Adding second NVME is not visible in BIOS or Windows

[dkintheuk]

Hi there,

I've added the NVME drive from my old laptop to this machine as a second drive. It is not visible in BIOS or Windows.

I have added it on it's own and used the Bitlocker key to make it appear and i can even boot from it fine but with some issues.

Why can the laptop not see both drives when they plugged into the slots?

I have now booted from both drives with them in each of the slots after doing the Bitlocker unlock.

I've tried to unlock the other drive in Windows with the manage-bde command but the drive just isn't visible.

What am I missing? Do I have to do something extra to make it visible to the machine?

Many thanks,

Rob.

[Max3Aj]

@dkintheuk, Welcome to HP Support Community. 

Thank you for posting your query, I will be glad to help you. 
It sounds like your OMEN 17 laptop may have BIOS or hardware limitations that are preventing both NVMe drives from being recognized simultaneously. Here are some steps to troubleshoot and resolve the issue:

Check BIOS Settings

• Restart your laptop and enter the BIOS by pressing F10 during boot.
• Navigate to Storage Configuration or Advanced Storage Settings.
• Look for options related to NVMe, RAID, or SATA/NVMe mode.
  • If RAID mode is enabled, try switching it to AHCI. (Note: Changing this may require reinstallation of Windows if not done properly.)
  • If there is an option for NVMe remapping, enable it.
• Save changes and restart.

Verify Drive Compatibility

• Check whether your OMEN 17 supports dual NVMe drives. Some models may have a second slot that is only for SATA M.2 drives or is disabled in certain configurations.
• Confirm that both NVMe drives are properly seated and secured in their slots.

Test Each NVMe Drive Separately

• Boot with only one NVMe drive installed (test both slots).
• If both drives are detected individually but not together, this may indicate a BIOS limitation.

Disk Management Check (Windows)

• Boot into Windows with one drive and then insert the second NVMe drive while the system is running.
• Open Disk Management (Win + X → Disk Management) and check if the second drive appears.
  • If it does appear but is not assigned a letter, right-click it and assign a drive letter.

Use Diskpart to Detect Hidden Drives

• Open Command Prompt (Admin) and type: diskpart
• List available disks: list disk
• If the second drive appears but has no partition, select it: select disk X  (replace X with the disk number)
• If it shows as hidden or unallocated, try: attributes disk clear readonly
• Then format or assign a letter using Disk Management.

Check BitLocker Status

• If the second drive is encrypted with BitLocker, it may be blocking access. Try unlocking it using:

manage-bde -unlock X: -RecoveryPassword YOUR-BITLOCKER-KEY

• (Replace X: with the drive letter and YOUR-BITLOCKER-KEY with the actual key.)

BIOS Update

• If both drives work individually but not together, check if there's a BIOS update for your laptop on the HP support page. Some BIOS updates improve NVMe support.

Power & Firmware Issues

• NVMe drives draw power directly from the motherboard. If the second NVMe slot is not powered properly, it may not be detected.
• Check if your NVMe drive has firmware updates from the manufacturer (Samsung, WD, etc.).

I hope this helps. 

Take care and have a good day. 

Please click “Accepted Solution” if you feel my post solved your issue, it will help others find the solution. Click the “Kudos/Thumbs Up" on the bottom right to say “Thanks” for helping! 

Max3Aj

HP Support