CHALLENGE: Help get my 2014-era BIOS to boot from NVME SSD boot drive? (HP Envy 700-230qe)

[balkanrod]

Hello.  I am running Windows 10 on an HP Envy 700-230qe.  Last week, I purchased a Samsung EVO 970 NVME M.2.  SSD, which is connected to the motherboard (MS-7826, Board ID #2AF3) via an adapter that plugs into the PCI Express x16 3.0 slot.  Disk Manager and File Explorer detect the new SSD just fine.

However, I have been unable to set the SSD as the boot drive.  I successfully cloned (AMOMEI Backupper) the OS from the HDD onto the new SSD, but I couldn't change the boot order because BIOS couldn't detect the SSD.   I even tried disconnecting the HDDs, shutting down, and then installing Windows 10 directly onto the SSD from a USB.  That didn't work either; the boot failed.

After consulting with Microsoft support, it seems most likely that the problem stems from the inability of the BIOs (v. 80.15 from September 2013) to recognize the SSD.   They recommended trying to update BIOS.

My question:  I found a possible BIOS update on the HP site from August 2015 (v. 80.24 REV A) that supposedly works with my motherboard.   Before I take the risk of updating the BIOS to this newer version, does anyone know if this would achieve my objective?  Or, is it a fool's errand to try to get this 2013/2014-era system to boot from the new SSD?

If worse comes to worse, I guess I can just use the SSD as an over-qualified data storage drive...

Very much appreciated!

[WAWood]

@balkanrod 

Given the date of your PC, my guess is that it is an older BIOS PC, not a newer UEFI PC, and if that is the case, a newer BIOS version is not going to change that.  So, applying the update is likely NOT going to change that.

And if the update did change the PC from BIOS to UEFI, Windows would no longer boot because it would have come preloaded in BIOS mode, not UEFI.

[balkanrod]

That was very kind of you to take the time to reply, sir.

To clarify, my "System Settings" says the computer operates in UEFI (see below).   I can get menu options like "Change UEFI Firmware settings."  There's also a menu that gives me the option to boot from "Other Devices," and it lists UEFI devices (such as a USB thumb drive, for instance).  

The machine came with Windows 8 (or 8.1) and was long ago updated to Windows 10.  I'm currently using the NVME SSD as a storage drive, and it works fine.  I'd obviously prefer to make it the boot drive, but I can't get BIOS/UEFI to detect it.

MSI (the motherboard manufacturer) referred me to HP.  Microsoft did not know how to resolve this.  The Microsoft technician hypothesized that updating the BIOS to the 2015 version (Windows 😎 might possibly make the SSD detectable.

I don't know if any of this helps, but I'd welcome your opinion.  Apologies if any of this sounds ignorant; I'm not well-versed in this stuff at all!

[balkanrod]

Hello, sir, and thanks so much for your response.  I tried to post a reply, but am not sure it went through.  The long and the short of it is that my system says I'm using UEFI.  (see below)   I just can't get it to recognize the NVME SSD.  Any thoughts you could offer would of course be welcome!

[WAWood]

@balkanrod 

I have a Samsung 800 series m.2 NVMe SSD so it does not need NMVe drivers -- but you have a 900 series, and Samsung does supply drivers for that.  I would suggest you go to Samsung and download and install their latest drivers and see if that makes any difference.  I know it shouldn't, but you never know, it might.

[balkanrod]

Thanks for the idea.  I gave it a shot, but, alas, I didn't see anything different in the BIOS/UEFI menu under "boot order."   The options I get are still just get "Windows Boot Manager" and then two Realtek PCI Game Controllers, or something like that.

I very much appreciate your efforts, in any event.