The ssd is not shown in the bios. Why doesn't the computer see the SSD?

Imagine a moment: you just purchased a brand new SSD drive, but when you connect it to a computer, it is not detected, or you have been using it for quite a long time, but at one fine moment, it is no longer recognized. Of course, here you might think that it broke down, burned out, in general, went out of order. And the right decision would be to take it to a service center.

However, often the problem lies in ordinary system errors that can occur after various failures or if you connect a new SSD. In this case, fixing this is quite simple, we will talk about this below.

Causes of SSD connection problems

Despite the fact that solid-state drives have a completely different principle of storing information, they often use the same interfaces and form factors as conventional HDDs. To connect an SSD to a computer today, the SATA interface is used. Based on this, the conclusion suggests itself that these hard drives are subject to the same problems when connected as SATA hard drives. Moreover, solid-state drives designed to connect to mSATA, M.2 connectors or a PCI-Express slot have become widespread.

There are many reasons why an SSD drive is not detected by the computer and does not want to work properly. It is important to say that they apply not only to a new device connected to a PC for the first time. It also happens that a previously used hard drive suddenly stops working.

A user without the appropriate knowledge and skills will likely have serious difficulties diagnosing and subsequently solving the problem. Therefore, we will try to understand the manifestation and solution of each of them.

We carry out initialization

The first thing you need to consider is the situation when the computer does not see the new SSD drive the first time it is connected. That is, the drive cannot initialize on its own, and this must be done manually; I will use Windows 7 as an example, but in other versions, Windows 8 and 10, all steps will be similar:

1. Press the key combination “Win+R” and enter “compmgmt.msc”, then click “OK”.
   
2. We look for the “Disk Management” item in the left column and click on it.
   
3. Select the one you need, right-click and click “Initialize disk”.
4. In the new window, put a checkmark on it, select “MBR” or “GBT” and click “OK”. It is recommended to select "MBR"
   
5. At the bottom of the main window, click on the disk and then select “Create a simple volume.”
6. A new window will open, click “Next”.
7. Now you need to specify the volume size. It is not recommended to change the default setting. Click “Next”.
8. Next, select any letter and click “Next” again.
   
9. Then select “Format this volume”, in the “File system” item select NTFS. Click “Next”.
   
10. A new window will display the main parameters. If they match, click “Done”.
    

Following the algorithm exactly, you can initialize the disk without any problems, and it will be completely ready for use.

If there is an unallocated area, then it’s quite simple, you should start from point 5.

Changing a letter

When you first connect solid state drive The OS may simply not see it. That is, physically it can be fully functional, but it will not be displayed among other local disks.

Fixing this problem is quite simple as follows:

This way, you can quickly change the letter and solve the problem when a computer or laptop does not see the SSD device.

File system type

This option is possible when the “Change drive letter” option is missing. This indicates a mismatch in the file system, which is why the computer does not see the SSD. For the drive to work properly in Windows, it must be in NTFS format.

That is, in order for it to become available for full-fledged work, it needs to be formatted. This method is only suitable for those hard drives that do not contain important data, because during the formatting process all existing information will be deleted.

You need to do the following:

Once the drive is formatted, the problem will be fixed.

Doesn't show up in BIOS

In some cases, it happens that the SSD is not displayed even in the BIOS. There are two reasons why this happens, and just as many solutions. The first of them is a disabled SATA controller, to enable it you need to:

It should be noted that operating system may not install due to the selected “AHCI” mode, in this case, change it to “IDE” and after installation, change it back to “AHCI”.

If this does not help, then you should reset the BIOS settings. If you have the appropriate knowledge, it is recommended to update the BIOS itself to a new version.

Another reason that it is not detected could be faulty SSD firmware at the production stage. Of course, you can try to reflash it yourself, but there is a risk that due to incorrect actions it may completely fail. Therefore, it is better to return it under warranty or take it for repair.

Damaged cable or cable

Special attention should be paid to cables and cables; they may have been damaged and failed. In addition, in many cases, the SSD drive does not work precisely because of inaccurate or incorrect connections inside the computer.

Typically, connecting a solid-state hard drive uses exactly the same cables as for SATA hard drives, so the potential problems are similar to problems when connecting hard drives. We discussed them in a separate article about the reasons when.

Drive failure

Finally, it is necessary to say about the likelihood of the drive failing, which is why it is no longer detected. Even though there are no moving parts in an SSD, this does not mean that it cannot break.

