Can confirm these steps also work with installing the Samsung 970 EVO Plus SSD as well. The upgrade process was quick and painless. Thanks for this video!
This is an awesome tutorial. It's been so long since I've gone into a computer to modify it and it's daunting. My actual hard drive is failing so while I was at it replacing it, figured I'd switch out the 128GB M.2 SSD with a larger one and completely do a whole system wipe. Watching it now, will be following along again when I do the procedure tomorrow!
Because YOU DID, I started adding stuff to my Aurora R7. I thank you for all the great ideas and techniques! Now I have a puzzler. I put a 970 Pro in the m.2 slot. A 660 P (m.2) in an pci adapter slot. And put the octane in another pci adapter slot. The 660 P (2 tb) makes a fine C drive. But it is not as fast as the 970 Pro. (Only 500 gb). I used Samsung Magician to clone to the 970 Pro, but still can’t get the BIOS to boot from the 970 reliably. And I have no idea if the optane is functioning beyond being another bit of storage. Any thoughts? You are becoming an Aurora Authority! Dell support just dismisses me with “you have voided the warranty and we don’t support custom builds” crap.
Thanks for the feedback and support. I never thought of using PCIE adapters. Now that's interesting. I haven't used the Samsung Magician software but I do know that its hit and miss with the Dell Motherboard. I believe there is certain things you have to set it up properly I just don't have the expertise in that. This was the main reason why I did a fresh install of Windows. What steps are you taking to boot into the 970? what are your speeds on the 660P?
Thank you for this video. I'm doing this today. My SSD will be arriving today and this was super helpful to see. Especially the BIOS changes. The Alienware bios is a bit quirky and looking at forums online the comments on what's needed to boot from another hard drive are all over the place.
That’s awesome I’m glad it helped. I was running into the same problem with finding different information on all the forums. Check out my full review video as well. It brings everything together! Let me know how the install goes!
+Hollywood Zro Follow me on Instagram @wilcreatives. When we hit 100 subscribers on the channel I’m giving away a Google Home Mini to one of my subscribers for supporting the channel!
I found an Aurora R7 for a good price today and did two things straight away - picked up a 1tb nvme drive and a Corsair ML120 Pro for the radiator fan. The stock radiator fan runs at 100% and is loud. The Corsair (non rgb) is the only third party fan that won't throw a code when you plug it into the motherboard and it maxes out at 2400 rpm & 37 dBA. I thought about trying to clone the M.2 drive, but I everyone keeps complaining about the boot portion not working, so I created the OS Recovery just like WiLcreatives did in this video. I switched the drive to AHCI. I selected the windows boot manager and gave it a shot. It took a while to load up, but seems to be working. I did NOT get the same OS Support Recovery as shown in the video. It was similar, but with different options. I elected to do a Reset and Update. I chose not to back up any folders since it's a new PC for me anyways, so nothing lost. Now for the sad part - I've been sitting here for a couple hours waiting for the download part to finish. This Reset process says it could take 1-5 hours... I'm thinking it's definitely going to be closer to the 5 hour mark. I wish I had a quicker option.
Hi does the windows 11 installation come up if you get an ssd instead of an hdd, or can I just put it in and use it as secondary storage while still having my hdd (im not the best with tech but i can follow instructions)
Thanks for the video, it helped during my installation. To make it easier the power supply swings out, so there is no need to remove it. Then it just comes down to removing the GPU in order to install the 970.
@@WiLcreatives Yeah, all you had to do was put your finger in the top hole part on the black plastic and kinda pull down towards the bottom of the case. It would have flexed just enough to come loose and out, then then psu would have swung easy.
Hello there and thank you for the great review . I know it’s been sometime now lol. But I’m still going strong with my r7 . I just did upgraded to Samsung 980 and it is cap off at 3500 I couldn’t get to what the speed said on the Samsung box ! I mean I’m super happy at that speed am I missing anything ? Thank you again .
Wow I wish this videos would've come out long time ago! I got the same system and I swapped my hdd without any help or videos and it was a pain in the butt cause there was no info on how to change it thanks to you how there won't be no issue, thanks for the video!
great video sir! im wanting to do the exact same thing, would you still recommend that same SSD or is there a better option you'd recommend? ive heard that the R7 motherboard cant do gen 4 SSD speeds but i was considering just getting the best gen 4 that will fit so if i ever do upgrade to a new motherboard ill already have a good SSD for it. ive heard that gen 4s will work in a gen 3 slot but idk if that will cause any issues. if thats an issue i guess whats the best gen 3 M.2 SSD that you'd recommend. thanks
Hi there, Thanks for your videos I have just upgraded my RAM and also installed nvme on my R7. Question are you running windows 10 or 11? If you’re using 11 how is it knowing that Dell doesn’t support it? Hope to hear from you.
@@coronatime2267 mine works now. I don’t believe what I did exactly. But I think I just started the installation process over by putting it on a new usb and then starting up again from boot. So sorry I couldn’t help. Just keep looking stuff up. U will get it evebtually
Great video... quick question. A little confused about what Intel Optane memory is..... I have an Aurora A7 and my M.2 SSD is Liteon NVME..... is it Intel Optane as well? Also wonder if I have to disable Intel Optane setting in Bios before swapping the SSD? Thanks in advance for answering these 2 questions... it would help a lot
I'm just now doing this with the 970 EVO Plus, I believe I got a different USB Windows boot setup so it was a little different from yours, but I still got it to work. Great video!
Your videos have been very informative. In the couple of months, I plan on replacing my NVME drive. I have the Alienware Aurora R8, and it only has a single 512GB NVME drive for everything. It's very fast, but the storage is insufficient. I'm thinking about replacing it with maybe a 2TB NVME SSD fast drive from Microcenter. Is there a way to just clone the drive, turn the PC off, swap the drives and be done with it? Or do I have to create a backup on using the Alienware software on a thumb drive, and then swap the drives? Thanks again. Your videos are a godsend.
Five years late, but I'm finally doing all the upgrades you did. I don't game, so I was a happy camper until I started to play with AI models and Stable Defusion. Needing 12Gig of VRam lead a cascade of upgrade needs. LOL Thanks for your trail blazing!
Just so you all know, If you're using m.2 on SATA, you do NOT need to change the raid setup to AHCI. Only if you're installing an m.2 on NVMe like he did here! M.2 is simply a form factor. M.2 can run on SATA or NVMe PCIe. Ensure the drive you're buying is an M.2 NVMe SSD, NOT AN M.2 SATA SSD, otherwise your R/W speeds will be limited by SATA III (~550/500)
I can't thank you enough every upgrade I did to my pc I did watching ur videos and it has really helped me understand way more about pc's I have had my pc for a year and had made major upgrades and gained way more knowledge from ur videos thank you again.
Wow i loved how you didnt plug in to the 1tb harddrive because i was planning to install my operating windows on a ssd that i will be purchasing and this will help me not make the mistake and install it on the 1tb harddrive. Thanks for this tip. Im fairly new to powerful pcs and i ordered the R8. Should be here before may 2. I jus had another request..if you ever make a video of replacing the psu that would be much appreciated. Thanks! Very nice work! Keep it up.
Have you had any issues with the 970 evo I’ve seen people say that it’s not compatible anymore with the Aurora R8? I can’t get none of these dudes who make these videos to respond
i have followed everything in this guide perfectly and it worked but after a few updates and downloads of games on my computer onto the new ssd, my other 2tb hard drive is gone and only detectable in bios and not even disk management, any help??
Did some research, the folks at Dell - Alienware department scream murder when I mentioned the 970 EVO... Appearently they get a lot of issues with the EVO series. Also I noticed the mark up for those kingston Memory sticks, the XMP type you installed at a serious mark up where I was finding two 16GB sticks at 245.00 and they wanted 675 for the two. Pirates. For my M.2 option, I was going to straddle the middle ground and for a WD Black N750 in 1TB, which is roughly at 249.00. I noticed they got a heat sink option, but from what I was reading and the common feeling is that the heatsink addition does not really mean much.
Dell doesn't want to co-sign Samsung that's all. Yeah they mark up the prices on everything. I think the heatsink for m.2 is overrated unless your system produces a lot of heat
Thanks for the video. I am going to put a 1 TB Samsung later today. I will need to clone my system as I don't have the luxury of a fresh install. Hopefully, all goes well. Thanks again!
Why didn’t you install the 970. Boot into windows with your hd. Use Samsung migration to clone os into ssd. Could have taken a lot quicker rather than reinstalling windows
Some people had success and some didnt with cloning. If it works I don't see a problem. The way Dell created the motherboards I've seen issues with this. I just recently had a subscriber that is currently having issues with this. A clean install puts you back in control and it's a fail safe for me. Plus reinstalling windows didnt take long with an nvme drive.
WiLcreatives cloning is a great tool and works wonderfully with me twice. Once on an Alienware 17 R3 laptop (HDD to evo 850 500gb). And now my own desktop that I recently clone from adata 480gb ssd to 970 evo 2tb. Once done cloning, restart and your pc automatic boot from that clone drive, evo 970. Windows will see 970 as C: main drive and the adata as D: drive. I could format the D: drive after that. You don’t have to mess around with cmos and configure anything. That’s the perk of using Samsung ssd. You could use Samsung migration for free. Not sure what rate of failure you’re referring to. You can’t compare the speed of cloning vs reinstalling a free windows from thumb drive. Sure the 970 is fast but the source it copy from (thumb drive) read speed is slow...hence the bottle neck. And you have to reinstalling Microsoft office, Adobe suite, steam, other drivers if you install fresh windows, how long does that take?
private i am having issues because in the bios the nvme 970 pro is recognized..i fiddled around in the bios with every setting possible but it keeps taking me to diagnostics..maybe im doing something wrong but i used macrium to clone windows 10 and also created a rescue drive. So maybe you can help. It just wont boot onto the samsung 970 pro. I have the alienware aurora r8 which i recently purchased and dont have much on the hdd. Its basically new and had windows 10 home on it.
