Windows 11 Setup does not recognize hard disk

[Alexander_Mann]

I recently purchased a new notebook that supports Windows 11 and installed two SSDs. One is connected to the 2.5" SATA hard disk port, and the other is connected to the M.2 PCIe 4.0 (NVMe) slot.

The BIOS recognizes both SSDs, but when I attempt to install Windows 11, the setup does not detect either of the drives.

Previously, there was a 250 GB SSD in the PCIe slot that had Windows 11 installed, but it was too small, so I replaced it.

After researching online, I found that this issue might be related to the Intel® Rapid Storage Technology (RST) driver. It was suggested that I download this driver from the Intel website and copy it to a USB stick to load during the Windows installation.

However, I am unable to locate this driver on the Intel website. Additionally, I'm uncertain if this is indeed the correct solution to my problem.

Has anyone experienced a similar issue or can provide guidance on how to resolve this?

[n_scott_pearson]

Are you planning to use RAID? If not, then you do not need Intel RST (it has no value otherwise) and you should disable it in BIOS Setup (setting SATA Mode parameter to AHCI is most common way that this is done, but your BIOS may have a RST enable/disable parameter; it all depends upon the vendor). Once RST is disabled, you won't need any drivers to see the SSDs/HDDs nor will you need to install the RST package once you have Windows installed. Best solution all around.

Hope this helps,

...S

[Alexander_Mann]

Thank you for your quick reply.

Indeed, I do not need RAID. Could the problem really be due to the BIOS settings?

The issue is that the BIOS is currently configured in a way that I, as a user, only see a minimal BIOS environment. So far, I haven't figured out how to switch to the "normal" mode for the BIOS. This is necessary to disable RAID, if that is indeed the issue as you mentioned.

Thank you for your help.

[LeonWaksman]

@Alexander_Mann 

In addition to @n_scott_pearson  remarks (I agree with all of them), I would add the following:

1. Since you are going to install Windows 11 on a NVMe SSD, the BIOS mode should be set to UEFI, rather than LEGACY.

2. The installation USB should be prepared using Microsoft Media Creation Tool. 

3. Follow this tutorial for further explanation.

Leon

[Alexander_Mann]

Thank you for your quick reply.

I have prepared the USB stick using the Microsoft Media Creation Tool. This included migrating Windows 11 from the smaller SSD in the notebook, meaning the settings and, importantly, the drivers were transferred as well—at least according to the description. Therefore, I was surprised that the installation medium, the USB stick with Windows 11, did not recognize the hard drives. After all, it should have included all the necessary drivers.

[LeonWaksman]

1. If the contents of the old SSD was migrated correctly to the new Samsung 990 Pro SSD, your notebook should boot with the new SSD as it was booting with small one. No need to reinstall Windows. Did you make some changes in BIOS settings ?

2. You don't see in Windows setup the 2.5" SSD. It is not clear for me why?

3. If you are reinstalling the old SSD in your notebook is your system booting? 

Leon

[Alexander_Mann]

Hi, sorry for the delay in my reply. I somehow don't get notifications when there are updates here.

I didn't use the Microsoft Media Creation Tool to create a completely new Windows setup on the USB stick. Instead, I created a custom installation medium. This process makes a copy of the current operating system (in this case, Windows 11), including all installed drivers and applications. This copy is then transferred to the USB stick and can be used to install or update the operating system on the same or another computer.

Given this approach, I assumed the setup would include all the necessary drivers for my notebook and that the installation would proceed without any issues.

However, I'm confused because both SSDs, the NVMe and the SATA, are displayed correctly in the BIOS. The original SSD was also in the NVMe slot.

I could try replacing the current "new" SSD in the NVMe slot with the "old" SSD. However, since it's already quite late, I prefer to do this tomorrow to avoid any mistakes or potential damage.

I'm still surprised that the hard drives are not recognized by the Windows Installer (Setup) without any changes to the BIOS.

[LeonWaksman]

I'm already confused by the information you provided. The correct method to install Windows 11 and to prepare the installation media, I've described in my post above, dated 30.06.2024.

The correct method to migrate system from one SSD to an other in your case is using Samsung Magician Software.  You need to run Samsung Magician from the old SSD while the new SSD is installed in external SSD Enclosure.

Leon

[n_scott_pearson]

Usually, you can turn off RAID by simply resetting the BIOS Configuration to its defaults. This is something that you should be able to do from the simple BIOS Setup view.

...S

[Alexander_Mann]

Thank you for your help.

After a lengthy back and forth and a challenging experience with my notebook manufacturer's support, I finally obtained the missing drivers. I was able to load them during the Windows 11 setup, which allowed the hard disks to be recognized. Consequently, I successfully installed Windows 11 with the user-specific settings from the original Windows 11 installation on my old hard disk.

Thank you again.