DFE Dell Latitude 3190 without M2 card connector

[Dan2025]

Hi,

 

Looking to reimage and upgrade our collection of DFE devices, these came with 64gb emmc which isn't ideal.

The proposal was to upgrade the storage but that doesn't seem likely seeing as Dell didn't add the M2 SSD card connector.

 

Has anyone gone down this route and found a solution?

 

I'm guessing the only option is to solder on a connector.

[synaesthesia]

It'll be missing the controller too. Best solution would be to use them as cloud devices.

[DangerousDaveUK]

Bit late to the party but I have soldered an M.2 connector to a Dell 3190 (eMMC version) and tested it works fine (I even disabled the eMMC in BIOS). Obviously soldering the connector on is only for those with very good soldering skills, access to some kind of rework station and some kind of magnification tool as the pins are tiny.

 

The BIOS showed M.2 as an option in the settings so I took a chance that the IO chip has all the necessary connections to allow it to connect direct to the M.2 slot without needing extra circuit components (and I compared the mobos of an eMMC device and an M.2 device, and there were no extra components around the M.2 slot).

 

Just for reference you'll need a 3.2mm high NGFF M-Key connector (original is made by Lotes but you can get a pattern part from RS, Farnell, Mouser, etc (got mine from Aliexpress due to the extortionate prices charged by the former suppliers for small orders)). Pictures of an M.2 3190 are available on iFixit.

Edited March 6, 2024 by DangerousDaveUK

[synaesthesia]

Blimey, that's a bit lucky - the controller must be integrated in which case. Makes Dell seem VERY stingy!

Good job on the soldering, wouldn't want to do it in bulk though

[DangerousDaveUK]

Yes it seems more of a thing these days, integrate everything IO into one chip, save money.

 

We've got a lot of those devices in our Trust so I may be very busy over the coming months Fortunately the connector is on top of the mobo so accessible just by taking off the bottom cover.

[jsuvman]

This was the only forum I found that talked about this. Not sure if I should start a new thread? But this is what I have and a similar issue/question.

 

I was given a 3190 from Dell several years ago. Nothing much installed on it because of the small 64GB drive. Over time with Windows 10 Pro updates the drive is almost full. Wanted to upgrade it to the full 256 GB the manual says it supports. They say this 3190 shipped with the 64GB eMMC. But upon opening up the back of the computer there is a M.2 slot in there with a card in it. Picture attached.

 

I was told that this is what Dell was calling eMMC but it is actually on a M.2 Card. You can even still buy them here. This is the exact card in my computer.

 

Dell OEM Latitude 3190 3189 64GB eMMC M.2 Hard Drive 0E650

 

On Dell's site they showed an upgraded 256 GB SSD drive for this computer and their support team had me buy it. After getting the old drive cloned to the new one, I found out the Dell recommended drive is an M.2 "M Key" PCIe NVME drive so does not fit. The slot in the computer is a "B Key" SATA drive. Even the manual shows it is SATA if you want to use it as the Primary/Boot Drive. Also attached.

 

In checking out many things I found out that most 3190's and 3190 2-in-1's shipped with M.2 "B Key" slots and not M.2 "M Key" slots. There is only one I found so far that the motherboard has an M.2 "M Key" slot.

 

So here I am today. You can still buy M.2 SATA drives but most seem to be configured with the combo "B&M Key" slots so they can be used in either. Have not been able to find an older one with just the "B Key" slot even though you will find older pictures of them.

 

So my question is, would the combo "B&M' Key SATA Drive work to replace that old 64GB MMC Card or do I need to try to find and old "B Key" only M.2 SATA Drive?

 

Or am I missing something?

 

 

 

[MrEprise]

Strange yours has a "B Key" slot as I have one here and it has an "M Key" slot and the orientation of mine is different (i.e. the keyed bit is on the side of the daughterboard ribbon cable connector) & I'd guess yours may be a SATA-only slot whereas mine supports NVMe drives.

 

It may be an American vs European model difference.

[jsuvman]

I thought it was kinda strange to but after some research it appears most of the Motherboards I found for this computer have “B Key’ Slots.

 

3190 (B Key) (Dell P/N: 0F355, 00F355)

On-board Intel Pentium N5000 Quad Core @ 1.1 GHz CPUOn-board 4GB Memory

This motherboard part number is compatible with SATA m.2 storage drives with B-key connector ONLY.

https://www.parts-people.com/index.php?action=item&id=31666

 

3190 eMMC (B Key) (Dell P/N: 103HR, 0103HR) but says this.

It includes on-board eMMC storage of 64GB's. (See below)

On-board Intel Celeron 4120 Quad Core @ 1.1 GHz CPUOn-board 4GB Memory

https://www.parts-people.com/index.php?action=item&id=37126

 

3190 2-in-1 (B Key) (Dell P/N: 0F770, 00F770)

On-board Intel Pentium N5000 Quad Core @ 1.1 GHz CPUOn-board 8GB Memory

This motherboard part number is compatible with SATA m.2 storage drives with B-key connector ONLY.

https://www.parts-people.com/index.php?action=item&id=30317

3190 2-in-1 (M Key) (Dell P/N: 76DRF, 076DRF)

On-board Intel Pentium N5030 Quad Core @ 1.1 GHz CPUOn-board 4GB Memory

https://www.parts-people.com/index.php?action=item&id=37043

Mine has an 0E650 eMMC Storage Card (B Key)

Dell original 64GB (64 gigabyte) Storage Drive Card; for the Dell Latitude 3190 and 3189 laptops. EMMC storage is a type of Flash Memory, similar to SSD, used in the Latitude 3190 and 3189 laptops.

Guaranteed Compatible Dell Laptops / Notebooks:Latitude 3190 LaptopLatitude 3189

Dell P/N: 0E650, 00E650

https://www.parts-people.com/index.php?action=item&id=29951

Edited March 12, 2025 by jsuvman

[jsuvman]

Well after going through all the stuff with Dell Support and the wrong parts they had me buy for this 3190, I was able to return them. Then based on what I learned, I bought a M.2 SATA SSD, which now all have a "B Key" and "M Key" cutouts, and a new adapter that does both M.2 NVME/NGFF SATA Drives and NVME PCI-E Drives with "M Key", "B Key" and "B+M" Keys.

 

I was able to clone the old 64GB eMMC Card onto the new 256GB SSD. Everything went fairly smoothly. I did run into on error, when computer booted, with the old NET Framework 4.0.03.0319 with 3 programs that were installed. That was corrected.

 

I wrote up everything I bought, used, etc., and the step-by-step directions including what I did with those errors. Pictures included at the end of the document.

 

Hopefully this might help someone else.

3190 with eMMC M2 Drive Upgrade.pdf

Edited March 14, 2025 by jsuvman

[ITGuyNW]

Funnily enough I've just come round to reimage these laptops from lockdown. Remembering I'm having to boot into PXE from a USB stick because they're awful at recognising usb to ethernet adapters from BIOS.

[MrEprise]

I only ever got the official Dell ones to work with ours and I tried loads of other brands. Think they're probably locked to a specific Vendor ID.