Thinkpads Forum

From what I've read, the SL510 *can* be upgraded to an SSD. I just did a clean install of windows 7 64 bit, cloned the drive with macrium reflect to a Kingston A400 SSD - I can see everything on the drive if I plug it into a usb-SATA adapter. However, the bios refuses to see it. It lists HDD0, but there is no name beside it, and if I try to boot from it, it just doesn't acknowledge it. The drivers for the intel chipset are updated, the bios is updated - it's as if it doesn't exist.

I'm trying to upgrade this laptop for somone - I've done other Lenovo laptops, but no luck on this one.

Any Ideas?

Depending on SATA settings in BIOS, change it from Compatible to AHCI.
Did you clone the boot partitions as well?
If not, redo the cloning including those partitions.

It was already AHCI. I did a full clone - as I've always done before - this isn't my first rodeo. I don't know if it's something to do with the Kingston A400 SSD (I've tried *2* of them). I can see everything on them when in a an external enclosure, but plug them into the drive bay and *poof* nothing. The Bios doesn't see them. The Windows install CD *sees* them, but can't install because the bios doesn't see them.

Did it pick up the original hard drive?

Oh, it does that no problem - slap it back in, and it reboots perfectly. I'm starting to wonder if it's the Kingston A400 line that 's the issue.

Kind of annoying if it is, means I need to buy another drive

Yup....the SL510 doesn't get the drive ID info from the Kingston A400 - I just bought a Crucial MX500. First thing I did was slap it in, boot up to bios - and there it is, an identified drive.

The A400 was fine in some newer models - I guess it just can't talk to the older hardware

Hey hello, the same problem but in 2024 trying to give a old laptop to my grandma, it's just anoying, i tried everything with the kingston a400 480gb but nothing worked, like if i doesn't now anything about computers. I was mad but i'm going to buy another ssd just to try to solve the darn problem, trying with a cheap crucial ssd to look if that works. just thank you for posting this, imagine that i'm from Argentina (so far away) and you just give me a chance to not throw a laptop in a box xd. Just thank you, i dont think you are gonna read it but it was so helpful, i'm gonna post updates about this so maybe someone read it and they know that it can be solved (i dont really know).