Triton 700 - Upgrade from 2x256GB RAID 0 to a single 512GB Samsung EVO Pro

I would to swap out the default 2 drive RAID 0 array for a single 512GB Samsung drive.

What is the simplest way to do this?

Is it just a case of connecting the drive up via an external enclosure, and then cloning the existing drive/array to the new drive, taking out both of the 256GB and rebooting with the single 512GB?

Something tells me that this will not be that straight forward! If it is easier, then I could also switch from the 2x256 to 2x512 Samsung drives, if I have to stick with RAID 0. Ideally, I would like to just have one drive for the OS and one for data.

Lastly, if cloning is indeed complicated due to the RAID aspect, then I would also be open to a fresh install of windows and then installing the drivers/software from scratch (although this is a pain). In theory, is this as straight forward as removing both existing drives, installing the new 512GB drive, and then booting up from USB to install windows etc?

I really appreciate any input/advice on this one before taking the plunge!

Thanks very much

Accepted answers

munkay

I have got this all sorted now - so here is a quick update on what I ended up doing in case it is useful for anyone else in future:

Having no success with being able to see the new 512GB drive via Acronis True Image (on USB), I ended up just going down the route of removing both OEM drives, installing new Samsung EVO Pro, and then booting in to install from ACER Tool backup. This all went absolutely fine - I booted up and the drive was seen by IRST and Drive Management as a single volume/normal drive setup.

I then installed one of the OEM drives (half of the RAID 0 array) and rebooted - this obviously didn't show in Disk Management just yet, but did appear in IRST as the RAID 0 array (with one half greyed out). I faffed about trying to figure out how to remove the RAID array, to discover it was a simple as selecting the overall array in IRST and deleting it. The drive then was seen in Disk Management and I was able to initialise and set up as required - simple.

My plan is to get another 1TB Samsung Drive down the line and then just swap it out with the Lite-On.

I benchmarked the RAID 0 array, the single Samsung EVO Pro 960 and the single Lite-On drives as well using AS SSD and CrystalDisk. Unsurprisingly, the Samsung is considerably quicker than the Lite-On - up to 4x in some tests, and faster across the board. The Lite-On's are still OK drives, but I guess Acer are trying to save money and give best performance possible with the OEM setup - surely a Samsung 256GB OS Drive and 512GB/1TB option for Apps/Games would have been preferable for most? Or maybe I am missing something

...anyway, good to have everything sorted - this super-fast laptop is now noticeably even quicker, especially response wise and when writing to disk - and I don't have the risks/hassle that RAID 0 brings

All comments

munkay

...to complicate matters, having searched about, it looks as if you can't buy an thunderbolt enclosure for an NVMe drive.

Help! Suggestions from anyone?

munkay

OK -
I now have an image (on a external USB HDD) from the two RAID 0 array and a bootable USB stick.
I have removed both the Lite-on drives and replaced with the single Samsung EVO drive.
Using the USB drive (Acronis True Image and WinPE), I can boot no problem and select the image etc.
However, I do not see the new Samsung M2 drive as an option for destination (or at all for that matter)

I have used the most up to date versions of WinPE/Acronis, which I understand support NVMe/M2 drives.

I am almost there with this - can anyone help out??

Thanks

munkay

I have got this all sorted now - so here is a quick update on what I ended up doing in case it is useful for anyone else in future:

Having no success with being able to see the new 512GB drive via Acronis True Image (on USB), I ended up just going down the route of removing both OEM drives, installing new Samsung EVO Pro, and then booting in to install from ACER Tool backup. This all went absolutely fine - I booted up and the drive was seen by IRST and Drive Management as a single volume/normal drive setup.

I then installed one of the OEM drives (half of the RAID 0 array) and rebooted - this obviously didn't show in Disk Management just yet, but did appear in IRST as the RAID 0 array (with one half greyed out). I faffed about trying to figure out how to remove the RAID array, to discover it was a simple as selecting the overall array in IRST and deleting it. The drive then was seen in Disk Management and I was able to initialise and set up as required - simple.

My plan is to get another 1TB Samsung Drive down the line and then just swap it out with the Lite-On.

I benchmarked the RAID 0 array, the single Samsung EVO Pro 960 and the single Lite-On drives as well using AS SSD and CrystalDisk. Unsurprisingly, the Samsung is considerably quicker than the Lite-On - up to 4x in some tests, and faster across the board. The Lite-On's are still OK drives, but I guess Acer are trying to save money and give best performance possible with the OEM setup - surely a Samsung 256GB OS Drive and 512GB/1TB option for Apps/Games would have been preferable for most? Or maybe I am missing something

...anyway, good to have everything sorted - this super-fast laptop is now noticeably even quicker, especially response wise and when writing to disk - and I don't have the risks/hassle that RAID 0 brings

Larrie_Fran

Found this workflow/turnaround really interesting and since I want to do the same thing I'll try following your steps

thank you!

munkay

Larrie - Glad I could help someone else out

Let me know how it goes, and feel free to give me a shout if you have any issues with it and I will try to help out. As mentioned, it was all very straightforward, and you will have the backup USB drive and original drives should you need to revert.

phatty101

@munkay Going probably try these steps and update this thread whenever I get results back.

phatty101

phatty101 said:

@munkay Going probably try these steps and update this thread whenever I get results back.

