SSD not detected by laptop

[HCHTech]

We've got a Dell Latitude 3580, new in 4/17 (so...still under warranty) on the bench for a simple SSD swap and RAM upgrade. It's kicking our butt, so hopefully someone else has been in this corner.

Original configuration was Win10Pro, an i7, 4GB of RAM (Dell, why do you do this?), and a 1TB WD Black hard drive (with 900GB free space).

It would not be impossible to reload, but it would be simpler to clone because of the software load, plus it's a fairly new machine that has always had Win10.

So, like we've done many times before, we backup the data with Fabs, remount the old disk in the machine, run our standard hardware tests (all pass including a gsmartcontrol run on the disk) then use the latest version of the Samsung data migration software to clone the disk to a new Samsung EVO 860 250GB SSD.

The clone completes (maybe takes a little longer than normal, but we didn't time it so that might not be true) without error, we swap in the SSD and get the 'no boot device found' error when we start it up.

Ok, this symptom usually requires some tinkering with the bios SATA settings, so let's take a look:

The SATA section has 2 choices RAID (which is the default setting), AHCI. Secure boot is also enabled, of course since this computer is UEFI.

I also notice that the disk is shown in boot order section of the BIOS, but it does NOT show up in the configuration screen and the drives section. So something isn't right.

We reset the bios to defaults, but that didn't change anything. Still won't boot, SSD is not an available choice when you hit F12 to choose the boot device.

When we re-mounted the old disk, it boots right up, of course. Maybe the original clone got scrambled, so we did a fresh clone. Still won't boot. We notice the BIOS is one version out, so we update the bios, no change in symptoms and it still won't boot.

Ok, let's try a fresh install - it won't boot to our USB installer - hmmm. We remount the old disk and go through the process to switch the bios setting to AHCI. That goes without incident and the machine will now boot to the old disk with the BIOS SATA setting set to AHCI. We re-do the clone and.......it still won't boot from the SSD. Just for fun we disable secureboot, but again, the system doesn't see the SSD. We reset the BIOS to the defaults again, and now it sees our usb installer, so we complete a fresh install without incident, but it STILL won't boot from the SSD.

We mounted the SSD with the unbootable fresh install in one of the bench machines (also UEFI) and it would not boot - but I know the fresh install on the laptop was interrupted at the point of the first reboot, so it didn't technically complete. We did a fresh install with the SSD mounted to the bench machine and it completed 100% and booted right up afterwards. This doesn't make me think there is a problem with the SSD. BTW, once the install booted on the bench machine, remounting the SSD back in the laptop still won't boot. What are we missing?

 

[Markverhyden]

Got all the makings of a UEFI vs Legacy issue with a dash of proprietary tossed in. Have you tried to use something else to image? Where did your installer come from?

 

[Porthos]

Have you tried to use something else to image?

I always Image then restore with Macrium and adjust the partitions within Macrium to fit the SSD.

 

[sapphirescales]

There's either something wrong with the SSD or something wrong with the image. Seeing as you can't see the SSD when booting from the USB installer, I'd say it's probably the SSD. You could try doing a BIOS update, but that should be your last resort. I would look through the BIOS update logs on Dell's website to see if this is a known issue that was fixed in a newer BIOS revision. Sometimes motherboards won't detect certain SSD's because there's something wrong with the motherboard's firmware. Once it's reported to the manufacturer they usually issue a new BIOS update to fix it.

 

[brandonkick]

I use macrium reflect, works wonderfully well. Apart from using clonezilla on drives where the source is smaller than the target... it just works SO WELL. Never had a single problem. I vote for trying macrium reflect and an entirely new/different SSD.

 

[Larry Sabo]

I had the identical problem last week and had used Macrium Reflect for cloning and downsizing to the Samsung SSD. I re-did the cloning, keeping the same partition order rather than putting the OS partition at the end, and that solved the problem.

Edit to add: It was a Dell Inspiron 5566.

 

[HCHTech]

More details - tried a different SSD, same basic answer. Windows installs ok, but on a reboot, you get "no bootable device found". I'm thinking it must be the machine somehow.

I'm just doing fresh installs now, taking the imaging part of the process off the table. I'm using a freshly created 1803 installer from the Microsoft tool. I tried an older one we had in the drawer from a few months ago - same result. So....reset BIOS to default options, install new SSD, reboot & run the Win10 installer from a flash drive. It finds the SSD fine, completes the install up to the point of reboot, on reboot, get the "no bootable device found" error. BTW, installing the original HD again still results in a successfully booting machine with no changes to the BIOS.

