Dell XPS 13 (9343) will not detect SSD after replacement

Question

Folks here is the story: 1) The factory 256 GB SSD in the system failed and was throwing errors in the diagnostics, would not boot, and would not let me backup data from it. 2) I purchased a replacement SSD which is an Intel (SSDPEKKW512G8XT) M.2 SSD device. I installed this drive and booted into the Windows 10 installation and it detects the drive and allows me to install windows onto it. 3) The problem is that the system will not boot from this drive. After further investigation the BIOS reports that no drive is installed (miniCARD SSD device = none). Also, when I try to run the dell diagnostics on the system I get an error that no drive is installed in the system. 4) I have updated firmware on the SSD and on the XPS 13 system so they are both currrent. I can't understand why the system doesn't think the drive is installed but when I boot Windows from UEFI off USB it can see the 512 GB SSD and write a windows installation to it. Anyone have any ideas here? Are there only certain M.2 SSD that are compatible with the XPS 13? TIA

JOcean · Accepted Answer

From what I can tell about the Intel SSD, it is NVME/PCIe . The 9343 only supports SATA drives. That would account for why the drive is not detected in the BIOS. You need a drive similar to the ones in the link below.

https://www.crucial.com/usa/en/compatible-upgrade-for/Dell/xps-13-(9343)

TheYFamily · Answer

Thank you for the speedy reply.  That is what I was afraid of.  I will pickup a compatible drive and try again.  Thanks for the info!

TheYFamily · Answer

I actually just ordered the Crucial MX500 found at the link in his post.  The 860 probably has better performance but the price of the crucial was much better. CT500MX500SSD4

jphughan · Answer

@TheYFamily wrote:

Thank you for the speedy reply. That is what I was afraid of. I will pickup a compatible drive and try again. Thanks for the info!

The answer you received above is correct. I’d recommend the Samsung 860 Evo. Just make sure you get the M.2 version rather than the mSATA or 2.5” version.

jphughan · Answer

@TheYFamily wrote:

I actually just ordered the Crucial MX500 found at the link in his post. The 860 probably has better performance but the price of the crucial was much better.

CT500MX500SSD4

That’s another popular choice. However, I’ve read reports of spontaneous BSoDs with it. The common fixes seem to be updating the firmware and disabling link state power management, so I’d recommend doing the former immediately and doing the latter if you still encounter problems.

TheYFamily · Answer

noted.  Thank you for the info.

QPR_FC · Answer

That's exactly the issue I'm having with MX500 in my 9343.

Either BSOD after minutes of using my laptop or the M.2 not even being detected in bios.

It already has the latest firmware and my Link Power Management is already off but it is not working for me.

I managed to clone my original PM851 drive onto it before it started to give these issues.

I'm thinking that it is overheating? Because I did the clone in USA during winter and now I'm back home in Thailand it is not working as before.

Maybe I have to RMA to USA but that is costly and I don't have the original packaging which Crucial insist on for RMA!

Any help please?

XPS

Dell XPS 13 (9343) will not detect SSD after replacement

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