XPS 15 (L521X, Mid 2012): Upgraded to SSD. change from ISRT to AHCI w/o reinstall

Hey guys, my laptop had the 32gig ssd cache drive + 1tb mechanical

I've disabled the cache and replaced the msata with a 256gb ssd. I cloned the mechanical to the ssd then pulled it. (also put in a 512gb ssd in place of the 1tb)

all works fine/windows7 boots etc

so now i have W7 with 256gb mSATA (OS drive) and 512gb sata data drive.

I want to change the SATA mode to AHCI since i'm not using the intel cache raid thing anymore. I've run the MS fixit tool that changes the registry to start the AHCI, but it still blue screens after i switch the SATA mode to AHCI. Are there any other reg settings i need to mess with?

Also noticed the SSDs are both running at sata2 (read that HM77 chipset should support SATA3), not sure if this is related to the SATA mode being ISRT instead of AHCI

Cheers

 

I'm not sure about the SATA to AHCI conversion, but I'd do a fresh install with AHCI. E.g turning AHCI, then install OS.

Regarding the SATAII vs SATAIII, what BIOS is your laptop running? I am guessing anything between A12-A16. Revert back to A11, and your SATAIII will work. Check out my thread, http://forum.notebookreview.com/del...y-dell-xps-l521x-all-internal-56k-beware.html. It's a Dell issue here. I don't know why they updated their BIOS with non-working SATAIII drivers.

 

jkmelbs,
i'm surprised you were able to clone the regular hdd into the msata and yet boot from the msata w/o changing to achi. are you sure you were then booting into the msata if the regular 1tb hdd drive still has the win7 os? or did you already replace the 1tb with a 500gb ssd w/o cloning also the 1tb into the 500gb ssd?

i thought the machine will not boot into the msata with irst on. it'll have to be achi.

i actually just installed my msata (samsung 840 evo) last weekend after it sat in my office for maybe 2 mos. lol i did a fresh install (multiple times actually to bsod issues when running windows experience index. i tested the msata speed 3x each between a16 bios and a11 bios. i can only get sata3 speeds on a11 bios. just do a search for l521x a11 bios and you can dlownload old bios'es from dell's site. basically it is as hanime said.

i also tried uefi but i didn't seem to really do anything. i think i had issues trying to make windows install from a flash drive (usb3 too) but it didn't work.not sure if due to uefi or problems creating the usb3 install flash drive.

myself, the only issue left is a problem with running windows experience with nvidia drivers installed. i tried many installs thinking it's an win update, or the updated driver from dell's site, or something else. but windows experience index works when there was no intel or nvidia drivers (win 7 dvd only), and it still worked after installing the intel video drivers. it fails after nvidia even if it's the one from dell driver dvd, or website, or nvidea directly. i get bsod. i still do but not sure why though more rare now.

 

Sounds like you have been through this upgrade.

I have an M1530 that I am trying to upgrade to an SSD, it's a LiteOn LAT-256M3S that I took out of my ASUS G75VW. I have formatted it and was able to get it to boot, by turning off the Cache Drive and putting the BIOS into ATA mode. It ran ok, But when I put the screws in to hold the drive it just disappeared, (I always unplug and pull the battery before making any changes) the BIOS would not recognize it. After numerous attempts at reseating the drive it FINALLY was recognized again.

Do you know what the proper setup for this drive is?

Do I take the firmware back to A11?

Is there a way to get this drive running under ACHI?

Any other tips to get the best performance?

Thanks!

 

i'm not too familiar with the other dell laptop family. i actually did install my win7 from scratch with a16 bios. the only reason i did that was to just see for myself what the transfer speed is and capture a snapshot. while doing other installs with different sequences to find where windows experience center blue screens, i downgraded to a11 bios. then i ran the transfer speed test again. this was just for kicks even if many already did the test here. (more leaning for myself).

i can set my bios to ata or achi with either a16 or a11 bios versions.

i do have intel rapid storage technology disabled.

heck, i even did a fresh install with uefi enabled but frankly, i couldn't see any boot up difference. so i went back to legacy bios with another install.

something might be hitting the cable when reseating?

i didn't do anything special with setup. it's just c: and my old 750gb hard drive is marked as D: