My OMEN by HP Gaming Laptop 16-n0xxx has a 1 TB WD PC SN810 NVMe SSD and runs Windows 11 Home. For the past month or two, BitLocker has repeatedly asked for attention during startup. Recently, the HP pre-boot diagnostic began warning that the hard disk may be failing, even though the laptop only has an SSD.
Windows tools and some SMART checks report that the drive is healthy, with about 99% estimated life remaining, 100% spare capacity, and temperatures around 40–46°C. However, CrystalDiskInfo and similar tools show a critical warning or degraded reliability. Windows disk checks have not found errors, and the system otherwise works normally without crashes, unusual sounds, or noticeable performance problems.
I have already checked for driver and command-line errors and keep the laptop cool and protected. I am backing up my data, but I would like to understand why the reports conflict, whether the SSD should be replaced, and how to stop the repeated HP startup warning. The HP diagnostic calls it an HDD even though the system uses an NVMe SSD.
2 Answers
CHKDSK can find file-system problems, but it cannot repair an NVMe drive that is reporting a hardware or controller warning, so a clean result does not contradict the other tools. Windows' basic SMART status is also fairly limited and may only say whether the drive has crossed a particular failure threshold.
BitLocker prompts can be caused by changes in the boot environment, firmware, TPM state, or an intermittent storage device, so disabling protection does not prove the SSD is healthy and may reduce protection for your data. Save the BitLocker recovery key, install BIOS and SSD firmware updates only from HP or Western Digital, and contact HP or the SSD vendor with the diagnostic code. The HP warning generally cannot be permanently dismissed while its pre-boot test continues to detect the condition; it normally disappears only after the underlying alert is resolved or the drive is replaced.
Treat the pre-boot warning and the NVMe critical-warning flag as a real hardware alert, even if the remaining-life percentage still says 99%. Those values measure different things: an SSD can have plenty of rated write life left while reporting a controller, media-error, spare-area, firmware, or other reliability problem. A normal temperature and a clean file-system check do not rule out a failing drive.
Back up anything important immediately, verify that the backup can actually be restored, and obtain the SSD's detailed SMART/NVMe attributes with the manufacturer's diagnostic utility if available. Also run HP's UEFI hardware diagnostics and record any failure code. If the warning persists, replace the SSD under warranty rather than relying on the optimistic life estimate. The word “HDD” in HP's generic diagnostic message usually refers to the storage-drive category and does not mean the laptop contains a mechanical disk.
That makes sense. I was assuming the remaining-life number covered every possible failure, but I’ll treat the warning as a reason to verify my backups and check the drive’s warranty.