@@187jd you clone successfully with macroium and once reboot, bios would not boot from 970? I think you have to fiddle around with bios boot sequence. Set the 970 pro as the primary or 1st drive to boot from. Good luck and let me know. 970 pro you cannot use Samsung migration?
Why did you remove the PSU? I thought the Aurora R7 casing was designed so that all you had to do was swing out the arm that the PSU is attached to in order to have access to the motherboard. It's marketed as "tool-free upgrading."
+James Flanagan Yeah that was my mistake! I didn’t have to remove it! Although it helped me with the camera angle. There was no need. I didn’t realize it until after the video was uploaded that it swings out. In the 30 day review video I talk about that!
Hey, now that you've had a chance to run with the new SSD over the Optane, what are your feelings? Does it boot faster than before consistently? I've been thinking about adding some SATA SSDs, but if the NVME M.2 runs even better, like noticeably better, I might rethink that.
Just to update: I’ve recently installed an 850w power supply, 1TB WD blue SSD and a M.2 NVMe WD Black 500GB SSD into my system. Everything is running incredible. Also I was able to clone my current hdd with my m.2 WD drive so my OS boots up in seconds, compared to a couple mins before. A simple command in the command prompt made it work perfectly and notice my m.2 SSD. By changing from RAID to AHCI. Then I was able to clone. Hope this helps someone. Thanks CWiL
Thanks for the followup and the support thats great man! I want to upgrade my power supply as well. Can you tell me which one you specifically got and where you got it from? I wanted to do a video on that.
@@WiLcreatives I got the 850w EVGA Supernova G3, 80 plus Gold Fully Modular.. I will put a link to amazon which is where I got mine... It fits fine, a little snug but that's good. The screw holes on the top I want to say, but cant remember which ones for sure, will be a little off once you take the other one out so you have to put a little pressure on them to get them to line up. I will say that cable management is something I'm still trying to get figured out. Since the factory power supply has custom short cut cables it is fine for the compact setup. These new cables you will get are default length. Mine looks decent, I would like it to look more clean so I'm still working on that. I really like the ECO mode that comes on this power supply. I know 850w is probably overkill for what I do but I enjoy knowing I'm not stressing out the factory 460w. Hope this helps! Have a Blessed day!! www.amazon.com/EVGA-Supernova-Modular-Warranty-220-G3-0850-X1/dp/B01LY4OJYJ/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1546605658&sr=8-3&keywords=850w+power+supply
Attached is the video on the command prompt to change from RAID to AHCI without having to reinstall windows, which let me be able to clone my hdd to my m.2 nvme ssd. Hope this helps someone. Have a Blessed day! th-cam.com/video/9ngnIKqPOc4/w-d-xo.html
Thanks for the feed back. The boot times before was around 1min & 20 secs. Now my system boots in 20-24 secs. Fast but not as fast as I’ve seen other computers with that type of hard drive.
The reason why yours is probably not as fast as other systems is because your motherboard ‘s PCle is most likely 3.0x2 whereas the SSD is engineered for 3.0x4 motherboards. Meaning you’re getting half the bandwidth cause the motherboard can’t catch up. Instead of 3700 you’re getting around 1500 which is still crazy fast, but there you go.. i hate motherboards man lol
Hey man, thanks alot for the video.. I'm getting my aurora r7 tomorrow, just wanted to ask you didnt it ask for a product key after the installation? All you had to do was make a bootable USB drive and install the Windows 10 .iso from Microsofts website?
Moe Dur Hey man thanks for checking out the video. Yes that’s correct I went to Microsoft’s website created the usb iso. When setting up windows once you sign in with your Microsoft account it recognizes you already own a copy of windows 10 so no product key is needed! Have fun with your new rig!
WiLcreatives thanks for the prompt response man, I just created a windows profile on Microsoft and will make sure to login and link my device when I get my aurora prior to the reinstallation. Just subbed, great content!
Hi, I'm planning to install a m.2 sad pretty soon on my aurora r7. I have watched the video but I just have a few questions regarding parts of the video that I didn't understand. 1: Do I change the SATA operation to AHCI even if I don't have Intel octane memory? 2: How do I get the data to a USB for a windows reinstall? 3: After installing the m.2 ssd, is it required to disconnect the hdd to make sure the windows reinstall will be on the m.2 ssd? 4: Is the hdd reformat required? If so, do I need to backup all the data in my hdd before I do a windows reinstall? Asking this because it seems like you just let the Alienware Support OS take care of backing up your personal files without any manual backup. I have a 2TB hdd and I have over 1.3 TB of data on it (not sure how big my personal files are), but I don't have enough spare storage to backup all of it. These are all the questions I have and I apologize in advance if some of them are redundant. This is an old video so hopefully you see this comment at least before black Friday. Thank you.
Hello! Great video! I would like some advice. I had originally planned to upgrade my recently bought Aurora R8 when I watched this video, but then i found out that the R7's come with the M.2 32GB optane NVMe version and the R8's comes with a M.2 Toshiba XG6 256GB NVMe as well as a 1TB HD. I've already purchased the 1TB Samsung 860 EVO SATA SSD as a replacement for the HD. I was wondering if i should still carry out my planned upgrade of the NVMe to the 1TB 970 EVO Plus as well. What do you think? Any advice is greatly appreciated!
Personally I would still use the 1TB 970 evo, if gaming is your thing or you're really big on having a fast responsive system. Games load and run faster on the SSD which you definitely will appreciate the 1TB vs the 256GB for space. If none of that matters then return the 1TB.
@@WiLcreatives Hey thanks for the quick response! I will definitely do that! I have one more question, I saw all your other install videos and there was one thing I was confused about; did you use the M.2 970 EVO NVMe just to run the OS, or did you install other things like games and movies as well? I've read some comments of how people plan to use the M.2 970 EVO NVMe for "just" their OS, and I was wondering if that meant not using it for anything else. Anyway, thanks again for the response, you are awesome!
Good question I used solely for my OS and everyday programs. I used a different SSD drive for games and storage. Initially I should have gotten an 1TB nvme instead of the 500gb but as long as games are running off an ssd you won't notice the difference between a sata ssd and nvme ssd when it comes to loading games.
That is correct I didn’t realize it until after the fact. I talked about it in the full review video. Yeah you don’t have to unscrew anything except for the 1 screw on the back! Thanks for picking up on that!
@@jaidendiaz_ after you pull the sideoff, you can swing the remaining out to reveal all the internal for easy access. it doesnt swing easily you really have to pull on it.
Nice video! I’m planning on buying one of these whenever I get the money and do plan on swapping out the intel optane memory for the Samsung card. One question, when creating the windows installation USB, do I do it from Dells website or windows?
WiLcreatives Ah okay, another question. After installing windows onto the Samsung card would I have to reconnect the HDD and format it or would it cause some issues from having two devices with windows installed?
+ezbtntcheap Follow me on Instagram @wilcreatives. When we hit 100 subscribers on the channel I’m giving away a Google Home Mini to one of my subscribers for supporting the channel!
If you're still using m.2 on SATA, you do NOT need to change the raid setup to AHCI. Only if you're installing an m.2 on NVMe! M.2 is simply a form factor. M.2 can run on SATA or NVMe PCIe. Ensure the drive you're buying is an NVMe m.2 SSD, otherwise your RW speeds will be limited by SATA III (~550/500)
@@SouthernWolff Thanks. I actually didn't change anything in Bios. Installed the 1tb nvme drive, booted from the recovery USB and everything worked out fine.
I'm looking to do this with my son's R7. I'm confused as to what is truly compatible, though. I'm considering the Samsung 970 EVO but I also read about the WD Black SN750. Do you know if the WD with heatsink will fit the R7? I can't stand how Dell configured his system. The OS/boot drive is a 128GB M.2 SATA SSD. Installing software is a major pain because despite trying to ensure everything installs on the larger D drive the C drive still fills up. I want to replace it with a 500GB NVMe drive.
hey nice video man , i have r7 im trying to install the same nvme ssd but u cant make usb recovery. The dell OS recovery tool says "no images for the tag, though images exist for the product" . how did you make yours ?
Hey CWIL, one more question I had for you. Did you get the 460w power supply or 850w? I got the 460w and am a little concerned about it. However, the deal I was able to get on mine it will be worth it even if I end up needing to upgrade the 460w. Thanks !
Great question I got a great deal on mines as well. I have the 460w power supply. I had concerns at first as well but from what I have read and after using the system. It works perfect. If you are trying to add a 2nd graphics card though I would recommend upgrading the PSU at that time.
+Travis Helton Follow me on Instagram @wilcreatives. When we hit 100 subscribers on the channel I’m giving away a Google Home Mini to one of my subscribers for supporting the channel!
Hey Wil - did you end up having to uninstall any drivers etc. related to Intel Optane, or is disabling it in the Rapid Storage program all you have to do? I'm having a weird issue since following this vid where my Aurora R7 hangs for 10-ish seconds before the boot logo appears - sometimes longer. It's also spinning my external HDDs for whatever reason, so my last BIOS time was something like 68 seconds, which is nuts. Anyway, just throwing it out there in case you have any ideas, as I haven't been able to figure it out on my own. Thanks!
I disabled it in the rapid storage program and I end up uninstalling the drivers when I reinstalled windows. What nvme drive did you replace the optane with?
