Solved Swaping SSDs (Hardware swap)

AmericanPharaoh · Apr 3, 2024

I suppose you've already followed all the Dell troubleshooting procedures before calling the laptop toast.

Including to check whether or not the laptop is equipped with M-BIST.

Porthos · Apr 3, 2024

nick11 said:
Page says "Support SSD Drivers Size: 2242, 2260, 2280mm"

I'm not sure if I have a half-length SSD or a full-length SSD. Am I correct that a half-length SSD is a 2230 and a full-length SSD is a 2280?

It would not matter with this adapter. Amazon.com

Bree · Apr 3, 2024

nick11 said:
Looking at the Micron 2400 product brief (pdf) I can't figure if I have a 2230, a 2242, or a 2280. 512GB drives come in all 3 forms!

Page 2 of that brief shows that the full part number tells you the size. You may be able to see the part number in Device Manager, if not you could try CrystalDisk Info. CrystalDiskInfo Portable (disk health monitoring) | PortableApps.com

My Dell Latitude 3190 2-in-1 had a 2230 SK Hynix SSD (now upgraded to the BG4 above). There is just the one mounting screw for a 2280, Dell added an adapter plate to the 2230 to make it fit.

nick11 · Apr 3, 2024

AmericanPharaoh said:
I suppose you've already followed all the Dell troubleshooting procedures before calling the laptop toast.

Including to check whether or not the laptop is equipped with M-BIST.

I did most of the troubleshooting (hard reset, AC adapter checks) but not the M-BIST. I'll do that.

Just to be sure, the battery status LED that's referred in the two troubleshooting links above, is the LED that's located next to the power adapter socket, correct?

AmericanPharaoh · Apr 3, 2024

Looking through the Inspiron i5 3511 Laptop Service Manual, I see the system needs to be powered on in order to perform any of these tests.

Support for Inspiron 15 3511 | Documentation | Dell US

Since a hard reset didn't work, I'd start swapping out parts, the power adapter and battery before I'd say the problem is the motherboard, etc. You could try calling a couple computer repair shops to see if they would charge you to try a different adapt or battery. Just depends on the shop. Maybe they'll do it for a small fee.

If you have a voltmeter, you can test the power adapter output. Refer to the product specifications.

Be sure to examine the power jack on the computer. If the power cord ever got jerked, it could have damaged this connector.

AmericanPharaoh · Apr 4, 2024

If you have the 3cell battery, it is like this one.

New for Inspiron 3511 Laptop Battery 11.25V 41Wh G91J0 | eBay

G91J0 0MGCM5 0FH3K2 0XDY9K 0WV3K8 0MVK11 0VKYJX. Capacity: 41Wh. For Inspiron 3510 3511 3515 5310 5410 5410 2-IN-1 Series. For Inspiron 5415 5418 5510 5515 5518 7415 2-IN-1 Series. Fit Laptop Models.

www.ebay.com

The power adapter.

65W For Dell Inspiron 15 3511 19.5V 3.33A AC Adapter Charger Power Supply Cord | eBay

Dell Inspiron 15 3511. Output: 65W 19.5V 3.34A. Not Original. Input: 100-240V 50-60Hz (for worldwide use). 00285K 03RG0T 04H6VH 070VTC 0JHJX0 0KXTTW 0X9RG3. Compatible P/N Connecter size: 4.5x3.0mm.

www.ebay.com

AC DC IN POWER JACK CABLE HARNESS CHARGING PORT For DELL Inspiron 15 3000 Series

AC DC IN POWER JACK CABLE HARNESS CHARGING PORT For DELL Inspiron 15 3000 Series | eBay

For Dell Inspiron 15-3000. For Dell Inspiron 15-3551. For Dell Inspiron 15-3558. For Dell Inspiron 15-3552. Condition: One piece New Power Jack Cable for Dell Laptop! Note: Exactly work as genuine parts.

www.ebay.com

Dell Inspiron i5 3511, service manual shows how to R&R this part on pages 78 & 79.

TechnoMage2021 · Apr 4, 2024

nick11 said:
My Dell Inspiron 3511 laptop suddenly powered off and I can't power it back on. I suspect something malfunctioned or got fried but upon a visual inspection I can't see anything wrong. Anyway, I don't have time to investigate right now. My sister has a working Dell Inspiron 3520 laptop. How good of an idea is to swap the SSDs so I can recover the data from the SSD in my laptop? See, my latest backup is 3 months old. Both SSDs are Windows 11 boot drives . Will Windows go along with the swap?

The simplest answer is "YES".
Windows 11 is very versatile, in that it will make itself right at home, almost anywhere you want to put it. If it sees different hardware, it will take a few seconds to install compatible drivers, before presenting you with its Desktop.
Then it will run like it was originally installed there.
Cheers Mate,
TM

nick11 · Apr 4, 2024

AmericanPharaoh said:
Looking through the Inspiron i5 3511 Laptop Service Manual, I see the system needs to be powered on in order to perform any of these tests.

M-BIST is a BUST?

How to Troubleshoot Power Issues on a Dell Laptop says:

"M-BIST must be manually initiated before Power-On Self-Test (POST) process and can be initiated on a Dell laptop that is not able to turn on."

no?

AmericanPharaoh said:
Since a hard reset didn't work, I'd start swapping out parts, the power adapter and battery before I'd say the problem is the motherboard, etc.

I tried the power adapter in my 3511 on my sister 's 3520 a`it works fine. And if the battery died, the laptop would work on AC, right?

AmericanPharaoh said:
Be sure to examine the power jack on the computer. If the power cord ever got jerked, it could have damaged this connector.

You mean the plug on the end of the power adapter? It looks ok.

AmericanPharaoh · Apr 4, 2024

nick11 said:
M-BIST is a BUST?

How to Troubleshoot Power Issues on a Dell Laptop says:

"M-BIST must be manually initiated before Power-On Self-Test (POST) process and can be initiated on a Dell laptop that is not able to turn on."

no?

I tried the power adapter in my 3511 on my sister 's 3520 a`it works fine. And if the battery died, the laptop would work on AC, right?

You mean the plug on the end of the power adapter? It looks ok.

I've read two different descriptions of how M-BIST works, one saying it only works with power, the other saying it works without power. Best thing to do is put it to the test, it will work, or it won't. If it does work, the service manual will show the LED blink codes. The diagnostic LED is located right next to the power jack.

I've seen bad batteries overheat the power adapter and burn it out, then you not only have a bad battery but no power at all.

I'm glad to see you're getting it sorted. It's all about testing and trial and error. Keep swapping those parts. Or you can give up and yank out the SSD and start all over in a new rig. I was only trying to help you save some time and money.

nick11 · Apr 4, 2024

AmericanPharaoh said:
I'm glad to see you're getting it sorted. It's all about testing and trial and error. Keep swapping those parts. Or you can give up and yank out the SSD and start all over in a new rig. I was only trying to help you save some time and money.

And I appreciate it very much.

I'll try the M-BIST and also try to recover the data (my backups are 3 months old) and then I'll look on the hardware side.

AmericanPharaoh · Apr 4, 2024

nick11 said:
And I appreciate it very much.

I'll try the M-BIST and also try to recover the data (my backups are 3 months old) and then I'll look on the hardware side.

Absolutely nothing wrong with choosing two avenues for repair. If the internal hardware turns out bad, you still have your data ready for the next step.

I looked up M-BIST again, and here's what I found:

Note: M-BIST operates even when there’s no video, fan activity, or hard disk drive spin-up. It’s designed to diagnose issues even when the computer appears completely unresponsive.

If your Dell computer is completely dead, the M-BIST can still run and provide valuable diagnostic information about the motherboard. However, keep in mind that it won’t magically revive the system—it’s a diagnostic tool, not a resurrection spell!

nick11 · Apr 10, 2024

I did the M-BIST diagnostic test (while the system was connected to AC power) and the battery indicator LED didn't light up. The manual says that no light means:

"No fault detected with the system board" "

if that's true, what else can be wrong? I've done all the steps in How to Troubleshoot Power Issues on a Dell Laptop .

I, also, tried to remove the SSD but I couldn't unscrew the screw that secures he SSD thermal plate (the screw in the red circle it step 1):

I think the screw was screwed too tightly at the factory. I tried but it's so tightly screwed that I probably stripped it...

steveg · Apr 10, 2024

"I think the screw was screwed too tightly at the factory. I tried but it's so tightly screwed that I probably stripped it..."

Small needle nose vise grips have worked for me in the past for similar situations.

AmericanPharaoh · Apr 10, 2024

It's been nearly a week since I was last in this thread, I will need to read up on the M-BIST procedure, again.

