Drivers & Software

[matt7001]

hi,

I got a Lenovo E535 laptop with abovementioned AMD Hardware. Specs are here https://psref.lenovo.com/syspool/Sys/PDF/withdrawnbook/ThinkPad_E530_E535_WE.pdf 

I am trying a fresh install of Windows 10 with Media Creation Tool because of SSD-Hardware-Upgrade.  Windows 10 is as recent as you get it today.

In the installer the SSD is not recognised - mostly it is just not there.  Sometimes it is visible but becomes unresponsive when trying to format/access it.

I reckon I miss drivers.

Can anybody give me a hint on what drivers I can feed the installer to make this work?

I tried .. wuhaa plenty .. Catalyst Drivers from AMD, Chipset Drivers from Intel, Some "AMD System" drivers from the Microsoft Update Catalog.  I set the SATA-Controller to Compatibility-Mode in the BIAS.  All to no avail.  Harddrive stays hidden.

The alternative is to put this thing in the bin because the built-in HDD is unusably slow these days.  I'd rather avoid that.

Thank you very much in advance!

Matthias

[matt7001]

Just to be clear, the most recent version of Windows 10 is running on this laptop right now.  This means to me that this can work.

The SSD drive seems supported by the laptop. It is of course a SATA iii drive and the BIOS supports SATA ii only.  In the BIOS Setup Utility (Enter + F1) there is a status page showing the drive and how it supports ATA/ATAPI 4..7 and ATA8_ACS.  All seems well there.

[elstaci]

Here are your Laptop Specs from CNET: Lenovo ThinkPad Edge E535 3260 - 15.6" - A series A6-4400M - Windows 8 64-bit - 4 GB RAM - 500 GB HD... 

These are the SSD that are compatible with your Lenovo Thinkpad Edge from Lenovo Parts: laptops and netbooks :: thinkpad edge laptops :: thinkpad edge e535 :: 3260 - US 

If you used on of the above SSDs then it should be compatible with your laptop. Otherwise if you didn't it is a good chance the SSD you have is not compatible.

Run Lenovo Diagnostics and see what it says about your SSD that you have installed: laptops and netbooks :: thinkpad edge laptops :: thinkpad edge e535 :: 3260 Lenovo PC Support - US 

[matt7001]

Hello elstaci,

the specs of my laptop are in the pdf linked to from the original post. Please let me know if I am missing anything in particular from the webpage you sent, that is important to the issue of the SSD not being recognised in the windows installer. I got an A8-4500M, as written in the thread title, but it shouldn't matter anyhow.

Generally I do not give much about manufacturers "compatible hardware" lists.  This is what standards are for.  I believe the relevant information regarding hardware compatibility is that the laptop has an a70m chipset with a SATA II controller on it. The SSD is this one here: Intenso TOP SSD 256 GB schwarz, SATA 600, Bulk.

I am aware, that sometimes too modern hardware cannot interoperate with aged hardware, but generally a SATA III drive ought to be working on a SATA II controller - at least that is what the internet says: Difference between SATA I, SATA II and SATA III or Using a SATA III HDD in a SATA II motherboard | Tom's Hardware Forum 

Lenovo Diagnostics is not an option. How would I run this while the SSD on which I cannot install Windows is built into the laptop?

Any ideas?

[elstaci]

yes, SATAIII is backwards compatible with SATAII. The SSD will just run at SATAII speeds instead of SATAIII speeds. but it seems like your laptop motherboard or BIOS doesn't recognize the SSD you installed.

Lenovo has a compatible list because they had tested those hardware listed and found it to work in the laptop.

Anyway, I suggest you open a Lenovo Support ticket or Intenso Support ticket to see if that SSD is compatible with your laptop.

It is possible that Intenso SSD is not being recognized by the laptop since it is a SATAIII SSD.

[matt7001]

hi elstaci

wanted to let you know that you were right, it is indeed a compatibility thing. The local hardware shop tried different SSDs and eventually found some old 180GB SSD in the back of their store that works ok - but only when windows is preinstalled on the harddrive on some other computer beforehand.

I wonder what to look out for to avoid such grief in the future? Find a notebook manufacturer that keeps producing updated firmware? Go for intel chipsets?

[elstaci]

Thanks for the update.

I would go to Lenovo Support to your specific laptop download page, the link I gave in my previous reply, that shows all the HDD/SSDs that are compatible with your laptop.

That same link is where you can find out other hardware that is compatible with your laptop.

Make sure you always have the latest BIOS and CHIPSET installed in your laptop from Lenovo Support. That should help with compatibility issues and always see if there is any firmware update either at Lenovo Support download page or the hardware's manufacturer's support site.

Good luck.