For example, the drive controller may be faulty. In this case, repairs can be extremely difficult or completely impossible, since the memory modules, which are responsible for storing information, are located on the same chip along with the controller.

Power supply failure

If your computer or laptop does not see the SSD drive, then you should check the power supply. Often, due to its defects, many devices fail, and it becomes extremely difficult to repair them.

For example, the following situation may arise. You purchased a new SSD, connected it, but it shows no signs of life, it simply does not work. The right decision will return it under warranty and exchange it for another one. But if the same problem arises with the next one, then most likely either the batch is defective, which happens very rarely, or the problem is in the power supply.

Without understanding electronics, it is not possible to repair the power supply yourself, so it is best to take it to a trusted service center for diagnostics.

Built-in storage

It should also be said about one more feature that is unique to SSD drives. Sometimes it happens that a solid-state hard drive does not act as a connector connected to SATA, but is present as an integrated disk on the motherboard. In this case, the SSD is detected by the OS tools, but is not visible in the BIOS.

Based on the fact that these drives are needed for use as service hard drives for the needs of the operating system, the situation when the SSD is not detected in the BIOS is quite normal, since this drive is integral to the motherboard.

Now you know what to do if various malfunctions occur and you can fix them yourself. But if none of the options helped solve your problem, then you should contact a specialized service center. Experienced employees will certainly find the cause of the breakdown and help you solve it.

More detailed video instructions

Solid-state drives appeared not so long ago and are sensitive devices to BIOS settings and versions, firmware and connections. Often the systematic problem of BSOD can be corrected on your own.

Common problems and their solutions

While the computer is running, idle, or running an application, the computer crashes into BSOD (Blue Screen of Death);

When starting the computer, the message appears: “NTDL is missing press Control + Alt + del and restart,” although yesterday everything worked fine;

When the computer starts, the SSD is not displayed in the list of visible drives (including in the BIOS).

So, let's start in order.

Step one

This is trivial, but quite often the problem can arise due to the fact that the interface cable/motherboard connector has been damaged, or the device has come into conflict with others. Therefore, try to make a list of simple actions:

Check the connection of the interface cable to the motherboard and SSD connector. Reconnect the device (newfangled cables with metal latches do not guarantee 100% connection, even if you heard a click, and ordinary ones even more so);

Use another SATA cable, (“tested” change to new, new to “tested”), especially if it was somehow twisted, wrapped, and so on;

Try connecting the device to nearby SATA ports;

Remove the solid-state drive from the 2.5″\3.5” bay;

Make sure that the motherboard BIOS is set to AHCI mode for the controller to which the drive is connected;

Try disabling third-party SATA\eSATA\IDE controllers in the motherboard BIOS menu, and subsequently other drives (hard drives, optical drives), leaving the SSD as the only connected drive;

If the system was transferred to an SSD using special software, which can often be found included with some drives, move the system again, from scratch;

Update controller drivers for Windows (Intel Rapid Storage Technology Driver or AMD AHCI Driver, or for a third-party controller);

Install Windows 7 (if you had Windows XP).

Step two

You need to make sure that the motherboard BIOS is up to date. Usually the version is indicated when the computer starts, in shells like UEFI - often written directly into them. In the operating room Windows system you can download, for example, a small and free CPU-Z utility, open the “Motherboard” section and see the BIOS version there.

Attention!: When looking for BIOS updates, download them ONLY from official sites, ONLY for your motherboard model.

Step three

It is highly desirable that the SSD be connected to the native SATA ports of the motherboard. Each motherboard has native ports, that is, supported by the existing set of logic, and also, on a number of devices there are additional SATA ports implemented by third-party controllers. Make sure that the SSD is connected to exactly the right ports; they usually differ in color and have a priority sequence number (SATA_1, SATA_2) in the case when they are implemented by additional controllers or operate at lower interface speeds; on the contrary, they are at the end of the list (SATA_5, SATA_6).

To find out exactly which connectors belong to what, look for this information in the user manual of your motherboard; if you do not have a paper version of the manual, you can always download it from the vendor’s official website in electronic format.

Step four

Many users keep an eye on new firmware releases for semiconductor drives because they often improve performance, but don't forget that the main reason for new firmware releases is to fix bugs in the SSD controller logic. So it's also worth making sure your SSD has the latest firmware.

Attention!: When looking for firmware updates for SSDs, download them ONLY from official sites, ONLY for your SSD model. Please also keep in mind that this can (and most likely) completely destroys all information stored on the SSD.

