Dell Latitude 5490 drive / JXFX4 M'board question

Me | 12/15/2022 | Paul R.

[Paul R.]

This is, as I say, the longshot question of the day, as it requires a knowledgeable someone, who has worked with the same configuration / M'board Latitude 5490 as this refurb I recently purchased, to have experimented around with such an upgrade, and then to read this post and be inclined to reply.

If all else fails, I suppose I can just purchase a M.2 SATA 2242 SSD, and give it a whirl. But, I hate to burn that money if the experiment is likely to not work!

[Paul R.]

I hope I’ve stated all this with proper and succinct jargon!!

[Paul R.]

And... thanks in advance, if anyone knows...

!!!

:-)

[zeebee]

[ShadowAce]

Try it and find out.

Seems to be the quickest way.

[butlerweave]

I have a Dell Latitude 3300 and in that slot you would have to use a smaller M.2 a 2 inch or less one and I have one from an upgrade maybe I should try it out ,LOL

[Governor Dinwiddie]

It should work, but you probably won't be able to boot from it (because of the Dell firmware). Your boot manager should be on the SATA drive.

[Bloody Sam Roberts]

Why not just go with an external USB SSD?

[ledzep75]

Maybe?

[upchuck]

What does Dell Customer Support say?

[upchuck]

Why not just go with an external USB SSD?

Because a USB device is not near as fast as a M2 device.

[Intar]

Answer is no as the PCI slot the WWAN uses is only for a wireless controller card. If the board doesn’t have a dedicated M.2 storage slot, then the board has no storage controller on PCIe bus and thus wont recognize an M.2 SSD.

[Paul R.]

Well, an internal SATA M.2 drive would be faster. Possibly an external drive tying up the laptop’s USB-C port would be plenty fast, but then that port is tied up. A bigger factor is that it’s just one more external accessory (I also got a dock for this puppy) to haul around, keep secure, and keep track of, esp. if travelling.

[Paul R.]

Yeah, with tax, about a $50 experiment, as I have no SATA M.2 drives laying around. Will go that route if absolutely necessary...

[Paul R.]

How old is that 3300?

Yes, the “2242” describes the dimension (22 mm x 42 mm) of the M.2 drive needed to fit.

[Paul R.]

Yes, that’s the thread I was looking at. The guy for who it worked has a different (but apparently near same born date) motherboard as mne. Earlier MB’s in 5490’s appear to not work, per that thread.

[Paul R.]

This guy (poster “Ydnaroo” ) got it to work easily (WWAN slot for a SATA M.2 drive), but it’s not the same motherboard (tho’ very similar in age and, visually, in apparent design.)

https://www.dell.com/community/Latitude/Latitude-5490-support-SSD-M-2-2242-in-the-WWAN-Slot/td-p/6090978

That’s what gave me the idea...

[Paul R.]

I’ve not had time to inquire when actual human agents are available to ask. The Dell “Virtual Assistant” is of course virtually useless, although I do have a Resume Chat link with them now (functionally a start at a support ticket, I suppose.) Theoretically with a few twists and turns that can lead to a live agent.

[Paul R.]

“as me”

[Paul R.]

Well, the M’board has a PCIe storage controller running the existing NVMe drive... But, this may be a question of the BIOS telling the controller that WWAN slot (physically a M.2 SATA style slot can actually function as a M.2 SATA slot? Again, it worked for one poster with a same (or very close) vintage motherboard that (visually) appears to have the exact same slots....