@@WiLcreatives Samsung 970 Evo. I did figure out part of the problem, which was that a couple drives had EFI partitions (which, from what I understand, Windows looks at when booting), so once I removed those partitions from everything but the boot drive that initial logo hang disappeared and I'm down to a 41 second boot time. Thinking that's as good as it will get now, because if I disconnect those externals it boots lightning fast. So now I've just started using Sleep rather than powering the system down, which works fine. I figure one of the externals might be failing, even though SMART scans turn up fine. Also might just be because they're large drives, with two 8TBs and one 4TB, and I can't seem to find a way to basically tell Windows there's no reason to spin those drives until I'm logged in. Anyway, thanks again for these vids! Without these I don't think I'd have felt comfortable tweaking the system at all, so they helped with that and encouraged me to learn more.
jason pacheco if you create the dell usb recovery image and it works you’re fine. I would make sure you’re registered with Microsoft and have an account with them. When I had to create a separate windows 10 usb iso I didn’t need a product key. When I was setting up windows I signed in with my Microsoft account and was done l.
@@Almond2k Yes you can get it from Dell's drivers and support page using your service tag. You want to have that anyway. You can use that to reinstall windows on the new hard drive. If that doesn't work, like it didn't work for me in the video, use the the Windows ISO image on a USB as a backup to reinstall Windows 10!
+jason pacheco Follow me on Instagram @wilcreatives. When we hit 100 subscribers on the channel I’m giving away a Google Home Mini to one of my subscribers for supporting the channel!
Hey. Your video really helps. I just buy a Aurora R7. And I want to add a SSD and Optane. Why not use Optane and SSD the same time? Is it because there is only one M.2 interface? If so, the only way I can do it to use SSD with 2.5inch interface? By the way, can you tell me where you download the DELL support software? Thanks!
Gotcha yeah the motherboard only had 1 M.2 slot. Personally I had bad experience with the optane memory. Theoretically you could use a 2.5in SSD and the optane if you want to go that route but that’s if the dell motherboard will let you configure it that way. I got the support software from dells support website. Once you put in your service tag number on the back of your system all the software that pertains to your model will come up.
Thank you for your very helpful video. Following the steps in your video, I added a 970 Pro 512 SSD. (As a side note, I haven't plugged the HD back in yet, though, because I could not quite catch all the micro steps on the best way to do that from your video.) But the main point of my comment is that when I added the Samsung 970 Pro SSD, the Microsoft NVMe driver installed as expected. Because I've read that the SSD will perform better with the Samsung driver, I downloaded & installed the appropriate driver from the Samsung website. However, in the Device Manager the Microsoft NVMe driver still shows up (even after restarting my computer multiple times). However, the Samsung driver is showing up in my Add/Remove programs listing, so it did download & install. Also, after downloading the Samsung SSD driver, my computer seemed to run a bit slower than with the Windows NVMe driver. I did not do any formal tests. I just manually timed my start up boot time and just observed how quickly it loaded programs and web pages, which seemed a bit slower, but it could just be my imagination. So I uninstalled the Samsung driver. Anyone else have any of the same or similar experiences with the Microsoft and Samsung NVMe drivers with the Samsung SSD installed? (Also, just fyi, I did not reinstall the Rapid Storage Technology driver after my clean Windows installation, as you & others noted issues with it.)
Hey good info, ive never noticed a decrease in speed. You don't necessarily need the samsung drivers. After you uninstalled the samsung drivers did you notice an increase speed in your boot times?
@@WiLcreatives Unfortunately no. It never went back to the quicker boot time. I'm wondering if I would have to do a clean install of Windows again to get back to the quicker boot time. Before I installed the Samsung driver it took about 10 seconds from the time the Alienware logo popped up to when the small wheel started spinning (which turned 4 1/2 rotations) before I got to my sign-in screen. Now it takes about 20-28 seconds (varies) from the time the Alienware logo pops up to when the wheel starts turning (which turns about 4 1/2 rotations) before my sign-in screen pops up. I know about 25-35 seconds is not horrible, and definitely not worth reinstalling Windows to see if it goes back down in time, but it is noticeably slower than the really snappy start up I had before downloading the Samsung driver. What is your boot up time? I've watched several videos on optimizing and speeding up Windows and followed the advice, but that has not helped get the boot up time back down to where it was before. Did you download the Samsung driver? If so, do you actually see it listed as the driver for the 970 SSD in the Device Manager, or do you still see the default Microsoft NVMe driver listed and only see the Samsung driver listed in Add/Remove programs, as I did?
Thanks for the video, definitely helpful. I just bought a brand new leftover R7 for $700. last night It's got the i5 8400 and 1080GPU.. It did not however come with SSD. Or NVMe. So Im buying a Sebrent 512gb NVMe m2 drive. And I'm going to do the same thing. I know the Sebrent drives come with cloning software. Hopefully I won't run into any problems. Did you use a different product key? Or is the key tied to the machine (BIOS) or whatnot?
Nice video man. You made it harder then it had to be. All you have to do is swing your power supply out then unscrew the screw and pull/push out the M.2. You do need some small hands but it still can be easily done. Only problem is screw falls down so keep and eye on it.
Hello. Been watching your videos since you got your Aurora R7. I have the same just different GPU. I have a problem. I did everything your video prescribed, but ran into one hiccup. After I reformatted the hard drive that came with the system the computer does not show me how much used space I have. I already added some files and apps into the hard drive, like Razer Synapse or Corsair iCue, but it always says I have the exact amount of free space since I reformatted it. FYI, its a Local Disk type, NTFS file system, and used the letter E and also called it Media Drive. Even when I right click on the hard drive into Properties its does say I used x amount of used space but it doesn't display it. It just says I have 1.80TB which is the exact number since the reformatting according to your video. Help! Thank you.
Question Will, I think I messed up my computer, and I'm very sad. So, I did not realize that you had to disable the optane memory before you took out the actual disk from the M.2 slot. I took out the Intel Optane and replaced it with the Samsung 980 SSD. My computer now will not boot and continues to say something about searching for media devices. Currently, I do not have a USB to download windows onto. However, when I do get to a computer tomorrow and download it onto the usb, do you think booting it from the usb onto the ssd will fix this issue? Thank you very much.
@@WiLcreatives there actually was no optane drive in the computer(I think this is a 2017 model r7 base model), im trying to install a samsung 961 which ive read works well with the r7
Did you run into any problems after installing this about Windows restarting randomly I installed mine over Christmas and I randomly getting Windows restarting
No issues on this end. A few questions. What ssd drive did you install? Did you do a clean install of windows 10? Did you detach the original hard drive and boot into windows first before reattaching?
@@WiLcreatives I installed the 970 Evo 500 gig I did a fresh install because I tried to clone it can end up working just randomly started rebooting I have the other hard drive installed I never took the OS off that I kind of wanted to keep it for a backup Maybe any help would be nice
having an issue. after changing boot option #1 to windows boot manager. the computer restarts but it doesnt recognize the boot drive. i go back into bios and windows boot manager is now selected for option #3 instead of option #1. i dont know what to do.
Why did you not just clone your old drive and have all your stuff to the new drive? I was wondering if you did that would you have to change the BIOS for the drive? Thank you for the info
Hey wil, I’ve been watching a lot of your videos on how to upgrade the Alienware aurora because I actually have one of my own. I just have some concerns about upgrading the M.2 to the 970 EVO. I’m just not sure what to do if my recovery doesn’t work out correctly. I’m not sure how to do a fresh install of windows and where to go for that. I’m not really sure where to go to get that downloaded and Installed correctly without losing my data. I was hoping you could help.
If you replace the motherboard yes but they have oem windows 10 licenses out there for $15 to $20. Check out cdkeys or scdkeys. Worked like a charm on my custom build
Great Video....I have watched it a few times.. This is a first for me and don't want to mess anything up. I want to install the Samsung 970 Evo Plus 1TB in my Aurora R7. The original drive has two key slots and is SSD sata whereas the Samsung Evo Plus is NVME has only one key or notch on the drive. Is this a problem? It appeared that the sata in the video had two keys and the Samsung had just one so I'm assuming this is fine to use in the m.2 slot? Thank you just trying to cover all the bases before I get started.
hey bro love your work very informative.... how did you create the windows 10 installation from your pc laptop ? and secondly will it be a problem coming from a different computer ????
+Jason Turner Hey Jason I went to Microsoft’s website and created an Windows ISO usb installation after signing in with my Microsoft account info. Real simple just Google it. No issues as it was a Windows Installation usb, didn’t have anything to do with Dell.
@@WiLcreatives hey i have another question do you believe using the Samsung SSD Using Samsung's Migration Software to clone the hdd will work fine as well ???
ok i have my windows created on my usb my question is ive unplug the original ssd m.2 optane memory like you took out and actually put in the evo 970 thinking it was plug and play lol .what puzzled me is that when i booted the computer up i had windows and all my files and it showed the evo 970 as storage so if i do your steps what is going to happen to the originals windows that i have where do i delete it so i can put the clean windows install or maybe i dont have to do a clean windows install becuase its on the sata drive. best buy must of installed the windows on the sata drive if i put the evo 970 in and had windows maybe i just only need to set up my bios settings like you did to boot from the evo 970 then i shuold be good right. so i dont need to unplug the sata becuase if i did then it wouldnt recognize windows does that sound right bro.
Wil, so my Aurora is on the way, will be here Wed, very excited. I have the 512GB M.2 PCIe NVMe SSD (Boot) + 2TB 7200RPM SATA 6Gb/s (Storage)...Just was making sure, that is different from the Optane Memory correct? I just want to make sure when I turn this PC on, it will show up as 2 separate drives. thanks.
