TravelMate P214 - Reinstalling Windows, SSD not detected

deerhead
deerhead Member Posts: 2 New User
Hi there

I'm trying to reinstall Windows 10 on a TravelMate P214-53 but setup can't detect the SSD. Running diskpart from setup, it only lists the bootable USB. I used Rufus to create the bootable USB.

Searching online, I thought the problem might be AHCI but there's no option in the BIOS to change SATA mode. Updating the BIOS and Ctrl + s didn't help expose the setting.

The SSD does work because I'm using the laptop to type this.

Any other ideas? Many thanks.

Best Answer

Answers

  • Leostat
    Leostat ACE Posts: 3,043 Pathfinder
    Answer ✓
    The cntrl+s sometimes takes a few reboots for it to work, its sometimes has to be the first key combo pressed, not too sure why! I think your laptop is a 11th gen so it will be called Intel VMD or VMD controller mode instead :)

    but before you turn it off, you can keep it on and install windows, you just need to inject the driver into the Install, you want to download it from here ( https://downloadcenter.intel.com/download/30314/Intel-Rapid-Storage-Technology-Driver-Installation-Software-with-Intel-Optane-Memory-10th-and-11th-Gen-Platforms-     or a direct link if this works F6flpy-x64 (Intel® VMD).zip )  unzip it and place it on the same USB stick you have windows on in the root directory

    Then when you get to the select drive screen, you should be able to either press F6, or at the bottom of the screen there will be a "load driver" button, hit that, and select the file it lets you select from the folder you put on the drive. Windows should then re scan and find the drive for you. It will be a bit faster and use less power rather than AHCI mode :)

    The acer guide for it is here : https://community.acer.com/en/kb/articles/13832-hard-disk-not-detected-during-windows-10-installation 

    Hope this helps ^_^
  • billsey
    billsey ACE Posts: 31,454 Trailblazer
    Was there an Intel Optane drive in the M.2 slot before the SSD install? That is somewhat normal on many of the systems shipped with a HDD for the system drive. If so you need to change the BIOS to reflect that Optane is no longer there, so the SSD can be installed and recognized. If there wasn't an Optane and the issue that even with the SSD installed it's booting from the HDD, the issue is more likely the order in Windows Boot Manager, since both drives are bootable. Use F12 to bring up the boot menu at the start and choose the SSD as the boot device. That will boot from the SSD instead of the HDD. Your system should remember that choice but it's usually best to make sure everything works right after booting from the SSD then wipe all partitions from the HDD and redo it as one big data partition, so there's no longer any confusion as to what boot disk to use.
    Click on "Like" if you find my answer useful or click on "Yes" if it answers your question.
  • deerhead
    deerhead Member Posts: 2 New User
    Thanks Leostat, that answers my question exactly. Ctrl + s does actually expose VMD Controller, but I didn't look into it further.

    I'll try loading the driver though.

    Cheers
  • Enthusiast0421
    Enthusiast0421 Member Posts: 4 New User
    How to reformat TravelMate P214-41 using bootable USB or DVD-ROM?
  • billsey
    billsey ACE Posts: 31,454 Trailblazer
    @Enthusiast0421 you have a different model and different question that this thread is for. Please use the "Ask a Question" button to start a new thread for your issue. Include the full model number (P214-41-xxxx), the question and what you might have tried already. Are you trying to format the drive so there is nothing on it, or trying to reinstall the OS? Which OS version are you running?
    Click on "Like" if you find my answer useful or click on "Yes" if it answers your question.