Windows installer cannot detect SSD on HP 470 G8 (Intel VMD / RST issue)

[HaakonO]

I am trying to reinstall Windows on a HP 470 G8 laptop with an 11th Gen Intel Core i7-1165G7.

I created a bootable Windows 11 USB and the installer starts normally. However, when I reach the step where I should select the drive to install Windows, no internal SSD is detected. Instead, the installer asks me to load a driver to display hardware.

I opened Command Prompt in the installer and ran:

diskpart
list disk

Only the USB drive (~14 GB) is detected. The internal SSD does not appear.

This seems related to Intel VMD / Intel Rapid Storage Technology, where the Windows installer does not have the required storage controller driver.

The BIOS does not allow me to disable the Intel VMD controller, so the SSD remains invisible during Windows installation.

What is the correct driver or BIOS configuration needed for Windows Setup to detect the internal SSD on a HP 470 G8?

Or how can I easily install Windows 11 on my HP?

[Paul_Tikkanen]

Try the drivers I zipped up and attached below:

Unzip and copy all of the files in the folder in the attachment to a USB flash drive.

Have the flash drive and your Windows installation media plugged into USB ports.

Boot from the Windows installation flash drive.

When you get to the screen where no drives can be found, click on the Load driver option, browse to the flash drive with the storage controller drivers on it.

If you check the box, it will only include the compatible driver.

If Windows still can't find the drive, uncheck the box to include the compatible driver and try any of the ones listed.

If that doesn't work, try the HP cloud recovery client and make a bootable USB recovery drive.

Hopefully the HP image has the drivers you need.

HP Business PCs - Using the HP Cloud Recovery Client in Windows 11 and Windows 10 | HP® Support

Cloud Recovery Client 

sp162904.exe

[HaakonO]

Hi @Paul_Tikkanen,

Thank you for the drivers and the suggestion to use the HP Cloud Recovery Client. I downloaded and tried the F6.zip drivers, but it dose not get detected with this either. 

I also attempted to use the HP Cloud Recovery Client (sp162904.exe) as you suggested, and I ran into a separate problem: the tool does not detect my USB flash drive.

Here are the details:

• USB Drive: SanDisk Ultra USB 3.0 64GB (SDCZ48-064G) — a standard USB-A flash drive

• The USB is fully recognized by Windows, shows up in Disk Management and DiskPart as a healthy, removable drive (57 GB, NTFS)

• DiskPart `detail disk` confirms: Type: USB, Removable, Status: Online/Healthy

What I have already tried:

• Formatted the USB as both NTFS and FAT32

• Used DiskPart to `clean`, `create partition primary`, and `format`

• Converted to MBR partition table

• Tried multiple USB ports (USB 2.0 and 3.0)

• Ran the Cloud Recovery Client as administrator

• Inserted the USB before launching the tool

• Uninstalled and reinstalled the tool

Despite all of this, the Cloud Recovery Client still shows “No USB drive is connected” on the USB preparation page.

Additionally, I checked the HP Cloud Recovery Supported Platforms page, and the HP 470 G8 is not listed as a supported model. The 470 series only goes up to the ProBook 470 G5.

My questions:

1. Is there a way to force the HP Cloud Recovery Client to detect my USB drive?

2. Since the HP 470 G8 is not on the supported platforms list, is there an alternative way to obtain the factory recovery image (ISO or otherwise) for my specific model (Product Number: 5B6S9ES#UUW, Serial Number: 5CG20213VD)?

3. If Cloud Recovery is not an option for this model, would using the Windows Media Creation Tool combined with the F6.zip drivers you provided be the recommended approach?

Any guidance would be greatly appreciated. Thank you for your continued help!

[Paul_Tikkanen]

You're very welcome.

Unfortunately, I don't know why the F6 drivers didn't work, and I can't help you with that, but apparently, HP has switched to using the version of the Cloud recovery tool used for their consumer PC's which works a little differently than the one I gave you (Under the Cloud Recovery section).

HP 470 G8 Notebook PC Software and Driver Downloads | HP® Support

But when I entered your notebook's 5B6S9ES#UUW product number which you use instead of the serial number, it returns an Item0015 error which means the PC is not supported and to contact HP support.

Cloud Recovery

Here's an info link for how to use that version of the cloud recovery program.

HP Consumer PCs - Using the HP Cloud Recovery Tool in Windows 11 and 10 | undefined

I'm thinking that you will have to contact HP customer service because the cloud recovery tool where you enter the product number should have been supported, and the F6 drivers I gave you also should have worked.

The only other thing you can do is to try the IRST drivers on your notebook's support page:

17.11.0.1000

sp135890.exe

What you will need to do is to use another PC and install the free 7-Zip file utility so you can extract the exe file into its driver folder which will allow you to browse to the drivers.

The first file at the top of the page is for 64 bit.

7-Zip

After you install 7-Zip, right click on the HP driver file and select 7-Zip from the list of items on the menu.

Have 7-Zip Extract to: and let it extract the file into its folder name.

You'll see the F6 folder inside the file.

[HaakonO]

Thanks for your help!

I'm getting this when I try to connect with their support. Is there another way I can get in contact with them?

Thanks again!

[Paul_Tikkanen]

You're very welcome.

You can try from the link below....

Offisiell HP®-støtte

This site has a phone number to call and perhaps they can direct you from there.

Contact HP - Office locations | HP® Norge