Thanks for the video! I saw you couldn't use the recovery from Dell/Alienware to install the system. I don't have a fresh windows copy to use as you've done, only the recovery on a pendrive. Can I still make it work?
Bruno Porrio I don’t think so I tried using the Dell recovery twice and it didn’t work. You will need to google how to create Windows 10 usb installation drive.
@@WiLcreatives Thanks for the info! I'm going to go ahead and do it. Since I don't have a windows key (came pre-installed with the Alienware R7) should I assume it will pick up automatically?
There is no option for device configuration when I hit f12 after Ive put in the ssd. Do you have any idea why or what I can do about it. Also is it necessary to remove the power supply when installing?
+Tdmclaug You don’t need device configuration and no the power supply doesn’t have to be removed. You should have the swing arm. I removed the power supply by mistake all you have to do is swing it open.
WiLcreatives I am not sure but I doubt it. I was able (for the most part, still haven’t finished) to get to the OS recovery screen on my old SSD but not on the new one with all of the same components except for the memory and I honestly have no idea what to do about. This is my very first time putting shit in a computer or really messing around with its internal settings as well so sorry if these questions are a little basic.
@@WiLcreatives I have this same PC. So what is that Intel octane card? IS IT an nvme? How much space is it? Is my OS on there. I'm so confused on whether I can remove it or not.
I will add though everything seems really fast. My boot time is like 6 seconds, I just want more space I only have the 1tb HDD with the Intel optane. Not sure if I should get a m.2 nvme or just a 2.5 SSD.
Hey wil. How are you doing? I hope ur enjoying ur pc. Also i bought a 1 tb nvme samsung pro 970. Got a good deal on it. I installed it onto the m.2 slot on the motherboard. the R8 does not come with optane memory and probably doesnt have any impact on booting the operating system onto the 970 pro ssd. With that out of the way..i used a software called macrium and cloned the entire windows 10. I created a rescue file on the usb.I tried to boot windows 10 onto the nvme but currently running into problems. It keeps crashing and takes me to diagnostics. I can see the samsung pro on the boot setup but cant click on it. Also changed from raid on to watever the other is.I also left the 1tb hdd unplugged. Maybe you can help lol.
Hey yeah the problem is with the Dell Motherboard. It doesn't like the cloned drives. Some people have been able to get it to work but when I read it was to many issues which is why I didn't do it. I would just download and create a windows installation USB. Do a clean install of windows to the 970 eco pro and just copy what you need from your 1TB harddrive. Yeah you will have to reinstall your programs and drivers but it will be much better.
Richard Palmisano that’s totally up to you. I saved my important information and did a clean install of windows fresh. I heard that was the best option.
WiLcreatives What’s up my brother my install went great I have a total of 48 GB of RAM but I have a question should it be running 2660 MHz because I’m reading 2330 MHz could it be the fact that I have a different type of memory ram than the original 16 GB I left the original 16 GB in and I also installed the Evo 970 500GB SSD I must say that is a solid SSD any info would be appreciated do you think maybe I have to swap the ram two different banks? I’ll go buy another 16 GB that matches my other ones and take the other 16 GB out that was originally in there. By the way I have the same cup as you Alienware aurora i7 8700 The only thing different is my graphics card is a GTX GeForce 1080
Thanks Man and keep up the good work!! ... I ordered a R9 with a i9-9900ks.... gonna install my 2080ti from my R7 an up grade to{ WD black nvme 2tb w/ heatsink). Thank god for your explanations. I will follow your explanation explicitly. I just subscribed.Gonna keep the hard drive(HDD )for windows and put games on nvme until i understand the method completely. Time will tell.
@@WiLcreatives Yeah I have already installed clean windows on the NVME. The problem is in the partition there is no HDD but in the Bios it is recognized. Do I have to change any settings in the BIOS?
Hi, I am planning to do this same thing. I want your clearance, does it support speeds of 3500MB/s when using samsung 970 evo plus nvme on board because the interface speed shows limited to 6gbps which is around 600MB/s. I have ordered both 970 evo plus nvme and 870 evo sata ssd
@WiLcreatives Thank you for the awesome video. I happen to have exactly the same PC as you! :) I have a spare 500gb evo ssd that I was thinking about putting in a spare hdd/sdd slot. Would that work? I haven't really seen any connection cables hanging about inside the box though...
+Rafal Polessa thanks for the feedback! Yes that will work check out the video I did on installing the 512gb Sandisk ssd. You will need to purchase a sata iii cable though.
So I have a R7 like you and I have considered doing the same ssd upgrade. To do this though how do I save all of my files and things and also keep my windows? I would ultimately like to have windows boot up on the ssd. Thanks
having the same trouble, already cloned to my SSD but am unsure how to make the SSD the primary drive for windows plus a few things and keep the HDD as secondary. I want to change the RAID off for the Samsung SSD but am unsure if it will corrupt or disable my current Dell HDD. Alienwares BIOS is very different than every other video I've tried to watch and this is the closest insight i could even find. Dell really likes making stuff difficult.
Can confirm these steps also work with installing the Samsung 970 EVO Plus SSD as well. The upgrade process was quick and painless. Thanks for this video!
I'm glad it worked! I may get an 1TB 970 Evo plus in the future!
This is an awesome tutorial. It's been so long since I've gone into a computer to modify it and it's daunting. My actual hard drive is failing so while I was at it replacing it, figured I'd switch out the 128GB M.2 SSD with a larger one and completely do a whole system wipe. Watching it now, will be following along again when I do the procedure tomorrow!
Because YOU DID, I started adding stuff to my Aurora R7. I thank you for all the great ideas and techniques! Now I have a puzzler.
I put a 970 Pro in the m.2 slot. A 660 P (m.2) in an pci adapter slot. And put the octane in another pci adapter slot. The 660 P (2 tb) makes a fine C drive. But it is not as fast as the 970 Pro. (Only 500 gb). I used Samsung Magician to clone to the 970 Pro, but still can’t get the BIOS to boot from the 970 reliably. And I have no idea if the optane is functioning beyond being another bit of storage. Any thoughts? You are becoming an Aurora Authority! Dell support just dismisses me with “you have voided the warranty and we don’t support custom builds” crap.
Thanks for the feedback and support. I never thought of using PCIE adapters. Now that's interesting. I haven't used the Samsung Magician software but I do know that its hit and miss with the Dell Motherboard. I believe there is certain things you have to set it up properly I just don't have the expertise in that. This was the main reason why I did a fresh install of Windows. What steps are you taking to boot into the 970? what are your speeds on the 660P?
Thank you for this video. I'm doing this today. My SSD will be arriving today and this was super helpful to see. Especially the BIOS changes. The Alienware bios is a bit quirky and looking at forums online the comments on what's needed to boot from another hard drive are all over the place.
That’s awesome I’m glad it helped. I was running into the same problem with finding different information on all the forums. Check out my full review video as well. It brings everything together! Let me know how the install goes!
+Hollywood Zro Follow me on Instagram @wilcreatives. When we hit 100 subscribers on the channel I’m giving away a Google Home Mini to one of my subscribers for supporting the channel!
Please help me lol. Read above this post if you can help. Id greatly appreciate it.
I found an Aurora R7 for a good price today and did two things straight away - picked up a 1tb nvme drive and a Corsair ML120 Pro for the radiator fan. The stock radiator fan runs at 100% and is loud. The Corsair (non rgb) is the only third party fan that won't throw a code when you plug it into the motherboard and it maxes out at 2400 rpm & 37 dBA. I thought about trying to clone the M.2 drive, but I everyone keeps complaining about the boot portion not working, so I created the OS Recovery just like WiLcreatives did in this video. I switched the drive to AHCI. I selected the windows boot manager and gave it a shot. It took a while to load up, but seems to be working. I did NOT get the same OS Support Recovery as shown in the video. It was similar, but with different options. I elected to do a Reset and Update. I chose not to back up any folders since it's a new PC for me anyways, so nothing lost. Now for the sad part - I've been sitting here for a couple hours waiting for the download part to finish. This Reset process says it could take 1-5 hours... I'm thinking it's definitely going to be closer to the 5 hour mark. I wish I had a quicker option.
Hi does the windows 11 installation come up if you get an ssd instead of an hdd, or can I just put it in and use it as secondary storage while still having my hdd (im not the best with tech but i can follow instructions)
Thanks for the video, it helped during my installation. To make it easier the power supply swings out, so there is no need to remove it. Then it just comes down to removing the GPU in order to install the 970.
That's awesome! Thanks for the feedback. I figured it out after the video was done that it swings open 🤣🤣🤣
@@WiLcreatives Yeah, all you had to do was put your finger in the top hole part on the black plastic and kinda pull down towards the bottom of the case. It would have flexed just enough to come loose and out, then then psu would have swung easy.
I was literally about to say, uhh why you removing the power supply? 🤔
Hello there and thank you for the great review . I know it’s been sometime now lol. But I’m still going strong with my r7 . I just did upgraded to Samsung 980 and it is cap off at 3500 I couldn’t get to what the speed said on the Samsung box ! I mean I’m super happy at that speed am I missing anything ? Thank you again .
Pc not recognizing my HDD now do I switch back from AHCI?
having that problem myself, why I find myself here
Also, how did you create the backup on your usb flash drive and what was that about the cloud restore? Any link for that? Sorry for the noob questions
I'm also wondering if you could have just cloned your HDD to the M.2 SSD instead of fresh install?
Wow I wish this videos would've come out long time ago! I got the same system and I swapped my hdd without any help or videos and it was a pain in the butt cause there was no info on how to change it thanks to you how there won't be no issue, thanks for the video!
