Acer Predator Helios Neo 16 PHN16-71-732H SSD not showing up during Windows Installation.

Hello! I recently bought my Acer Predator Helios Neo 16 PHN16-71-732H (NH.QLVEU.004) it has:

Intel core i7-13700
x2 8Gb RAMs
GeForce RTX 4070
BIOS V1.13 (has no OS)
1Tb SSD

I made a bootable USB 3.0 and SD drives with the help of Media Creation Tool from Microsoft for Windows 11 and I tried to install Windows but the program didn't my SSD, so I downloaded also iRST 19.5.1.1040 from Product Support Service the installation said that there are no drivers files (but I even extracted files from .exe). After that, I tried to change the socket of my SSD to #2 and it also didn't work. All this time it shows only USB drives but not my SSD. I didn't install any drivers or updates for BIOS through the EFI Shell. I've been trying to do this for three days, I've read different topics here and usually, they end up with no answer that can help me. Oh, and I didn't make any changes to BIOS (as the only thing I was looking for is a VMD management, which looks like it's hidden in my BIOS).

[Edited the thread to add model name and issue detail to the title]

Accepted answers

eGomes

Hi @danym5,

The folder containing the necessary files (.INF and .SYS) for your Intel VMD storage controller is located in the path below:

You need to copy the entire contents of this folder (SetupRST_extracted) to your USB media. When loading the driver during Windows setup, you need to tell it the folder path, example:

D:\SetupRST_extracted\production\Windows10-x64\19041\Drivers\VMD

Have a nice week! 😉

All comments

danym5

The "Previous installer's menu version" didn't even see my USB drives, so I couldn't check for the drivers.

And if it matters I've tried to choose Win 11 (Pro and Home versions)

And just to see if "hide unmatching drivers" can show them I've tried to check iRST Driver 20.0.0.1038.3, but the same "no drivers files"

Joe_Kingsley

Hi @danym5

To see your hard drive you need to create Bootable USB using Rufus software in GPT PARTITION .

(Just get iso from microsoft and insert pen drive then open Rufus app, select iso and pen drive then select Partion Scheme to GPT And Click on start ) like shown in below image

This easy method and take 2-3min. Gpt partition is needed for new laptops doesn't matter if it's from Acer or from another company

danym5

https://community.acer.com/en/discussion/comment/1307791#Comment_1307791

Hello, thank you, but still the same story…

eGomes

Welcome @danym5,

Try download and extract Intel® RST / VMD Driver 20.0.0.1038.3.

Follow these guide to setup Intel® RST / Intel® VMD storage controller in Windows 11:

How to Enable Intel® VMD Capable Platforms for RAID or Intel® Optane™ Memory Configuration with the Intel® RST Driver

Make sure your SSD disk is properly converted to GPT format:

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-hardware/manufacture/desktop/windows-setup-installing-using-the-mbr-or-gpt-partition-style?view=windows-11

As soon as possible, update the UEFI firmware of your Predator PHN16-71 to the latest available version (1.18):

https://www.acer.com/us-en/support/product-support/Predator_PHN16-71/downloads?suggest=PHN16-71;1

danym5

https://community.acer.com/en/discussion/comment/1307858#Comment_1307858

Hello! Thank you, I've tried to check iRST Driver 20.0.0.1038.3 again, but the same "no drivers files" again…

I also made sure that my SSD disk is properly converted to GPT format (well, simply because I can go "cd EFI" folder in EFI Shell)

And as for the UEFI.. it looks like it's the last resort and honestly, I'm kinda scared to do that now because it may brick my laptop forever

I've tried to insert another SSD and both of them are on the list in BIOS but none of them are in the list while the Win install

eGomes

Hi @danym5,

The folder containing the necessary files (.INF and .SYS) for your Intel VMD storage controller is located in the path below:

You need to copy the entire contents of this folder (SetupRST_extracted) to your USB media. When loading the driver during Windows setup, you need to tell it the folder path, example:

D:\SetupRST_extracted\production\Windows10-x64\19041\Drivers\VMD

Have a nice week! 😉

danym5

https://community.acer.com/en/discussion/comment/1308063#Comment_1308063

Well, thank you everybody again, and especially @eGomes ! ❤️

Now that I see how stupid I was not to try to locate the exact folder, I can be absolutely free to do anything on my laptop with Windows 11 Pro installed on it 😇

So what happened: I ran my PC with the idea of the location of the exact folder, with the iRST Driver 20.0.0.1038.3, booted it up, and yep. Now it found the driver and it found my SSD, but I ran into a problem that it couldn't use this SSD for don't know which reason and after that I tried to locate the iRST 19.5.1.1040 and it couldn't find it even when I tried to locate VMD folder. After that I quit installing, restarted it again, skipped some steps to "change into the previous version of the installing menu" and everything went well again with the newest driver.

And (if you don't have a LAN wire) you might also wanna install the Wireless LAN Driver(1675i) from the Product Support in advance just to locate your Wi-Fi network.