Adding a 2nd SSD to an HP Envy 17t

[7ski]

I've installed a second SSD (PNY CS1311 960 GB) in my HP Envy 17t that is not always being recognized.  After the initial install, I was able to see it in Disk Management, create a new simple volume and mount it as a folder.  Everything was working fine.  After the first reboot, the volume was missing and I was unable to find it in Disk Management.  I removed the SDD and connected it using a USB/SATA cable.  The volume is good, so I suspected the internal SATA cable was bad.  I ordered a new one and installed it, but the disk was still not recognized.  I double checked the cable and it was installed correctly.  After a few reboots, suddenly the disk was recognized again.  I was able to use the volume until the next reboot, when it disappeared again.  Any idea what might cause this behavior?

[FlashRam1714]

Hello @7ski,

Thank you for posting the HP Forums!

I read your post and see that your HP Envy 17t-n100 is not reading the second SSD correctly. I took a look at the service guide for this product.

HP ENVY Notebook Intel Models 17-n100 Maintenance and Service Guide

On page 2 it shows the drive specifications, which has 512gb as the highest supported memory SSD. You may be able to create two partitions splitting the 960gb into smaller portions, maybe the computer would be able to recognize the drive at that point.

HP PCs - Partitioning and Naming Drives (Windows 10, 😎

Post back with the results!

[7ski]

I'm surprised there is a such a low limit on the size of an SSD in an HP Envy laptop.  Of course I was a little surprised that HP would even sell a laptop with a 6th Gen i7 processor and dedicated graphics with a such a slow HDD, which is why I bought the SSD to replace it.  I really need the 1TB and I need it to be fast, so this might not be the laptop I need.

[7ski · Accepted solution]

I had cloned the original 1TB 5400RPM HDD onto a new PNY CS1311 120GB SSD.  I wanted to have the OS and applications on the 120GB and add the PNY CS1311 960GB SSD in the 2nd bay for all my other files which I also backup offsite.  Since the laptop can only see the 2nd drive ocassionally, I've cloned the original HDD to the 960GB SSD.  The laptop works fine with just the 960GB SSD in the first bay.  It's not the setup I wanted, but it'll work.