New M.2 SSD nowhere to be found !

[HomenxP]

Well I am back and found time to work on the issue.   This is not a new thread, I closed the conversation by mistake and my issue is not fixed.

Please open full page/or expend/or Copy&Paste to keep the formatting. 

I have an HP OMEN MAX 16-0030ca, P/N:  B81JTUA#ABL and my new laptop system will not show and recognize a new M.2 SSD I added to fill the empty slot.

- My documentation says:  Internal storage 2tb PCIe Gen4 NVMe performance M.2 SSD.  Expansion slots 2 M.2 SSD currently empty (I filled it with a new M.2 SSD).

- I purchased and installed a new:  Samsung 990 PRO M.2 2280 1TB PCI-E G4n 4 x4, NMVe  1.3c internal Solid State Drive with Micro Connectors 5mm Low -Profile Heat Sink Kit & Mounting Screws (none of which can nor were installed).

From my research I found the following…

-  MS Windows System Information, Storage, Disks (only one disk):  

Model Samsung MZVL81T0HELB-00BH1 Size 953.86GB

- HP Support Assistant (only one disk):  

Disk 1 Windows (C:) SAMSUNG MZVL81T0HELB-00BH1 953.86 GB

- BIOS (F10), OMEN Setup Utility:  

Boot Options, UEFI Boot Order (again I only see one disk)

OS Boot Manager

Windows Boot Manager (S79UNX3XC88480-SAMSUNG MZVL81T0HELB-00BH1)

USB Flash Drive/USB Hard Disks

USB CD/DVD ROM Drive

! Network Adapter

Security, Secure Erase (now and that is the only place there are two disk showing, one of the two is the new one and the other factory installed)

NVMe:  S79UNX3XC88480-SAMSUNG MZVL81T0HELB-00BH1

NVMe:  S7M3NS0X133246B-Samsung SSD 990 EVO 1TB

- Computer Management (as an Administrator), Storage, Disk Management (only one disk):  

Disk 0 Basic 953.85 GB Online

260 MB Healthy (EFI System Partition)

Windows (C:) 952.85 GB NTFS (BitLocker Encrypted), Healthy (Boot, Page File, Crash Dump, Basic Data Partition)

756 MB Healthy (Recovery Partition)

Nothing else nor Unalocated or Offline.

I am at a loss, what else should I try ?

Goglu

[Garp_senchau]

@HomenxP, Welcome to HP Support Community,

Thank you for posting your query; I’m here to help by guiding you through steps to resolve this issue

Based on your description, your HP OMEN MAX 16 (16-ah0000 / 16-0030ca) is detecting the new Samsung 990 PRO 1TB NVMe SSD at BIOS level (under Secure Erase) but not showing it in Windows (Disk Management or HP Support Assistant). That’s the key clue.

This typically means the drive is physically detected, but not initialized or partitioned, so Windows doesn’t assign it a drive number — which makes it appear “invisible.” Let’s go step by step to confirm and fix this.

Check if Windows sees the drive in Device Manager

Press Windows + X → Device Manager.

Expand Disk drives.

See if the Samsung 990 EVO 1TB appears there.

If you see it but it’s missing in Disk Management, proceed to Step 3.
If it’s not visible here, click View → Show hidden devices, and check again.

Initialize the Drive 

Sometimes Windows doesn’t auto-initialize new drives.

Press Windows + X → Disk Management again.

Look carefully at the bottom panel (the gray bar area).

If you see “Disk 1 – Unknown / Not Initialized”, that’s your 990 PRO.

Right-click on the label “Disk 1” → Initialize Disk.

Choose GPT (GUID Partition Table) and click OK.

After that, right-click the unallocated space → New Simple Volume.

Assign a letter (like D:) and format it as NTFS (default).

Now it should appear in File Explorer.

If Disk Management still doesn’t show it

Use PowerShell or Command Prompt (Admin):

Open PowerShell (Admin).

Type: Get-Disk

This lists all physical disks detected by Windows.

If the Samsung 990 PRO shows up here as “RAW” or “Offline”:

Run: 

Set-Disk -Number 1 -IsOffline $false
Initialize-Disk -Number 1 -PartitionStyle GPT

(Replace “1” with your actual disk number.)

If it doesn’t show up even in PowerShell → Windows NVMe driver may not be initializing the PCIe lane properly.

Update NVMe Controller Drivers

In Device Manager, expand:

Storage Controllers

IDE ATA/ATAPI controllers

Right-click each NVMe or Standard NVM Express Controller → Update driver → Search automatically.

Restart your system afterward.

Also, make sure Samsung Magician (from Samsung’s site) is installed — it can directly detect and initialize Samsung NVMe drives.

BIOS & Firmware 

Go to HP Support Assistant → Device → Updates → BIOS.

