I recently purchased the baseline model of the Dell Inspiron 27" (7775) AiO with the intention of updating it with NVMe and a SSD for data storage. This specifically is the AiO with the AMD Ryzen processor and Radeon RX560. The motherboard model is DELL 0KTK77. The M.2 is a "M key".
For transparency, I was completely unfamiliar with NVMe and am still learning (please consider before critiques). This tutorial is simply a reference for that specific audience who wants it to work, but doesn't care about the how or why. I acknowledge that some of the terminology is used inappropriately. I purposely chose them for that audience to follow along.
1. After somewhat understanding this NVMe thing, I opened Dell's SupportAssist and updated to the most recent BIOS version.
2. Since this was a brand new computer with no data, I intended to perform a new install. I utilized Dell's USB Recovery Tool (search: Dell OS Recovery Tool) to create a backup of the system. The requirement was a blank USB with at least 16gb, however it only used 4.25gb.
3. I was unable to find my sticker with the Windows product key, and was uncertain about this recovery method, so just in case I used Windows PowerShell to determine it. From PowerShell paste this query, as is, with spaces: Get-WmiObject -query 'select * from SoftwareLicensingService').OA3xOriginalProductKey
4. I laid the computer down and removed the two upward facing screws below the gray back panel, slid the gray panel upward, and lifted it off.
5. In the upper-left portion of the computer, I removed the one screw above the HDD mount, slid it down, lifted it off, and then disconnected the cable. I then removed the three black screws holding the HDD to the mount and replaced it with the SSD. I then attached the SSD to the mount and back onto the computer, but did not plug it in...yet.
6. In the upper-right portion of the computer, I removed the six screws affixing the large metal plate to the computer and lifted it off.
7. I located the M.2 slot directly left of the RAM and installed the NVMe stick. I'm unsure of other manufacturers, but neither the Dell nor my NVMe came with the screw. Luckily, I had one from another computer I was trashing. I think the screw may have been shorter than needed, as I watched the stick slowly start to bend. Just something to consider.
8. I then reassembled the whole computer with SSD still unplugged.
9. With the USB installed, I powered on the computer. The Dell recovery program tried to run, however it said no location found to install. I selected "Shutdown" and powered it back on. This time the UEFI ran. I selected my country and keyboard and then it presented two options: "Reset this PC" and "Advanced Options" (pretty sure those were the option names. Regardless, I selected the top one to reset the PC).
10. A black screen with the Dell logo appeared along with a status bar below it. Using a USB 3.0, in the 3.0 slot, it took 30 minutes to complete 50%. The other 50% took five minutes and Windows loaded.
11. I ran Crystal Disk Mark. My budget level NVMe with 240gb for $70 clocked 1314 MB/s Read/ 1063 MB/s Write. Happily, it now takes six seconds from power button to Windows.
12. I then powered down, disassembled the computer, and plugged in the SSD.
13. Once in Windows, I right-clicked the Windows button in the lower-left screen corner, and selected "Disk Management". I right-clicked the new drive and selected "initialize".
For transparency, I was completely unfamiliar with NVMe and am still learning (please consider before critiques). This tutorial is simply a reference for that specific audience who wants it to work, but doesn't care about the how or why. I acknowledge that some of the terminology is used inappropriately. I purposely chose them for that audience to follow along.
1. After somewhat understanding this NVMe thing, I opened Dell's SupportAssist and updated to the most recent BIOS version.
2. Since this was a brand new computer with no data, I intended to perform a new install. I utilized Dell's USB Recovery Tool (search: Dell OS Recovery Tool) to create a backup of the system. The requirement was a blank USB with at least 16gb, however it only used 4.25gb.
3. I was unable to find my sticker with the Windows product key, and was uncertain about this recovery method, so just in case I used Windows PowerShell to determine it. From PowerShell paste this query, as is, with spaces: Get-WmiObject -query 'select * from SoftwareLicensingService').OA3xOriginalProductKey
4. I laid the computer down and removed the two upward facing screws below the gray back panel, slid the gray panel upward, and lifted it off.
5. In the upper-left portion of the computer, I removed the one screw above the HDD mount, slid it down, lifted it off, and then disconnected the cable. I then removed the three black screws holding the HDD to the mount and replaced it with the SSD. I then attached the SSD to the mount and back onto the computer, but did not plug it in...yet.
6. In the upper-right portion of the computer, I removed the six screws affixing the large metal plate to the computer and lifted it off.
7. I located the M.2 slot directly left of the RAM and installed the NVMe stick. I'm unsure of other manufacturers, but neither the Dell nor my NVMe came with the screw. Luckily, I had one from another computer I was trashing. I think the screw may have been shorter than needed, as I watched the stick slowly start to bend. Just something to consider.
8. I then reassembled the whole computer with SSD still unplugged.
9. With the USB installed, I powered on the computer. The Dell recovery program tried to run, however it said no location found to install. I selected "Shutdown" and powered it back on. This time the UEFI ran. I selected my country and keyboard and then it presented two options: "Reset this PC" and "Advanced Options" (pretty sure those were the option names. Regardless, I selected the top one to reset the PC).
10. A black screen with the Dell logo appeared along with a status bar below it. Using a USB 3.0, in the 3.0 slot, it took 30 minutes to complete 50%. The other 50% took five minutes and Windows loaded.
11. I ran Crystal Disk Mark. My budget level NVMe with 240gb for $70 clocked 1314 MB/s Read/ 1063 MB/s Write. Happily, it now takes six seconds from power button to Windows.
12. I then powered down, disassembled the computer, and plugged in the SSD.
13. Once in Windows, I right-clicked the Windows button in the lower-left screen corner, and selected "Disk Management". I right-clicked the new drive and selected "initialize".
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