Inspiron 5680 SSD Upgrade?

There's a mis-match between the Service Manual which says it's an M.2 SATA connector, and the specs which say it's an M.2 PCIe/NVMe connector.

Read this thread about installing an NVME SSD, and/or have a look at the slot and your 128 GB SSD directly to see if they're keyed for a SATA or a NVME SSD.

The specs also say it takes an SSD "Up to 256 GB". Doesn't mean a larger one won't work, but Dell hasn't validated this model for anything larger than 256 GB. So read this thread about using a larger SSD in the 5680.

Hi RoHe,

I also have a Inspirion (with an I7-8700). As the built in "SK Hynix SC311 SATA 128 GB" SSD is always full, I would like to replace it. Would a 'Samsung 980 - M.2 Interne SSD - NVME - 1TB also work'?

I assume I'l have to do a clean Windows install (and first probably have to set SATA operation in Bios to AHCI if I read other posts correctly)...

Thanks,

 Tom

@QsDke  - Don't think a Samsung 980 SSD will work. You said you have an SK Hynix SC311 SATA SSD in the M.2 slot. According to Samsung's specs the 980 1T SSD is an NVME SSD. 

Read this to identify the M.2 slot's key which determines what type of SSD it uses because SSDs are not interchangeable.

You could re-configure Windows on the 128-GB SSD to use AHCI now, to make things easier when you replace it, as long as you do it the right way:

1. Open Cmd, run as administrator
2. Copy-paste this command, which will start Windows in Safe Mode the next time you reboot: bcdedit /set {current} safeboot minimal and press Enter
3. Restart the computer and enter BIOS setup
4. Change the SATA operation mode from RAID to AHCI
5. Save the change and exit Setup and Windows will automatically boot in Safe Mode
6. Open Cmd again, as in step #1
7. Copy-paste this command, which will start Windows in Normal Mode the next time you reboot: bcdedit /deletevalue {current} safeboot and press Enter
8. Reboot and Windows will automatically start with AHCI drivers enabled

Next, image all partitions on the Hynix SSD and save the image on an external USB HDD. Macrium Reflect (free) is a good tool for this. Select Macrium's option to validate the image as soon as it's created.  Then use Macrium to create a bootable USB you'll need in next steps.

After imaging the Hynix SSD, swap in the new SSD. Close up and plug in the Macrium USB and the HDD where you saved the image with power fully off. Power on and tap F12 to open the menu. Select the option to boot from USB.

When Macrium loads, use it to copy each partition in the image onto the new SSD, one at a time, saving the OS partition (C:) for last. When you copy the C: partition, tell Macrium to use all available free space on the new SSD. It can only increase the size of the last partition you moved, so you must save C: for last, otherwise all the extra space on new SSD will be wasted.

Thanks for the feedback RoHe

As far as I can tell, the current SK Hynix SC311 SATA is B&M key (see printscree below). The Samsung 980 (and I also think 970 & 960) are NVMe and use M key.

What is not clear to me is if my M.2 slot does or does not support both SATA & NVMe. A few webpages, like this one, suggest that the motherboard supports both SATA & NVMe.  On that link, that person claims successfully installing the Samsung 970 EVO 500GB NVMe PCIe M.2 SSD 

- Is there any way to know if my M.2 slot supports both (without tryting it)?
- I'm just discovering there exists PCIe expansion cards to ad a M.2 port (not that expensive). I think I have a PCIe X4 slot free. Maybe that is a better solution?

- Or just install a bigger SATA M.2 slot (but they are slower and seem more expensive then the NMVe).

What would you do?

Current SSD is this one I think:

Source: https://www.amazon.com/SK-Hynix-SC311-128GB-HFS128G39TNF-N2A0A/dp/B07VRF8MS1

I think I'm gonna go with the M.2 PCI 4x expansion card (Icy Box IB-PCI214M2-HSL) and a  Samsung 980 1TB NVMe Drive. Currently about €80's. That's ok

I have the PCI 4x slot free (see picture). I also saw the current M.2 SSD is blocked by the GPU (so I would have to remove that one.

Be careful!  This PC model may not be able to boot from an NVME SSD connected via an x4 adapter card, if that's your intention.  Search this forum to see if anyone has successfully done that. And even so, that doesn't guarantee every combo of brand/model x4 adapter card and SSD will work...