Step five and final

If you have already done all of the above, double-checked, rearranged, updated a hundred times, but the problem remains, it is worth looking for information on the SSD manufacturer’s website, after all, who better than him should be aware of all the problems associated with his products. Moreover, it would be preferable to read foreign vendor forums on this topic. The fact is that this situation indicates the following probable reasons:

The problem is that your computer is incompatible with a specific SSD;

Some problems known to the manufacturer, which he is, of course, working on fixing;

Manufacturing defects.

Despite the fact that all technologies strive for standardization and unification, SSD is still a young storage system, so there are known cases from the “should work, but doesn’t” series. The motherboard controller (especially if it is old) cannot work correctly with the solid-state drive controller and enters into conflicts, which is why failures occur. In this case, as well as in the case of a defect, all that remains is to check the device on a completely different computer or laptop. In those cases when the problem is more or less widespread, the developers try to solve it as quickly as possible and post specific tips on how to fix problems on their forums.

The computer does not see the SSD— a solid-state drive, compared to a hard drive, has such advantages as a high level of performance and reliability, low power consumption, lack of noise, and much more. Therefore, more and more users are choosing SSD as their system one. When connecting such a drive, you may find that it is not detected by the system or is not even displayed in the BIOS. This may look like a missing disk in Explorer, Windows settings, or in the BIOS boot selection list.

Causes of SSD connection problems

Problems with displaying the SSD in the system can occur for reasons such as a missing drive letter or initialization, the presence of hidden partitions, and a file system incompatible with Windows. At the same time, this may occur due to incorrect BIOS settings and physical damage to the disk itself or one of the connection elements between motherboard and SSD.

Reason 1: The disk is not initialized

It often happens that The computer does not see the SSD drive and is not initialized when connected to a computer and, as a result, it is not visible in the system. The solution is to perform the procedure manually according to the following algorithm.

1. Press “Win+R” simultaneously and enter compmgmt.msc in the window that appears. Then click "OK".

2. A window will open where you should click “Disk Management”.

3. Right-click on the desired drive and select “Initialize disk” in the menu that opens.

4.

Next, make sure that the “Disk 1” field is checked, and place a marker next to the item that mentions MBR or GPT. “Master Boot Record” is compatible with all versions of Windows, but if you plan to use only current releases of this OS, it is better to select “Table with GUID partitions”.

5. After completing the procedure, you should create a new partition. To do this, click on the disk and select “Create simple volume”.

6. The “New Volume Creation Wizard” will open, in which we click “Next”.

7. Then you need to indicate the size. You can leave the default value, which is the maximum disk size, or select a smaller value. After making the necessary changes, click “Next”.

8. In the next window, agree with the proposed volume letter option and click “Next”. If desired, you can assign another letter, the main thing is that it does not coincide with the existing one.

9. Next you need to perform formatting. Leave the recommended values ​​in the “File system” and “Volume label” fields and, in addition, enable the “Quick format” option.

10. Click “Done”.

As a result, the disk should appear in the system.

Reason 2: Missing drive letter

Sometimes an SSD does not have a letter and therefore does not appear in Explorer. In this case, you need to assign a letter to it.

1. Go to Disk Management by repeating steps 1-2 above. Right-click on the SSD and select “Change drive letter or drive path.”

2. In the window that appears, click on “Change”.

3. Select a drive letter from the list, and then click “OK.”

After this, the specified information storage device is recognized by the OS, and standard operations can be performed with it.

Reason 3: Missing partitions

If the purchased drive is not new and has already been used for a long time, it may also not appear in My Computer. The reason for this may be damage to the system file or MBR table due to a crash, infection by a virus file, improper operation, etc. In this case, the SSD is displayed in “Disk Management”, but its status is “Not initialized”. In this case, it is usually recommended to perform initialization, but due to the risk of data loss, it is still not worth doing this.

In addition, a situation is also possible in which the drive is displayed as one unallocated area. Creating a new volume as usual may also result in data loss. The solution here may be to restore the partition. To do this, you need certain knowledge and software, for example, MiniTool Partition Wizard, which has the appropriate option.

1. Launch MiniTool Partition Wizard, and then select “Partition Recovery” from the “Check Disk” menu after specifying the target SSD. Alternatively, you can right-click on the disk and select the item of the same name.

2. Next, you need to select the SSD scanning range. There are three options available: "Full Disk", "Unallocated Space" and "Specified Range". In the first case, the search is performed across the entire disk, in the second - only on free space, in the third - on certain sectors. Leave “Full Disk” and click “Next”.