Lol when I created this video I was in the same boat!
great video sir! im wanting to do the exact same thing, would you still recommend that same SSD or is there a better option you'd recommend? ive heard that the R7 motherboard cant do gen 4 SSD speeds but i was considering just getting the best gen 4 that will fit so if i ever do upgrade to a new motherboard ill already have a good SSD for it. ive heard that gen 4s will work in a gen 3 slot but idk if that will cause any issues. if thats an issue i guess whats the best gen 3 M.2 SSD that you'd recommend.
thanks
Hi there,
Thanks for your videos I have just upgraded my RAM and also installed nvme on my R7.
Question are you running windows 10 or 11? If you’re using 11 how is it knowing that Dell doesn’t support it?
Hope to hear from you.
Mine did not boot up to the usb it brought me to a blue screen that says factory image restore or advanced options
Hey what did you do to fix it
@@coronatime2267 mine works now. I don’t believe what I did exactly. But I think I just started the installation process over by putting it on a new usb and then starting up again from boot. So sorry I couldn’t help. Just keep looking stuff up. U will get it evebtually
Great video... quick question. A little confused about what Intel Optane memory is..... I have an Aurora A7 and my M.2 SSD is Liteon NVME..... is it Intel Optane as well? Also wonder if I have to disable Intel Optane setting in Bios before swapping the SSD? Thanks in advance for answering these 2 questions... it would help a lot
Man you are awesome! I have to say thanks for the help. I'm from Baltimore, out in Shanghai watching this. Huge help!!!
does anyone have the link for the recovery usb download, im stuck
Thanks man. This really helped me make a choice. Dropped a sub and a like, and lookin forward to more upgrades to the alienware aurora r7 soon! :)
I'm just now doing this with the 970 EVO Plus, I believe I got a different USB Windows boot setup so it was a little different from yours, but I still got it to work. Great video!
The Salty Devil thanks man I glad it worked out for you. What size Evo did you get?
@@WiLcreatives got the 500GB like you did. It's so fast!
Thanks, so much for sharing this. My son and I just did the same basic upgrade on our R7 and your video made it a pretty simple task. Thanks!
Awesome glad it helped!
Your videos have been very informative. In the couple of months, I plan on replacing my NVME drive. I have the Alienware Aurora R8, and it only has a single 512GB NVME drive for everything. It's very fast, but the storage is insufficient.
I'm thinking about replacing it with maybe a 2TB NVME SSD fast drive from Microcenter. Is there a way to just clone the drive, turn the PC off, swap the drives and be done with it?
Or do I have to create a backup on using the Alienware software on a thumb drive, and then swap the drives? Thanks again. Your videos are a godsend.
Five years late, but I'm finally doing all the upgrades you did. I don't game, so I was a happy camper until I started to play with AI models and Stable Defusion. Needing 12Gig of VRam lead a cascade of upgrade needs. LOL Thanks for your trail blazing!
Just so you all know, If you're using m.2 on SATA, you do NOT need to change the raid setup to AHCI. Only if you're installing an m.2 on NVMe like he did here! M.2 is simply a form factor. M.2 can run on SATA or NVMe PCIe. Ensure the drive you're buying is an M.2 NVMe SSD, NOT AN M.2 SATA SSD, otherwise your R/W speeds will be limited by SATA III (~550/500)
+Kevin Wolf Good Info!
I can't thank you enough every upgrade I did to my pc I did watching ur videos and it has really helped me understand way more about pc's I have had my pc for a year and had made major upgrades and gained way more knowledge from ur videos thank you again.
Sana Salehi awesome glad I was able to help
Wow i loved how you didnt plug in to the 1tb harddrive because i was planning to install my operating windows on a ssd that i will be purchasing and this will help me not make the mistake and install it on the 1tb harddrive. Thanks for this tip. Im fairly new to powerful pcs and i ordered the R8. Should be here before may 2. I jus had another request..if you ever make a video of replacing the psu that would be much appreciated. Thanks! Very nice work! Keep it up.
Thanks for the support and feedback! You are in luck, here my PSU upgrade video th-cam.com/video/SdWDfui-KOE/w-d-xo.html
Without the video I wouldn’t have a clue what I was doing. Updating drivers and I just gotta reconnect and format hard drive. Awsome video
Have you had any issues with the 970 evo I’ve seen people say that it’s not compatible anymore with the Aurora R8? I can’t get none of these dudes who make these videos to respond
i have followed everything in this guide perfectly and it worked but after a few updates and downloads of games on my computer onto the new ssd, my other 2tb hard drive is gone and only detectable in bios and not even disk management, any help??
Hey did you manage to fix it? Maybe check that the cord didn’t come loose for the HDD
Did some research, the folks at Dell - Alienware department scream murder when I mentioned the 970 EVO... Appearently they get a lot of issues with the EVO series.
Also I noticed the mark up for those kingston Memory sticks, the XMP type you installed at a serious mark up where I was finding two 16GB sticks at 245.00 and they wanted 675 for the two. Pirates.
For my M.2 option, I was going to straddle the middle ground and for a WD Black N750 in 1TB, which is roughly at 249.00. I noticed they got a heat sink option, but from what I was reading and the common feeling is that the heatsink addition does not really mean much.
Dell doesn't want to co-sign Samsung that's all. Yeah they mark up the prices on everything. I think the heatsink for m.2 is overrated unless your system produces a lot of heat
They told me they have issues with Samsung evo on the phone cause I need a bigger ssd was told dont buy a Samsung evo ..
Your video is great! I'll get Samsung EVO 970 1TB tomorrow and plan to install it on R7. Did you install Samsung NVMe Driver? I'm just curious.
Yes after I got everything installed I downloaded the Samsung drivers as well.
@@WiLcreatives Thank you!
Thanks for the video. I am going to put a 1 TB Samsung later today. I will need to clone my system as I don't have the luxury of a fresh install. Hopefully, all goes well. Thanks again!
HibsMax how did it go cos I’m thinking of doing the same thing as you
Why didn’t you install the 970. Boot into windows with your hd. Use Samsung migration to clone os into ssd. Could have taken a lot quicker rather than reinstalling windows
Some people had success and some didnt with cloning. If it works I don't see a problem. The way Dell created the motherboards I've seen issues with this. I just recently had a subscriber that is currently having issues with this. A clean install puts you back in control and it's a fail safe for me. Plus reinstalling windows didnt take long with an nvme drive.
WiLcreatives cloning is a great tool and works wonderfully with me twice. Once on an Alienware 17 R3 laptop (HDD to evo 850 500gb). And now my own desktop that I recently clone from adata 480gb ssd to 970 evo 2tb. Once done cloning, restart and your pc automatic boot from that clone drive, evo 970. Windows will see 970 as C: main drive and the adata as D: drive. I could format the D: drive after that. You don’t have to mess around with cmos and configure anything. That’s the perk of using Samsung ssd. You could use Samsung migration for free. Not sure what rate of failure you’re referring to. You can’t compare the speed of cloning vs reinstalling a free windows from thumb drive. Sure the 970 is fast but the source it copy from (thumb drive) read speed is slow...hence the bottle neck. And you have to reinstalling Microsoft office, Adobe suite, steam, other drivers if you install fresh windows, how long does that take?
@@khhoaiii Good info!
private i am having issues because in the bios the nvme 970 pro is recognized..i fiddled around in the bios with every setting possible but it keeps taking me to diagnostics..maybe im doing something wrong but i used macrium to clone windows 10 and also created a rescue drive. So maybe you can help. It just wont boot onto the samsung 970 pro. I have the alienware aurora r8 which i recently purchased and dont have much on the hdd. Its basically new and had windows 10 home on it.
@@187jd you clone successfully with macroium and once reboot, bios would not boot from 970? I think you have to fiddle around with bios boot sequence. Set the 970 pro as the primary or 1st drive to boot from. Good luck and let me know. 970 pro you cannot use Samsung migration?
Why did you remove the PSU? I thought the Aurora R7 casing was designed so that all you had to do was swing out the arm that the PSU is attached to in order to have access to the motherboard. It's marketed as "tool-free upgrading."
+James Flanagan Yeah that was my mistake! I didn’t have to remove it! Although it helped me with the camera angle. There was no need. I didn’t realize it until after the video was uploaded that it swings out. In the 30 day review video I talk about that!
Hey, now that you've had a chance to run with the new SSD over the Optane, what are your feelings? Does it boot faster than before consistently? I've been thinking about adding some SATA SSDs, but if the NVME M.2 runs even better, like noticeably better, I might rethink that.
Just to update: I’ve recently installed an 850w power supply, 1TB WD blue SSD and a M.2 NVMe WD Black 500GB SSD into my system. Everything is running incredible. Also I was able to clone my current hdd with my m.2 WD drive so my OS boots up in seconds, compared to a couple mins before. A simple command in the command prompt made it work perfectly and notice my m.2 SSD. By changing from RAID to AHCI. Then I was able to clone. Hope this helps someone. Thanks CWiL
Thanks for the followup and the support thats great man! I want to upgrade my power supply as well. Can you tell me which one you specifically got and where you got it from? I wanted to do a video on that.
@@WiLcreatives I got the 850w EVGA Supernova G3, 80 plus Gold Fully Modular.. I will put a link to amazon which is where I got mine... It fits fine, a little snug but that's good. The screw holes on the top I want to say, but cant remember which ones for sure, will be a little off once you take the other one out so you have to put a little pressure on them to get them to line up. I will say that cable management is something I'm still trying to get figured out. Since the factory power supply has custom short cut cables it is fine for the compact setup. These new cables you will get are default length. Mine looks decent, I would like it to look more clean so I'm still working on that. I really like the ECO mode that comes on this power supply. I know 850w is probably overkill for what I do but I enjoy knowing I'm not stressing out the factory 460w. Hope this helps! Have a Blessed day!!
www.amazon.com/EVGA-Supernova-Modular-Warranty-220-G3-0850-X1/dp/B01LY4OJYJ/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1546605658&sr=8-3&keywords=850w+power+supply
Attached is the video on the command prompt to change from RAID to AHCI without having to reinstall windows, which let me be able to clone my hdd to my m.2 nvme ssd.
