Dell Inspiron 1545 SSD upgrade

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@JOcean wrote:

SSD and HDD drives are backwards compatible. So the SATA 3 SSD will work in your system. However are you sure you want to invest any money into a system that is approaching 10 years old? That is pretty old technology and the wiser decision may be to invest that money into a new much faster laptop running Windows 10.

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I did consider buying a new laptop, but it would cost around £400 to £500 and I prefer the design of the
Inspiron 1545 compared to newer laptops which don't have a DVD drive and don't have as good a keyboard as the 1545.

I recently upgraded the processor to a T9600 2.8 Ghz. The laptop is noticably faster now.

If you get one of the slender drives, you will need to manipulate the drive when replacing to align the connectors.  If you can find a shim or just do it while inserting the drive it should work.

Will you be running Win 10 on the system?  You can certainly try it but there may be some devices which have problems.  Such as Wi-Fi and IDT audio, but you can make that decision after going to Win 10...

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@Saltgrass wrote:

If you get one of the slender drives, you will need to manipulate the drive when replacing to align the connectors.  If you can find a shim or just do it while inserting the drive it should work.

Will you be running Win 10 on the system?  You can certainly try it but there may be some devices which have problems.  Such as Wi-Fi and IDT audio, but you can make that decision after going to Win 10...

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Yes, I intend to run Windows 10 on the system.

Does the WiFi card have to be replaced to use WiFI in Win 10?

I guess the audio hardware can't be replaced? Anyone know if generic audio drivers work for the 1545 in Win 10?

I don't remember checking the audio while running a recent build.  I suppose I could to that.  If you needed to you could use Bluetooth or USB audio devices if the IDT audio had a problem.

If you have the original Wi-Fi card, I would guess it will but you might only know for sure after trying to install.  If you have problems installing, see if you can enable both Wi-Fi and Bluetooth in the Bios.

It looks like with 1809 and latest updates the sound is still working using the basic Win 10 sound drivers.

I have a Wireless-AC 7260 Wi-Fi card and it works.  The DVD drive is still working.

Now that my system is updated, I will shut it down and put Win 7 back on it....

Let me know quickly if you need anything else.

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@Saltgrass wrote:

It looks like with 1809 and latest updates the sound is still working using the basic Win 10 sound drivers.

I have a Wireless-AC 7260 Wi-Fi card and it works.  The DVD drive is still working.

Now that my system is updated, I will shut it down and put Win 7 back on it....

Let me know quickly if you need anything else.

 

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Is there a particular reason why you put Win 7 back on it?

For Win 10, would it be worth upgrading the RAM from 3GB to 4GB?

With Win 10, the more memory the better.

I like Win 7 .. :Wink:

@Saltgrass. I have another question.

After fitting the SSD drive, do I need to do anything such as change any settings in the BIOS or do I just insert the Windows installation DVD?

Its great,After upgrading to SSD system performance got better then before and load times are getting lesser.Before Upgrading to SSD i have downloaded a system performance manager software which keep system performance fast and smooth and i feel if you can't upgrade to SSD then you may gave a try to that software 

Hi my friend! Did you finally change something on the BIOS to install the SSD? Do I need change to AHCI mode

Thanks

I have tried to replace the hard drive with a new SSD drive but the computer is not able to detect the SSD drive

The SSD is probably significantly slimmer than the hard drive the system is designed for.  You likely need to install a spacer so that the connector on the drive lines up with the connector on the system board.

Example:

https://www.amazon.com/Edge-7mm-9-5mm-Spacer-Adapter/dp/B014LQM6I2

As mentioned, the size of the drive can be a problem.  I don't use a spacer but I do have to install it so the connection can be made which means elevating the back end of the drive above the tray..

I have used double-sided tape.