I can confirm that 2 Samsung 960 Pro 1TB each works as two individual disks (Non raid) on Windows 10 for a total of 2 Terabytes on the Acer Predator Triton 700. The bios is still set as RAID; not 100% sure how this is working.

Steps I took to get this working are pretty basic; I could not clone so I started from scratch.

1. create a windows 10 boot disk onto a bootable USB disk drive
2. Downloaded the Intel IRST driver
3. Downloaded all the driver and apps from Acer support for Predator 700 Triton
4. Booted off USB disk drive; for some odd reason I have to boot twice before the Triton see's the USB drive as bootable (dumbfound by this). It happened twice.
5. Windows setup does NOT see the two Samsung 960 pros until I point the installer to the IRST drivers; after it recognized them I did not see a option to raid; that was fine with me because I'd rather have two logical disks instead of RAID0
6. Window's installed properly, I initialized the second Samsung 960 pro
7. Windows product key was correct (I did not have to do anything); guess it looked at the hardware id or something
8. I went and installed all the drivers and apps from Acer Predator Triton 700 webpage

That's pretty much all did.. now everything works as if it was straight from factory except I have two non raid0 logical drives of 1 TB each for a total of 2 TB.

munkay

Good to hear it all worked well phatty101

You could probably have made it slightly simpler by using 'Create Factory Default Backup' in the OEM/pre-installed Acer Care app. I did it this way, instead of using Window's bootdisk creator, so it meant that all of the factory apps (predator sense, IRST, etc) were already in place. I guess this is also why I was able to see the drive to restore to right away.

Had you gone this route with both drives installed, perhaps it would have tried to configure them as RAID 0. Either-way, I think your's and my result is best with these drives to keep them separate.

...also, these Samsung drives are incredible - going from power on to Windows login in about 5 seconds will never get old

phatty101

Munkay,

Great idea with the Acer factory default; I did not think of this. Yes.. the fast boots are incredible

ninjataki

munkay said:

Good to hear it all worked well phatty101

You could probably have made it slightly simpler by using 'Create Factory Default Backup' in the OEM/pre-installed Acer Care app. I did it this way, instead of using Window's bootdisk creator, so it meant that all of the factory apps (predator sense, IRST, etc) were already in place. I guess this is also why I was able to see the drive to restore to right away.

Had you gone this route with both drives installed, perhaps it would have tried to configure them as RAID 0. Either-way, I think your's and my result is best with these drives to keep them separate.

...also, these Samsung drives are incredible - going from power on to Windows login in about 5 seconds will never get old

Just wondering what to do if I just want to get rid of the raid 0 array ie not open up the machine cause of warranty. Should I just follow your steps munkey or a combo of Phatty's steps?? I'm a tad confused, but really really want to delete that raid 0! (unless Acer have unlocked the bios? (Getting my Triton 700 in a few days, so excited). Thanks for any advice

garrick

phatty101 said:

phatty101 said:

@munkay Going probably try these steps and update this thread whenever I get results back.

I can confirm that 2 Samsung 960 Pro 1TB each works as two individual disks (Non raid) on Windows 10 for a total of 2 Terabytes on the Acer Predator Triton 700. The bios is still set as RAID; not 100% sure how this is working.

Steps I took to get this working are pretty basic; I could not clone so I started from scratch.

1. create a windows 10 boot disk onto a bootable USB disk drive
2. Downloaded the Intel IRST driver
3. Downloaded all the driver and apps from Acer support for Predator 700 Triton
4. Booted off USB disk drive; for some odd reason I have to boot twice before the Triton see's the USB drive as bootable (dumbfound by this). It happened twice.
5. Windows setup does NOT see the two Samsung 960 pros until I point the installer to the IRST drivers; after it recognized them I did not see a option to raid; that was fine with me because I'd rather have two logical disks instead of RAID0
6. Window's installed properly, I initialized the second Samsung 960 pro
7. Windows product key was correct (I did not have to do anything); guess it looked at the hardware id or something
8. I went and installed all the drivers and apps from Acer Predator Triton 700 webpage

That's pretty much all did.. now everything works as if it was straight from factory except I have two non raid0 logical drives of 1 TB each for a total of 2 TB.

Hey @phatty101 I just wanted to say thank you that your steps actually saved me from my frustration. I bought two Samsung Evo 970 and trying to swap out the lite-on drive since one of the drive failed (all data is gone though ☹️). And I can’t find any helpful guide/comments all over the internet, but I came across your comment. The trick was to install Intel IRST drivers during windows installation, else windows won’t see the drive.

So thanks once again!

ciobanucos

hei guys! just wanted to check if any of you could try and install ubuntu on your machine, I am not able to do this since the live usb doesn't see the drive (i guess because of IRST raid). Could you provide me some help?

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