For the stripped-out M.2 screw. Take a rubber band and put it into the stripped head between the screwdriver and screw, that should help it get a grip. If that doesn’t work, you can carefully cut a small flathead cut into the screw to remove it with a flathead screwdriver. Or you can drill it out, by using a drill bit slightly larger than the screw and drill until the head of the screw separates from the screw, remove the M.2, then take pliers to extract the screw.

UPDATE: I just looked up the M-BIST steps again, says if there is no error, the battery status LED remains off. Well, that's not very helpful is it. It would be time to disassemble the laptop and start checking voltages and continuity. But I think for you, it's time to take the M.2 out and get your data off it.

nick11 · Apr 10, 2024

AmericanPharaoh said:
It's been nearly a week since I was last in this thread, I will need to read up again on the M-BIST procedure.

And I'll probably work on the dead laptop on Sunday since that's when my handy cousin will come over, so my next reply will probably be next week!

AmericanPharaoh said:
For the stripped-out M.2 screw. Take a rubber band a d put it into the stripped head between the screwdriver and screw, that should help it get a grip. If that doesn’t work, you can carefully cut a small flathead cut into the screw to remove it with a flathead screwdriver.

OK.

AmericanPharaoh said:
Or you can drill it out, by using a drill bit slightly larger than the screw and drill until the head of the screw separates from the screw, remove the M.2 then take pliers to extract the screw.

I thought about using a drill too but I'm very afraid of destroying the threading of the "screw hole" (sorry, I don't remember the correct term). Are you sure I can use a drill bit bigger than the screw?

AmericanPharaoh · Apr 10, 2024

nick11 said:
I thought about using a drill too but I'm very afraid of destroying the threading of the "screw hole" (sorry, I don't remember the correct term). Are you sure I can use a drill bit bigger than the screw?

If you use a drill bit slightly larger than the screws shaft and drill into the head to a depth just deep enough to cut off the head of the screw then you can remove the M.2, then take a pair of pliers and twist out the remaining screw shaft. sorry, I can't explain it better.

You can also take some epoxy and a small nail and bond it to the stripped-out screw, wait until the next day and take some pliers and twist it out.

nick11 · Apr 10, 2024

OK, I'll give it a try. Thank you.

nick11 · Apr 15, 2024

Using a drill I cut off the head of the screw, removed the thermal plate, and removed the SSD (2230) from my laptop. I replaced the SSD in my sister's laptop with the SSD I removed from my laptop but when I tried to boot I got an INACCESSIBLE_BOOT_DEVICE error.

I ordered an 2230 enclosure (ORICO M.2 NVMe SSD Enclosure) and will put the SSD I removed from my laptop in it.

BTW, I connected the AC adapter to my laptop (LED was green) and tried to power on while the SSD and the battery were removed. Nothing happened. No lights came on either.

glasskuter · Apr 16, 2024

I agree with the others. A USB enclosure is the best way to go for data recovery. Here's something that no one has mentioned.

But if you DO put your m.2 into her laptop and it won't boot, look at the disk mode setting in UEFI BIOS.. Dell is notorious for enabling RAID in their computers, both laptops and PCs. If her's is set to RAID and your's is set to AHCI, change her setting to AHCI and it should boot. If you find that both laptops disk mode is set to RAID, the Intel Rapid Storage Controller (IRST)driver on your m.2 drive may not be the appropriate IRST driver for her laptop. Either of those scenarios will cause her laptop to not boot with your m.2.
If you put the drive into an enclosure, disk mode setting won't matter.
EDIT: I see from your last post, this is exactly what happened.

nick11 · Apr 16, 2024

glasskuter said:
But if you DO put your m.2 into her laptop and it won't boot, look at the disk mode setting in UEFI BIOS.. Dell is notorious for enabling RAID in their computers, both laptops and PCs. If her's is set to RAID and your's is set to AHCI, change her setting to AHCI and it should boot. If you find that both laptops disk mode is set to RAID, the Intel Rapid Storage Controller (IRST)driver on your m.2 drive may not be the appropriate IRST driver for her laptop. Either of those scenarios will cause her laptop to not boot with your m.2.
If you put the drive into an enclosure, disk mode setting won't matter.
EDIT: I see from your last post, this is exactly what happened.

So, I can change the UEFI status to AHCI on the working laptop to (hopefully) enable it to boot with the SSD from the dead laptop, correct?

I'll try it. The enclosure hasn't shipped yet!