Re: Adding SSD to Z1 Workstation

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SDH wrote:

Just had a thought looking at your latest picture.

 

You mention one can run 2 2.5" form factor drives.  That means that there are two SATA ports available to you.  One will be SATA port 0 to which you are supposed to hook up your boot drive.  The second will be SATA port 1.

 

Thus, you can hook up your hdd externally with a longer SATA data cable, and your ssd also .................

 

 

 

You are correct Scott.

 

There are two SATA ports in the diskbay, but if a 3.5" drive is installed, then it partially obstructs the top SATA port 1.  I considered your suggestion plus also a variation of it, as follows:

• Remove the HDD and connect it to the bottom SATA Port 0 by SATA cable and also to the power source,
• Put the SSD in the bracket and insert it onto the top SATA Port 1.

So I openned the computer case and had a good look inside.

 

 

1. The disk drive bay showing the 3.5" HDD in place.

 

 

 

2.  The SSD sitting on the HDD in situ.  Note that the SSD plug does not quite align with the SATA socket.

 

 

 

3.  The drive bay with the cradle and HDD removed.  Two SATA sockets visible.

 

 

 

4.  The cradle and HDD have been reinstalled and the Intel SSD has been plugged directly into the SATA socket or Port 1.  The SATA socket has rotated a little on its plastic mounting lugs so that it aligns adequately for a very temporary data transfer.  [In Photo 2 above, I had the SSD upsidedown!

 

 

I then closed the case and switched on the power.

 

Now, while it is temporarily installed in SATA Port 1 the SSD is visible as follows:

• BIOS - visible as "Hard Disk - SATA 1,  480GB,  Intel SSDSC2BW480H6."   Note:  BIOS describes it as a hard disk, but calls the DVD drive a DVD drive.
• DOS - Visible as "Disk 1, Status=Online,  Size=447GB,  Free=447GB."
• Device Manager - Visible in "Disk Drives => Intel SSDSC2BW480H6 SCSI Disk Devise and Devise Status=This device is working properly" and is otherwise the same as when it was connected via the USB except that POLICIES has changed from "Allow unplugging" to "Enable write caching on the device..."

 

The SSD is no longer visible in DEVICES AND PRINTERS => DEVICES.

 

The SSD is still not visible in Disk Management.

 

Thus, I still do not have any way of writing to the SSD.  

 

I am further suspecting that the problems is the driver;  does it pre-date SSD's  ??   Or is it simply not plug-and-play and I need to go through some formal installation ritual?

 

I thought that I had a break through, but now I am in my normal state of confusion.

 

 

Tom