PCIe SSD issues

Hi.

I recently bought a Samsung PCIe M.2 2280 NvME 4TB SSD for my laptop, as my current 1TB drive is dying (ridiculously slow speeds - the usual).

Laptop is an Alienware M15:

(Not the more modern R5/6/7 etc)

I upgraded to 32Gb RAM too.

I’ve been trying to get it to install in the laptop and set up Windows 11 on it, but no matter what I try it will not accept it.

I did the USB boot stick, image file, even copying the files over.

Even had a drive from Crucial and that didn’t work either.

Bought a PCIe adapter for USB and set the new Samsung drive up on a different (desktop) PC and it works fine when used as a USB, but as soon as I try to plug it into the PCIe slot, it just comes up with BSOD.

It just makes no sense whatsoever.

Samsung and Crucial both said the drives are compatible with my laptop, but neither seem to work and what should be a simple ‘plug and play’ is turning into a nightmare.

Their ‘support’ service is useless as it’s based in the Netherlands and not open a lot of the time so all done by email.

Can anyone help………?

If there is no installed operating system on SSD then the BSOD could be caused by faulty RAM module try one RAM module stick at a time to see problem resolves.

SamuelBastable said:

Hi.


I’ve been trying to get it to install in the laptop and set up Windows 11 on it, but no matter what I try it will not accept it.

I did the USB boot stick, image file, even copying the files over.

Click to expand...

What do you mean above? Get what to install? The drive itself or installing the OS?

FreeBooter said:

If there is no installed operating system on SSD then the BSOD could be caused by faulty RAM module try one RAM module stick at a time to see problem resolves.

Click to expand...

The RAM has been working for a number of years with no issue.

It’s the PCIe SSD that won’t connect to the laptop.

You’re meant to be able to just plug the SSD in and boot from a USB to install windows that way, but it doesn’t work.

I don’t see how the RAM has any bearing on installation……..?

BamaInArk said:

What do you mean above? Get what to install? The drive itself or installing the OS?

Click to expand...

Either.

If the SSD drive is connected internally it just goes to BSOD.

If I use it with an adaptor and connect it via USB it works, but only at USB speeds and not internal speeds.

the r7 says up to 4 tb


Alienware m15 R7 Setup and Specifications | Dell UK

What exactly is happening is somewhat vague to me. Also your computer specs are not complete so I can only surmise.
If the link you provided to your system specs is correct, iit says what your motherboard will support. If an m.2 drive is installed it is your primary drive and cannot exceed 1 tb.
It also says that an additional m.2 drive can be added also not to exceed 1 tb.
Even if you add a 2.5 ssd, it also can not exceed 1 tb.
Any configuration of multiple drives you choose can not exceed a total of 2 tb.

If you are trying to replace a dying m.2 system drive with a 4tb drive, that will not work due to motherboard limitations.

glasskuter said:

What exactly is happening is somewhat vague to me. Also your computer specs are not complete so I can only surmise.
If the link you provided to your system specs is correct, iit says what your motherboard will support. If an m.2 drive is installed it is your primary drive and cannot exceed 1 tb.
It also says that an additional m.2 drive can be added also not to exceed 1 tb.
Even if you add a 2.5 ssd, it also can not exceed 1 tb.
Any configuration of multiple drives you choose can not exceed a total of 2 tb.

If you are trying to replace a dying m.2 system drive with a 4tb drive, that will not work due to motherboard limitations.

Click to expand...

Thank you. This is really helpful.

I think this is probably (unfortunately) the answer.

I’ll have to look at getting a new laptop then, as the software I used has substantial size and needs the high transfer speeds.

Time to start shopping for a reasonable deal.

SamuelBastable said:

You’re meant to be able to just plug the SSD in and boot from a USB to install windows that way, but it doesn’t work.

Click to expand...

With the 4tb drive plugged into the main m.2 slot, Are you saying you can't boot from an installation usb using the f12 boot menu because of bsod? If so, yes I would think it's due to the size of the drive. The mobo doesn't like it and is squawking loudly.

Even if you attempt to replace the existing drive with one of same size, keep in mind that Dell sets Alienware bios by default to be raid. For the drive to be recognized by the installation process, you must either change sata operation to AHCI in bios OR install the Intel Rapid Storage Controller Driver during the "install driver" step of a clean install.

Someone on another forum told me about the AHCI vs RAID thing before glasskuter…..

…..but that was the solution that worked in the end.

I now have:

- the 4TB as main (C) drive
- The original C drive is now the D drive
- And the 2.5 SATA is now an extra add on drive, but I’ll only use it as a last resort because the speeds are almost nothing.

…and all of them on AHCI.

Nowhere near the speeds that the SSD advertises because it’s an older computer and throttles the output, but still far better than what I had.

Only took an afternoon to download over 1.5TB of BBC symphony orchestra composition software onto my new drive, so I can finally get back to working on my music again!

Thanks for the advice. :)