep things easy.
     
    madmook, Jun 22, 2009
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  3. maumu

    maumu Notebook Consultant

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    what if its vista-32? need to choose AHCI or ATA? I thought ATA is already outdated... :\

    also, is it possible to link up the ssd as an external drive and update the firmware first (as an external drive) before installing it into the lappy?
     
    maumu, Jun 22, 2009
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  4. Matt is Pro

    Matt is Pro I'm a PC, so?

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    If your using Vista, you won't have to worry about changing anything in the BIOS.
     
    Matt is Pro, Jun 22, 2009
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  5. madmook

    madmook Notebook Evangelist

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    I don't think that will work... gotta hook it up to the sata port.
     
    madmook, Jun 23, 2009
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  6. bunta

    bunta Notebook Consultant

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    Lets hope it comes with the latest firmware. ..

    Dont i have to align partitions since its for XP machine??
     
    bunta, Jun 23, 2009
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  7. goofball

    goofball Notebook Deity

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    You don't "have to" but I would.
     
    goofball, Jun 23, 2009
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  8. maumu

    maumu Notebook Consultant

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    is it better to partition a 160gb ssd? I read somewhere about proper alignment to avoid that horrible 'degrading of ssd' issue.

    wonder what is the proper way (and size) of the partitions? :)
     
    maumu, Jun 23, 2009
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  9. davepermen

    davepermen Notebook Nobel Laureate

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    you should do alignment of the partition, but it shouldn't matter on the intel (but why stress the drive needlessly?).

    and i'd use vista for installation, no need to think about ahcipialajaata what ever modes, just install and use.

    you have a fast notebook and the fastest hdd around, if you have a licence for the most actual os, why not use that?

    but yes, do a firmware update as needed. other than that, don't bother really.
     
    davepermen, Jun 23, 2009
    #9