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

[ASH2755]

I have spent hours searching but for some bizarre reason cannot find this information. I found a video for a G3 but it doesn't even mention an m.2 socket.

There is a video about a G9 and - presuming it is the same on a G3 - it shows the location but it shows the SSD has a casing which is perhaps a heatsink? So presuming the location and installation is the same for a G3 as it is for a G9....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GLk2wD7YLmA

The compatible SSD is a Samsung 980 PRO M.2 NVMe
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B08QJHLC8J/ref=ewc_pr_img_2?smid=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE&psc=1

The Crucial equivalent is cheaper and currently provides a heatsink version for £20 less than the equivalent standard Samsung SSD.  So would I be better off getting the heatsink version as it seems to provide some protection for the disk? If the heatsink is preferable, would there be any significant disadvantages? Did I see somewhere I would have to buy another part? 

Crucial T500 2TB SSD PCIe Gen4 NVMe M.2

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0CK2RKPBL/ref=twister_B0CVV3R9D6?_encoding=UTF8&th=1

Also would it be possible to run another SSD via a USB adaptor like this? If so, would it have to be exactly the same?

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B07RFJM494/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I know on my old DC7000p it would only run one SSD, will the Elitedesk 800 G3 run several?

Would be most grateful for help and advice on this. I did search for hours but couldn't find this information. Thank you.

[TheOldMan]

I found the manual on the HP EliteDesk 800 G3 Base Model Tower PC.  Page 41 shows where the M.2 slot is located and how to change or add a M.2 SSD.  There is only one M.2 SSD slot.

http://h10032.www1.hp.com/ctg/Manual/c05386806.pdf

It is not the same as the G9, there does not appear to need a heat sink.

Here is what Crucial recommends on the M.2 SSD

https://www.crucial.com/compatible-upgrade-for/hP---Compaq/hp-elitedesk-800-g3-tower

Then click on the SSD tab.

If you wish to run another drive on a USB adapter, the adapter may not give SSD advertised speed, but it should run Ok.

[ASH2755]

Thank you for your help. I managed to insert the disk and it was easier than expected.

Now have other problems. The machine has recognised it but given it a standard driver. If I uninstall it, have to reboot it and then it reinstalls it. Add a device doesn't seem to work either and can't find a way to tell it to find a Samsung driver.

I've tried getting Samsung magician to run. Found that it won't run when it is the same folder as other exe files, so one just has to move it into a folder on its own.

Then it ran but says "the device is not connected - connect the device and try again". It must be connected though as the PC recognises it and gives it a standard Windows driver?

[ASH2755]

I've see then posts about RAID and checked the BIOS in safe mode and saw the following:

Configure storage controller for RAID - BOX UNCHECKED

Post prompt for RAID configuration - BOX CHECKED

Configure storage controller for Intel Optane - BOX UNCHECKED

[TheOldMan]

I have seen threads complaining about M.2 SSD's not working properly in the HP PC's.

https://h30434.www3.hp.com/t5/Desktop-Boot-and-Lockup/HP-blocking-SSD-upgrades-with-newer-systems-an...

Those threads are older now but your G3 is older also.  IDK if that might be your problem or not.

In this thread there was a workaround with using a PCIe adapter for the M.2 which isolated the M.2 enough to let the drive work properly in the PC.

https://h30434.www3.hp.com/t5/Desktop-Boot-and-Lockup/BOIS-won-t-recognize-Samsung-SSD/td-p/7155954

[ASH2755]

Wow it goes from complication to complication. I'm not a techie but will struggle through and try and work out what it is saying and do my best to fix it.

Really it seems that I have been given the wrong information several times and this disk is not actually compatible.

Oh dear, day after day to get this disk going, what a waste of time!

Thank you for your helpful advice.

[TheOldMan]

You are welcome.  If/when you find a solution, please post back, so others that come across this will benefit from the solution, also.

[ASH2755]

I saw when in the BIOS that it has not been updated and perhaps in light of what people are saying, I should not update it?

I have written to Samsung about this and post their reply here - if I get one.

It just occurred to me that the easiest solution might be to upgrade the PC to a newer version as they can be picked up fairly cheaply and the old one kept as a spare or sold.

If anyone knows which version of an HP EliteDesk Tower (as I do like this PC) I should purchase that would be fully compatible - G4 or G5 etc. - would be most grateful to know. Thank you.

[TheOldMan]

I looked at the HP EliteDesk 800 G4 Tower PC and some came with the PCIe NVMe M.2 SSD drives already installed

https://support.hp.com/us-en/document/c06051414

So maybe look at them. OR - the G5 towers - much better specs than the G3.

https://support.hp.com/us-en/document/c06403513

[ASH2755]

Now considering whether to buy a newer PC which are quite thin on the ground and currently not cheap at £300 for a G4 and about £600 for a G5.

Looking at the option given of a PCIe card and it is comparatively easy so might try it. Some cannot boot from it while others have said it worked fine. The link on that thread to the correct PCIe card has expired but will do some more research and post a question on Amazon, etc.  There are a few YT vids about this which now watching.

Though I did for this from the beginning and still managed to get quite a bit of wrong information. In fact I now remember seeing a post about a PCIe card when researching earlier but when checked somewhere they said no that won't work as either an NVMe SSD will work in a PC or not. So one has to be careful with wrong information and double check everything.

(I have had a PC at home since 1983 and my first hard drive was 500kb (yes, that's right, half a mb) but I'm an oldie now at 70 and by no means a techie, so I do struggle to keep up.)

If anyone knows whether this is the right card, i would be grateful. The NVMe m.2 fits onto the card itself. As I understand it, there is a slightly more expensive option which includes space for two additional SSDs but they would be for SATA card SSDs as opposed to NVMe m.2's, as SATA and NVMe are two different types of m.2 SSD cards. 

I would be most grateful for any help and advice. 

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B01FU9JS94/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?smid=A3374W2B77AZ1E&th=1