As I said earlier in this thread, there's a mismatch between the description of the M.2 slot in the service manual and in the specs sheet. If someone else got an NVME SSD to work in the M.2 slot, you can probably do it too.

Samsung and several other OEMs says their SSDs don't work well when BIOS is set to RAID. So reconfigure Windows for ACHI as I posted above before you install any new drive. Then you can image the 128 GB SATA SSD and move the image onto the new SSD, expanding the C: partition to use the extra space..

You can also move the Windows default folders for docs, pics, etc onto a large add-in 2.5" SATA HDD or 2.5" SATA SSD to free up space on the boot drive (128 GB SSD). Some apps can be uninstalled in Windows on the C: drive and then reinstalled on a different drive to free up even mores space on the boot SSD.

It worked!
I succeed in installing an NMVe SSD (Samsung SSD 980 1TB) in an M.2 PCIe x4 converter card (Icy Box IB-PCI214M2-HSL) in my Dell Inspirion 5680 i7-8700 !
I was even able to re-use/migrate my current Windows 10 install (using the free Samsung Data Migration tool).

As it took me some research and questions, I'll put the details/steps below.

The built-in M.2 SATA SSD (SK Hynix SC311 SATA 128GB) was always full. I had already added a few other SATA SSD via de SATA slots, but I wanted a bigger boot drive that used the faster NMVe.
I first thought about replacing the SSD in the single M.2 slot of the motherboard, but that would require the removal of the graphics card (that itself needed the removal of some kind of cage that was around it).
But I eventually decided to use the converter card for a couple of reasons
-  I saw there was an accessible free PCI x4 slot
- the M.2  PCI x4 converter card cost less then 20 euros
- I wanted to migrate my existing win10 installation (which I think is easier with both drive in there at the same time)
- It would be easier to fallback to my old M.2 SATA SSD.

1) I first backup ed, and then put my BIOS in AHCI instead of RAID (as I read this was necessary)
I did:

1. Open Cmd, run as administrator
2. Copy-paste this command, which will start Windows in Safe Mode the next time you reboot: bcdedit /set safeboot minimal and press Enter
3. Restart the computer and enter BIOS setup (via F2)
4. On the second tab, change the SATA operation mode from RAID to AHCI
5. Save the change and exit Setup and Windows will automatically boot in Safe Mode
6. Open Cmd again, as in step #1
7. Copy-paste this command, which will start Windows in Normal Mode the next time you reboot: bcdedit /deletevalue safeboot and press Enter
8. Reboot and Windows will automatically start with AHCI drivers enabled

2) Prepared the convertor card (Icy Box IB-PCI214M2-HSL), put in the Samsung SSD 980 1TB

3) Opened the PC and put in the convertor card with SSD (in the PCI x4 slot

4) Booted up (still on my built-in M.2 SATA SSD).

5) (As I didn't see anything about a new drive, I launched ('Administrative Tools > 'Computer Management'>) 'Disk Management'. This gave a popup, showing it had detected a new disk. It asked me something about using MBR or GPT. I selected GPT.
Not sure if  this was necessary, Samsung Data migration might have done this also.)

6) I bought a Samsung SSD, because I like the Samsung Data Migration tool. I installed that one, and it allowed me to duplicate my existing (SK Hynix) C-drive to my new Samsung 980. Worked without issue.
After migrating but before rebooting, I renamed my current/old C-drive so I could recognize it.

7) Rebooted, pressing F12 to startup the boot manager. That allowed me to select the Samsung 980 as SSD. And it works perfectly upt now. Used Samsung Magician to check it's speed, and its faster then the Hynix.

Well done!

Did the Samsung software allow you to expand the C: partition to use all the extra space on the new 1T SSD?

If you want to keep the old M.2 SATA drive as back up, you will have to remove it from the system.  

Or you clean it with Diskpart if not needed for backup

Never a good idea to keep 2 bootable drives in the system.  It will get boot problem eventually.

Not getting the same results as the above.

Did the same as the above trying to get a M2 NMVe SSD to work in the PCIe slot. Wouldn't recognize it in the M.2 slot on the board, but it works in the PCIe slot. Cloned the C drive to the New F drive. Shows up in windows and works as a storage drive, but when I try to set it up as the boot drive in the BIOS it gives me a series of file paths to select: efi, System files then past that the selections are: (.), (..), (Microsoft), (boot), (recovery), and one other. If I select Microsoft, or boot, or recovery it branches into more files paths. Not sure what any of this means. Kind of stuck.