Noobie Wan

Hello @ssj92, I am writing you by the kind suggestion of @mattyb3 from Dell Forums. Quick question: I have the Alienware 18 (2014) with unlocked bios and nVIDIA 1070 already working. Using this NVMe adapter (Please check link: https://es.aliexpress.com/item/1005005736763638.html ) can I BOOT directly from that drive in this specific Alienware model without using REFIND? The adapter and the disk works fine but is not visible in BIOS, only in the OS (please check the attached image). Thanks in advance for your time and advice.

Hello there, Sorry for the late reply. I am in the same situation: Alienware 18, same affordable adapter from Aliexpress. I managed to make it work but with issues. The steps were these: Previosly: 1) I Prepared a Kingston USB 3.0 16GB with REFIND. See details here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XT-Sq_UscQE 2) A USB always connected to the laptop is a pretty annoying idea to me (I suffer TOC) so I decided to clone the REFIND Kingston 16 GB USB to a spare mSATA drive (Samsung 500 GB) using EaseUS Disk Copy Pro (use this free key to activate it L55YI-NJTIK-K5718-3Z3GM-4GB33) 3) Create in a different USB whatever version of Windows 10 you want to clean install. After all that: 1) Downgrade to A12 OEM Dell BIOS ( I was in A15, the latest for the model) 2) Install unlocked BIOS A12 for Alienware 18 3) Open your laptop and install the GTX 1070 (Left MXM bay) and the NVME adapter with a Samsung Pro NvME 4 1TB (Right MXM bay) 4) Close and REMOVE (this is important) 2 RAM modules if you have 32GB as me. Otherwise installation files copy will fail at 11%. 5) Now close, insert the CLONED mSATA (replacemente of the REFIND pendrive) and close the machine. Finally: 1) Start, go to BIOS, put it in SG mode, save changes, power off. 2) Insert the Win10 Install USB and let it roll. Follow the steps as usual, and you'll be done in a heartbeat. 3) After that, REMOVE the letter of the mSATA drive (so it becomes invisible to your TOC and mine). 4) Restart and your Alienware 18 will boot from the NvME m.2 in the adapter. 5) Now, to put in operation the nVIDIA GTX 1070 read here: https://notebooktalk.net/topic/1300-how-do-i-update-to-a-nvidia-gtx-1070/ Pros: Very speedy system indeed. Cons: I couldn't install Windows updates...not a single one. All all them failded. And system gives some BSOD once in a while (specially if you add the RAM modules you removed initially I hope my process be helpful for anyone who needs it. Thanks for reading.

Hi guys, I read all of the answers. I downloaded the unlocked A12 BIOS for my 18. Currently it is flashed with A15, so I will downgrade to original A12 and then apply the unlocked one, right? Couple more things: 1) It might be better to get another non-zotac video card for the whole process to be easier and guarantee system stability? 2) The 1070 should be placed while the i7-4940MX is handling the video? 3) The current heat sink for the 860 will be enough for the 1070? Thanks a lot for the help, your knowledge and your time.

Hello everybody, Looking for detailed steps, so can upgrade my Alienware 18 video card. Found an NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070, MXM 3.1, 8GB DDR5 (see attachment). I tried to install it "plug and play" and all I had was an 8-beep code & blank screen, so I had to place again the original video cards. I've been doing research for a while, but I'm sure I'm missing some middle steps, so I humbly ask for help. Thanks in advance, people. MACHINE: Alienware 18 i7-4940MX CPU @ 3.10GHz, 32GB Dual NVIDIA GeForce GTX 860M (SLI)