The Notebook Review forums were hosted by TechTarget, who shut down them down on January 31, 2022. This static read-only archive was pulled by NBR forum users between January 20 and January 31, 2022, in an effort to make sure that the valuable technical information that had been posted on the forums is preserved. For current discussions, many NBR forum users moved over to NotebookTalk.net after the shutdown.
Problems? See this thread at archive.org.

    M14x Secondary Hard Drive Woes

    Discussion in 'Alienware 14 and M14x' started by Zosaryk, Sep 12, 2014.

  1. Zosaryk

    Zosaryk Newbie

    Reputations:
    0
    Messages:
    4
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    5
    I recently purchased and successfully installed an SSD in my Alienware M14x R1. I also followed the guide and installed the original hard drive into a caddy. However, I'm encountering several issues.

    1. Secondary hard drive is not recognized in BIOS
    2. Boot times are extremely slow with the secondary hard drive installed and plugged in
    3. Windows processes are also slowed - such as accessing Computer Mangement

    However, the hard drive itself is confirmed working.

    1. Audibly spins up in caddy
    2. I successfully cloned the original hard drive to the ssd (with the ssd in the original slot and the original hard drive in the caddy) using Acronis software
    3. The hard drive is seen and editable in GParted

    I have looked at various solutions in the original thread and none of them seem to apply.
    Things I've tried:
    1. Jumper
    2. Using BIOS version A05, A08
    3. Using two different hard drives

    Nothing seems to work, and I was wondering if anyone could help.
    [/LIST]
     
    Zosaryk, Sep 12, 2014
    #1
  2. looking4pftnb

    looking4pftnb Notebook Consultant

    Reputations:
    2
    Messages:
    249
    Likes Received:
    3
    Trophy Points:
    31
    1) If it doesn't show up in BIOS your computer is not seeing the the SSD which means your SSD is not connected and won't be used by PC, unless there is something that I don't know
    2) SSD has no mechanical part so it doesn't make sense when you said you heard it spin up.
     
    looking4pftnb, Sep 13, 2014
    #2
  3. Zosaryk

    Zosaryk Newbie

    Reputations:
    0
    Messages:
    4
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    5
    I should clarify.

    1. SSD is recognized and working
    2. Original mechanical hard drive not recognized in BIOS while installed in caddy, spins up
    2a. Although not recognized, certain applications such as Acronis and GParted can successfully detect and use original mechanical hard drive while installed in caddy
    2b. I managed to clone the original mechanical hard drive to the SSD with the original mechanical hard drive installed in the caddy - this means that power on and data transfer work - Just that the original mechanical hard drive is not recognized in BIOS or anywhere else.
     
    Zosaryk, Sep 13, 2014
    #3
  4. Alienware-L_Porras

    Alienware-L_Porras Company Representative

    Reputations:
    3,658
    Messages:
    6,874
    Likes Received:
    969
    Trophy Points:
    281
    Does it appear in Disk Management? We've always recommended to go for a clean install when moving from HDD to SSD.
     
    Alienware-L_Porras, Sep 17, 2014
    #4
  5. Zosaryk

    Zosaryk Newbie

    Reputations:
    0
    Messages:
    4
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    5
    Boy, is this a late reply.

    The hard drive + caddy combo does not appear in Disk Management. It does not even appear in BIOS, so I'm pretty convinced it's not the fault of Windows. Again, the only pieces of software that managed to detect (and use) the hard drive + caddy combo was the Acronis and GParted software. It was the Acronis software that initially performed the migration from the undetectable hard drive + caddy combo to my SSD.
     
    Zosaryk, Dec 7, 2014
    #5