Madfish

I am using the ssd in Rapid Mode and optimized performance configuration. I further optimized the system for use of the ssd by disabling drive indexing, superfetch, etc, and got better speed numbers, but no effect on stability. I have been looking for a solution to the boot errors. The M14x R1 unlocked A08 bios mod also improved overall performance, but the problem persists. I found that disabling C-states in the bios appeared to lower the boot failure rate (~2 boot I/O failures vs. ~10). I will update if I find a solution.

Thanks for the advice! It is a 750Gb HDD. I knew about the conversion, but did not do the calculation until now. Most of the difference is made up by the base 10 to 2 conversion. I did find several scraps of the old linux OS with Testdisk, and will try booting to with a usb distro to remove.

I would definitely choose matte. The glossy screen causes lots of reflections, and is nearly impossible to use next to a window. If you get migraines, then matte is better.

Just installed the evo 840 120Gb ssd. It is very fast, but has some system instability. I am running bios A05, and there are I/O errors on cold boot. Don't install Rapid Storage Technology (RST), it slows things down. Overall, I am very pleased with the ssd performance. The only downside is the boot I/O errors, but there are mods to improve stability.

Nice guide. Just did this with my M14x R1 with good results. I did some research and found this aluminum optical bay caddy which does not require removal of the ribbon cable. Here's a link: Amazon.com: NEW SATA 2nd HDD caddy for 9.5mm Universal CD/DVD-ROM ACER BENQ HP DELL ASUS: Computers & Accessories This allows you to attach the HDD with side mount screws.

After installing and reformatting an old HDD, I noticed that the total drive size in Gb did not match the actual size (50Gb difference). Apparently formatting the drive did not erase an old linux partition. It is not visible from windows drive manager or chkdisk. Is there a way to do a low level format and erase the old partitions? I am out of ideas.