can't set SSD to be boot drive

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Alex_33

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Sep 26, 2015
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I have a Samsung Evo 850 SSD -- 250 gb. I installed it on my Acer laptop which already had a 1tb hdd with windows 10 installed on it. I want to put my OS on the ssd and boot from there. I would then use the 1tb for storage.

I installed the SSD and migrated windows 10. My 1tb hdd is drive C and my ssd is drive D, but the SSD isn't showing up in the BIOS for me to switch it to boot first. Any suggestions?

I don't have an optical drive so I couldn't install the Samsung software, but I downloaded the magician tool and data migration tool from their website. Also it's firmware is all updated. The magician recognizes it and everything. I just can't make it my boot drive.

 
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SuperSoph_WD
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SuperSoph_WD

SuperSoph_WD

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Jul 30, 2014
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Hey there, Alex!

I'd recommend you try to resolve the issue by resetting BIOS from the interface settings. If that doesn't help the laptop to recognize the SSD properly, then you need to make sure that the SATA mode for the SSD is set to AHCI and that you have the latest SATA controller & chipset drivers for your laptop. You can manually download those from the laptop manufacturer's official website.

You should also check how the SSD is recognized in Disk Management and make sure that it does have the OS cloned to it. Once you have successfully recognized it in BIOS, try booting from it with the HDD unplugged from the system.

Good luck! Keep me posted with the troubleshooting.
SuperSoph_WD :)
 
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Shaun o

Shaun o

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Oct 7, 2007
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If you Migrated windows 10 from the 1TB drive using drive cloning software.
You will have to remove the 1TB drive from the laptop.

Make sure that what ever sata docking port of the laptop the original 1TB drive was connected to for booting windows os that the SSD drive is connected to that sata port.

Like said for the time being remove the 1TB mechanical 2.5" laptop hard drive from the laptop.
Power the laptop back on and then check to see if the SSD drive is showing in the bios then.

What ever the laptops mode was set to in the bios for the Sata interface when you were using the 1TB drive as the boot drive with windows os needs to be checked or set to the same mode AHCI, or Sata mode.

Try this and see if the SSD drive is found and detected by the bios and boots into windows os Alex.

Post a message back if it worked.

 
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Alex_33

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Sep 26, 2015
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Thanks for your response!

I reset my bios, but it didn't really do anything except reset the boot order back to the original boot order -- no devices showed up besides my original 1tb hdd, and bunch of open slots for CD drive, fdd usb, etc. The bios is set as AHCI.

In disk management the SSD is recognized as NFTS, healthy, active, primary partition.
The HDD is partitioned -- 100mb as an EFI system partition -- 930gb nfts is boot, page file, crash dump, primary partition -- and then another 500mb is a recovery partition.

I checked my intel chip drivers and my SATA drivers, both are up to date. I also ran a check on the samsung SSD again, and it's up to date.

I'm feeling like my BIOS isn't as in depth as others I've encountered. Could there be a way to access something with more settings and options? In disk management the BIOS device name for the SSD is "\_SB.PCI0.SAT0.PRT1" but the BIOS I'm seeing doesn't reflect a way to find that/change it.

I made a boot USB flash drive of Windows 10. Is there a way to target my SSD and reinstall windows 10 onto it and will that make it the boot drive? I already reinstalled windows 10 once before, but that was before my SSD was NFTS formatted.
 
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Alex_33

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Sep 26, 2015
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Shaun O -- Thanks for your response. I was trying not to pry my laptop open again. Opening and closing it is pretty scary because of the way the plastic bottom is stuck on with plastic clasps. Acer cut costs with this one. Once I get home and near my screwdrivers I'll try connecting the SSD to the original's sata port.
 
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SuperSoph_WD

SuperSoph_WD

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Jul 30, 2014
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Hey there again, Alex!

By the looks of it, you most probably have had both the SSD and the HDD plugged in at the time of the Windows installation. This explains why you have boot/primary partitions on both drives. The best thing to do is to reinstall the OS from scratch but make sure you have only the SSD connected to the system at that point. Once you have Windows up and running, you can simply connect the secondary HDD and reformat it from Disk Management.

I'd suggest you follow the step-by-step instructions in this Windows Install & Optimization Guide for SSDs & HDDs. Hopefully, this will resolve all your struggles afterwards.

Good luck & Keep us posted if you encounter any issues! :)
SuperSoph_WD
 
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