Erase your USB key (I recommend a USB 3 stick, Windows will install much quicker), then launch Rufus. Parted Magic (essential to enable BitLocker)Ĭreate a USB bootable Windows 10 image. Samsung Magician (essential to enable BitLocker) USB key (at least 8 GB, USB 3 recommended) Dell XPS 13 9343/9350, Samsung M.2 SSD (probably works on Dell XPS 15 too) You need to do it right if you don't want the performance penalty of having BitLocker running in software instead of hardware mode. Enabling hardware encryption is an especially convoluted process with Samsung SSDs, but it is worth the hassle if you need/want the security. If you want an easy way to have FDE (full-disk encryption), easily protecting your computer from unwanted access and foiling data thieves, BitLocker is the way to go.īitLocker is compatible with Samsung's built-in SSD hardware encryption, so you get encryption with very low overhead and battery life penalty. Plus, you'll find cloning guides on the Internet with a Google search. Two reasons: 1) I want a clean install with no Dell crapware preinstalled and 2) I want to enable BitLocker with hardware encryption. Why is there no cloning instructions in this guide? You can use the SSD hardware encryption without using the TPM as an authentication method.) (Side note: The XPS 9350 has a working TPM, which you can choose to use for BitLocker. Samsung M.2 SSD drives support hardware encryption. Optional: Enable BitLocker, leveraging the SSD's hardware encryption for best performance.
Clean install of Windows 10 (might also work with Windows 8)ģ.
Replace the factory SSD with a larger capacity Samsung SSDĢ. Here's hoping this guide will help you save time.ġ. I've done it on other notebooks but there are significant hurdles that are specific to the Dell XPS 13.
Foreword: I'm posting this walkthrough because I struggled with the "enable BitLocker" part for over an hour and found no guide explaining how to proceed.