Replacing SSD In Dell XPS Laptop And Windows 10 Pro Installation?

Laptop is


dell xps 15 9550
i5-6300hq processor
8gb ram
250gb ssd
32gb m.2 ssd
3 cell 56wh battery


I bought this laptop brand new few years ago on ebay not knowing that having a 2nd hard drive meant i get the 3 cell smaller battery. It also came with a regular 7200 rpm hard drive but i replaced it with an old samsung 250gb ssd of mine. I have used this laptop for over 2.5 years already.


I have bought a battery replacement for it 1 time... got it off ebay and that battery has been working fine for a bit less than 1.5 years. The old original battery basically went bad as it went out after 10 minutes or so. As of now, battery is still okay though there is wear in it. For example, whenever i turn on my laptop and say my charger is not plugged in... it shows around 92% battery and shows like 14 minute to fully charge. This is assuming i turn on my laptop without having it plugged in at the start. I always have my laptop charged to an outlet as i use my laptop inside my apartment pretty much close to 100%. So i know my battery has some wear because of this. And i get around 1h15m to 1h30m on the battery.



My laptop has had a few issues a while back like it being on the dell logo a few times and not loading etc. But this was a while back. But what laptop never has issues correct? Has anyone here never had a single issue with their xps 15 9550 such as it never froze on the dell logo screen or something like this? I assume not possible right?

I like my laptop a lot still want to continue using it. I do want to upgrade the battery to 97wh. I know there is 84wh and 97wh. Someone mentioned that if i have the 2.5 inch ssd removed, the the 84wh battery or 97wh battery will fit. Can anyone here confirm this 100%? Such as they done this or know someone that has done this? For example my processor is i5-6300hq and i know most xps 15 9550 laptops have an i7 processor. So the processor would not interfere with the battery at all right? Because i want to do this and buy all the parts. And if i do this, i have to remove my 250gb 2.5 inch ssd and get a m.2 ssd correct? I do have one at the moment 32gb that is in my laptop at the moment that came along with it but obviously its not big enough. I want to get bigger ssd... either 500gb or even 1tb one. So if i plan to use this laptop for a long time, best to get 1gb ssd? Also i know most ppl use a laptop for 2-3 years before they move to another one. But would you say its possible to use this laptop for many more years to come? Or it won't once windows 10 is replaced similar to like how no one uses windows 7? But surely upgrading it to the next windows on this laptop would fix this issue right?
I want to also upgrade ram from 8gb to 16gb. My laptop would get much more faster than right? The other issue is this. When i got this laptop new from ebay, it came with windows 10 home. When i went to repair shop to have them take out my 7200rpm ssd that came with the laptop and put in my old samsung 2.5 inch 250gb ssd, that person not only did that... but they installed a windows 10 pro copy for me. I did not ask this but they did it for me anyway. I don't recall how much i paid for the installation of windows though.

Now if i go to a computer shop and bring my laptop to them and have them take out my 56wh battery and replace it with 97wh battery, replace ram from 8gb to 16gb and take out the 250gb 2.5 inch ssd and 32gb m. 2 ssd and replace it with a 500gb or 1tb m.2 ssd, the moment they turn on my laptop, i will be starting fresh like a new computer right since you put a brand new ssd in it? Now here is another thing. When they set up windows 10 for me... or i do it myself... i will only have windows 10 home? Or would it be able to use the windows 10 pro i currently have now? I took a look at my settings and see my product key for windows 10 pro. So do i make sure i write that key on a piece of paper? That way when windows 10 home gets installed... then i upgrade to pro by entering that product code? Or would my windows 10 pro key not be valid anymore because its currently used on my computer now? Do i need to deactivate it on my computer first before i can activate it on the new ssd? I want windows 10 pro because i use bitlocker for it.


Also if i want to do all this would you say this is better than buying a completely new laptop such as dell xps 9570 or 7590? I estimate the parts and installation to be like this


97wh battery = $100
16gb ram = $70
500gb m.2 ssd = $100


Battery installation =$50
Ram installation = $50
SSD Installation and SSD Removal = $60


Total = $270 + 160 = $430


Would you say that is good estimate? Now wouldn't there be another installation fee since i have to get windows 10 installed once they put in my m.2 ssd? That probably is another $100?


Now if i were to buy a new xps 15 9570 with the same specs i want of 97wh battery, 16gb ram, 500gb m.2 ssd, i know it will cost minimum $1400. Also i read this laptop has tons of issues compared to the xps 15 9550 right? I heard it works for short time and not working and things like the battery is very poor compared to the 9550? Those of you who had the 9550, 9560 and 9570, how would you rate them from best to worst? Is it the 9550 still the best? I do know that the 9570 has a faster i7-8750h processor though. But is it much faster than my current i5-6300hq? Again, my laptop is more than fast enough for me.


Also don't even bother with the new 7590 since not only is it much more expensive, but its not been out long so ppl dont know if it has ton of issues right? I know that cost a lot more. If at the moment my laptop had the 97wh battery, the only thing i would consider replacing is get the m.2 ssd and upgrade ram.


Thanks.

Anyone can comment on this?

Hi. I like my dell xps 15 9550. It works fine.


Thus had i gotten the 84wr or 97wh battery on my laptop instead with the 512gb m.2 ssd, i would not need to do any upgrade.


I do not want to spend over 1k for a new laptop as this laptop works good. I just want to get bigger battery, but that mean i have to get a m.2 ssd and remove my 2.5 inch ssd.


But would i need to buy windows 10 pro again? I got windows 10 pro installed at a computer shop years ago when i first got laptop. I paid for the installation and he installed windows 10 pro for me. So could i use this windows 10 pro code im using now on the new m.2 ssd?

Yes, you would use the same "code".

You could do a clean install onto the new SSD.

Or:

You could use Macrium to transfer whatever is on the old hard drive onto the new SSD.

Opening up a large can of worms.

Hi there. So if i do this...


1. Buy new laptop battery, m.2 ssd and 16gb ram

2. If i remove the old 2.5 inch ssd and the m.2 32gb ssd and put in the m.2 500gb ssd and then put in the new battery and ram, then power on my laptop, it would be like getting a new computer right? Then follow windows 10 installation process?

3. Then once i do this, activate my windows 10 pro code but make sure i write it down on paper first right?




When you say opening a can of worms, you mean if i do macrium to transfer everything from old ssd drive to the new m.2 ssd drive, it will be a huge hassle? Confused what you mean with large can of worms here.

When you say clone, can you explain what you mean by that? How long does that take?


So right now i have to use macrium to transfer everything to say an external hard drive now? Then once i get the new m.2 ssd, then i transfer it from external hard drive to it? I do have one of those old ssd enclosures but that one is a 2.5 inch one... not m.2. So i have to buy another enclosure?