I’m buying a signature edition Dell Inspiron 15 i5548-4167SLV from the Microsoft Store with a 100$ student discount.
Link: http://www.microsoftstore.com/store/msusa/en_US/pdp/Dell-Inspiron-15-i5548-4167SLV-Signature-Edition-Laptop/productID.313300700
It comes with Windows 8.1 installed out of the box. I’m thinking of switching the 1TB HDD with a Samsung EVO 850 250GB SSD and using that as my primary boot drive. I’ll also be partitioning some of the space on the SSD in the future to dual-boot Ubuntu and Windows 8.1/Windows 10.
How do I migrate Windows as it is to the SSD? Do I need to buy a new license to install it on the SSD? Also, I’ve heard Dell doesn’t allow other OSs to be installed on their laptops (Something to do with the UEFI). Will my laptop accept Ubuntu?
Just use the software that comes with the SSD. Samsungs migration tool works well and will properly clone the HDD and resize the partitions for the SSD. You might need to buy a USB to 2.5" drive cable to plug it into your laptop.
How do I do a fresh OEM installation of Windows 8 on the SSD? I'd prefer to get rid of the bundled bloatware that comes with Dell laptops. I've never bought a laptop so I was wondering whether they provide us with a Windows recovery disk to do a fresh install? I know some laptops come with "recovery" partitions on the HDD and you don't get a disc with such laptops.
Oh sorry about that. I would use this tool as it will download the proper install for Windows 8.1 LINK
You can use a DVD or a 4GB to 8GB USB drive and it will configure a basic install for you.
Hopefully when you do receive the laptop the key will be on a sticker or on the bottom of the laptop or you can use Magical Jelly Bean Keyfinder once you start up the laptop.
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Usually laptops come with a recovery disc. I did this a few weeks ago myself. Put a SSD in my new laptop, put the recovery disc in, did a fresh install (the key is stored in the hardware) and put the HDD (freshly formatted) back in as well. I had none of the pre-installed crap after that.
If you're not sure you can just contact Dell's support and ask them if it really comes with a recovery disc (just to make sure).
Edit: Note that I don't have a recovery partition. For me this is not a big deal, since I would prefer a fresh install, starting completely new again, anyway.
If you want to dualboot from an SSD I would recommend partitioning it first before you install any OS on it. Gparted is great for this, I keep a USB flash drive with the bootable version around because I don't need an OS installed to use it.
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Whatever you do, make sure you have that Windows Key. This usually is either on a sticker applied physically to your machine or it is with the install discs. There is also a vb script out there that can decode it from your registry, but I've only used it on WIN7 machines and it sometimes works and sometimes doesn't (even when using DigitalProductId and DigitalProductId4 for those of you who know what I'm talking about).
Once you have this key you can download a Windows 8.1 ISO from Microsoft (I think they still do this - but if they don't you can get it from a third party out there), and apply it to a USB drive as a bootable image and install a fresh copy without bloatware from there. Sometimes when you do this it will say you have an illegal copy (you don't), and all you have to do is call the Activate Windows number to straighten it out.
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Thanks. I'll know for sure when I buy it.
Yeah I'll use an Ubuntu live session to partition the SSD, install Win 8.1 and then proceed to install Ubuntu. Thanks a lot.