I just tried the one thing I haven't done yet: Disabling Secure Boot and switching the BIOS to 100% legacy mode, then executing a 'clean' command on the SSD from DISKPART. Finally doing a fresh install again. This goes vvvveeeerrrryyyy sssslllloooowwwwllllyyyy, The "Getting files ready for installation" step stuck on 5% for about 20 minutes, 6% for about 15 minutes has been at 7% for about 10 minutes now and I've got to leave for a call. I guess I'll let it grind away until I get back. I'm thinking this is not the answer.

 

[sapphirescales]

I just tried the one thing I haven't done yet: Disabling Secure Boot and switching the BIOS to 100% legacy mode, then executing a 'clean' command on the SSD from DISKPART. Finally doing a fresh install again. This goes vvvveeeerrrryyyy sssslllloooowwwwllllyyyy, The "Getting files ready for installation" step stuck on 5% for about 20 minutes, 6% for about 15 minutes has been at 7% for about 10 minutes now and I've got to leave for a call. I guess I'll let it grind away until I get back. I'm thinking this is not the answer.

We have images of all different versions of Windows 10 that we need frequently:

- Windows 10 Home UEFI
- Windows 10 Home Legacy
- Windows 10 Pro UEFI
- Windows 10 Pro Legacy

I recommend using the UEFI and legacy images to try to boot from SSD.

 

[HCHTech]

Well, my techs said it took 2 hours to do the install in full legacy mode. And.....it wouldn't boot - "disk read error, press Ctrl+Alt+Del to restart". That same SSD 2 minutes later booted right up when mounted to a different machine. I just got off a support chat with Dell, they are sending a tech to replace the motherboard.

 

[fincoder]

Could be a weird compatibility issue (bug in the BIOS) that affects Samsung SSDs. I suppose you'll find out when the motherboard is replaced if it has the same issue.

I would try a different brand of SSD if you have one lying around.

 

[fencepost]

And this is why the charge for upgrades, etc. isn't just the few minutes of interaction normally required for something like this.

 

[JoelM]

Could be a weird compatibility issue. I would try a different brand of SSD if you have one lying around.

I was thinking the same. I see you mentioned you tried a different SSD but was it the same brand? I had a similar issue awhile back with an HP laptop. Changing the brand of SSD fixed the issue.

 

[HCHTech]

Well, this problem came in for a landing today. The motherboard was on backorder from Dell and it took until today for the technician to visit and replace the motherboard. and.......it didn't help. I had previously tried a WD Blue SSD in addition to 2 different Samsungs. Sometime between the original work and today, I picked up a Sandisk SSD and you guessed it - that one worked straight away.

Since 1809 is out again, I just did a fresh install and didn't even attempt another clone.

Neither Samsung support or Dell support knew of any compatibility issues, and neither could offer any solution other than pointing the finger at the other guy (although, to be fair, Dell was right when they said it was Samsung's problem). I thought testing it with a WD SSD was enough to rule out the SSD being the problem - maybe both of those brands use the same controller or something - who knows.

I know we tried two different Samsung SSDs along the way, so it's definitely something common with their SSDs and not just a single unit that was "bad".

So I guess the takeaway is to keep a small assortment of different brands around.

 

[HCHTech]

...and.....it's back. Turning it back on today to make sure I remembered the AV, and I was greeted with 'No Bootable Device Found'. I rebooted and it came up ok. Then turned it completely off again, let it set for 2 minutes, turned it on and again 'No Bootable Device Found'. Reboot ok. There is a BIOS setting to add a delay to the boot, but that makes no difference.

I'm throwing in the towel on this one. Google found some folks that had trouble with SSDs because they were thinner and caused stress on the SATA connection unless shimmed, but this one has a drive sled and a short cable to connect it to the motherboard, so that's not the problem here, plus it works every time with the original hard drive. Whatever it is, it has beaten me, I can't dump any more time into it. You've won this round, Dell -- but we'll meet again!

 

[HCHTech]

It was a hail mary, but downgrading the BIOS about 5 versions seems to have set it right. I noticed a new message when it failed this morning: "Headless Operation Active" displayed after the post, but before the "No Bootable Device Found" screen. This message lead me to a couple of long Reddit threads about Dell BIOS issues. I doubt very much this will be a permanent fix, but you never know. I've turned it off and on about 40 times today without a problem. I had upgraded the BIOS 1 step to the latest when the problem first started, then rolled it back one version to where it was when I got it, but never thought to go back further. Wow, just wow.

 

[Markverhyden]

It was a hail mary, but downgrading the BIOS about 5 versions seems to have set it right. I noticed a new message when it failed this morning: "Headless Operation Active" displayed after the post, but before the "No Bootable Device Found" screen. This message lead me to a couple of long Reddit threads about Dell BIOS issues. I doubt very much this will be a permanent fix, but you never know. I've turned it off and on about 40 times today without a problem. I had upgraded the BIOS 1 step to the latest when the problem first started, then rolled it back one version to where it was when I got it, but never thought to go back further. Wow, just wow.

Great sleuthing!