Installing an SSD to suppliment an HDD

[Chris Hogg]

One of my computers only has 150GB HDD, and I am trying to increase that capacity by installing an SSD that I have which is spare ATM.

The computer is a Dell Optiplex 780. This has a PCI Express 16 expansion slot (16,8,4,1; the black slot upside down in this image)

The SSD is a Crucial CT11437367 MX500 250GB 3D NAND M.2 Type 2280 I have also got a PCIe to m2 adapter to take the Crucial SSD card and allow it to be plugged into the PCIe slot on the MB.

Assembled it all OK, and switched on the computer, but no sign of the SSD in Explorer. Removed the lid of the computer and could see LEDs alight both on the adapter (red and blue) and the SSD card (red). They were permanently illuminated, i.e. no blinking.

I switched off the computer etc and re-inserted the card into the expansion slot, but still no joy. Removed the adapter plus SSD card and checked the card in the caddy I had been using it in on another computer, and it was working OK so I've not blown it.

I've a feeling I have to 'mount' or 'install' the SSD card in order to see it, but I can't remember or find out what I have to do. Any suggestions?

[Chris Hogg]

This takes you directly to the MB image

[Bob Eager]

Have you looked in Disk Management? It may not be partitioned or formatted.

[Michael Chare]

Is the computer connected to the internet so it can get any drivers that it needs?

Can you learn anything from Control Panel/Device Manager?

I had to return an M.2 SSD because it would not work with my motherboard. I have had less troible with Sata ones.

[invalid]

Cheap M.2 SSD are usually sata.

[Steve Walker]

And does anything need to be enabled in the Bios?

SteveW

[Chris Hogg]

It has been used on another computer for backup, in a separate caddy and USB connection, so I assume should be formatted etc.

Disc management doesn't see it.

[Chris Hogg]

Yes

Device manager doesn't see it

I'm assuming that with a PCIe slot and the adaptor, it should be OK.

[Chris Hogg]

No idea. What would I look for?

[Andy Burns]

It'll need partitoning/formatting first, does it show in device manager? does it show in disc management?

[Theo]

The SSD is a SATA M.2 SSD. The adaptor you have only connects the PCIe lanes, so is only suitable for an NVMe SSD.

The good news with a SATA SSD is you don't need any extra drivers, eg for Windows 7, and your motherboard should boot from it. The bad news is you'll need an adaptor supporting a SATA connection, for example:

Theo

[The Natural Philosopher]

I would have thought, and I'm way out of my safe space here, that a pcie disk would not be recognised by Windows without a driver being loaded.

"NVMe SSD support and drivers are not available for Windows© 7. Your computer or motherboard manufacturer might be able to add support. There is also a hotfix available from Microsoft© that can be applied to natively support NVMe drives for Windows 7."

What it looks like is that post that it should be plug and play if you have a suitable slot.

Ah but you havent. Yiou are usinag an adpeter.

The safe way is probably USB.

Or a sata adapter?

[The Natural Philosopher]

Acoording to the manufacturer it is an NVM SSD

[Andy Burns]

Not from what I see, it says M.2 SATA here

[The Natural Philosopher]

Ah. My bad. I looked at 'MX500 and found NVMe but it looks like that is the memory class not and comes in different interface specs.

Well we both arrived at the same answer - SSD PCie to SATA caddy.

[Brian Gaff (Sofa)]

He already answered these.. Personally, I think the problem is that there is no support for a disc on the interface being used, ie its meant for other uses and probably not discs. Surely there has to be a way to use a second drive without any cludging in the way described. Also, it has been my experience that ssds are really only worth it if you use it as the boot drive. Having said all of that my sample of one ssd from Samsung was an on board chip type and after 4 years it died and took the operating system and data with it. I now have a normal looking ssd and a regular back up regime just in case, and yes its a Sartor and thus if it pops its clogs again I'm putting in an old fashioned one. I havd HDs still running after over 10 years elsewhere. It seems that the ssd remaps itself constantly to cope with dodgy bits of memory as it ages, which of course also happens on ordinary drives, but with an ssd, the failure mode is less predictable and can be, or so it seems, almost total suddenly. Brian

[Andy Burns]

M.2 spec is a mess ... 12 different 'notches' to determine what types of card will fit in what slots, most cards fall into B or M type, some cards are both (but will be slower if used in the 'wrong' type of slot)

motherboards will take both B and M cards, even if they're only compatible with one or the other, rather than both.

[Chris Hogg]

Well, I can but try. At £3.19 it's not exactly a bank-breaking experiment!

[Chris Hogg]

I was thinking of moving the OS onto it at some time and booting from it.

[Steve Walker]

I don't know myself, but there may be something to enable seeing a hdd or booting from it on pcie.

Is the 780 an older machine? If so, its bios may not support an M2 ssd. Check if there is a bios update and whether it is supported.

SteveW