Windows doesn’t recognize your SSD. This is a problem that occurs very frequently, and I understand that it can give you more than one headache, but luckily it has a much simpler solution than it seems, and in this article we are going to explain it to you. Step by Step.
The first thing you should keep in mind is that, normally, Windows does not recognize your SSD because you are using an M.2 type drive based on the PCIE standard. With these types of drives, you need to go through a simple process to format and assign a drive letter. It is not complicated, we just have to follow these steps:
- In the task bar, go to the Windows icon, right click and select the “Disk Manager” option.
- In the window that appears, choose the “GPT” option.
- Now you have to select the new drive that you have installed. It will be listed at the bottom of the screen, without a drive letter.
- Right-click on it and select the “give simple volume” option.
- Follow the setup wizard, assign a drive letter, and use the NTFS file format.
- This process takes a few seconds to complete. Once it is finished, you will see that that same unit now appears with an assigned letter.
- Finally, close the “Disk Manager” and go to the list of storage units on your PC. Your new SSD should be listed with the letter you have assigned to it.
If after completing all these steps, Windows does not recognize your SSD, I recommend you to:
- Make sure you have installed it properly. If you have doubts, check this article.
- Check if the drive is identified in the BIOS of the computer. If not, the SSD may be faulty.
- Before considering the SSD as faulty, check your BIOS settings and make sure you have disabled Intel RST. In the assembly I did with the new Intel Alder Lake-S processors, this was responsible for the PCIE SSD not showing up in the BIOS or in the Windows disk manager.
You have done all of the above, but Windows doesn’t recognize your SSD yet. If this happens, seriously consider a return of the unit.
