SSD M.2 not detected

[MK_ultra]

Hi,

New to the forum here. After some research I accidentaly found my laptop (HP 15-bs007np) has an empty M.2 slot in the motherboard.

I have purchased, and installed the following drive without any problems:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Western-Digital-Solid-State-Drive/dp/B01M9B2VB7/ref=sr_1_5?dchild=1&keyword...

My problem is that the SSD is not detected by the system, neither by Windows disk manager, nor even in BIOS settings. I have double checked if it was properly seated, but no changes. Everything seems to be running fine except for this.

Is there anything I can do to try forcing detection? Or the slot is just a "dummy" and motherboard is not actually prepared for it? Maybe the drive is just faulty, but I have no other way to test it.

Thanks

View after installationSSD

[Paul_Tikkanen · Accepted solution]

Hi:

Your notebook supports SATA M.2 drives not NVMe, and since you installed a SATA drive it should have worked.

The only two things I can think of are:

1. The new drive is defective.

2.  A problem with the motherboard.  The slot is not there for decoration.

[MK_ultra]

Hi,

Thanks a lot for the tip.

Not long after my post I updated BIOS to the latest version from HP, and the device started with strange behaviour, the flashing just missed the last  step and entered on boot loop, not able to even do the recovery. The first assessment, was it could  be the board.

After reading your reply I opened the laptop again and removed the SSD; afterwards, the device was able to finish flashing and runs normally. A defective SSD seems indeed the most likely culprit. I inspected the SSD closely and it seems very warped. I work around SMT lines and while I'm not an expert, this level of warpage seems excessive. I will request a replacement.

PS: there is no mention to this expansion slot in the service manual, so I wondered if it was functional. Good it's not the case.

[MK_ultra]

Hi,

Thanks for the tip. The new drive is likely defective. The device has shown strange behaviour after a BIOS update made eralier today, even not allowing to boot.

After the removal, it started working normally.

I also noticed after removing it is very warped (heat damage?). It cannot be from the laptop as heat enough to do this, would fry it completely. It must be manufacturer error so I will return it.

[Paul_Tikkanen]

You're very welcome.

Hopefully the replacement SSD will work just fine.