AIO G1 400 Boot Drive

[Neev-S]

So i have an older Hp AIO from around 2014 running windows 10 with a 3tb hard drive. the problem is i bought a new 240 gig ssd and want to make it my boot drive but it does not show up in the EUMI, BIOS. I have formatted the drive and am able to see it in file explorer but for some reason it does not show up in there no matter what i do.

Thanks in advance.

[itsmyname]

@Neev-S --  I have formatted the drive and am able to see it in file explorer but for some reason it does not show up in there no matter what i do.

That is weird.

To "format" the SSD. the BIOS must have recognized it, and the BIOS must have made it available to Windows, as an "accessible" device.

[Neev-S]

I formatted it through the storage manager or something like that on my computer. it said formatted and when i went into the bios, it wasnt there, i do know a little about this stuff and know when formatting, it should show in the bios but for some reason it isnt here right now.

Thanks

[itsmyname]

@Neev-S -- i do know a little about this stuff

Me, too.   🙂

> and know when formatting, it should show in the BIOS, but for some reason it isn't here right now.

Strange. If the BIOS makes it available to Windows, I would expect that it is visible within BIOS SETUP.

[Neev-S]

when I say a little, I literally mean a little lol. I barely know anything but r u saying that I was meant to format it in the bios because that is not how I did it. I’m not sure if it is the correct method can you please assist me a little in this.

thanks.

[itsmyname]

@Neev-S -- Are you saying that I was meant to format it in the bios because that is not how I did it.

No, that is not what I said. You said that you used "Storage Manager" within Windows to "format" the disk-drive.  That is the easiest way for a "novice" computer-user to format the disk-drive. An experienced computer-user can use some of the command-line tools to format the disk-drive, but that is not what you did.

> I’m not sure if it is the correct method can you please assist me a little in this.

Did the final part of the "formatting" assign a drive-letter to the formatted partition?

Usually the "C:" drive-letter is assigned to your "boot" disk-drive -- that one that contains Windows,

and "D:" is the drive-letter assigned to your CD/DVD device. So, maybe, your new disk-drive was assigned to become "E:" ???

What problem are you having? If the format was successful, and a drive-letter has been assigned, then you can use the new disk-drive, despite your inability to see the new disk-drive within BIOS Setup.  

You cannot see the air that you breathe, but, trust me, it is there.

Similarly, even though you cannot see the new disk-drive within BIOS Setup, it is there.

> the problem is i bought a new 240 gig ssd and want to make it my boot drive but it does not show up

What happens if you disconnect the "data" and "power" cables from any other disk-drive on your computer, leaving only the new SSD connected?  Then, does it appear within BIOS Setup?  If so, then install Windows onto it.

[Neev-S]

so the new drive shows up as drive d as i have removed the cd drive for another reason. i am wating for my adapter (molex and sata data to 22 pin sata) to plug in the cd's old place. I am guessing that the cd used to be called d but since it was replaced, it is now called d. the problem is whne opening disk managment it has the blue underline and says it is primary partition and i have reformatted it rhough there but when i go to the search bar in windows and search boot, and got to advanced setup and go through to EUFI and then go to boot order it shows up with "Realtek 1" "Realtek 2" "Windows boot manager and "windows legacy" none of which are my ssd. i do believe it is somewhere hidden in the bios but just can't seem to loacte it.

about reinstalling windows(as i said i am pretty much a noob) how would i go about doing that? like would it cost  money or what?

sorry about the typos i am writing on a keyboard missing half the keycps

[itsmyname]

@Neev-S -- about reinstalling windows (as i said i am pretty much a noob) how would i go about doing that? like would it cost  money or what?

You have several options:

1. if the disk-drive is the original, there might be a "hidden" partition on the disk-drive that will re-install the HP-modified version of Windows 10.

2. see: Download Windows 10 (microsoft.com)  to download the "generic" Windows 10 Installer, and to write the downloaded image either to an 8 GB (or larger) USB memory-stick, or to "burn" one DVD-recordable disk. Then, boot your computer from the USB or DVD, to reinstall Windows. If you get prompted to enter the Windows 25-character product-key, click "I do not have one". The Windows Installer will "call home" to Microsoft to obtain your product-key.  Then, download the HP Support Assistant, to identify, download, and install the HP-specific software.

3. take the computer to a computer technician.

[itsmyname · Accepted solution]

@Neev-S -- the problem is when opening disk management, it has the blue underline and says it is primary partition and i have reformatted it.

That is not sufficient.  Instead, select that SSD, and delete all the partitions, and then "clear" the SSD back to its original "uninitialized" status.  Then, within BIOS SETUP, it should be detected.

What you are seeing is that a small partition -- the "Windows Boot Manager" -- is still present on the disk-drive. So, that is the listing for your SSD -- it really is present, and is detected by your BIOS.

[Neev-S]

one last question becuase you seem like an expert at this. it works and shows in the BIOS as the boot drive but do i have to format it through the storage manager or is it already formatted becuase it no longer shows up in settings but does on file explorer. also if i wanted to move certain apps such as my web browser on to the drive, is it a simple drag and drop, reinstall or can i no longer put stuff like that on it. 

Thanks, you are a great help