Hope this helps someone. Have a Blessed day!
th-cam.com/video/9ngnIKqPOc4/w-d-xo.html
Now that’s interesting glad that worked out!
Thanks bro I’m going to pick up one!
Good video. What are the boot times before and after?
Thanks for the feed back. The boot times before was around 1min & 20 secs. Now my system boots in 20-24 secs. Fast but not as fast as I’ve seen other computers with that type of hard drive.
The reason why yours is probably not as fast as other systems is because your motherboard ‘s PCle is most likely 3.0x2 whereas the SSD is engineered for 3.0x4 motherboards. Meaning you’re getting half the bandwidth cause the motherboard can’t catch up. Instead of 3700 you’re getting around 1500 which is still crazy fast, but there you go.. i hate motherboards man lol
Isn't it simpler to clone the two drives after initial installation of the SSD and then use the NVMe as the boot drive?
Hey man, thanks alot for the video.. I'm getting my aurora r7 tomorrow, just wanted to ask you didnt it ask for a product key after the installation? All you had to do was make a bootable USB drive and install the Windows 10 .iso from Microsofts website?
Does dell include the product key somewhere on the chassis or in the box ?
Moe Dur Hey man thanks for checking out the video. Yes that’s correct I went to Microsoft’s website created the usb iso. When setting up windows once you sign in with your Microsoft account it recognizes you already own a copy of windows 10 so no product key is needed! Have fun with your new rig!
Check my comment below!
WiLcreatives thanks for the prompt response man, I just created a windows profile on Microsoft and will make sure to login and link my device when I get my aurora prior to the reinstallation. Just subbed, great content!
Moe Dur thanks for the sub and let me know how you like your system! Look out for my full review so hit the bell as well!
Hi, I'm planning to install a m.2 sad pretty soon on my aurora r7. I have watched the video but I just have a few questions regarding parts of the video that I didn't understand.
1: Do I change the SATA operation to AHCI even if I don't have Intel octane memory?
2: How do I get the data to a USB for a windows reinstall?
3: After installing the m.2 ssd, is it required to disconnect the hdd to make sure the windows reinstall will be on the m.2 ssd?
4: Is the hdd reformat required? If so, do I need to backup all the data in my hdd before I do a windows reinstall? Asking this because it seems like you just let the Alienware Support OS take care of backing up your personal files without any manual backup. I have a 2TB hdd and I have over 1.3 TB of data on it (not sure how big my personal files are), but I don't have enough spare storage to backup all of it.
These are all the questions I have and I apologize in advance if some of them are redundant. This is an old video so hopefully you see this comment at least before black Friday. Thank you.
Quick question, I just installed the SSD and it works fine, but now after plugging in the HDD again it's no longer detected. How do I fix this? Thanks
Did you fix it?
Did you fix it?
Hello! Great video! I would like some advice. I had originally planned to upgrade my recently bought Aurora R8 when I watched this video, but then i found out that the R7's come with the M.2 32GB optane NVMe version and the R8's comes with a M.2 Toshiba XG6 256GB NVMe as well as a 1TB HD. I've already purchased the 1TB Samsung 860 EVO SATA SSD as a replacement for the HD. I was wondering if i should still carry out my planned upgrade of the NVMe to the 1TB 970 EVO Plus as well. What do you think? Any advice is greatly appreciated!
Personally I would still use the 1TB 970 evo, if gaming is your thing or you're really big on having a fast responsive system. Games load and run faster on the SSD which you definitely will appreciate the 1TB vs the 256GB for space. If none of that matters then return the 1TB.
@@WiLcreatives Hey thanks for the quick response! I will definitely do that! I have one more question, I saw all your other install videos and there was one thing I was confused about; did you use the M.2 970 EVO NVMe just to run the OS, or did you install other things like games and movies as well? I've read some comments of how people plan to use the M.2 970 EVO NVMe for "just" their OS, and I was wondering if that meant not using it for anything else. Anyway, thanks again for the response, you are awesome!
Good question I used solely for my OS and everyday programs. I used a different SSD drive for games and storage. Initially I should have gotten an 1TB nvme instead of the 500gb but as long as games are running off an ssd you won't notice the difference between a sata ssd and nvme ssd when it comes to loading games.
Great video! I have a question: Does this Aurora PSU have swing arm? Can you swing it out instead of unscrewing?
That is correct I didn’t realize it until after the fact. I talked about it in the full review video. Yeah you don’t have to unscrew anything except for the 1 screw on the back! Thanks for picking up on that!
th-cam.com/video/j6gA2SPc7R8/w-d-xo.html
@@ezbtntcheap Thanks!
It doesn't swing but you pull a latch and the side comes off
@@jaidendiaz_ after you pull the sideoff, you can swing the remaining out to reveal all the internal for easy access. it doesnt swing easily you really have to pull on it.
Nice video! I’m planning on buying one of these whenever I get the money and do plan on swapping out the intel optane memory for the Samsung card. One question, when creating the windows installation USB, do I do it from Dells website or windows?
Nice thanks for the feedback. I've never had luck from Dells website. I created mines from Microsofts website.
WiLcreatives Ah okay, another question. After installing windows onto the Samsung card would I have to reconnect the HDD and format it or would it cause some issues from having two devices with windows installed?
WiLcreatives and would the system be able to support a 9th Generation I7 8700/8700k? Only asking because of the extra cores and treads.
@@ScrubLord545 Yes you would reconnect and format the old hard drive
@@ScrubLord545 the R7 maxes out at the i7 8700k. The new R8 supports the 9th generation
Great video. I'm installing a 1TB SSD and never thought about making the AHCI change in bios. Good job!
Thanks, I read that you have to change that when using the M.2 slot.
+ezbtntcheap Follow me on Instagram @wilcreatives. When we hit 100 subscribers on the channel I’m giving away a Google Home Mini to one of my subscribers for supporting the channel!
If you're still using m.2 on SATA, you do NOT need to change the raid setup to AHCI. Only if you're installing an m.2 on NVMe!
M.2 is simply a form factor. M.2 can run on SATA or NVMe PCIe. Ensure the drive you're buying is an NVMe m.2 SSD, otherwise your RW speeds will be limited by SATA III (~550/500)
@@SouthernWolff Thanks. I actually didn't change anything in Bios. Installed the 1tb nvme drive, booted from the recovery USB and everything worked out fine.
@@ezbtntcheap sweet!
I'm looking to do this with my son's R7. I'm confused as to what is truly compatible, though. I'm considering the Samsung 970 EVO but I also read about the WD Black SN750. Do you know if the WD with heatsink will fit the R7?
I can't stand how Dell configured his system. The OS/boot drive is a 128GB M.2 SATA SSD. Installing software is a major pain because despite trying to ensure everything installs on the larger D drive the C drive still fills up. I want to replace it with a 500GB NVMe drive.
hey nice video man , i have r7 im trying to install the same nvme ssd but u cant make usb recovery. The dell OS recovery tool says "no images for the tag, though images exist for the product" . how did you make yours ?
Hey I created my own image from Microsoft website. Just google create windows 10 installation usb
Hey CWIL, one more question I had for you. Did you get the 460w power supply or 850w? I got the 460w and am a little concerned about it. However, the deal I was able to get on mine it will be worth it even if I end up needing to upgrade the 460w.
Thanks !
Great question I got a great deal on mines as well. I have the 460w power supply. I had concerns at first as well but from what I have read and after using the system. It works perfect. If you are trying to add a 2nd graphics card though I would recommend upgrading the PSU at that time.
+Travis Helton Follow me on Instagram @wilcreatives. When we hit 100 subscribers on the channel I’m giving away a Google Home Mini to one of my subscribers for supporting the channel!
So helpful, thanks for taking the time!
Hey Wil - did you end up having to uninstall any drivers etc. related to Intel Optane, or is disabling it in the Rapid Storage program all you have to do? I'm having a weird issue since following this vid where my Aurora R7 hangs for 10-ish seconds before the boot logo appears - sometimes longer. It's also spinning my external HDDs for whatever reason, so my last BIOS time was something like 68 seconds, which is nuts. Anyway, just throwing it out there in case you have any ideas, as I haven't been able to figure it out on my own. Thanks!
I disabled it in the rapid storage program and I end up uninstalling the drivers when I reinstalled windows. What nvme drive did you replace the optane with?
@@WiLcreatives Samsung 970 Evo. I did figure out part of the problem, which was that a couple drives had EFI partitions (which, from what I understand, Windows looks at when booting), so once I removed those partitions from everything but the boot drive that initial logo hang disappeared and I'm down to a 41 second boot time. Thinking that's as good as it will get now, because if I disconnect those externals it boots lightning fast. So now I've just started using Sleep rather than powering the system down, which works fine. I figure one of the externals might be failing, even though SMART scans turn up fine. Also might just be because they're large drives, with two 8TBs and one 4TB, and I can't seem to find a way to basically tell Windows there's no reason to spin those drives until I'm logged in. Anyway, thanks again for these vids! Without these I don't think I'd have felt comfortable tweaking the system at all, so they helped with that and encouraged me to learn more.
