Reddit reviews Apricorn SATA Wire Notebook Hard Drive Upgrade Kit with USB 3.0 Connection ASW-USB3-25 (Grey)

Have you purchased the SSD already? Some SSD drives come with imaging software to transfer the contents of the old drive to the new drive.

Or a kit be purchased separately.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B005C983NA/ref=mp_s_a_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1472739386&sr=1-3&pi=SY200_QL40&keywords=ssd+upgrade+kit&dpPl=1&dpID=511uOXnct1L&ref=plSrch

I used this. It worked great.

I have this same laptop and what I ended up doing was getting the laptop to 8gb's of RAM and then swapping the hard drive with an SSD. It's now faster than before. Only thing is swapping the hard drive means you have have to clone your existing drive to the SSD and you have to take the computer completely apart. Knowing this I made sure to also get a USB to SATA cable that came with the software to clone my existing drive and I also ended up upgrading the wifi chip to one that is at the current AC standard since I opened the whole thing up.

Ultimately you don't need to upgrade the RAM but installing an SSD will make a huge difference. A new wifi module will also make your internet connection better.

The SSD, depending on the size of the drive, will cost about $50 to $200 (you'll need to determine how much space you need, remember your old drive can be turned into an external drive by getting an enclosure for about $20).
https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/s/ref=is_s/158-5309750-1204751?k=ssd

The USB to SATA cable with cloning software will be about $20.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B005C983NA/ref=mp_s_a_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1486657125&sr=8-5&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_QL65&keywords=usb+to+sata+clone&dpPl=1&dpID=511uOXnct1L&ref=plSrch

And the new wifi chip should be about $25.00 when on sale (optional)
https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00N7474CS/ref=mp_s_a_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1486657232&sr=8-2&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_FMwebp_QL65&keywords=Intel+Dual+Band+Wireless-AC&dpPl=1&dpID=51bZoIcAeEL&ref=plSrch

Here's how to take apart the laptop and swap the hard drive.
https://www.ifixit.com/Guide/Dell+Inspiron+n5110+-+HDD+Replacement+-+Upgrade/28194

You can buy an USB to SATA adapter, a good thing to have on hand. Plug it into your hdd and it will show up as an external drive.

http://www.amazon.ca/Apricorn-Notebook-Drive-Upgrade-ASW-USB3-25/dp/B005C983NA

I constantly setup "images" to clone hard drives. You have 2 options. You can use something like a SATA to USB connector: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005C983NA/

That will allow you to connect the SATA drive and connect it to your computer and it will come up as an external drive on the desktop.

Second option is a little cheaper. Buy this: http://www.amazon.com/Anker-Drive-External-Enclosure-9-5mm/dp/B00H98AXOE/

Put the drive in there and use it as a permanent external hard drive where it can be your new Time Machine backup.

It'll cost you a couple bucks, but....

Get something like this - I'm sure there are cheaper ones out there, this just happens to be the one I have.

Take your Lion DVD, the cable above, and the hard drive you just got and go to a friends place who has a mac.

Connect the cable to your hard drive, the USB plug to the Mac.

Launch Disk Utility from the Utilities folder and format the drive - use Mac OS Extended as the format.

Insert your Lion DVD into the dvd drive and launch the installer; when it asks you where to install, choose the disk you just formatted.

When it's all done, unmount the drive, unplug it and go home.

Connect it to your laptop and power it up. You could hold down option and select the hard drive to boot from, but as it is your only bootable device, I think it port scans and boots off the first available anyway.

Assuming you can boot, all should be good. Install the drive and voilà!, working computer! If you still can't boot, looks like you've got bigger problems.

Apricorn has always worked for me and cloning. Super easy to use. https://www.amazon.com/Apricorn-Notebook-Upgrade-Connection-ASW-USB3-25/dp/B005C983NA/ref=pd_lpo_sbs_147_t_0?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=4QXWC6B8JZDN9C504JJD

I have used Apricorn's Ez Gig IV kit to clone at least 75 HDDs onto SSDs with not one failure. https://www.amazon.com/Apricorn-Notebook-Upgrade-Connection-ASW-USB3-25/dp/B005C983NA/ref=pd_sbs_147_1?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=5E57FNSDGFR2TYERSR7E

I have used this cable and the included software dozens of times, works very well:

https://www.amazon.com/Apricorn-Notebook-Upgrade-Connection-ASW-USB3-25/dp/B005C983NA

Look into something like this. Plug and play and no need for a full enclosure. Unless you want the enclosure then go that route. :)

At work I use this but you have to make sure you use that usb to sata cable or it won’t work.

But I’m sure there’s other cloning software that’s free and does the same job,

ehh I think THIS is a much better product.