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July 22nd, 2022 05:00
Aurora R13, NVMe vs RAID
I added a second SSD to my R13, a 2TB Samsung 980 Pro without issue and it works ok but its not reading or writing at anything like advertised speeds, I assume because in the BIOS both the the stock SSD drive and Samsung SSD are set to Raid mode.
I change it to NVMe and the PC throws up a BSOD. I assume to fix that I need to wipe both drives, change the BIOS to NVME and then do a clean install of Windows. My question is, is it worth it?
The second hard drive that came with the PC was removed on day 1.
Many thanks for any advice offered.
redxps630
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July 22nd, 2022 09:00
it used to be called sata operation with options of AHCI vs RAID, now Dell calls it AHCI/NVMe vs RAID, or just NVMe vs RAID as in R13.
try this fix which does not involve reinstall OS. Windows will notice the change and load the correct driver on the next normal boot.
Run cmd as administrator (not PowerShell)
Copy-paste this command, which will start Windows in Safe Mode the next time you reboot:
bcdedit /set {current} safeboot minimal
Restart the computer and enter UEFI/BIOS setup.
Change the SATA operation mode from RAID to NVMe/AHCI.
Save changes and exit Setup and Windows will automatically boot to Safe Mode.
Launch cmd again, as in step #1.
Copy-paste this command, which will start Windows in Normal Mode the next time you reboot:
bcdedit /deletevalue {current} safeboot
Reboot and Windows will automatically start with AHCI/NVMe drivers enabled.
New2Aurora
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July 22nd, 2022 11:00
So if you want to install a second NVMe in the available slot - you have to go through all that...?
So, it's not just "plug and play"...
redxps630
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July 22nd, 2022 11:00
no, I do not think so. once you switch out of RAID (Dell default) you can stay in AHCI/NVMe.
Tesla1856
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July 22nd, 2022 21:00
1. What are the drive's r/w speeds (Seq1m-Q8T1) in Crystal DiskMark x64?
2. Not likely. What slot is it in exactly?
Edit:
Additionally, why not also list CrystalDiskMark speed and model of NVMe-SSD #1 for reference. Finally, what are your primary system specs as NVMe-transfers are CPU-dependent.
Jupiter_7
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July 23rd, 2022 09:00
I added a 2TB Samy 980 Pro in the second slot of my R13, runs perfect with the crystalmark seq128 score of 7000+ read and 5100+ write. It shipped with the 2tb WD drive in the first slot which scores just a few hundred points higher. Its awesome as I routinely copy multi-gb subfolders between drives in seconds. My R13 also shipped setup as raid, the posted instructions here to switch to nvme work fine with no need for windows 11 reinstall, its a one-and-done procedure.
Iain K Mackay
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July 24th, 2022 05:00
Worked perfectly thank you and thank you all for taking the time to reply. Vast improvement on both drives when set to ACHI. Why Dell felt the need to install a NVME capable SSD as a boot drive and then hamstring it by setting it in the BIOS to Raid mode escapes me. Similar to there fancy memory solution, just don't offer any XMP profiles, no one will notice. We better not mention there solution to keeping a 12900k cool enough to game on.
smerkerg
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December 8th, 2022 12:00
Sheesh. Bonkers! Thanks for this thread and solution!
EdCo64
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December 9th, 2022 21:00
I think this is a solution from the century, if i read careful i can troll my R13 with a old 2004 back-up disk.
Never thought it was possible in windows to change a RAID disk into AHCI, thanks!
hgratt
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December 10th, 2022 07:00
Thanks for posting this.
I use marcrium reflect to make full disk images. Am I correct in assuming that the images made with the bios set to raid will no longer work if they are restored to the computer which is now in ahci mode?
Vanadiel
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December 10th, 2022 13:00
They will work, as the AHCI driver is always part of the installation process. It's the RAID driver that is extra, and likely the reason why Dell installs these in RAID mode.
Just never define a RAID volume, because then they will not work. But if you are only creating regular volumes and switch from RAID to AHCI, a backup will work.
hgratt
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December 10th, 2022 13:00
Thanks. One more question:
If a new bios is installed, will disk mode remain in ahci mode or revert to raid, necessitating performing the “fix” again?
Vanadiel
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December 10th, 2022 17:00
Default seems RAID. I am not sure if they wipe settings between BIOS updates or not.
I know on my Asus board it wipes all settings during a BIOS update, but that one has a lot more user settings than the Alienware ones.
I don't think there's a way to save any BIOS settings on the Alienware systems, so it might not be a bad idea to take a copy of all of them. There's only a handful anyways...
Josperan
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February 6th, 2023 18:00
Thank you for the solution. It worked without a hitch although I didn't use the {current} argument in the commands.
I_Jani_I
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April 29th, 2023 05:00
see https://www.dell.com/community/XPS/New-NVMe-drive-installed-and-underperforming-due-to-RAID-on-set/m-p/8387471#M108702
Tesla1856
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April 29th, 2023 22:00
Yes.