Windows 11 installer can’t see my new SSD after the old NVMe failed
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MellowPine47
My M.2 SSD containing Windows failed yesterday and no longer appears in the BIOS. I've ordered an external enclosure in case I can recover data from it. In the meantime, I installed a new SSD and created a Windows 11 USB installer, but setup shows "Load driver to show hardware" and doesn't detect the drive. I initially assumed it wanted the motherboard's Wi-Fi drivers, but those didn't appear when copied to another USB drive. I also tried switching the BIOS to UEFI, but the message stayed the same. Could this be related to Intel storage controller or AMD RAID settings, or might creating the installer from Linux have caused the problem?
Answers
Check whether the CMOS battery recently died or the BIOS was reset. That can restore default settings and change storage modes, disable or enable VMD/RAID, or alter the boot configuration. Compare the current BIOS settings with the motherboard’s recommended defaults, then confirm that the new SSD is visible in the firmware before running Windows Setup.
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That message usually means Windows Setup can’t access the storage controller, not that it needs Wi-Fi drivers. On Intel systems, download the motherboard’s Intel Rapid Storage Technology or VMD driver, extract it to a USB drive, and load the storage driver during setup. Alternatively, you may be able to disable VMD in the BIOS. On AMD systems, check whether RAID mode is enabled; if you aren’t using RAID, disable it and use AHCI where available.
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MellowPine47: That helps. I created the installer from a Linux laptop, so that may also be part of the problem. I’ll check the storage settings and recreate the USB from a Windows system if needed.