Booting From SSD/M2 Port

[MtnBiker211]

I have a 2018 HP Pavilion 590 desktop. No Optane. Installed a Samsung 970 Evo Plus SSD (NVME) in the M2 port (there is only the one). Drive is recognized as storage in Bios and in File Manager. Has a drive letter (M:). Cloned C: drive (all of it) onto the SSD. Went into BIOS to set boot order and cannot see the SSD to select it. Upgraded BIOS to latest version. Booted with the HDD disconnected. Nothing is working. Working hypothesis is that this Motherboard/BIOS will not boot from M2 slot - that it is provisioned solely for models with Optane. Would love to use the SSD as a boot drive and host OS and apps there to speed things up. Any help is appreciated.

[old_geekster]

@MtnBiker211 , welcome to the forum.

What is the Product Number of the computer? I need this information to review the specifications of it. Please don't furnish the Serial # or other personal information. You can find the Product Number at the bottom of the page when you open HP Support Assistant.  I will help you further when I have this information.

[MtnBiker211]

Here is the product number: 3LA35AA#ABA

SSD is a 500 GB

[old_geekster]

Thank you for the additional information, @MtnBiker211!

Here is the Product Specifications page: https://support.hp.com/us-en/product/hp-pavilion-desktop-pc-590-p0000i/37730885/model/21299366/docum...

If you look at the section titled "Motherboard" it shows there is "one M.2 socket 3, 2280 type for SSD".  The M.2 should work as the boot drive, as long as, it was cloned properly.  The socket would be Key M if it is for NVMe.  It only has one slot on the drive.  I can't think of any reason why it won't work.

I suggest that you contact Samsung's Tech Support to see if they have a solution.

[MtnBiker211]

Converted the SSD to GPT. Installed latest Samsung NVMe driver. Re-cloned my Windows instance with another tool. Spent quality time interacting with the UEFI settings. Short story, HP has set configuration parameters that don't allow changing boot drive from the standard GPT HDD to an SDD on this model. The BIOS recognizes the drive. Just not in the boot order settings. HP has taken out the "Choose Device" selection from the Advanced Start Up process available in Win10. No dice. This is an easy task with a COTS motherboard and vanilla Win10 install. So yes, the MB has the right socket but the HP configuration makes it virtually impossible to upgrade this PC. Pretty maddening. 

[old_geekster]

Thank you for the additional information, @MtnBiker211!

HP has so many different models in service that they have to limit the possibility for Customer Support calls.  It makes it difficult for we who like to upgrade our computers, but safe for those who only know enough to get themselves in trouble.  They do have many more options in their Gaming computers, however.

It is difficult for those of us who help here on the Forums to know what is exactly in each BIOS/UEFI.  I appreciate the look into your BIOS/UEFI.

[MtnBiker211 · Accepted solution]

Okay. Turned off secure boot and enabled legacy. I was able to set the SSD as the 1st boot choice under legacy. Still wouldn't boot from the SSD. Then I used another tool to do an SSD optimized clone of the entire HDD (not just the Windows partition). The tool went ahead and changed something on the HDD so it would not boot. A little scary. I disconnected the HDD, rebooted and Voila. SDD is working. Bootup went fine. Machine runs great.

[old_geekster]

Thank you for the additional information, @MtnBiker211!  I didn't think about Secure Boot being a problem with the SSD, since your computer is so new.  I now have another tool in my arsenal!