Goal: Add a Samsung EVO 500GB 2.5-Inch SATA III Internal SSD and make it the boot disk for a new Dell 8700 running pre-installed Windows 10.
Questions:
Do I have to change the BIOS from IRST to AHCI?
Can I transfer the OS from the original C: drive to the SSD via EasyUS Todo Backup?
Do I need the Windows installation disks?
Background:
Using a StarTEC USB 3.0 to 2.5 SATA III Hard Drive adapter cable, I connected the new SSD to the new Dell 8700 via USB. The Dell transfer tools, and Dell Navigator, did not recognize the SSD. I later read a post that said that these Dell tools did not yet work with Windows 10. As suggested in another post, I did get the transfer to work using EasyUS Todo. I copied Windows 10 to the SSD. I then installed it internally in one of the empty drive bays. Windows 10 file manager recognized the drive and I was able to see that Windows was indeed copied on it.
But, before I change the Boot Sequence to start with the SSD, I would like to know if the OS transfer will indeed work and\or whether the BIOs needs to be changed from IRST to AHCI (if yes, how).
Finally, Windows disks, usually orderable from PC manufacturers, are not yet available from Dell. Alternatively, the “create USB recovery disk” goes in an endless loop even though I am trying to create one using a new 32GB San Disk USB drive.
Any other things I need to do in order to make this SSD boot configuration to work?
Thanks!