HP Omen 15-ek0118TX NVME Controller Error

[elljb]

Model: OMEN Laptop 15-ek0xxx

Processor: Intel(R) Core i7-10750H

SSD: Intel Optane Memory H10 32GB Optane / 512GB NAND

Hi everyone,

A couple of weeks ago my Omen 15 was having issues and kept crashing and bluescreening. I decided to just wipe it and reset it. However, during the reset, it froze and then crashed. When I went to set up my laptop and install Windows via a USB, it only showed my primary drive as a potential install location and my SSD was not showing up.

I tried installing a lot of different versions of the storage drivers via a USB during setup, but my laptop either didn't recognise them as valid drives, or bluescreened when trying to load them.

I downloaded Windows onto the primary drive to try and see what the issue was. When I opened my Device Mananger I could see that there was a yellow warning sign on the Intel(R) NVME Controller Properties. When I click on it and look at 'device status', it reads 'This device cannot start (Code 10) An I/O adapter hardware error has occurred.' I've tried installing so many different NVME drivers, as well as the drivers that are recommended on the HP site, but none of them work. I thought about getting a new SSD but I'm afraid it won't work and that the issue is with the actual computer itself and not just the SSD.

I've seen quite a few people have similar issues but theirs all seem to be fixed by downloading storage drivers. I've spent way too many hours trying to reset and fix it, and I really don't want to fork out money for a laptop repairman if there's actually a very simple solution. I bought it in 2021 and don't have any original packaging so unfortunately I dont think I can take it to JB Hi-Fi where I bought it.

Thank you for reading, I am not particularly knowledgeable about computers so I hope this makes sense.

[Paul_Tikkanen]

Hi:

The only suggestion I can offer would be to see if making a bootable USB recovery drive with the HP cloud recovery tool works.

Here is an info link for how to use the utility.  You will need a 32 GB USB flash drive to create the recovery media with.

HP Consumer PCs - Using the HP Cloud Recovery Tool in Windows 11 and 10 | HP® Customer Support

You can download the software from the Microsoft Store.

HP Cloud Recovery Tool - Microsoft Store Apps

Since you have to use the utility on another PC, you will need to enter the notebook's product number in the tool's search window in order to proceed to make the recovery media. 

Your PC's product number is:  309B7PA#ABG

[elljb]

Hey Paul,

I just tried to use a USB recovery drive on my laptop, however it bluescreened during the boot. I got the stop code 'DRIVER_IQRL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL', did a little bit of research and decided to open my Event Viewer and saw I had a critical event - ID 41, Source Kernel-Power. I decided to rerun some Hardware diagnostics and found that my Long DST says not available. I feel like this most likely means my hard drive has failed and I might need a new one? 

[Paul_Tikkanen]

Yes, that could be a possibility that the drive has failed and needs to be replaced.

Hopefully, it is not the motherboard.

I suggest you replace the NVMe SSD with a standard NVMe SSD and not one that has the Intel Optane memory.

If there is a setting in the BIOS to disable the Intel Optane memory, you need to do that if you install a drive that is not the same as the one your notebook came with (NVMe+ Intel Optane).

Below is the link to the service manual where you can find the M.2 SSD removal and replacement procedure.

c06638089.pdf (hp.com)

Suggested replacements would be a Samsung 980 PCIe 3.0 SSD or a Crucial P3 SSD.