Windows 10: Internal Laptop SSD Drive Keeps Disappearing

My HP laptop has a second internal SATA SSD drive which I normally assign to drive Z: for backups. It has worked fine to date but sometimes when I start the PC it is not found in Explorer - see below. I can easily assign the disk letter Z: in Disk Management which works for a while but the drive still disappears after a while. I've enabled Automount in DISKPART. When I assign Z: I get a notification about what to do with removeable drives yet the SSD is not removeable. Perhaps Windows incorrectly thinks the drive is removeable? What is going on here?

:)

 

Internal hard drive partition keeps disappearing (z-drive)

Hi,

I have previously reported this issue & thought it was solved: -

Int. HD partition Keeps Disappearing (Z Drive) others are OK

However it continues!

Anyone got any suggestions

 

Laptops That Support A Secondary Storage Drive

When you say "tons of them", do you mean that they have a ROM drive to remove or do they accommodate second drives specifically?

I'll keep it a bit broad.

• Intel i7 Generation 8
• 15.6" Display
• M.2 512GB NVMe SSD (C Drive)
• 1TB Hard Drive or SSD secondary drive (D Drive)
• NVIDIA Graphics
• 6 cell battery (maybe)
• 4G/5G LTE mobile broadband card

When it comes to LTE cards, I'll listen to suggestions as I have never used one.

I like good sound, but when it comes to laptops, I am not sure how choosy you can be.
Please ask me what else I should include in the specs.

 

Cloning to SSD then swapping drive letters


@SamHobbs
What you want done is very simple and can be done in short period of time. Here's my suggestion:
There's 2 modes that Windows can be installed: UEFI and the old legacy MBR. Open Disk Management, look at the disk where your C drive is, if there's a

1. EFI System Partition, your Windows was installed using UEFI.
2. System Reserved partition, your Windows was installed using MBR

Next, Connect your SSD to an available Sata port (no need to format or do anything). Download: Macrium Reflect Free . Install and run. Follow the steps below:

1. From Macrium, click on image this disk under your C drive and save it to either an Internal or External Drive. This will create a single backup image of the whole disk containing your C drive.
2. Again, from Macrium, click on Restore tab and select the image created from step 1, Select your SSD as the destination drive, click Next->Finish
3. Exit Macrium. If your Windows was installed using MBR, Open disk management and make sure the SSD is marked "Active" else go to next step.
4. Shutdown your PC. Disconnect the HD containing Windows C drive then connect your SSD to it.
5. Reboot. Your PC should boot and the Windows should have C as the drive letter.

NOTE: The procedure above is to backup your Windows to an image file then copy it back to the SSD. This ensures proper cluster size aligment for the SSD. In addition, Macrium also perform Trimming for the SSD. This is more preferable than cloning.