mSATA in dm3-2015er?

[Evgeniy64]

Is this a common mini PCIe slot? Or it is only for a WWAN card?

[wixa]

I am interested too for this question. Not for this laptop, but for HP ProBook 4540s, there is too slot for wwan, and i want use it by ssd. 

[SeanS]

Hey Evgeniy64,

This is a mini PCIe slot that could be use for a mSATA SSD.

Take care,
Sean

[Evgeniy64]

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@SeanS wrote:
Hey Evgeniy64,

This is a mini PCIe slot that could be use for a mSATA SSD.

Take care,
Sean

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Wow:smileyhappy:

Are you sure? Do you work at HP?

Could you provide any recommendations of choice of mSATA SSD?

Can mSATA SSD be bootable in my dm3 laptop? I want to install Win8 on it and use HDD for file storage.

[SeanS]

Howdy Evgeniy64. Yes I work with HP 😉 I have no real recommendations on my choice of mSATA SSDs. I would just sites like NewEgg to read the reviews and see which card meets your expectations. As far as I understand, you are able to use these mSATA's to boot from just like a normal SSD. I have not personally done this but have heard of users accomplishing it.

It may be slightly difficult depending if there are drivers required. May want to do some searching to see about being able to boot from it.

Take care,
Sean 🙂

[Evgeniy64]

Hello Sean.

So, you confirm that dm3-2015er supports mSATA SSD by mini PCI-e port as a HP representative?

If yes, I will buy the mSATA SSD next week 🙂 and extend my laptop life

Regards,

Evgeniy

[Evgeniy64 · Accepted solution]

I tried to use mSATA Crucial 64GB SSD. It was not recognized by BIOS and by Windows 8.

So, mSATA disks are not compatible with dm3-2015er.:smileysad:

[SeanS]

Hey Evgeniy,

We don't give up so easily around here 😉 Sometimes the BIOs does not provide power to the PCI-e slot during POST (Power on self test) which could be the reason it is not showing up. What version of Windows 8 are you using? The WWAN slots can be powered through the keys so make sure the key is turned on to power the slot.

This could also be a issue regarding Windows 8 not having the correct driver to power on the SSD. If the driver is not powering up the slot we will never be able to see it.

Thanks,
Sean

[Evgeniy64]

Hey Sean,

I use Windows 8 Pro (downloaded via Windows Upgrade Offer). Your idea is interesting. What could be done to power on the PCI-e slot? What keys should be turned on? The Wireless button (Wi-Fi & Bluetooth)?