Make sure you’re on the latest firmware for the 16-ah0000 series.

I hope this helps.

Please feel free to reply here if you have any questions or if you need further clarification on any of the steps. 

Take care and have a good day. 

Did we resolve the issue? If yes, please consider marking this post as "Accepted Solution" and click "Yes" to give us a helpful vote - your feedback keeps us going!

Regards,

[HomenxP]

Hello Mr. Senchau.

Thank you for your involvement in this matter and taking the time.

I read and was able to do everything from your detailed instructions but I'm afraid the result is the same.  The following is what I did in your order.

- Device Manager:

Both seen, and did as instructed including Controller Drivers

- Disk ManagementComputer Management (as an Administrator), Storage, Disk Management (only one disk):  

Disk 0 Basic 953.85 GB Online

260 MB Healthy (EFI System Partition)

Windows (C:) 952.85 GB NTFS (BitLocker Encrypted), Healthy (Boot, Page File, Crash Dump, Basic Data Partition)

756 MB Healthy (Recovery Partition)

Nothing else, no Disk 1 nor Unallocated or Offline.

- Admin Windows PowerShell, get-disk:
Model Samsung MZVL81T0HELB-00BH1 only

- Samsung Magician:
Drive Name: SAMSUNG MZVL81T0HELB-00BH1, Serial Number: S79UNX3XC88480,
Interface: PCLe Gen. 4 x 4, Firmware: HPS4NKXM, NVMe Driver: Microsoft
Nothing else

- BIOS (F10), OMEN Setup Utility:
Boot Options, UEFI Boot Order (again I only see one disk)
OS Boot Manager
Windows Boot Manager (S79UNX3XC88480-SAMSUNG MZVL81T0HELB-00BH1)
USB Flash Drive/USB Hard Disks
USB CD/DVD ROM Drive
! Network Adapter
Security, Secure Erase (now and that is the only place there are two disk showing, one of the two is the new one and the other factory installed)
NVMe: S79UNX3XC88480-SAMSUNG MZVL81T0HELB-00BH1
NVMe: S7M3NS0X133246B-Samsung SSD 990 EVO 1TB

- MS Windows System Information, Storage, Disks (only one disk):
Model Samsung MZVL81T0HELB-00BH1 Size 953.86GB

- HP Support Assistant (only one disk):
Disk 1 Windows (C:) SAMSUNG MZVL81T0HELB-00BH1 953.86 GB

All updates done, many restart and up to now this includes 3 resets (no more)

- File Explorer
Nothing even tweaking with Folder Options, View

My M.2 SSD was recommended by a qualified reputable Tech with his own company, I purchased the storage stick at BestBuy.ca and unless you can come up with something else my next step will be to involve the Geek Squad from same.  

If your are an employee as you state you can contact me anytime via email or tel. landline if you can and will.

Yours truly,

Goglu

[HomenxP]

Perhaps more useful information but still no progress to initialize and use it.

- Samsung Magician, System Details, System Summary, Memory Information 2/2
Slot 1, Status: In Use, Size: 16384MB, Form Factor: SODIMM, Memory Drive Type: Other, Mfg: Samsung, Serial #: 12345678
Slot 2, Status: In Use, Size: 16384MB, Form Factor: SODIMM, Memory Drive Type: Other, Mfg: Samsung, Serial #: 12345678

- File Explorer, Windows (C:) Properties, Hardware, All Disk Drives
Name: Samsung MZVL81T0HELB-00BH1 Disk drives
Name: Samsung SSD 990 EVO 1TB Disk drives, Device Properties,
Manufacturer: (Standard Disk Drives), Location: Location 5 (Bus Numbe 0. Target ld 0. LUN 0), Device status: This device is working properly.
Properties
Samsung SSD EVO 1TB Properties, General, Device status: This device is working properly, Volumes,
Disk Information: All empty ! Volume & Capacity: All empty ! Populate: All the same. Divers are up to date

Any more ideas !?

Goglu

[Garp_senchau]

Hey @HomenxP, 

Thanks for reaching out! Since the issue remains unresolved, I suggest contacting our phone/chat support team for personalized assistance. They can provide one-on-one help and may even be able to work their remote assistance magic to fix the problem.

Note: There might be a nominal charge for the service they provide.

Regards,

[HomenxP · Accepted solution]

This message might not have made it so it is a repeat...

Dear Mr. Senchau.
All is good now. My computer Technician acquaintance came in with the exact SSD I had initially ordered and it worked right away. I was sent the wrong one and even though everyone told me it should have worked it didn't. I just started the return and refund process through BestBuy.ca with the seller and because of that shipping mistake I will still be left to swallow the labour and other associated cost. Ah well.
Thank you again for all your help, I did learn quite a bit too.
Goglu