My OMEN by HP 16 gaming laptop has been showing BitLocker prompts during startup for the past month or two. More recently, the HP startup diagnostics began warning that the hard disk may be failing. The laptop contains a 1 TB WD PC SN810 NVMe SSD rather than a traditional hard disk.
Windows and several disk utilities report that the drive's reliability is degraded or show a critical warning, but the estimated remaining life is 99%, backup availability is 100%, and temperatures are usually around 40–46°C. CrystalDiskInfo and similar tools show the same general warning without obvious bad sectors or other details. Windows Disk Management and command-line SMART checks report that everything is healthy, and I have not noticed crashes, slowdowns, unusual noises, or file errors.
The HP diagnostic screen sometimes calls the device an HDD even though it is an NVMe SSD, which makes the results even more confusing. I have already updated drivers and checked for software-related problems. I am keeping regular backups, but I would like to understand what "reliability degraded" and "critical warning" actually mean, whether the SSD should be replaced under warranty, and how to stop the HP warning from appearing every time the laptop boots or sits idle. The system runs Windows 11 Home with a Ryzen 7 6800H and the WD PC SN810 SDCPNRY-1T00-1006 SSD.
3 Answers
The most useful next step is to open the full SMART/NVMe details rather than focusing on the headline percentage. Look for fields such as Critical Warning, Available Spare, Percentage Used, Media and Data Integrity Errors, Error Information Log Entries, and Unsafe Shutdowns. A nonzero critical-warning byte or media/data-integrity errors would justify replacement, even if the drive still works normally.
Save the data first, then install any BIOS, SSD firmware, and HP diagnostic updates that apply to the exact laptop model. If the warning remains after that, take a photo of the diagnostic code and have HP replace the SSD. Do not try to hide the warning by disabling HP diagnostics; that only removes the notification, not the possible hardware problem.
BitLocker prompts and the drive warning could be related to intermittent detection, firmware changes, or TPM/storage communication problems, although the prompt alone does not prove the SSD is failing. Keep the BitLocker recovery key somewhere safe and avoid repeatedly changing encryption settings while troubleshooting. If the HP test provides a failure ID, use that ID for warranty service. A filesystem scan can be run if you suspect corruption, but a clean CHKDSK result would not contradict an NVMe hardware warning.
A critical warning from an NVMe health report should be treated as a real warning even if the percentage life remaining is 99%. That percentage usually describes endurance wear, not every possible failure condition. An NVMe drive can have a controller, media, spare-capacity, power-loss, or other SMART critical flag while still reporting almost no wear.
Back up anything important immediately, verify that the backup can actually be restored, and run the complete HP UEFI hardware diagnostics plus the SSD manufacturer’s diagnostic tool. Record screenshots or the exact SMART/NVMe attributes and contact HP or the laptop seller about a warranty replacement. Do not rely on CHKDSK to repair a hardware-health warning; it checks the filesystem, not the underlying SSD electronics. The HP message may say HDD simply because its diagnostic interface uses generic terminology for internal storage.
The conflicting Windows status messages do not necessarily clear the drive. Some commands only report whether Windows can currently communicate with the disk, while vendor utilities and firmware can expose NVMe-specific warnings that those commands do not show.