SSD Sata Drive in HP ProOne 400 G4 23.8-in NT AiO

[phuke]

Just received this unit; brand new in box old stock; i5 8500T processor with 8 GB ram and a 256 GB NVMe M.2 drive...default O/S was 1803 Windows 10 Home.

Wanted to upgrade that drive to a 1 TB so I figured [after a lot of the Google and youtube videos] I was going to add some extra ram and a 2½" SSD...clone the existing tuned O/S to the SSD and then swap out the NVMe drives and using a USB - installing the latest Windows 10 version [no likey the Windows 11 to this point in time]. Stuck with tethering my mobile phone for internet access [no landline nor Broadband/NBN] hence not wanting to use phone data allocation to upgrade the O/S.

So removed the stand, unscrewed the 4  Phillps Head screws and unclipped the rear cover...giving me access to component bay. Added the extra ram module...then noticed a hard drive cage off to the side of the area. Undid the cage and inserted a Kingston 400SSD [had checked...was 100% health and only 240 Power On Hours] plugged in the provided sata/power cable [similar to a laptop SSD cable, so hard to connect it wrong??]. Reinstalled everything back and plugged the peripherals in, turned it on...did take so long to boot I was beginning to think there was a problem...then got HP error message about ram capacity having changed from last boot...clicked enter, and away she went!

Booted into Windows and when I went to Computer Management - no SSD drive!...set unit for restart so I could enter BIOS. Did so and looked all around, for the life of me I could not find any way to turn on the sata port, or acknowledge an installed drive. I did manage to set to Legacy Boot...saved that and then reentered the BIOS [which has been updated to the latest available version as of April 22, 2022] but same story...unable to find a way to "initiate" the SSD. I did check that it was connected correctly [it was] and then rebooted into Windows...still no sata SSD showing...so now my only thought was "has HP deleted an additional drive as an option; even thought the drive cage and cabling are installed...so I think not - but this unit was one of several hundred ordered for Educational purposes" and a friend who had some knowledge of these units replied [after I sought his advice] that that was the only explanation he could think of...these units also came with no Web-Cam/Camera/Mic fitted...[no idea if this info has any bearing or meaning, but Regulatory Model; TPC-W056-23 was written on the unit].

SO - here hoping someone can offer a solution or method to navigate the BIOS and initiate the extra drive, cause if I cannot get it connected, all I can do is copy the HP SWSetup folder and keep onhand should it be needed...then switch out the 1 TB NVMe for the smaller 256 GB unit and do a fresh install of latest Windows 10 versions using a USB installer [easy enough I guess as I have left Legacy Boot as default for the time being] and then go from there...

[CharlieItuah1]

It seems the problem is coming from the BIOS itself and based on what you said, it seems the SSD has been properly placed unless a few adjustments or shifts should be made, maybe a tightening of a screw or the SSD not properly keyed in.

However, in any case you might also need to check your BIOS configuration for the relevant PCIe slots and make sure they are enabled.

I would reset and then update BIOS.

You can also run hardware diagnostics either from BIOS or from USB disk.

Use the HP test utilities to check your hardware.

HP PC Hardware Diagnostics

HP PCs - Testing for Hardware Failures

You may try BIOS recovery.
HP Desktop PCs - Recovering the BIOS (Basic Input Output System)

HP Notebook PCs - Recovering the BIOS (Basic Input Output System)

But first check if the SSD has been properly placed then work out the BIOS.