Adding a 2.5" sata drive.

ZX-Spectrum
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Adding a 2.5" sata drive.

Post by ZX-Spectrum »

Hi,

I Have a T11 ACEPC. The version on the motherboard is T8U_v2.1 2019-04-19. The connecting board is labelled T11_IO_V6.0

BIOS Vendor: American Megatrends
Core Version: 5.011
Compliancy: UEFI 2.4; PI 1.3
BIOS ID: T50006
Build Date: 07/29/2019

The Bios looks pretty locked down and I can't see the sata drive I want to add. Please can you provide me with a link to an updated BIOS.

Cheers:)
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Re: Adding a 2.5" sata drive.

Post by Gabe »

Is the drive recent? The reason I ask is that some older drives require more power than the unit can provide to properly run.
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ZX-Spectrum
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Re: Adding a 2.5" sata drive.

Post by ZX-Spectrum »

Hi,

Yes it's a Kingston A400, 480GB SSD. The reason I ask is that I watched this Youtube Video to find an answer, and the BIOS has an option for "Advanced" whereby the drive can be selected, even to boot from if correct.

Another issue I have is that the quad processors don't ever go passed 1.67Ghz, when they should boost to 1.92 Ghz. I also have an AZW Z83 (also z8350, it boosts to 1.92Ghz) only 2GB/32GB though, which is why I upgraded. On that PC I can run a 1080x1920(Full HD) video at 60 frames a second in Microsoft Edge with the H.264 extension, and the video is good, solid. Unfortunately on the Acepc-T11 4GB/64GB it judders on quick panning videos with exactly the same settings. The computers are very similar apart from the ram and emmc.

I really like these z8350 computers because they do what I want and are silent.

Thanks Gabe for your response, any ideas are welcomed.
Last edited by ZX-Spectrum on Sun Apr 24, 2022 9:09 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Adding a 2.5" sata drive.

Post by Gabe »

ZX-Spectrum,

You can select the add on drive as the first boot device in the Boot section of the BIOS. If Windows were installed to the add on drive, it would likely say "Windows Boot Manager" when viewing the first boot options in the Boot section, but with the drive model along with it so you could differentiate between the "Windows Boot Manager" on the new drive and the "Windows Boot Manager" on the onboard storage when changing that first boot device.

Unfortunately, however, the T11 isn't designed to use an add on drive as a boot drive like many of the other models are. That's not to say it won't work, as it may, but only that you may not see any improvement when booting from the SATA drive vs the onboard storage, and it may actually be worse, as in slower. Or if you're using it to boot to an alternate system, like Linux, it may be slow. But it won't hurt to give it a try to see, of course.

Regarding the processor, if I remember correctly the system holds it back from 100% as either a type of thermal protection or something to do with power, or maybe even both. There used to be a few posts on here about this, or I should say the previous incarnation of this forum, and evidently they didn't make it in the transfer to this new forum, or at least not yet. I tried searching for them and can't find them.

The following site may help if the "Maximum Processor State" isn't showing as an option to change in the Power Options, as that's what you'd want to change to allow it to get to full power. As always, its best to back up your registry before changing anything with it, and it might even be a good idea to back up your entire system in case anything goes screwy with it as a result.

https://www.tenforums.com/tutorials/107 ... ndows.html
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ZX-Spectrum
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Re: Adding a 2.5" sata drive.

Post by ZX-Spectrum »

Thanks again for the suggestions, yes the Microsoft Windows 10 power options are very limited. I have already tried the information regarding processor settings and that does not work for me. I am left frustrated knowing there is a bios out there which provides the options I want, yet a link to it can't be provided!

Why create a video showing how to change the bios, yet not make them available? I want to be able to use this PC, but it looks like I will have to stick with my AZW Z83 because it's not being held back and can show youtube videos at 1080x1920 at 60fps, it's disappointing.
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Re: Adding a 2.5" sata drive.

Post by Gabe »

ZX-Spectrum,

Hopefully someone will have some other suggestions on what to try, and maybe the admin will be able to provide you an alternate BIOS. However, I don't believe that BIOS is going to change anything with this particular CPU setting, though I certainly could be wrong. I have a W8 Pro with the same CPU, and though I can no longer use it due to it not getting along with my current monitor, I was able to unlock the CPU so I could set the maximum state to 100%. I only did it when this had come up before on the older forum, and then set it back to the original setting, but I do remember it had something to do with either a direct registry setting or something through the Command prompt, or at least in my case. I didn't change anything in the BIOS, though to be honest I don't remember what the BIOS in it even looks like, as in whether it has more options available or it's more locked down like my T6 Pro.

I wish they'd add the old topics and posts back into the site. 🙁
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ZX-Spectrum
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Re: Adding a 2.5" sata drive.

Post by ZX-Spectrum »

Thanks again Gabe for responding. I'm happy to try the bios (at my own risk) which I have shown being used in the youtube video, because at the moment it's not fit for purpose relative to my requirements at the moment. I have a similar spec PC which does match them, it's just a shame it's only has 2GB/32GB which is an obvious strain now with Windows 10 updates (why I bought the Acepc-T11 (4GB/64GB and the chance of sata expansion).

I guess I will have to wait and hope the Admin responds, which would be great. I don't have an alternative now but to try this approach, I've exhausted the internet for answers and the only one which might help is in the youtube video.
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Re: Adding a 2.5" sata drive.

Post by admin »

Don't worry, I pull old posts to the forum every day. This is a big project, and I hope to complete more this month. If you need to search for keywords, the search in the upper right corner can directly search for old posts.
Thanks for joining the forum fans, we will become friends here. Any suggestions about the forum I am open to hearing.
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Re: Adding a 2.5" sata drive.

Post by admin »

ZX-Spectrum wrote: Tue Apr 26, 2022 4:27 am Thanks again Gabe for responding. I'm happy to try the bios (at my own risk) which I have shown being used in the youtube video, because at the moment it's not fit for purpose relative to my requirements at the moment. I have a similar spec PC which does match them, it's just a shame it's only has 2GB/32GB which is an obvious strain now with Windows 10 updates (why I bought the Acepc-T11 (4GB/64GB and the chance of sata expansion).

I guess I will have to wait and hope the Admin responds, which would be great. I don't have an alternative now but to try this approach, I've exhausted the internet for answers and the only one which might help is in the youtube video.
I'm glad for your detailed explanation. First of all, due to the motherboard problem, the extended 2.5SSD can only be used as a storage disk, not a system disk.
If you're looking to boost performance, the tutorial I've sent will definitely not have any ill effects on the machine, it's an all-around optimization.
Thanks for joining the forum fans, we will become friends here. Any suggestions about the forum I am open to hearing.
ZX-Spectrum
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Joined: Sat Apr 23, 2022 6:46 am

Re: Adding a 2.5" sata drive.

Post by ZX-Spectrum »

Thanks for the explanation.
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