3. The next window offers two scanning mode options to choose from. The first - "Quick Scan" - recovers hidden or deleted partitions that are contiguous, and the second - "Full Scan" - scans every sector of a specified range on the SSD.

4. After scanning the disk, all found partitions are displayed as a list in the results window. Select all the required ones and click “Finish”.

5. Next, confirm the restoration operation by clicking on “Apply”. After this, all partitions on the SSD will appear in Explorer.

This should help solve the problem, but in a situation where there is no necessary knowledge and the necessary data is on the disk, it is better to turn to professionals.

Reason 4: Hidden section

Sometimes an SSD is not visible in Windows due to the presence of a hidden partition. This is possible if the user has hidden the volume using third-party software to prevent access to the data. The solution is to restore the partition using disk software. The same MiniTool Partition Wizard copes well with this task.

1. After launching the application, right-click on target disk and select "Unhide Partition". The same function is launched by selecting the line of the same name in the menu on the left.

2. Then assign a letter to this section and click “OK”.

After this, the hidden sections will appear in Explorer.

Reason 5: Unsupported file system

If, after following the steps above, the SSD still does not appear in Explorer, the drive's file system may be different from the FAT32 or NTFS that Windows works with. Typically, such a drive appears in the disk manager as a “RAW” area. To fix the problem, you need to follow the following algorithm.

1. Launch Disk Management by repeating steps 1-2 from the instructions above. Next, click on the required partition and select the “Delete volume” line.

2. Confirm the deletion by clicking “Yes”.

3. As you can see, the volume status has changed to “Free”.

Reason 6: Problems with BIOS and hardware

There are four main reasons why the BIOS does not detect the presence of an internal SSD.

SATA is disabled or has the wrong mode

1. To enable it, go to the BIOS and activate the advanced settings display mode. To do this, click on the “Advanced” button or press “F7”. In the example below, all actions are shown for the UEFI GUI.

2. Confirm the entry by clicking “OK”.

3. Next, find Built-in Device Configuration in the “Advanced” tab.

6. If there is still a problem with the connection, you can try switching the SATA mode from AHCI to IDE or vice versa. To do this, you should first go to the “SATA Configuration” section, located in the “Advanced” tab.

Incorrect BIOS settings

The BIOS will also not recognize the drive if the settings are incorrect. This can be easily checked by the system date - if it does not correspond to the true one, this indicates a failure. To eliminate it, you need to reset and return to standard settings according to the sequence of actions below.

1. Disconnect your PC from the network.

2. Open the system unit and find a jumper on the motherboard labeled “CLRTC”. It is usually located near the battery



Data cable is faulty

The BIOS will also not detect the SSD if the CATA cable is damaged. In this case, you need to check all connections between the motherboard and the SSD. It is advisable not to allow any bends or pinching of the cable when laying. All this can lead to damage to the wires inside the insulation, although externally the material may look normal. If there is any doubt about the condition of the cable, it is better to replace it. When connecting SATA devices, Seagate recommends using cables less than 1 meter in length. Longer ones can sometimes fall out of the connectors, so be sure to check that they are firmly connected to the SATA ports.

Failed SSD

If after carrying out the above procedures the disk is still not shown in the BIOS, most likely there is a manufacturing defect or physical damage to the device. Here you need to contact a computer repair shop or SSD supplier, first making sure that there is a warranty.

Conclusion

In this article, we looked at the reasons for the absence of a solid-state drive in the system or in the BIOS when it is connected. The source of such a problem can be either the condition of the disk or cable, or various software glitches and incorrect settings. Before proceeding with the fix using one of the listed methods, it is recommended to check all connections between the SSD and the motherboard and try replacing the SATA cable.

The computer does not see the SSD drive after connecting

Do you want to connect an additional HDD to the computer, but the system does not see it?
If you buy new computer or a laptop, then the hard drive is displayed there, but if you buy the hard drive separately, then it is not visible to the system.
Not everyone knows that the hard drive is formatted, and only after that it becomes visible.
This article will tell you how to format a new hard drive.

Checking if everything is ready

1. Connect the hard drive.
As you can see, the power is connected and the sata cable is also connected.

(Picture 1)

2. Check if Windows sees the hard drive.
Open “My Computer” and see that hard drive No.
In the figure below we see only one hard drive on which the Windows operating system is installed.

(Figure 2)

Formatting the hard drive: creating two logical drives

1. Go to the control panel.

If you have Windows 7, then click “Start / Control Panel”.
In Windows 8, in the My Computer window, on the “Computer” tab, click the “Open Control Panel” button.

