Ssd not being detected

[dogmoore]

So I had to replace the battery in my alienware m17 r2 laptop but because of the stupid design of the internals I had to take out the m.2 ssd, now when I try and boot it said it isn't installed, no matter what slot I put it in. 

 

I know the drive works it works just fine in my horrible other laptop

 

I'm out of ideas on how to fix it and I can't afford a new laptop and I can't keep using my other one since it randomly will turn off or go to sleep. 

[drdrewnatic]

Have you tried installing a different M.2 drive and see if it detects that? Maybe clearing CMOS?

[dogmoore]

29 minutes ago, drdrewnatic said:

Have you tried installing a different M.2 drive and see if it detects that? Maybe clearing CMOS?

No change after clearing CMOS or trying a different ssd, it actually looks like the slot is slightly too long since the other m.2 ssd could move a bit

[drdrewnatic]

1 minute ago, dogmoore said:

No change after clearing CMOS or trying a different ssd, it actually looks like the slot is slightly too long since the other m.2 ssd could move a bit

Did you have to take out the mainboard to remove the battery? I'm having a hard time thinking about why removing a battery would cause all m.2 drives to no longer detect. Maybe reset battery connection?

 

To confirm, when you look in the BIOS and check the boot manager, there is nothing showing up, correct?

 

What do you mean by "move a bit"? All m.2 2280 drives should be the exact same size. there should be no wiggle room when installed properly.

[dogmoore]

Just now, drdrewnatic said:

Did you have to take out the mainboard to remove the battery? I'm having a hard time thinking about why removing a battery would cause all m.2 drives to no longer detect. Maybe reset battery connection?

 

To confirm, when you look in the BIOS and check the boot manager, there is nothing showing up, correct?

 

What do you mean by "move a bit"? All m.2 2280 drives should be the exact same size. there should be no wiggle room when installed properly.

So to remove the battery you have to remove the SSDs for some reason, when I reinstalled it, it wasn't being detected 

 

No, nothing shows up in bios

 

And my move a bit I mean that screw is doing very little to actually hold it in, it can move vertically a decent amount and it seems to pull the heat sink on the m.2 that's supposed to be in there, like I can watch it move as I screw it in, not pinch the drive in like it does on my other one

[drdrewnatic]

6 minutes ago, dogmoore said:

So to remove the battery you have to remove the SSDs for some reason, when I reinstalled it, it wasn't being detected 

 

No, nothing shows up in bios

 

And my move a bit I mean that screw is doing very little to actually hold it in, it can move vertically a decent amount and it seems to pull the heat sink on the m.2 that's supposed to be in there, like I can watch it move as I screw it in, not pinch the drive in like it does on my other one

M.2 SSD's should not be able to move at all if installed properly. Do you remember if the drive was like that before you took it out? Are you sure you're using the correct screw holding it in?

[dogmoore]

18 minutes ago, drdrewnatic said:

M.2 SSD's should not be able to move at all if installed properly. Do you remember if the drive was like that before you took it out? Are you sure you're using the correct screw holding it in?

I don't remember being able to move it when I took it out, and the drive didn't even reach the screw. As seen in the image before

Edited May 2, 2022 by dogmoore
Image added

[drdrewnatic]

34 minutes ago, dogmoore said:

I don't remember being able to move it when I took it out, and the drive didn't even reach the screw. As seen in the image before

I have to think that you aren't installing the drive properly. Maybe a different screw? I just can't see how re-installing an SSD could make it not detectable. I know you reset the CMOS, but is there any sort of "Load Optimized Defaults" option in the BIOS? You're probably going to need someone with more experience on the forum look at this because this is beyond anything I've dealt with. Sorry about that.