Help with adding SSD and RAM on 3583 laptop

Question

I've watched You Tube but am still so confused. First, I have no idea which hard drive I have now. All I know is it's not nearly enough room for what I need, so I'm quadupaling it.

Second, do I replace or add, or do I even have the option. I don't want to lose all my data.

The installation part I think I've got, but my question is, if I am adding a 1TB SSD Crucial hard drive (the thin kind, not the box), do I need to clone my existing hard drive or will it all still be there since I'm adding, not replacing? If so, do I need a special cord or USB attachment? What if I have everything backed up to a recovery drive (USB) and on the cloud?

Please explain this to me like I'm a 5 year old. LOL.

Also adding 8GB ram to make 16 total.

This is what I purchased.

Crucial P5 Plus 1TB PCIe 4.0 3D NAND NVMe M.2 Gaming SSD, up to 6600MB/s - CT1000P5PSSD8

Crucial 8GB Single DDR4 2666 MT/s (PC4-21300) SR X8 SODIMM 260-Pin Memory - CT8G4SFS8266

Thanks in advance.

Ally

Kflash08 · Accepted Answer

The Inspiron 3583 can accept a M.2 NVMe SSD. I know because I have the same exact model and I've installed a NVMe as my boot drive. The M.2 drive can be seen in the BIOS screenshot that the OP has posted.

As for upgrading storage, the OP should keep the NVMe SSD as the boot drive and add a 2.5" SSD for additional storage, that is, if the OP doesn't want to copy the existing NVMe to another NVMe of a larger capacity, or reinstall Windows and apps on the new NVMe. The downside is that the total storage will not be split across the two drives, and files would have to manually be saved or moved to the second drive. Personally, I would purchase a M.2 NVMe-to-USB adapter, install the new NVMe drive in it, connect it to the computer and use Macrinum Reflect to copy the partitions from the existing NVMe to the new one, then shut down the computer, switch the NVMe drives around and boot. Or...should the OP want to install a fresh install of Windows on the new NVMe, the adapter can be used to copy over existing files from the old NVMe.

ejn63 · Answer

Part of the answer to the first question depends on knowing what drive you have now; if it's M.2 (SATA or NVMe), you can't add another NVMe drive -- there's space for only one of them. You will have to replace the existing drive.

If you currently have a 2.5" SATA drive, you can add the M.2, but will need to either load Windows onto it anew or clone the existing drive -- if you have both M.2 and SATA in the system, M.2 must be the boot drive.

The RAM upgrade should go fine.

XPS_Man · Answer

You have bough the wrong drive this machine only supports 2.5 inch SSD or hard drive. So return the drive.  Now we know that already have a 2.5 inch drive in your machine, we need to figure out whether it's  SSD or HDD. Open the device manager > disk drives : You can find make and model of your hard drive, Just google is and it will tell you whether it's hard drive or SSD.    Now you need to purchase a 2.5 inch SSD : Like this one and a 2.5 inch external hard drive connector like this one Once you connected your newly purchased SSD to this connector, run this software Reflect 8 Free With this software, Clone your current hard drive to this new SSD, install it in your machine and that's it. You are good to go.    Now coming to RAM: You have a total of 2 RAM slots, but we don't know whether Dell has preinstalled single 8GB or dual 4GB sticks, Open task manager > performance > memory : You can check under slot used to find that, If it's single RAM stick, nothing is required simply put in your RAM and done.    If Dell installed dual 4GB sticks than there is no need to upgrade.

PetiteGal72 · Answer

OK now I'm really confused.

Crucial website said this one is compatible. However, when I googled my KBG30ZMS256g NVME Toshiba current drive, it's listed as SSD.

So I can't add the SSD stick drive (the one I ordered)?

I should order the same thing but in the square drive format?

And then the cables and usb adapter to clone?

Thanks again!!

ejn63 · Answer

Before going further, open your setup screen (F2 at powerup) and verify the system model listed there.

XPS_Man · Answer

SSDs come in different form factors. m.2 SATA, M.2 NVME, 2.5 inch ....................

You have purchased an NVME SSD which is not compatible with your machine. Yes You need a 2.5-inch SSD.

Get a 2.5 inch SSD, an external 2.5-inch casing, Macrinum Reflect 8 *free and you are all set.

PetiteGal72 · Answer

Thank you!! So I do not have to return my purchased SSD, and will buy that adapter, clone, then install new drive and ram.

Thanks so much for all your help. If I open it up and have a 2.5 drive, I will be back.

Hard drive will be here by tomorrow so I'll post an update as soon as I install.

Thanks again!!!

Ally

XPS_Man · Answer

dell seriously needs to fix this or am I missing something  Model 3583 shows only supporting 2.5 inch SSDs Inspiron 3583 Setup and Specifications | Dell US

Kflash08 · Answer

Port & Connectors > Internal: M.2

The specs page likely reflects what the system typically ships with, and certain specs/features may not be evident unless one looks around in the specifications article. It doesn't appear that this model originally shipped with a SSD option, though its possible that later ones did, and that the specifications article wasn't updated accordingly. However, I'm pretty sure that a 256 GB NVMe was on the storage specifications page at one time, unless I'm confusing it with another model. Other than that, I can't even recall what encourage me to upgrade to a NVMe SSD, unless it was a random YouTube video where someone installed one on camera.

DanMax · Answer

@PetiteGal72​ The Dell Inspiron has two (2) Slots. 1 Slot for a 2.5'' HDD. or SSD. 1 Slot for a M.2 NVMe SSD, or M.2 SATA SSD. According to the information on this laptop, which is what I have, the M.2 Slot is compatible with both technologies. NVMe PCIe, or SATA Interface... My Dell Inspiron 3583 Laptop is New Old-Stock. Meaning, it was manufactured in December of 2018 but I just opened a Laptop Bag & there it was, with the Charger... I also have Inspiron 13-7378 2-in-1 Laptops. They will also accept the M.2 NVMe, or M.2 SATA SSD...

Inspiron

Help with adding SSD and RAM on 3583 laptop

Crucial P5 Plus 1TB PCIe 4.0 3D NAND NVMe M.2 Gaming SSD, up to 6600MB/s - CT1000P5PSSD8

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