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March 22nd, 2015 15:00
Question Regarding SSD Installation into a Dell Inspiron 3647 Small Desktop
Hello,
I have recently purchase a Dell Inspiron 3647 small desktop as the title suggests, and would like to upgrade to a crucial SSD. The SSD and the Desktop arrived within a day of each other so I would like to install the hard drive before setting up the computer. It is my understanding that the small 3647 has no room for a secondary hard drive. The SSD will become my primary hard drive, and I will convert the 1 TB HDD that came with the tower to an external hard drive so that I can keep my optical drive.
The machine I bought came with windows 7. Since I don't have anything on the machine seeing as how I haven't even set up windows, I think it would be easier just to boot up with the SSD installed. However, the disk that came with the computer say it is Recovery Media for Windows 8.1 products. I bought the machine with Windows 7 because that is what I'd like to run. Will I be able to use the provided disk to install windows 7 onto the SSD drive as my primary drive, or will I have to boot up and clone the HDD over to the SSD drive once the machine is set up.
Any general advice on the subject is greatly appreciated as well.
Philip_Yip
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March 23rd, 2015 11:00
Follow the instructions here, your system came with Windows 8.1 Professional with Downgrade Rights to Windows 7 Professional...
You don't have a Windows 7 Professional Reinstallation DVD so have to make media with Dell Backup and Recovery and use that to reinstall on the SSD.
See below:
Step 1: Make Recovery media with Dell Backup and Recovery
Follow the instructions here to make a Rescue Disk (Bootable External Hard Drive) or Factory Backup (Bootable USB Flash Drive):
http://dellwindowsreinstallationguide.com/dell-backup-and-recovery/
This should be standard procedure when you get a new Dell system.
Also make a Windows 8.1 UEFI Bootable USB as its required to use DISKPART:
http://dellwindowsreinstallationguide.com/download-microsoft-windows-and-office/download-microsoft-windows/download-windows-8-1-retail-and-oem-iso/
This is useful to have to hand in case you later want a clean installation (For Windows 7 users the OEM .iso is unavailable to download so just use a Windows 8.1 .iso for DISKPART).
Step 2: Use DISKPART
Use of DISKAPRT will result in data loss...
Insert the Windows 8.1 Bootable USB. Power up your system and press F2 to get to the Dell BIOS setup. Ensure that the SATA Operation is AHCI (see the start of this video up till 1:21):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IGJ4MnZTNXo&list=PL1RkaknDn7v_SJaBuleIyodZD7Nt_IgqM&index=2
Windows 8.1
Windows 7
Boot from the Windows 8.1 installation media and use DISKPART > CLEAN ALL on the HDD and DISKPART > CLEAN on the SSD:
http://dellwindowsreinstallationguide.com/we-couldnt-create-a-new-partition-or-locate-an-existing-one-for-more-information-see-the-setup-log-files/
Step 3: Restore Factory Settings to SSD
Power down the system and remove the cables from the HDD. We want the computer setup so it has the SSD only otherwise Dell Backup and Recovery will restore to the HDD.
Use the Rescue Disk or Factory Backup to install Windows 8.1 or 7 to the mSATA SSD. Update Windows and check that its running okay.
http://dellwindowsreinstallationguide.com/dell-backup-and-recovery/#Restore
Power down your Dell.
Step 4: Initialise HDD and Assign for Libraries
You can power down your Dell and reinsert your hard drive. Power it up and log into Windows. Finally you can initialise your hard drive and set it up to use the HDD as a data drive:
http://dellwindowsreinstallationguide.com/hardware-upgrades-for-your-system/upgrading-to-a-solid-state-drive/solid-state-drive-and-hard-drive-configuration/
This should now have the factory settings installed correctly on the SSD with the HDD being used for your files.