If you bought a product key online you dont need the usb?? Or do you still need it to boot up the computer?
jason pacheco if you create the dell usb recovery image and it works you’re fine. I would make sure you’re registered with Microsoft and have an account with them. When I had to create a separate windows 10 usb iso I didn’t need a product key. When I was setting up windows I signed in with my Microsoft account and was done l.
@@WiLcreatives So i do need to create a dell usb recovery key?
@@Almond2k Yes you can get it from Dell's drivers and support page using your service tag. You want to have that anyway. You can use that to reinstall windows on the new hard drive. If that doesn't work, like it didn't work for me in the video, use the the Windows ISO image on a USB as a backup to reinstall Windows 10!
@@WiLcreatives ahh okay. Thank you👍👍
+jason pacheco Follow me on Instagram @wilcreatives. When we hit 100 subscribers on the channel I’m giving away a Google Home Mini to one of my subscribers for supporting the channel!
Hey. Your video really helps. I just buy a Aurora R7. And I want to add a SSD and Optane. Why not use Optane and SSD the same time? Is it because there is only one M.2 interface? If so, the only way I can do it to use SSD with 2.5inch interface? By the way, can you tell me where you download the DELL support software? Thanks!
Gotcha yeah the motherboard only had 1 M.2 slot. Personally I had bad experience with the optane memory. Theoretically you could use a 2.5in SSD and the optane if you want to go that route but that’s if the dell motherboard will let you configure it that way. I got the support software from dells support website. Once you put in your service tag number on the back of your system all the software that pertains to your model will come up.
Thank you for your very helpful video. Following the steps in your video, I added a 970 Pro 512 SSD. (As a side note, I haven't plugged the HD back in yet, though, because I could not quite catch all the micro steps on the best way to do that from your video.) But the main point of my comment is that when I added the Samsung 970 Pro SSD, the Microsoft NVMe driver installed as expected. Because I've read that the SSD will perform better with the Samsung driver, I downloaded & installed the appropriate driver from the Samsung website. However, in the Device Manager the Microsoft NVMe driver still shows up (even after restarting my computer multiple times). However, the Samsung driver is showing up in my Add/Remove programs listing, so it did download & install. Also, after downloading the Samsung SSD driver, my computer seemed to run a bit slower than with the Windows NVMe driver. I did not do any formal tests. I just manually timed my start up boot time and just observed how quickly it loaded programs and web pages, which seemed a bit slower, but it could just be my imagination. So I uninstalled the Samsung driver. Anyone else have any of the same or similar experiences with the Microsoft and Samsung NVMe drivers with the Samsung SSD installed? (Also, just fyi, I did not reinstall the Rapid Storage Technology driver after my clean Windows installation, as you & others noted issues with it.)
Hey good info, ive never noticed a decrease in speed. You don't necessarily need the samsung drivers. After you uninstalled the samsung drivers did you notice an increase speed in your boot times?
@@WiLcreatives Unfortunately no. It never went back to the quicker boot time. I'm wondering if I would have to do a clean install of Windows again to get back to the quicker boot time. Before I installed the Samsung driver it took about 10 seconds from the time the Alienware logo popped up to when the small wheel started spinning (which turned 4 1/2 rotations) before I got to my sign-in screen. Now it takes about 20-28 seconds (varies) from the time the Alienware logo pops up to when the wheel starts turning (which turns about 4 1/2 rotations) before my sign-in screen pops up. I know about 25-35 seconds is not horrible, and definitely not worth reinstalling Windows to see if it goes back down in time, but it is noticeably slower than the really snappy start up I had before downloading the Samsung driver. What is your boot up time? I've watched several videos on optimizing and speeding up Windows and followed the advice, but that has not helped get the boot up time back down to where it was before. Did you download the Samsung driver? If so, do you actually see it listed as the driver for the 970 SSD in the Device Manager, or do you still see the default Microsoft NVMe driver listed and only see the Samsung driver listed in Add/Remove programs, as I did?
Is there enough room for a heatsink?
Thanks for the video, definitely helpful. I just bought a brand new leftover R7 for $700. last night It's got the i5 8400 and 1080GPU.. It did not however come with SSD. Or NVMe. So Im buying a Sebrent 512gb NVMe m2 drive. And I'm going to do the same thing. I know the Sebrent drives come with cloning software. Hopefully I won't run into any problems. Did you use a different product key? Or is the key tied to the machine (BIOS) or whatnot?
My aurora has the entire power supply on a hinge that just swings out of the way.
Yeah mines was the same way. I didnt need to take out the PSU. Figured it out after the fact!
Nice video man. You made it harder then it had to be. All you have to do is swing your power supply out then unscrew the screw and pull/push out the M.2. You do need some small hands but it still can be easily done. Only problem is screw falls down so keep and eye on it.
Thanks for the feedback!
How did you disable the Intel optane stuff? And that little tiny blue thing is the hard drive? My r7 came with an HDD, I thought hdds were bigger
Hello. Been watching your videos since you got your Aurora R7. I have the same just different GPU. I have a problem. I did everything your video prescribed, but ran into one hiccup. After I reformatted the hard drive that came with the system the computer does not show me how much used space I have. I already added some files and apps into the hard drive, like Razer Synapse or Corsair iCue, but it always says I have the exact amount of free space since I reformatted it. FYI, its a Local Disk type, NTFS file system, and used the letter E and also called it Media Drive. Even when I right click on the hard drive into Properties its does say I used x amount of used space but it doesn't display it. It just says I have 1.80TB which is the exact number since the reformatting according to your video. Help! Thank you.
Thanks for the support and I appreciate the feedback. You're seeing that info even after a restart?
@@WiLcreatives yes
I would completely shut the computer down, disconnect the power, unplug the sata cable and reconnect it to see what happens after that.
@@WiLcreatives ok. I will try that. Thanks
Question Will, I think I messed up my computer, and I'm very sad. So, I did not realize that you had to disable the optane memory before you took out the actual disk from the M.2 slot. I took out the Intel Optane and replaced it with the Samsung 980 SSD. My computer now will not boot and continues to say something about searching for media devices. Currently, I do not have a USB to download windows onto. However, when I do get to a computer tomorrow and download it onto the usb, do you think booting it from the usb onto the ssd will fix this issue? Thank you very much.
What was the problem with the Dell install media that made you opt for the Microsoft install media?
Excellent demo. Now I know how to upgrade SSD on my Aurora R6.
Mr. Wonderful Sweet glad I was able to help
what do you mean you setup windows recovery on the usb stick??? Are you supposed to do this before everything? damn..
also, there is not device configuration option in my boot mode.. pretty sure it was there the first time and now its gone. i am so lost...
Are you replacing the optane drive? If so what drive are using to replace it with?
@@WiLcreatives there actually was no optane drive in the computer(I think this is a 2017 model r7 base model), im trying to install a samsung 961 which ive read works well with the r7
also, just a note im trying to install this from a windows 10 usb stick that came with the aurora.
the bios is reading the ssd drive as being there
Did you run into any problems after installing this about Windows restarting randomly I installed mine over Christmas and I randomly getting Windows restarting
No issues on this end. A few questions. What ssd drive did you install? Did you do a clean install of windows 10? Did you detach the original hard drive and boot into windows first before reattaching?
@@WiLcreatives I installed the 970 Evo 500 gig I did a fresh install because I tried to clone it can end up working just randomly started rebooting I have the other hard drive installed I never took the OS off that I kind of wanted to keep it for a backup Maybe any help would be nice
Ok got it I think the problem you’re having is the OS still being on the other drive. I formatted my older hard drive.
having an issue. after changing boot option #1 to windows boot manager. the computer restarts but it doesnt recognize the boot drive. i go back into bios and windows boot manager is now selected for option #3 instead of option #1. i dont know what to do.
i tried changing it back and restarted and still it is stuck in option #3
Are you replacing the optane drive? If so what drive are using to replace it with?
Why did you not just clone your old drive and have all your stuff to the new drive? I was wondering if you did that would you have to change the BIOS for the drive? Thank you for the info
Hey wil, I’ve been watching a lot of your videos on how to upgrade the Alienware aurora because I actually have one of my own. I just have some concerns about upgrading the M.2 to the 970 EVO. I’m just not sure what to do if my recovery doesn’t work out correctly. I’m not sure how to do a fresh install of windows and where to go for that. I’m not really sure where to go to get that downloaded and Installed correctly without losing my data. I was hoping you could help.
I would take a look at some youtube videos about creating a windows 10 usb installation disk first.
How do you disable the intel optane system? some say to do it under bios some say to use the Intel rapid storage technology software via desktop
Do those 2 2.5" bays come pre- wired or do you need to run cables
You will need to purchase sata iii cables. The power cables are there already!
just a random question...would it be possible to switch the aurora parts into another case (bigger gpu would fit)
Yep but I would buy another motherboard for future upgrades
@@WiLcreatives would that mean i would need a new windows liscence since its hardware-related?
If you replace the motherboard yes but they have oem windows 10 licenses out there for $15 to $20. Check out cdkeys or scdkeys. Worked like a charm on my custom build
Hi my alienware 51 is not recognizing my evo pro any suggestions
Hey not to familiar with the Area 51's but did you install an m.2 drive or the 2.5 inch ssd?
Great Video....I have watched it a few times.. This is a first for me and don't want to mess anything up. I want to install the Samsung 970 Evo Plus 1TB in my Aurora R7. The original drive has two key slots and is SSD sata whereas the Samsung Evo Plus is NVME has only one key or notch on the drive. Is this a problem? It appeared that the sata in the video had two keys and the Samsung had just one so I'm assuming this is fine to use in the m.2 slot? Thank you just trying to cover all the bases before I get started.
What size usb drive did you use?
