HDD and SSD working side by side Need advice on managing storage performance
HDD and SSD working side by side Need advice on managing storage performance
Hey there! I got a friend’s laptop and he asked me to reinstall Windows 10. Sounds simple, but it turned out tricky. He had an SSD installed, but the system didn’t recognize it. I assumed it needed setup in Disk Management, but that wasn’t the case. I used a USB drive with the Media Creation Tool and followed the installation steps.
First hiccup: Windows 10 can’t install on the SSD because the BIOS settings were off. I switched to installing on the HDD so something would work. Second issue: Disk Management still didn’t show the SSD, and the Device Manager wasn’t picking it up either.
My current problem: The system will run fine on the HDD if the SATA Controller Mode in BIOS is set to "Intel RST Premium," but even then, the BIOS doesn’t detect the SSD. Running the Media Creation Tool also fails because the SSD isn’t available.
What I’ve tried so far:
- Fully wiped and reinstalled everything.
- Used diskpart to format the SSD as NTFS.
- Uninstalled/reinstalled SATA controller drivers.
- Updated every possible driver.
It’s really urgent since this laptop is essential for work. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!
Setting the BIOS to AHCI mode, clearing both disks, and installing on an SSD can trigger a reset that may hide the drive from you—keep it disabled. The installation should run in the installer, and wiping both DDR drives should eliminate the warning about being unable to use it as a boot device.
I'll attempt it when I return, thank you for the helpful advice! I'll get back to you soon.
I returned to the Windows 10 setup page. At the moment I see both the 1TB HDD and the 500GB SSD. But when I choose the SSD for installation, the installer warns me that "Windows can't be installed on this disk. Your computer's hardware might not support booting to this drive. Make sure the disk's controller is turned on in the BIOS."
You just need to select "Load Drivers" and install the chipset drivers for your laptop (or SATA controller). Essentially, Windows Setup will say: "Your UEFI/BIOS recognizes a drive in the system, but when I attempt to communicate with it, it doesn’t respond as expected because it doesn’t follow the standards established long ago... Likely the disk controller is turned off, or since this was what I intended, I’m checking if it’s bootable, which failed." What actually happens is that your laptop’s SATA controller doesn’t support the standard SATA calls Windows expects. This confusion occurs because Windows Setup can’t interact properly. Installing the drivers will clarify how to communicate with the controller, ensuring everything functions correctly.