Where to install m.2 NVME SSD for HP EliteDesk SFF 800 G3 Tower

[TheOldMan]

I looked at the page for the adapter linked in your post.  While it will support the M.2 drive, it seems it could be hit or miss on supporting the drive as a boot drive, according to the reviews of the adapter.

So, Amazon does have a good return policy, you could give that a try.

On another note, It is good you are trying.  I,too, am an oldie and trying to keep up.  I am a little older than you, and the newest things are beyond my expertise, but still on the forum helping where I can.  If you try that adapter, please post back on whether it worked as you intended.

[ASH2755]

It's difficult to understand what it's like being an oldie until you experience it yourself. One thing is it seems like a whole new world out there and somehow so much more complicated than it used to be!

I also saw from the Amazon reviews that the adaptor works for some and not for others. I will buy one and see if it works as it's only £20 and interested to find out and it can be returned if not. Will post here the results.

I'm a big fan of HP PCs, and do appreciate this board and try to contribute myself to help those who are struggling to navigate the ever-increasing complications battling against companies who so often have their own profit-making interests at heart rather than the consumer struggling to piece everything together to get something that actually works ok without spending a small fortune.

As it seemed to be the lesser of two evils, I've taken the plunge and bought a more up-to-date PC, a G4, for £250.

Here's hoping it will work ok! Will definitely report back....

[ASH2755]

Received a reply from Samsung and it seems their own driver may be part of the problem.

Thank you for contacting Samsung Memory Support. We're sorry to hear that you are experiencing issues with your Samsung SSD. The 980 PRO should run with standard Microsoft NVMe driver, Samsung NVMe driver does not support 980, 980 PRO and 990 POR/EVO. If you have any further questions, please do not hesitate to contact.

G4 is arriving today so hopefully will be up and running tomorrow.

[TheOldMan]

That is interesting.  I have read in these HP forums that the Samsung SSD's might not play well (in other words, they do not run at the speeds advertised) in HP PC's.  That was a time ago, but you are using older hardware, so it might still apply.

Please continue in the journey, keeping me updated.

[ASH2755]

Received the new PC safely and very pleased with it. It had an 500gb m.2 sata SSD c drive already installed. As there are two m.2 sockets I installed the Samsung NVMe m.2 and it immediately worked fine. 

The new G4 PC was supposed to be Windows 10 but Microsoft not surprisingly intervened and changed it to 365 without asking me. I have a USB stick I can use to get W10 back but in the meantime couldn't handle 365/W11 and the new PC at the same time so had to go back to the old PC for now and get the ducks in a row with back ups and information etc. Couldn't get away fast enough as it felt like MS had taken control of my PC. Even copying files turned out to be complicated going into file history etc. and there didn't even seem to be an option to copy files. (Have often thought to myself one of the days I will get a dartboard with a pic of Bill Gates on it. ) Anyway I'm out of there now and hope I can hold on to Windows 10 as long as possible.

Took the Samsung NVMe m.2 back out of the new PC and put it in the Orico Enclosure which worked amazingly well and for £24 is a great buy so for now the Samsung NVMe m.2 SSD can be used in either PC. 

ORICO M.2 NVME SSD Case, USB-C Adapter USB 3.1 Gen2 (10Gbps) External M2 Enclosure for PCIe M-Key/B+...

Will have to work through it all step by step.

Putting the disks back in the G3 didn't work so well as thought the C drive was the dark blue (0) and then it should go 2, 3, 4 (no 1) but couldn't get it to work that way and attached shows how it is currently wired and seems to be working fine. Not sure what to do about this? Would be very grateful for advice....

[TheOldMan]

Good to hear the newer G4 has arrived.  It should have Windows 10 installed but Windows 11 is on the drivers page, also.  The Microsoft 365 is for the Office software (Excel, Word,  Outlook, PowerPoint, etc)  It should not interfere with Windows unless it was accidentally started.

You might need to start from the beginning with a new Windows install.

You can get either of the Windows 10 or 11 install media from the Microsoft Media creation tool site.  The ones I have access to are USA based, but there should be one for the UK if you search for it.

On the STAT ports - the dark blue one is normally where the boot drive is plugged in it is SATA(0), but if it is working OK where it is, leave it.  The SATA(0) port is supposed to be faster that the others, BTW.