Dell Alienware Hard Drive Replacement - No Data Loss

User Case: Can I input an SSD into the Alienware HDD slot?

If you are intending to perform the Alienware hard drive replacement, please know more about the Alienware 17 specifications first and then choose the right SSD to upgrade your Alienware hard drive.

Why Replace Alienware Hard Drive?

Dell Alienware laptop is famous and many users use it to study, work, and play. However, as time goes by, you may meet many problems so that you need to replace your Alienware hard drive.

• Alienware hard drive is running out of space. In this case, you can add a hard drive or use a larger hard drive to replace the existing hard drive.

• Alienware is running slow due to poor computer performance. To get a better performance, replacing Alienware hard drive with SSD (solid state drive) is a good idea.

• What’s worse, if you encounter Alienware laptop hard drive failure, replacing the hard drive should be the only way to solve the problem.

In a word, Alienware hard drive replacement is meaningful to you if you use a Dell Alienware laptop.

Easiest Way to Replace Alienware Hard Drive

Alienware hard drive replacement could solve many problems. But how to replace Alienware hard drive without losing data? You may clone entire hard drive (HDD or SSD) to another one with powerful hard drive cloning software before replacing it to protect everything important.

The all-in-one Dell SSD cloning software - AOMEI Backupper Professional will help you clone Alienware hard drive and replace it easily, and it’s available on Dell Alienware, Asus, Sony, HP, Samsung, Lenovo or other computers. Following are the sparkling clone features of AOMEI Backupper:

AOMEI Backupper

Easy Hard Drive and SSD Cloning Software

• Disk Clone: You can copy the entire disk to another using it. Windows OS, installed programs, and personal files will all be copied from the source disk.

• System Clone: You can copy OS only from one disk to another. When the destination disk is smaller than the source disk, this is helpful.

• Partition Clone: It makes it easier to copy a specific partition, like D: drive, E: drive, and so forth.

• SSD Alignment: By aligning the data blocks to the SSD’s physical page boundaries, AOMEI Backupper ensures that your SSD performs at its best and prolongs its life.

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Step 1. Alienware Clone HDD to SSD

Alienware hard drive replacement with AOMEI Backupper will be an easy thing. Before Alienware laptop hard drive replacement, please do the following preparations:

• Screwdrivers.

• The new SSD to replace the HDD.

• Connect your new SSD to your Alienware laptop through SATA, and make sure it can be detected.

• Download Dell SSD cloning software - AOMEI Backupper Professional 30 day free trial first and install it on your Dell Alienware 17 computer. (Clone feature in trial version can only be demonstrated)

Here are the simple steps of how to replace Alienware HDD with SSD in Windows 7/8/10/11 without losing data by using AOMEI Backupper (assuming that you are going to clone HDD to SSD).

1. Launch AOMEI Backupper Professional on Alienware 17 computer. Choose Clone tab and then Disk Clone.

★Tip: If you are trying to migrate OS from Alienware HDD to SSD, you can choose System Clone instead.

2. Select the Alienware 17 hard drive (HDD) as the source disk. Click Next.

3. Select the new SSD as the destination disk. Click Next.

★Tip: Please backup important files in advance if your SSD drive has some data on it. Because the SSD will be deleted during the cloning process.

4. Check SSD Alignment to optimize for the reading and writing speed for the SSD, as well as its lifespan. Press Start Clone >> to perform Alienware 17 hard drive upgrade.

★Tips:
✍ If you are cloning smaller HDD to larger SSD, you could click Edit Partitions and select "Add unused space to all partitions" or "Manually adjust partition size" to fully use the space on destination.
✍The Sector by sector clone will clone every byte on your hard drive whether it is used or not, which would take more time and storage space. When cloning a hard drive with bad sectors, you should uncheck this option to skip all the bad sectors.

Wait for the process to be finished. The time it costs depends on the data size on your Alienware HDD. After cloning, the new SSD is bootable.

Step 2. Shut Down Your Alienware 17 Computer

1. Click on the Start menu in the bottom-left corner of your screen.

2. Select the Power icon, and then choose Shut down from the options.

3. Wait for your computer to fully shut off before proceeding.

Step 3. Remove the Back Panel with Screwdrivers

Remove screws on the back cover with the screwdrivers you prepared, and take out the panel.

Step 4. Install Cloned SSD

1. Find the Alienware hard drive bay, remove power supply, SATA cable, and screws carefully.

2. Remove the Alienware HDD from the SATA connector.

3. Connect the new cloned SSD with the SATA connector.

4. Put everything in the right location to install SSD correctly.

Step 5. Boot from the Cloned SSD

Restart your Alienware computer, and boot from the cloned SSD on your Dell Alienware 17 computer. If you cloned HDD to an M.2 SSD and had both drives connected, you can change the boot order to boot from the cloned SSD in your Alienware computer.

Bonus: Alienware 17 Specifications

The Dell Alienware 17 computer supports the following hard drives:

1. One 2.5-inch SATA hard drive (HDD).

2. Three M.2 SSDs:

• Two full-size M.2 PCIe/SATA drives(2280, 22-mm wide and 80-mm long)

• One half-size M.2 PCIe/SATA drive(2242, 22-mm wide and 42-mm long)

And all the HDD and SSD are upgradable. Check your hard drive specification or consult your computer manufacturer and find the right hard drive or SSD to replace with the old one.

If you would like to upgrade Alienware hard drive (HDD) with an SSD drive, it should be a SATA 2.5-inch internal solid state drive for laptop, like Crucial MX300 2TB (quite expensive, $200-$350), Samsung 860 Pro 1TB ($300) or Samsung 860 EVO 1TB ($135), etc. (3.5-inch for desktop)

If you prefer to upgrade your M.2 SSD to another larger M.2 SSD, please find an M.2 SSD, like Crucial P5 PCIe M.2 2280SS SSD (2TB, 1TB, 500GB, $85-$400), Crucial P2 M.2 SSD, Crucial MX500  M.2 SSD (2TB, 1TB, 250GB, $50-$230 ), Samsung 960 EVO (250GB/1TB, $120-$470), etc.

FAQs Dell Alienware Hard Drive Replacement

1. Can I replace the hard drive in my Alienware laptop?

Yes, Alienware laptops generally have replaceable hard drives. However, the process may vary depending on the specific model. Please check your user manual for detailed instructions.

2. What type of hard drive can I use as a replacement?

Alienware laptops typically support standard 2.5-inch SATA hard drives. Some models may also support M.2 PCIe SSDs. It's important to check your laptop's specifications or consult Alienware support to ensure compatibility before purchasing a new drive.

3. Will replacing the hard drive void my warranty?

Replacing the hard drive may void the warranty if not done according to Alienware's guidelines. You may consult the warranty terms or contact Alienware support to determine if self-replacement is allowed without voiding the warranty.

Summing It Up

Until now, Alienware hard drive replacement has been done successfully with only 5 steps. All the above steps apply to Alienware SSD upgrade and other computers as well. Alienware hard drive replacement with AOMEI Backupper is such a simple thing. It can help you clone HDD to SSD so that you can keep your familiar OS and valuable data after replacing Alienware hard drive. 

Besides, AOMEI Backupper Professional provides you with more advanced features, such as command line clone, dynamic disk or volume clone/backup/restore, create a Windows PE bootable rescue media to restore system to an earlier state in case of system failure, etc. 

If you are running Windows Server 2003, 2008, 2012, 2016, 2019, 2022 (including R2), please try AOMEI Backupper Server to enjoy more.