Prodesk 600 G2 not detecting SSD correctly

[lorby89]

Hey everyone, hopefully I got the right forum/board.

Got an odd one here that hopefully someone might be able to shed some light on. Have recently received a number of HP prodesk 600 G2 desktops (i3 6100, 4gb etc.). They only come with basic mechanical hdds so was hoping to change to some SSDs we have hanging around here. They're liteon LCT-128M3S drives. They're from lenovo laptops originally and we have a large number.

Thing is, when I try using them in the desktops, they're detected by the bios, they pass the hard disk check but they only appear in the uefi boot list and not the legacy boot order. The bios on these machines is locked down so tight there's no options to change anything but the order. I can deploy an image to it from altiris or install an OS to it manually but it will not boot to it as it doesn't appear in the legacy boot order at all. Trying to boot to the disk on uefi results in an HP OS not found error as well

I thought there must be something wrong with the config but I tried a toshiba 128gb SSD (nearly the same lenovo part number as the liteon) and it works perfectly. The toshiba drive appears in the legacy boot order and the desktop has no issues booting it!

I've tried updating the bios, updating the firmware on these drives and no dice. I tried turning off sata and pcie power saving in the bios, I've tried all the different secure boot options as well as restoring bios top defaults etc. I know it seems like I should just get different SSDs but we already have 70+ of these liteon drives and were hoping to utilise them.

Thanks for your help everyone!

[Big_Dave]

Hi,

Completely format the SSD that you are trying to use. 

[lorby89]

Thank you for the response. I have tried formatting and removing partitions etc. I have made sure it's MBR and even with no partitions it's still not detected as a legacy boot device. Thanks.

[Big_Dave]

Hi,

Try the LCT-128M3S manufacturer's site for a firmware update.  I have run into issue similar to what you are describing and a firmware update solved the problem.

Additionally, check the HP site for a BIOS update for your PC.

[lorby89]

I think I mentioned in the first post, I have tried updating the firmware on the SSD and HP bios and neither make a difference. Thanks.

[Big_Dave]

Hi,

You "tried" to update the BIOS and the firmware?  Did you verify that the updates were installed or that the levels are the correct levels?

[lorby89]

Sorry whyen I say tried I mean I tried it as a solution to the original problem. Updated both the HP BIOS and the SSD firmware to the latest versions (verified) and it made no difference to the SSD being detected correctly.

[Big_Dave]

Hi,

If the BIOS is not seeing the SSD then clear the CMOS. Did you try a known good SATA cable and power cable (source)?

It takes "two to tango" as they say.  It's possible that the controller in the SSD is not compatible with your PC. This is a frequent issue as SSDs have different controllers. The BIOS functionality in the PC has to be functionally correct or the SSD will work. What works in another PC is no guarantee that it will work in another PC.

[lorby89]

It detects the SSD and knows it's there. I can run disk scans on it from the HP utility and it all comes up fine. It just won't boot from the SSD. I've tried 3 or 4 other disks and they can all legacy boot fine just not this particular model of SSD :(.

[Big_Dave]

Hi,

Please post the HP product number and operating system for your PC so that the members of the community can better assist you with your questions and issues.

SSDs can support different boot functions depending on the controller in the SSD and the BIOS in the PC. Some SSDs have boot support for UEFI only, MBR (legacy) only and some both.   Again, it takes "two to tango".

If your PC is "locked to UEFI mode" as you have stated then you will not be able to boot in legacy mode. I can't boot a legacy device on my PC if the PC is set to UEFI mode only.