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      08-08-2018, 12:13 PM   #1
Riick
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Thinking about upgrading it to a mSATA drive with an adapter to dramatically decrease boot up speeds when turning the car on. Has anyone done it here? Seems simple enough.

Last edited by Riick; 08-08-2018 at 12:27 PM..
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      08-08-2018, 01:35 PM   #2
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Haven't seen much on the X forum side but I know for the 1 Series people have made it work but it was more difficult than expected. It seems you need to not only be computer literate (I think of myself as pretty good at building and troubleshooting PC's, networks, and so on) but additionally have a running Linux device and be fluent at the commands as well. The reasoning was to ensure you performed a perfect clone of the original drive, it didn't look to be as easy as it sounded and the more common windows (not just oem ms but 3rd party as well) software didn't seem to quite be up to the task.

Stating the obvious whatever works for any other BMW of a similar vintage and entertainment system type (i.e. CCC based) should work for the X3 as well.

Maybe there is an easy route that just hadn't been performed yet as of the last time I checked into it.
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      08-08-2018, 01:51 PM   #3
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I'm a career linux programmer, don't be scared of it, linux is simple.

BUT

To make your life even easier, don't go by any of those crazy write ups there's a much easier way. Snag a copy of the Acronis True Image bootable CD that runs off linux and boot to that. It will copy the BMW HDD's QNX4 file system which is native to Linux bit by bit in a nice GUI screen to the new SSD, no command line codes required. Soooo easy.
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      08-09-2018, 07:04 AM   #4
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Riick, check this out:

https://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/showthread.php?t=841458&highlight=harddrive
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      08-09-2018, 08:29 PM   #5
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Riick View Post
I'm a career linux programmer, don't be scared of it, linux is simple.

BUT

To make your life even easier, don't go by any of those crazy write ups there's a much easier way. Snag a copy of the Acronis True Image bootable CD that runs off linux and boot to that. It will copy the BMW HDD's QNX4 file system which is native to Linux bit by bit in a nice GUI screen to the new SSD, no command line codes required. Soooo easy.
Cool, it may have gotten better over time. I own a purchased copy of Acronis and have also dabbled with Linux for a while, I was dual booting my laptop with it just to tinker. In the end for me I just had enough hobbies and little enough time it didn't quite overcome the threshold of wanting to spend the time working on it (working on cloning), on the assumption I'd eventually get it but probably not on the first try. I was also planning to go to 256 or 512GB so I could fill it up w/ stuff and ditch the USB drive I have plugged in now.

Anyhow, sounds like you know what to do, go for it.
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      08-10-2018, 05:07 PM   #6
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Looking forward to seeing an F25-specific write up for doing this. I think I'm good on the cloning part but I'm always afraid of breaking things when I pull panels off.
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      08-15-2018, 04:22 PM   #7
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What are the specs on the OEM drive in the F25? MY2011

Thanks
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      08-16-2018, 07:43 AM   #8
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Depends what options you have
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      08-17-2018, 02:35 PM   #9
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Which options make a difference to the hard drive? I can see it might make a difference in size of the hard drive, but not the type/connection/etc.

My X3: MY2011; HUD; Nav; Bluetooth; XM; back-up cam with topview; usb;
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      08-19-2018, 05:39 AM   #10
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It's IDE
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      08-19-2018, 07:50 PM   #11
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ok, IDE...any idea of how big the drive is? Is there just one drive for nav/multimedia/etc? SSDs are getting cheaper, tempted to upgrade.
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      08-22-2018, 12:16 AM   #12
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I bought the hard drive that was referenced in the X5 thread (linked herein). It looked straight forward enough to copy the hard drive data over. I'll post the results.

Generally I'm okay with the content on the CIC vs. NBT, but the load times and lag on the CIC can be annoying. If this speeds the system up in a meaningful way for $100, then I'll be happy enough.
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      08-22-2018, 03:23 PM   #13
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Looking forward to the results, WagonR
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      08-24-2018, 10:58 AM   #14
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I just ordered an mSATA drive, IDE adapter case, and IDE to USB cable. Just need to find the DIY to open up the console, looks different than the X5 in the link.
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      08-24-2018, 11:32 AM   #15
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Quote:
Originally Posted by najnad View Post
I just ordered an mSATA drive, IDE adapter case, and IDE to USB cable. Just need to find the DIY to open up the console, looks different than the X5 in the link.
Check out YouTube for BMW f25 Android navigation. They show how to dismantle and to get to the head unit.
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