Boot from mSATA SSD in Probook 650 G1

[GregoryK1]

Has the problem been solved in newer bios versions, e.g. L77 ver.01.34 or L77 ver. 01.47 (July 11, 2018)

(Boot from mSATA SSD in Probook 650 - Page 2 - HP Support Community - 5080552)

[tk_srq]

@GregoryK1,

Please see this thread. The author updated bios to 01.50 but was still unable to boot from M.2 SSD.

HP 650 G1 Transcend TS256GMTS400S m.2 SSD SATA III - HP Support Community - 7623638

When I owned a Probook 650 G1 five to six years ago, I was tempted to get an M.2 ssd and boot Windows from it, but I found a bios enthusiast forum didn't think HP would ever update bios code to allow an M.2 device to be booted. So, I gave up this idea (also, M.2 drives were quite expensive at the time).

Take a look at another post below. The author managed to boot off of M.2 ssd via two different methods: Read his "side note" at the bottom of his fist post. It sounds to me that Windows boot system in efi partition on the SATA device was used that launched Windows from the M.2 device. Similar things were mentioned in the thread you posted.

How to path custom boot option in bios to M.2 slot? - HP Support Community - 8155405

The author wanted the M.2 ssd to be a standalone device. He enabled Custom boot option in Boot Options in Advanced in BIOS and typed " \EFI\Boot\bootx64.efi" in the boot path space. This enabled Windows directly to start from the M.2 drive.

If you are thinking to get an M.2 sata and install Windows to it, let me know.

[GregoryK1]

Thank you for the information provided. Before I decide, I still need to make sure about the type of M.2 ssd. From what I've found out so far, it must be B+M SATA (not NVMe) 42 mm, at least 64GB (to fit there Win10)

[TzortzisG]

 Hi GregoryK1.

Yes, this is in fact a slot for m.2 disks and NOT msata. You're correct that the length has to be 2242, the connection B+M (SATA drive), and I think that most of us, by now, have switched to the 512GB transcend 430s. Transcend offers 1TB versions, but I haven't seen one on the market yet. These drives are very good, but you need to flash the new firmware asap, because when left with its original firmware it gets very hot during sustained writes.

The link by tk_srq is pretty awesome, but since most users will want to keep a 2.5'' drive for storage as well, you can just use these instructions by Misterbudde: https://h30434.www3.hp.com/t5/Notebook-Boot-and-Lockup/m-2-not-seen-at-boot/td-p/6019325/page/3

Happy upgrading!

[tk_srq]

@GregoryK1,

What you need is an M.2 SATA3 SSD 2242. 64 GB is too small, as Windows 10 constantly updates itself. A computer tends to slow down when the hdd/ssd fills up close to its capacity. Look this Amazon listing. 

Amazon.com: Transcend 512GB SATA III 6GB/S MTS430S 42 mm M.2 SSD 430S Solid State Drive TS512GMTS430...

[GregoryK1]

Thanks for the link to the solution proposed by Misterbudde.
This should be the best solution since there is no bios that handles it.

[GregoryK1]

Thank you for confirming the type of SSD and recommending a specific one.

[TzortzisG]

 I agree. It's the easiest, and it's what I used.

I have to say something though. When we started trying out these configs (m.2 in the wlan slot), large capacity SSDs of either the 2.5'' or m.2 variety were very expensive. So we wanted to keep the slow hdd with the large storage space, and use a small but fast m.2 for the boot partition. Nowadays, what you're trying to do really isn't worth it. I've long since moved to a 2TB Samsung Qvo SSD on my Probook G1 for both the OSes and for storage, and use the small 512Gb Transcend for the pagefile and for some "heavy" programs, to take advantage of the two SATA3 lanes.....  Just Sayin'