I'm preparing a laptop to give to my grandmother and need to install the operating system first. The SSD is connected properly, and I've installed an OS before, but the installer doesn't detect the drive and I can't figure out which drivers are missing. What should I check or download?
3 Answers
Changing the SSD from GPT to MBR probably isn’t the answer. Modern Windows installers can detect both partition styles; the drive may only need to be wiped and repartitioned if the firmware mode and installation mode don’t match. A missing Intel VMD/IRST driver is a more common reason for the SSD not appearing.
If the laptop uses an Intel processor, the installer may need Intel Rapid Storage Technology (IRST) or VMD drivers. Download the storage drivers from the laptop manufacturer’s support page, extract them onto a USB drive, then choose “Load driver” in the installer when no drives appear. Some BIOS menus also let you disable VMD or switch from RAID mode to AHCI, although that option isn’t available on every laptop.
Look up the exact laptop model on the manufacturer’s support website and download the storage or chipset drivers to another USB drive. Make sure you extract the driver files if they come in a compressed folder, then browse to them through the installer’s driver-loading option. The exact fix depends on whether the laptop uses Intel VMD/IRST or another storage controller.
Exactly—GPT versus MBR usually doesn’t prevent the drive from appearing in setup. Intel VMD works somewhat like a storage RAID controller, and Windows installation media may not include its driver by default.