[SOLVED] Help installing an old SSD into Dell Laptop Latitude E5540

Oct 4, 2020
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Firstly I am no tech guru - youtube and forums have a lot to answer for coaxing us mothers into areas unknown!

I have bought a old Dell Latitude E5540 for my son. I have a SSD Crucial MX300 that I took out of an old laptop which was working fine and had Win 8.1 + other MS programs installed on it.
My memory oversimplified what I did last time to upgrade to a SSD and thought I could just swap them out in the Dell E5540.

Clearly this hasn't worked - and when I go into the Boot List there is no SSD as a choice.
The system BIOS is A17 a long way away from the current A23.

I have tried to find the steps I need to follow online but have just gotten entirely confused.

Any steps to try to follow would really be appreciated.
Thanks
Mel
 
Solution
Welcome to the forums, newcomer!

First of all, in it's current state, update the BIOS gradually working your way from A17 to A32. Once you reach A32, you can invest in a secondary drive caddy, then plonk the HDD in there and have the SSD in the original HDD's location. Use Windows Media Creation Tools to create a bootable installer for Windows 10, then set the primary boot device to be your USB installer.

If you have valuable data on the laptop, best back it up prior to installing the OS. Most likely the secondary drive caddy's height will be 9.5mm. You sure the SSD isn't dead?

Lutfij

Titan
Moderator
Welcome to the forums, newcomer!

First of all, in it's current state, update the BIOS gradually working your way from A17 to A32. Once you reach A32, you can invest in a secondary drive caddy, then plonk the HDD in there and have the SSD in the original HDD's location. Use Windows Media Creation Tools to create a bootable installer for Windows 10, then set the primary boot device to be your USB installer.

If you have valuable data on the laptop, best back it up prior to installing the OS. Most likely the secondary drive caddy's height will be 9.5mm. You sure the SSD isn't dead?
 
Solution
Oct 4, 2020
3
0
10
Hi thanks for your prompt reply.

We don't want to move to Win10 as the uncontrollable updates are annoying. We want to run Win8 & MS2010.

Are they some settings I could change to be able to read and boot from the SSD directly having been placed in the original HDD location?

Happy to update BIOS but will this in itself enable me to see the SSD in the boot directory?
 
You are fighting a losing battle avoiding windows 10.
I agree with you that 10 is a pain. Not only from the forced updates, but also from the awful navigation.

What is the os currently installed on the laptop?
It is probably best to keep it.

There will be all sorts of issues trying to install windows 7/8.
You may not be able to find any drivers forkeyboard, battery and display example.

You might be better off buying a laptop with 7 or 8.1 already installed and play on upgrading to a ssd.
The ssd upgrade is the key to a snappy laptop.

What about the laptop that was working fine that had the MX300 installed?