Formatting a New SSD
Open the Disk Management tool. Press ⊞ Win+R or search “Run” in the Start menu to pull up the Run program. Type “diskmgmt.msc” and press enter to open the Disk Management tool. Alternatively, you can right-click the Start menu and select “Disk Management” from the dropdown menu. Follow the steps if you already have Windows installed on another drive.
Right-click the new drive and select the “New Simple Volume” option. Each disk installed on your PC is displayed in the Disk Management tool. Locate the disk that is not in use (it will be unnamed and empty) and right-click on it. Select “New Simple Volume.” Do not mess with the disk where Windows is installed. If you have Windows 11, it’s installed on the drive marked “Disk 0.” For Windows 10, the system is installed on the “Local Disk” partition (almost always the C: drive). What if I don’t see my SSD? Try expanding the disk management window. For some reason Windows doesn’t automatically expand the Disk Management tool to display all available drives.
Complete the partition wizard to format and use your new SSD. A New Simple Volume Wizard tool will pop up. Complete the steps by entering the following information to format your new SSD: Click “Next” to start. Keep the Simple Volume size identical to the Maximum Disk Space. For example, on a 10 GB drive, it will say something like “10,020” in the Maximum Disk Space line. You’d keep your simple volume at “10,020.” Assign a drive letter. It doesn’t matter what letter you use. Keep the file system as “NFTS” and the Allocation Unit Size at “Default.” Enter a name for the drive (you can call it whatever you’d like.” Keep “Perform a quick format” checked. Select “Next” and “Finish” and your drive will be ready to use.
Troubleshooting an SSD That Won’t Show Up
Confirm the cables are connected and the card is installed correctly. If you have a SATA drive, check the connection where it plugs into the SATA cable. Make sure the pins are aligned correctly on the SATA drive and that they’re inserted all the way. Then, check where the cable connects to the power supply to ensure it is correctly attached. Follow these troubleshooting tips if you are setting up a new PC and/or your drive doesn’t appear in the BIOS. What if I have an M.2 NVME drive? If you installed your SSD on the motherboard, confirm that you slotted the drive into the motherboard slot at the proper angle. If you haven’t installed the heat shield yet, do that now. Most motherboards won’t read a drive if the heat shield isn’t in place.
Test the drive on another computer to diagnose a bad cable. If you have another PC you can use—even temporarily—try installing the SSD on that PC. If you can get the SSD to appear in the Disk Management tool on that second PC, it’s a sign that your PSU cable is bad. Alternative solution: If you’ve got an old PSU that you know works for sure, just swap the PSU out on your new build and test the power. What if I don’t have a modular PSU? If you have a power supply unit with built-in cables, your PSU is probably bad. Get a new PSU and the SSD should work just fine.
Swap out the SSD to see if you have a faulty drive. If you happen to have another SSD that you’ve used successfully in the past, try swapping out the drive that isn’t showing up with the drive that works. If that old SSD shows up in your PC just fine, you have a bum drive. Try returning your SSD. If you just bought the SSD, reach out to whoever you brought it up from and explain the situation. Some SSDs are bad when they’re shipped, so they should replace it for free.
Update your BIOS to confirm the system can read your SSD. If you’ve confirmed the SSD and PSU are working just fine but the drive just isn’t showing up in the BIOS, your BIOS probably needs to be updated. Follow your motherboard’s instructions to update it. Typically, you’ll need to flash the BIOS using the buttons on the back of your motherboard. It’s pretty common to need to update an old BIOS. Motherboards don’t always ship with the most recent copy pre-installed on them.
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