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May 23rd, 2021 09:00
How to Replace my Main Hard Drive (HDD) with an SSD: Inspiron 5770
I am using an Inspiron 5770, and I would like to replace its HDD with an SSD. Forgive me if this information is available elsewhere; I have found the general procedure (literally just swapping the hard drives out), but I am having trouble finding specifics for this model.
- How do I know if an SSD is compatible with this laptop? Any specific SSD recommendations?
- Besides the SSD, what equipment and software will I need? I know I have to copy Windows from the HDD to the SSD, but I'm not sure how to go about it.
Thank you!
ejn63
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May 23rd, 2021 09:00
You can either replace the hard drive with a 2.5" SATA SSD, or add an M.2 2280 NVMe or SATA SSD. For the latter, check inside the system to make sure the mounting hardware necessary is present - if it is not, you'll need the standoff and screw (you can order these with the drive).
Service manual here:
https://www.dell.com/support/home/en-us/product-support/product/inspiron-17-5770-laptop/docs
Sofware-wise, Macrium Reflect (free edition) is hard to beat for cloning. Just be sure you remove the original drive from the system before you boot the first time after cloning.
MikeyGB88
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September 6th, 2021 06:00
I thought this was the solution I have been waiting for after many times of trying to get my new 2TB SSD working as a direct replacement for the delivered 1TB SSD. I have tried booting as an "empty" drive & as a cloned drive - & with no SSD fitted - without success. The Dell software recognises the new SSD but the laptop will not boot. After I swap back to the original SSD - boot is normal.
The 5770 laptop also has a SATA HDD which is where I thought all the boot & operating systems are?
Any other suggestions please?
delyle
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April 27th, 2022 10:00
I too thought this was this the solution so I bought a 1TB SSD SATA drive to replace the OEM 1TB HDD SATA drive. After cloning the drive with Macrium Reflect I removed the HDD, installed the SSD and I get No Boot Device Found. I checked some DELL online documentation which states the largest SSD drive I can use is 256MB. I even called DELL tech support and they told me the same thing.
So for those of you that think you can simply swap a HDD for a SSD of the same capacity you may discover you now own a useless SSD. If anyone else believes this is invalid I'd be interested in hearing an alternate solution. Therefore, I'm now stuck with a slow HDD as I have well over 256MB of data on the HDD. These DELL devices are full of hidden limitations. Happy I bought a Lenovo as a spare.
ejn63
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April 27th, 2022 11:00
To the system, there is no difference between a SATA hard drive or a solid state drive -- the system sees only the SATA interface, not hardware behind it.
Go into setup (F2 at powerup) - if the SSD shows there, the problem is the way the cloning was done -- not the hardware itself.
Did you disconnect the original drive before you booted the system from the new drive for the first time? If not, that's the issue.
delyle
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April 27th, 2022 12:00
Regarding your last question in your response about disconnecting the drive. Here are the steps i took: attacked new crucial ssd to usb port, cloned the internal hdd, shutdown, removed internal hdd and swapped with the newly cloned ssd. Rebooted. No boot device found.
John_Tech_Savvy
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June 14th, 2023 17:00
One of the key items to check is to see if you have Intel Optane memory and disable it prior to replacing the HDD with an SSD. This feature married the HDD to an M.2 SSD (256GB).
Hope this helps someone down the line.
John Merrill
Tech Savvy, LLC
South Carolina