The system came configured with Windows 10 on the 2TB drive, with the 256 SSD set up as a “data” drive.
Dell refused to give tech support because the system was formally registered to someone else.
I was able to use a third-party tool to reformat the SSD as a system drive but then the BIOS refused to recognize it. I finally figured out that I had to set the BIOS to support legacy mode boot devices.
I reached out to Woot to solve problem 2 and they were able to supply me with the information as to who the previously-registered owner was, which then allowed me to use a link on Dell’s site to transfer ownership to me. That, plus a screenshot of the receipt from Woot, finally convinced Dell that I should be given tech support (which, by then, I no longer needed).
That’s really backwards. I priced out a current market estimate of this build to be around $1252 for the parts w/o Dell support of course.
What was your solution for installing win 10 on the SSD? Did you reformat with a linux distro and use the system disks that came with the system to do a clean install? Also did you go with GPT on the 2tb drive?
The system didn’t come with system disks but it did come with a USB drive with the system backup installed on it. I tried booting from that and setting things up that way but the only option it gave me was to format/repair the regular drive. For some reason, it couldn’t see the SSD or it failed to recognize it as a valid option. I ended up using Aomei’s Partition Assistant to migrate the OS to the SSD.
Even after that, the BIOS failed to recognize the SSD as a valid boot drive until I configured the BIOS to support legacy boot options, at which point the SSD showed up and I was able to select it.
Actually, you just gave me the clue I needed to tell me what the problem was with booting from the SSD. I hadn’t heard about the GPT standard or the UEFI standard before. I’m pretty sure that the main drive was configured to GPT whereas all I did with the SSD was, initially, a stock Windows 10 reformat command, which I assume gave it an MBR system rather than a GPT system. Since MBR is a legacy option, I had to configure the BIOS appropriately.
If I had to do it all over again, I’d figure out a way to get the SSD set up with GPT and that would likely solve my BIOS problems. I’m not going to touch it now, though.
Got links to the $1252 system of parts? What is your time worth putting that all together? My time is at a premium these days. And as you mentioned: Support. That can also be very time consuming but being able to go to one source helps a lot.
So, reading these comments one must ask - why would anyone purchase this computer with the complexities involved? Was this just a one-off situation because of changes the previous owner made? If so, why wasn’t it fixed during recertification? If I purchase this computer, will I have to go through the same process or was this just a fluke? Someone please respond in English.