SSD upgrade options for Asus U32VX-DS72 with odd ssd config

[tinball]

I have a Asus UX32vd laptop that is running out of space on the C drive partition. What is odd about the storage configuarion is that the the drive configuration is 2 Sandisk X100 128GB msata drives on a removable PCB that is connected to the motherboard via what appears to be a standard SATA interface.

I attempted to put in a SATA Crucial MX200 500GB SSD drive, imaged from the original drive, but it was not detected by the BIOS. After some further research I found this is likely due to the port not providing 5V power. But rather 3.3V for the mSATA spec.

I believe I will have to stick with mSATA. With that in mind, does anyone know if standard mSATA drives will work as replacements for the X100's? I was not able to find much info them except that SANDISK also has custom OEM versions of this drive. They appear to be standard mSATA dimensions (51mm x 30mm).

I'm looking for options and recommendations for upgrading to a single larger 500GB drive or 2 256GB drives in RAID 0. I'm not looking for the fastest but want reliable options and have been looking at Crucial mSATA MX200's.

Additionally, I would like to image and restore so as to not have to wipe and reload windows and applications. If I break the RAID configuration with going to a single drive AHCI will I be able to restore the image to that configuration? Or will simply going to the larger RAID 0 configuration be a better/simpler option?

I'm completely open to any recommendations. Thanks for reading this.

 

[Glaring_Mistake]

According to Crucial the MX200 you already have should work.
See: http://www.crucial.com/usa/en/compatible-upgrade-for/ASUS/zenbook-ux32vd

There is some information from others who have faced the same issue however here: http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/answers/id-2921621/asus-ux32vda-ux32vd-detecting-ssd-drive.html

 

[tinball]

That's just it, it doesn't. That is a standard SATA drive that they are recommending. I have already purchased it. The BIOS will not detect it - even if I change the SATA mode to IDE, AHCI, or leave it at RAID.

In searching, I ran across a post from someone who mentioned that the port on theirs was providing only 3.3V. Which is the mSATA spec as opposed to the 5V SATA spec. My laptop has 2 mSATA cards (in RAID0 config) attached to a PCB board that is then plugged into what appears to be a SATA interface. I do not know how to test the voltage coming out of the interface to confirm what my actual voltage is, but I would guess that it is 3.3 and not 5 since it has the mSATA drives and the SATA drive was not even seen by the BIOS. But I'm not sure. I'll see if I can upload some pictures to Imgur so I can link them here so you can see.

 

[Elixer]

I have a Asus UX32vd laptop that is running out of space on the C drive partition. What is odd about the storage configuarion is that the the drive configuration is 2 Sandisk X100 128GB msata drives on a removable PCB that is connected to the motherboard via what appears to be a standard SATA interface.

I attempted to put in a SATA Crucial MX200 500GB SSD drive, imaged from the original drive, but it was not detected by the BIOS. After some further research I found this is likely due to the port not providing 5V power. But rather 3.3V for the mSATA spec.

I believe I will have to stick with mSATA. With that in mind, does anyone know if standard mSATA drives will work as replacements for the X100's? I was not able to find much info them except that SANDISK also has custom OEM versions of this drive. They appear to be standard mSATA dimensions (51mm x 30mm).

I'm looking for options and recommendations for upgrading to a single larger 500GB drive or 2 256GB drives in RAID 0. I'm not looking for the fastest but want reliable options and have been looking at Crucial mSATA MX200's.

Additionally, I would like to image and restore so as to not have to wipe and reload windows and applications. If I break the RAID configuration with going to a single drive AHCI will I be able to restore the image to that configuration? Or will simply going to the larger RAID 0 configuration be a better/simpler option?

I'm completely open to any recommendations. Thanks for reading this.

Yeah, seems you need to stick with mSATA. They do make X100 in 512GB capacity, You should also be able to use X300 or X400 as well.

As for backup, that could be tricky, if that has a USB port, then I would backup via cloning software that supports RAID, and handle it that way.
Then, plug in the new X400 cards (or whatever), and then boot off the recovery flash drive, and restore to the X400, then go into windows, and fix your partitions as needed (if necessary).