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Inspiron 3847, Installing SSD instructions
I'd like to install a SSD, around 250 GB size, in my Inspiron 3847. Making it the boot drive instead of the stock 1TB SATA3 drive. I have Windows 10 Home as my operating system. Is it as simple as just plugging it in and format it as bootable, and then going into the BIOS and change the Boot order?
Thanks in advance.
DELL-Chris M
Community Manager
Community Manager
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54.2K Posts
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May 1st, 2018 08:00
The 2013 Inspiron 3847 never shipped with SATA3 SSD so you are in non-tested waters. Here are the Inspiron 3847 manuals. You are going to have to search for a way to mount the 2.5" SATA3 SSD. You might need to get a 3rd party 3.5" to 2.5" HDD caddy. The SSD would need to be formatted using the same parameters as the 1TB SATA3 drive. So check the current BIOS settings =
Advanced- Onboard Device Configuration- SATA Mode- AHCI
Boot- Secure Boot- Enabled
Boot- Boot Mode- UEFI
Boot- Boot Device order
Boot- Hard Disk Drivers- Boot Device order
For my notes, send me via Private Message the PC service tag number.
Tesla1856
8 Wizard
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May 1st, 2018 08:00
1. Should be fine
2. If the machine is in UEFI mode, I would say closer to this:
https://www.dell.com/community/Alienware-Desktops/M-2-NVMe-bootable-options/m-p/6073037#M3399
In UEFI mode, it seems the process of installing Windows (either clean or overlaid) is one way to get the "Windows Boot Manager" properly configured. On Dells, you also have the one-time F12 Boot Menu at your disposal.
3. I suppose, but only if in Legacy-Mode.
speedstep
8 Wizard
8 Wizard
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47K Posts
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May 2nd, 2018 05:00
Easiest way is to clone the drive using a SATA Wire and then mount into a Silverstone Adapter.
Done. You set UEFI Secure Boot OFF and CSM ON then F12 Boot the Apricorn CD and clone the internal drive to external. Then Swap.
https://www.apricorn.com/upgrades/sata-wire-3
https://www.amazon.com/SilverStone-SDP09-2-5-Inch-3-5-Inch-Hot-Swappable/dp/B0049MPQDG/
This is a been there done that on a 3847.
Works fine.
dcpyle
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January 16th, 2022 08:00
You did not state what you wanted to install. I installed a Samsung 870 EVO on my Dell Inspiron 3847. It works. But it also is not fully compatible. Samsung Magician software thinks that the drive is USB, although detecting it as SATA.
Performance Benchmarking is not available because the software claims it is not a supported feature (even though Samsung states that it is for this SSD.
BIOS and software update did not make any difference. Returned one and got a replacement, thinking it was defective because the Samsung Magician software displays it with a USB icon instead of a hard drive icon, and some weird 0MB volume A: shows up that isn't there on the drive.
Other than that, the drive does seem to work okay, and has excellent performance for the circumstances. It was like a new lease on life for this machine. Not sure, but you might have better luck with a Crucial SSD, if you want it recognized as a SATA SSD by various software on your Dell machine. But that is no guarantee with a Dell Inspiron.
I had had multiple problems with Windows thinking the system was a laptop computer from Windows 10 onward (which Microsoft was good enough to correct on being notified about Windows thinking the computer was a laptop and installing the laptop role every time there was a major update). I guess I cannot really blame Dell for that because the system only was certified for Windows 8 and 8.1. (Had exactly the same problem on a Dell Inspiron 560, too! But then that one was only certified for Windows 7, so....)
Still, the UEFI BIOS on the machine is practically crippled and they won't release an update to correct its several issues now that the system is out of warranty support. One egregious issue is that it won't expose the processor's capabilities of VBS or firmware TPM even though the processor was supposed to be supported for the system and does have those capabilities. I guess it was too much to ask to have a system be capable of Windows upgrades a few years in future or be capable of running a decent graphics card out of the box! Oh well. What can you do? "Suck it up and buy a new one!" I guess.
Yet in spite of the above, even with the Samsung SSD, I installed it, and installed Windows onto it just fine. Windows 10 and 11 both have the driver for my device built in. I just plugged it in, formatted it, and have been using it for a few weeks now. Performance is good for most things, but heaven forbid that you have to run a full virus scan! Performance is not all that great in that case. Started it last night and I got up this morning to find that it says it has only 6:31:24 hours remaining! But it still is leaps and bounds better than this system's bottlenecking with an SSHD installed! At least I can still work on the system while scanning or during file intensive operations. I could not do that on an SSHD on this system. If I had it to do all over again, I would not have purchased this system. But you could still potentially install an SSD on it. Just be aware that support is not an option, if you do. You are on your own.