(Figure 3)

(Figure 4)

3. In the next window, click “Create and format hard disk partitions.”

(Figure 5)

4. The Disk Management window appears and a message asks you to choose how we will use the hard drive.
Click “OK”, selecting “Master Boot Record” so that you can install Windows on this hard drive.

click - ok

(Figure 6)

5. Move the cursor to the lower right corner of the “Disk Management” window and when the cursor changes and becomes multi-directional arrows, press the left mouse button and drag it down.
This way we increase the window size.
With all the contents of the window available, you can now see that there is only one 118.90GB drive at the top of the window
At the bottom of the window we see a 931.51GB (1 terabyte) hard drive, which is currently not visible by the system, since its capacity is not allocated.

(Figure 7)

6. Move the cursor to the strip indicating the disk and right-click. In the context menu, select “Create a simple volume”.

(Figure 8)

7. After clicking, the “Create a Simple Volume Wizard” window appears. Here we click the “Next” button.

(Figure 9)

8. In the next window, enter the size of the future logical drive and click “Next”.

In the figure below we see the hard drive capacity is 953857 MB. If we want to divide the hard drive in half, then 953857/2 and it turns out that we need to enter the number 476928 MB into the form. If we want hard drive C to be 300GB, then we need to enter the number in megabytes 300*1024 = 307200 MB.
We will later create another logical drive in the remaining free space.

(Figure 10)

9. We give the system the right to select a drive letter and click “Next”.

(Figure 11)

10. In the next window, we also leave everything as the system selected and click “Next”.

You should not change the file system, since your operating system works with file system NTFS.

(Figure 12)

11. To close the window with information about the completion of creating the first logical drive, click the “Finish” button.

button - done

(Figure 13)

12. We return again to the “Disk Management” window, which we opened in step 3 and did not close.
Here we again move the cursor over the free space on the strip indicating the new hard drive and right-click to bring up the context menu.
Select “Create simple volume”.

(Figure 14)

13. The window of the Simple Volume Creation Wizard, with which we are already familiar, appears.
We repeat steps 6 - 7 in the window the number you need will be entered indicating the entire remaining volume - 10.
In general, it is easy to see that you just need to click “Next” and “Done”.

14. After creating the second logical drive, simply close the “Disk Management” window.
If a reboot is required in Windows 7, then reboot the computer.

15. Check the visibility of the hard drive.
Open “My Computer” and see two more logical drives that we created.

(Figure 15)

If you have questions, doubts or something remains unclear, write in the comments.

A new SSD was installed in the computer, but Windows 7 does not see it. Let us immediately clarify that it is detected correctly in the BIOS, i.e. The problem is related only to the operating system.

Just a few words about the SSD - this is the Kingston UV400 SUV400S37 480 GB. It is supposed to be used to install programs.

If you go to the “My Computer” folder, the list displays four drives - system drive “C” (128 GB Kingmax solid-state drive) and three local drives physically located on a Toshiba HDD with a capacity of 2 TB.

The system disk and three local disks (outlined in red) are displayed. There is no new SSD in the list

Step 1. Click on the Start button and paste into the search field diskmgmt.msc- after the program is found, click on its link.

Step 2. After launching the Disk Management program, it immediately shows that new disk and offers to initialize it. It is possible to choose a section style from two options:

• Master Boot Record (MBR)
• Table with GUID partitions (GPT - GUID Partition Table)

Let's not get into technical details - the default is Master Boot Record (MBR) and we just click OK.

We don’t change anything - just click OK

Step 3. The utility shows that all free disk space is not allocated. Right-click on the disk name and select the command from the context menu Create a simple volume.

Select the command “Create a simple volume”

After this, the Create Simple Volumes Wizard will start.

Step 4. The wizard allows you to specify the size of the volume to be created. In this particular case, the SSD will only have one logical drive, so the volume will use all available space.

Since the SSD was not intended to be divided into logical disks, the size of a simple volume is equal to the maximum size

Step 5. Assign a drive letter. You can use any option available in the drop-down list.

To immediately set a certain semantic load, you can select the letters S - the first letter of the SSD

Step 6. Before formatting a disk in NTFS system, you can specify the volume label. In a specific case, we register an SSD so that it is immediately clear what kind of drive it is.

Step 7 That's all, actually. You can view information about the created disks and click Finish.

All you have to do is click “Finish”

Now all that remains is to go to My Computer and make sure that Windows sees the installed SSD.

Still have questions? Ask them in the comments.