Comments on: SSD and RAM upgrade in Dell Inspiron 15 3558

By: GME

GME — Sun, 04 Dec 2022 18:02:01 +0000

In reply to Paul Nordberg. The drive it comes with is formatted as a GPT drive, and boots from the EUFI entry in the BIOS. When you do a fresh install of the Win10 OS you wipe out the GPT table, and it installs an MBR table instead. MBR disks cannot boot from the EUFI entry, and the BIOS has to be changed to "Legacy" for it to recognize the SSD with the freshly installed OS. You have to press F2 when the machine is first booting to get into the BIOS. Then click down I believe it's 3 lines to get to the startup configuration, and check the "Legacy" check box. Then it will recognize the SSD with the new OS. Once you're up and running, you can convert the MBR disk type to GPT, if you'd like... Just remember, if it's an MBR disk, you have to set the BIOS to "Legacy", and if it's a GPT disk, you have to set the BIOS to EUFI. That's the secret... ;-)

By: Juan

Juan — Sun, 09 Oct 2022 01:15:39 +0000

Thank you very much for this guide! It was very helpful!

By: Paul Nordberg

Paul Nordberg — Mon, 11 May 2020 14:37:20 +0000

Hi,
I installed a 500GB Western Digital SSD in a Inspiron 3558 i3.
I’m getting a “media driver missing” error when trying to install Windows 10.
Thoughts ?
Thanks
Paul

By: Paul Nordberg

Paul Nordberg — Thu, 07 May 2020 19:12:59 +0000

Paul
Thanks for this guide. I have a 3558 core i3 & added 4GB ram and swapped for a Western Digital blue 500GB SSD.
When booting & re-installing Windows 10 I get an error message saying I am missing a media driver (says for usb or optical or Hard Disc drive.) & offers to search for one. (never finds one of course) Since CD & usb work & bios does not see the SSD I’m guessing that is the missing driver.
I had his same problem & error message some time ago with an inspiron 3521. After some searching I found that the 3521 cannot use a SSD.
Any Help?
Thanks
Paul

By: Chuck Bartz

Chuck Bartz — Sun, 19 Apr 2020 01:19:17 +0000

Hello,
I have a Dell Inspiron 15 3558 with a 6th gen intel i5-6 200U Processor up 2.8 GHz, is there a i7 motherboard with a dedicated graphics card slot available to replace in my laptop.

By: IML Tech

IML Tech — Sun, 29 Mar 2020 16:27:25 +0000

In reply to anonimo. You cannot replace the processor because it's soldered to the motherboard but you can find a new motherboard with a better processor.

By: anonimo

anonimo — Sun, 22 Mar 2020 22:40:57 +0000

is it possible to replace the i3 5005u processor to an i5 or an i7 of the same generation?

By: Miles

Miles — Mon, 20 Jan 2020 13:58:07 +0000

Alright!
Got the 8GB module a day early and I installed it right away. First, a correction: I actually had a 4GB one and an empty slot, so my Inspiron now runs on 12GB!

Works perfectly OK. When I started the laptop back up after the installation, a BIOS-type screen popped up saying “Memory has changed”. That’s it. I checked the System info to see if the laptop was registering the new RAM and it was.

The performance difference is amazing. There’s barely any lag now at +300% the RAM! Running RAM-destroying ProTools with all the plug-ins is a breeze now.

The upgrade was quick and easy. To everyone attempting this: take your time, don’t rush. Go through the guide a couple of times before you start taking the laptop apart and follow the steps.

By: IML Tech

IML Tech — Sat, 18 Jan 2020 20:49:21 +0000

In reply to Miles. Excellent, let me know how it goes. It will help other Inspiron 15 3558 owners. Also, if 10GB works fine (meaning the laptop can support more than 8GB), probably you should buy another 8GB module to enable dual-channel mode (faster). It is enabled when a pair of same-size memory modules are installed into matching memory banks.

By: Miles

Miles — Sat, 18 Jan 2020 19:40:59 +0000

Great! I’ve ordered the 8GB card, but only because I already have 2x2GB in the slots, so I’ll have 10GB total for some $53 Canadian (vs $120 for 2x8GB and two wasted 2GB cards). I’ll come back for the guide as soon as Amazon drops it off! 🙂
Thanks again!