Hey, Will! Do you think this will work for the R8?4
Yes it should I don’t see why not.
After installing windows and drivers from dell, do i need to go back to the boot menu and revert anything in the boot options?
No You shouldn’t have to
will a samsung 990 pro with heatsink fit? it looked like there wasnt much space between the ssd and GPU
Great video and voice, but lowering the music volume while you’re talking
hey bro love your work very informative.... how did you create the windows 10 installation from your pc laptop ? and secondly will it be a problem coming from a different computer ????
+Jason Turner Hey Jason I went to Microsoft’s website and created an Windows ISO usb installation after signing in with my Microsoft account info. Real simple just Google it. No issues as it was a Windows Installation usb, didn’t have anything to do with Dell.
+Jason Turner thanks for the feedback and support as well!
Thank you so much for your help bro !!!
@@WiLcreatives hey i have another question do you believe using the Samsung SSD Using Samsung's Migration Software to clone the hdd will work fine as well ???
ok i have my windows created on my usb my question is ive unplug the original ssd m.2 optane memory like you took out and actually put in the evo 970 thinking it was plug and play lol .what puzzled me is that when i booted the computer up i had windows and all my files and it showed the evo 970 as storage so if i do your steps what is going to happen to the originals windows that i have where do i delete it so i can put the clean windows install or maybe i dont have to do a clean windows install becuase its on the sata drive. best buy must of installed the windows on the sata drive if i put the evo 970 in and had windows maybe i just only need to set up my bios settings like you did to boot from the evo 970 then i shuold be good right. so i dont need to unplug the sata becuase if i did then it wouldnt recognize windows does that sound right bro.
So, I have to delete my system to make the 970 evo work? What if I just want to have the m.2 as an extra storage unit?
JF'S LUXURY CLIPS I believe you can do that I just never tried it.
your videos are fuckin fire you need more recognition
Man I appreciate it, spread the word and share the videos!
Nice job. I followed your example and everything worked. Excellent!
Awesome man I'm glad I was able to help!
Wil, so my Aurora is on the way, will be here Wed, very excited. I have the 512GB M.2 PCIe NVMe SSD (Boot) + 2TB 7200RPM SATA 6Gb/s (Storage)...Just was making sure, that is different from the Optane Memory correct? I just want to make sure when I turn this PC on, it will show up as 2 separate drives. thanks.
That is awesome and yes that is correct! The M.2 PCIE is what you want!
@@WiLcreatives appreciate it man...Great channel and look forward to more videos!
+VoodooCru Thanks for the feedback!
Thanks for the video! I saw you couldn't use the recovery from Dell/Alienware to install the system. I don't have a fresh windows copy to use as you've done, only the recovery on a pendrive. Can I still make it work?
Bruno Porrio I don’t think so I tried using the Dell recovery twice and it didn’t work. You will need to google how to create Windows 10 usb installation drive.
@@WiLcreatives Thanks for the info! I'm going to go ahead and do it. Since I don't have a windows key (came pre-installed with the Alienware R7) should I assume it will pick up automatically?
Bruno Porrio the product key is built into the motherboard hardware
There is no option for device configuration when I hit f12 after Ive put in the ssd. Do you have any idea why or what I can do about it. Also is it necessary to remove the power supply when installing?
+Tdmclaug You don’t need device configuration and no the power supply doesn’t have to be removed. You should have the swing arm. I removed the power supply by mistake all you have to do is swing it open.
+Tdmclaug Did your system come with the intel optane memory?
WiLcreatives I am not sure but I doubt it. I was able (for the most part, still haven’t finished) to get to the OS recovery screen on my old SSD but not on the new one with all of the same components except for the memory and I honestly have no idea what to do about. This is my very first time putting shit in a computer or really messing around with its internal settings as well so sorry if these questions are a little basic.
Gotcha what type of drive did you install?
thanks for the video, should this be exactly the same for aurora r6?
Yes it should be the same!
I did the setup, same R7 Intel optane and I got the 970 Plus NVMe M.2 V-VAND SSD but I cant seem to get this going. May I ask you a question boss?
Gotcha what can I help you with?
@@WiLcreatives I have this same PC. So what is that Intel octane card? IS IT an nvme? How much space is it? Is my OS on there. I'm so confused on whether I can remove it or not.
I will add though everything seems really fast. My boot time is like 6 seconds, I just want more space I only have the 1tb HDD with the Intel optane. Not sure if I should get a m.2 nvme or just a 2.5 SSD.
Hey wil. How are you doing? I hope ur enjoying ur pc. Also i bought a 1 tb nvme samsung pro 970. Got a good deal on it. I installed it onto the m.2 slot on the motherboard. the R8 does not come with optane memory and probably doesnt have any impact on booting the operating system onto the 970 pro ssd. With that out of the way..i used a software called macrium and cloned the entire windows 10. I created a rescue file on the usb.I tried to boot windows 10 onto the nvme but currently running into problems. It keeps crashing and takes me to diagnostics. I can see the samsung pro on the boot setup but cant click on it. Also changed from raid on to watever the other is.I also left the 1tb hdd unplugged. Maybe you can help lol.
Hey yeah the problem is with the Dell Motherboard. It doesn't like the cloned drives. Some people have been able to get it to work but when I read it was to many issues which is why I didn't do it. I would just download and create a windows installation USB. Do a clean install of windows to the 970 eco pro and just copy what you need from your 1TB harddrive. Yeah you will have to reinstall your programs and drivers but it will be much better.
my system has the factory gtx 1070 thinking about upgrading to a rtx 2070 blower version should i upgrade the power supply?
for the 2070 yes the psu requirement is 550w minimum
so do you have to back up windows before the install?
Richard Palmisano that’s totally up to you. I saved my important information and did a clean install of windows fresh. I heard that was the best option.
WiLcreatives What’s up my brother my install went great I have a total of 48 GB of RAM but I have a question should it be running 2660 MHz because I’m reading 2330 MHz could it be the fact that I have a different type of memory ram than the original 16 GB I left the original 16 GB in and I also installed the Evo 970 500GB SSD I must say that is a solid SSD any info would be appreciated do you think maybe I have to swap the ram two different banks? I’ll go buy another 16 GB that matches my other ones and take the other 16 GB out that was originally in there. By the way I have the same cup as you Alienware aurora i7 8700 The only thing different is my graphics card is a GTX GeForce 1080
Thanks Man and keep up the good work!! ... I ordered a R9 with a i9-9900ks.... gonna install my 2080ti from my R7 an up grade to{ WD black nvme 2tb w/ heatsink). Thank god for your explanations. I will follow your explanation explicitly. I just subscribed.Gonna keep the hard drive(HDD )for windows and put games on nvme until i understand the method completely. Time will tell.
Hey there @WiLcreatives i just installed a Samsung 970 on my Aurora R7 but I can't seem to find the old HDD. Any recommendations?
Hey you're talking about the 7200rpm drive?
@@WiLcreatives Yes exactly this one
I assume you installed windows on the 970 already. If so did you reconnect the old hard drive and go into disk management to format it?
@@WiLcreatives Yeah I have already installed clean windows on the NVME. The problem is in the partition there is no HDD but in the Bios it is recognized. Do I have to change any settings in the BIOS?
@@venom5848 You shouldn't have to. I would power down, disconnect all power, disconnect the hard drive and reconnect it to see what happens.
Thank you for making this video! It was super helpful for my upgrade!
I got the R6. You think it would work ok? Thanks
Yep I dont see why not
As long as you have an m.2 alot
Hi,
I am planning to do this same thing. I want your clearance, does it support speeds of 3500MB/s when using samsung 970 evo plus nvme on board because the interface speed shows limited to 6gbps which is around 600MB/s. I have ordered both 970 evo plus nvme and 870 evo sata ssd
@WiLcreatives
Thank you for the awesome video. I happen to have exactly the same PC as you! :)
I have a spare 500gb evo ssd that I was thinking about putting in a spare hdd/sdd slot. Would that work? I haven't really seen any connection cables hanging about inside the box though...
+Rafal Polessa thanks for the feedback! Yes that will work check out the video I did on installing the 512gb Sandisk ssd. You will need to purchase a sata iii cable though.
Is there anyway to copy the OS over from my Hard Drive or do I need to do a fresh boot
Yes there is software out there called macrium reflect that will do it but I haven't used it before. Which is why I did a fresh boot.
I just installed mine, and it doesn't working at all, it shows nothing in my computer???
Sorry to hear that, did you follow the steps in the video? what does the drive show up in the bios?
can this alienware setup fit into another 3rd party chassis ?
So I have a R7 like you and I have considered doing the same ssd upgrade. To do this though how do I save all of my files and things and also keep my windows? I would ultimately like to have windows boot up on the ssd. Thanks
having the same trouble, already cloned to my SSD but am unsure how to make the SSD the primary drive for windows plus a few things and keep the HDD as secondary. I want to change the RAID off for the Samsung SSD but am unsure if it will corrupt or disable my current Dell HDD. Alienwares BIOS is very different than every other video I've tried to watch and this is the closest insight i could even find. Dell really likes making stuff difficult.
I added an SSD drive already on my aurora r7...should I grab this evo 970 ? i mean my other HDD is actually boosted by the intel optane isnt it?
That's only if you want to have the 970 evo as your boot drive. If that's the case yes. It will speed up your system!
I plugged my original hdd back in but windows didn't recognize it. Can't find it anywhere.
AWDTH1111 what was your original hdd?
same thing happened to me original hdd is Toshiba MG03ACA200 2 TB 3.5" Internal Hard Drive
@@WiLcreatives it was in bios but when u gop to windows its gone fully i need help thank you