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December 30th, 2024 05:51
Adding hard drive from old Dell Inspiron (data only) to new Dell Inspiron
Inspiron 3030 Desktop
Hello all,
I recently purchased a Dell Inspiron 3030 with an i7-14700 processor, and a single M.2 1TB SSD running Windows 11 Pro. It also has a single SATA DVDRW drive with room for three more SATA internal hard drives. The SATA storage is configured as RAID in BIOS. I also have my older Dell Inspiron Windows 10 Home desktop with an i7-7700 and a SATA SSD drive (boot drive C:) and a 1TB SATA hard drive (data storage D:). The SATA configuration is AHCI.
I want to remove my old drive D: and mount it into the new Inspiron. After doing a ton of research, it appears that, since I’m NOT changing/adding a boot drive AND the boot drive is an M.2 SSD (not SATA), I THINK I can just add/mount the SATA data drive, open BIOS and change the storage configuration to “AHCI”, reboot, and everything should show up properly. This without modifying regedit.
Does this sound correct? Did I miss anything?
Melsman
redxps630
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December 30th, 2024 18:50
Re: configuration has been shifted from RAID to AHCI screws up the new machine’s OS driver
it does not matter whether there is a second drive present or not. when Dell ships you the single boot drive set as RAID ON, you would need to apply safe mode boot trick to change it to AHCI. a subtle detail: you need to disable Win 11 Microsoft PIN log in before you change to safe mode boot (the PIN prevents safe mode).
I suggest you do this before adding the old HDD. make sure the Dell pc can boot smoothly from new Dell ssd by itself after BIOS is changed to AHCI and changes are saved. enter bios again to confirm this is true.
when that is all done, you can safely add the old HDD which has data only and was used in an AHCI mode before.
(edited)
redxps630
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December 30th, 2024 19:56
that sounds like a plan. good luck. I think it should go well.
M.2 ssd is still treated as a "SATA" storage device in bios sata operation even though it can be a PCIe drive (or sata drive).
JOcean
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December 30th, 2024 15:03
If you change it to AHCI in the BIOS you will have to reinstall Windows. However this YouTube video explains how to do the switch without reinstalling Windows.
redxps630
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December 30th, 2024 17:05
JO is correct. you can follow this guide
https://www.dell.com/community/en/conversations/optiplex-desktops/how-to-boot-after-changing-from-raid-to-ahci/6716d53eb33994192335c92c?keyword=AHCI
Melsman
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December 30th, 2024 17:34
JOcean and Redxps360,
Thank you for the replies! I appreciate it. I had previously read through those (and other) posts (and actually copied the process that Red provided.) However, in all of the cases where this procedure was recommended, the drives being replaced/added had the old OS on them, which creates confusion for the machine.
But based on what you’re saying, it doesn’t matter whether the added drive has an old OS or not; just the fact that the storage configuration has been shifted from RAID to AHCI screws up the new machine’s OS drivers, etc. Is this a correct understanding?
Again, thanks for your time and responses. This is a long way from the days when I was building PC XT clones.
Melsman
Melsman
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December 30th, 2024 19:48
@redxps630 - Thank you for the prompt (and detailed) response. You also answered another question that had been brewing. So even though the boot drive is M.2 and not SATA, switching the SATA configuration from RAID to AHCI will still affect it. I would not have guessed that!
So, just to make sure I have a good grasp, I’m going to summarize my understanding of how this process should occur:
- Backup all drives
- Suspend Bitlocker (if active)
- Turn off Windows PIN sign-in
- Apply safe mode boot trick
- Reboot into BIOS
- Change storage from RAID to AHCI
- Reboot and complete safe mode boot trick
- Restart to ensure Win 11 reboots properly
- Restart and reboot into BIOS just to ensure storage is at AHCI
- Shut down machine, open case, and install additional drive
- Reboot and ensure Win 11 starts properly and recognizes additional drive
- Enable PIN log-in and Bitlocker (if desired)
Did I miss anything? Again, thanks for your time and patience.
Melsman