NVMe PCIe SSD boot support in Z820

[MickTurner]

Does anybody know if the Z820 can boot off a NVMe PCIe SSD card?

It has an appropriate UEFI version - 2.3.1 but not sure if that is sufficient.

The Z840 documentation says it is supported but I can't find anything in Z820 documentation.

Thanks!

[MSLEEE]

Please find out the URL the information for Z Turbo Drive installation:

http://h20565.www2.hp.com/hpsc/doc/public/display?sp4ts.oid=6898494&docId=emr_na-c04399475&docLocale...

[MickTurner]

I'm pretty sure the Z Turbo Drive isn't NVMe.

Thanks

Mick

[ssdrocks]

In the document these SSDs have NVME controller

HP Z Turbo Drive G2 512GB SSD

512GB SSD

PCIe Gen3 x4 architecture

NVMe Controller

NAND Type: MLC

Read Bandwidth (128KB): 2150 MB/s

Write Bandwidth (1MB): 1550 MB/s

Random Read IOPS (4KB): 300K

Random

Write IOPS (4KB): 100K

Endurance (Total Bytes Written): 292 TB

Weight: 4.0oz (113g)

Form Factor: Half

Please let us know if you tried & managed to boot from it.

[ssdrocks]

I can confirm that it boots.

It was a bit tricky though. Couple of things to remember ,

• even the DVD-ROM has to be in the EFI Mode.
• The flashdrive with the NVME driver has to be in the USB 2.0 slot.

I am very happy with the Intel 750 PCIE 400GB SSD. I have never seen Windows 7 so snappy.

Message me if you need further information.

[Broken_Arrow]

HI,

I'm at the point where the Win7 installer can't find drive from the driver for the PCIe drive, but can format it, any pointers like how to get the DVD into EFI mode?

[ssdrocks]

For the DVD to work in EFI mode, you need to use the untouched image from Microsoft or the HP recovery DVD. If you use any of the modified images, it wont work. I used the HP recovery DVD. I am using Windows 7 x64 professional edition.

Have you also enabaled EFI mode for Mass Storage option in the Bios ?

When you book, it should look like the screenshot below.  DVD-ROM should be under UEFI Boot Sources.

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/119783843/misc/Z820%20Boot.jpg

Are you using the DVD-ROM from the work station or the external one ? I used the one in the work station.

I just downloaded the driver from the the Intel website.
https://downloadcenter.intel.com/download/23929/Intel-Solid-State-Drive-Data-Center-Family-for-PCIe-...

Make sure this driver is saved in a USB flash drive & it should be inserted into a USB 2.0 port, not the blue one.
I used the port in the front (the top one I think). It worked for me.

Wish you all the best. 

[ssdrocks]

My Bios is

Computer : HP Z820 Workstation 103C_53335X G=D (HP 158B)
Version : J63 v03.85
SMBIOS/DMI Version : 2.70
Plug & Play Version : 1.00
Date of Manufacture : 19 November 2014
(EE)PROM Size : 16MB

Your problem definitely is , your DVD-ROM is not in EFI Mode.

When you boot, it should look like the screenshot below. DVD-ROM should be under UEFI Boot Sources.

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/119783843/misc/Z820%20Boot.jpg

[MrBike]

hi everybody,

I'm struggling with the same issue albeit in a Z620 PC.  updated the bios to 3.88, enabled UEFI boot from ATAPI/USB CD in computer setup, switched mass storage options to EFI but whatever install source I throw at it, UEFI section of boot menu remains empty.

tried

- HP recovery DVD

- windows 8 DVD

- windows 10 DVD  (both 64bit, created from downloaded ISO)

- windows 10 USB stick

skimmed through forums and installation instructions but no joy.

any hints on what I might be missing?

thanks,

Urs

[soccer_dan]

HP introduced Turbo Drive G1 (non-nvme) on the Z420/620/820 and support for boot off the ssd card with a BIOS update (data support only with earlier BIOS revs) 3.88 - maybe an earlier rev as well, but 3.88 has certain needed fixes. The HP Turbo Drive 2.0 generation introduces nvme controller and is only supported on the z440/z640/z840