![]() ![]() The problem is that it's not so simple to install an OS from upgrade media to a new blank drive, be it HDD or SSD. Now I'm about to upgrade to Windows 8 Pro. ![]() Not long after that, I upgraded to Windows 7 Pro. Shortly after I got it, I upgraded the OS to Vista Ultimate. When I got my XPS 435MT, it came with Vista Home Premium. In my case, things are even more complicated. So, before you use your optical drive(s), check in Device Manager to see if you can change the driver for the optical drive's SATA controller in the OS to IDE/UDMA. When you select the RAID option for the SATA Mode in the BIOS, all the SATA ports switch over to AHCI. This is due to your optical drive(s) also running AHCI drivers when they should be using IDE/UDMA. Your system will likely either freeze or crash entirely. Assuming at some point you get your system up and running from your SSD, there is one other problem that crops up when you insert a blank optical disk into your burner. There are workarounds involving editing the system registry by creating keys, subkeys, and values, as well as workarounds to the workarounds depending on what controller your SSD uses. This is a known issue with both Windows 7 and Windows 8. This is described in the MS Knowledge Base Article 2466753 available here: The next problem you will likely encounter is a failed install of your OS. So, enable RAID in the 435MT's BIOS before installing the OS on your new SSD. Of course, if you enable RAID after your OS is installed, everything on your SSD or HDD will be lost and you will have to reinstall the OS again. However, by selecting RAID for the SATA Mode, AHCI is enabled on all four SATA ports as well as eSATA. In the BIOS, under Advanced Chipset Features > SATA Mode, there is only a choice between IDE or RAID with IDE being the default. The BIOS is also limited to say the least, more like crippled actually. While the onboard Intel SATA controllers can support AHCI, they run in IDE mode by default. Unfortunately, the Intel X58 + ICH10 chipset on the XPS 435MT's mobo is not full featured. (The difference is hot-plug means you can add a drive but not remove it, while hot-swap means you can add or remove a drive with the system running.) A side benefit is that it makes your SATA and eSATA ports hot-plug capable, though not necessarily hot-swap capable. It also will enable NCQ, giving you all the speed your SSD is capable of over SATA 2.0, which is a max of 3 Gbits/second. In order for TRIM to function, the SSD must use an AHCI driver. Without it the SSD will eventually become as slow or slower than a regular HDD. TRIM support is absolutely vital with a SSD. There are a few "Catch 22" issues in that regard. Second, installing a SSD in the 435MT is not straightforward. To begin with, replacing a motherboard in your XPS 435MT will require purchasing an OEM Builder OS as the Dell System Software disk only installs on Dell Mobo's. ![]()
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