P51s ssd connector malfunction

[PieterVanHecke]

Hello,

I have a P51s 20HB000TMB since 2017. Last week, it started rebooting randomly (sometimes after 5 minutes, sometimes a couple of hours)
I managed to backup the hard drive before it gave out completely.
At first I thought it was the hard drive itself malfunctioning. So I tried to install a fresh windows installation but didn't succeed.
After browsing the internet I came across a couple of incidents where the sdd cable connector on the motherboard malfunctioned. It hadn't come loose yet in my case. When I tried to touch (gently) it to check the cable, it did.

One year ago I added a second ssd in an open slot on het motherboard. (Transcend 512 GB TS512GMTE452T) - this one: https://www.conrad.be/nl/p/transcend-mt ... 02577.html
So my thought was to just buy a new - empty one. Use that as my primary sdd and install OS on there. (and use the ssd I added a year ago in an external enclosure)

However, when I boot from usb, I get the message during attempt to install that the disk controller is not actived and that I should activate it in bios.
I have tried that many times (activating the disk controller in bios) but am unable to find where I could possibly do that.

I tried to flash the bios (in hopes that some functions would be added to activate the disk controller). Downloaded the iso file here: https://pcsupport.lenovo.com/us/en/prod ... -t570-p51s
and tried to make a bootable usb drive with rufus and isotousb. Didn't succeed. The programs are unable to make a bootable usb drive to flash / update the bios

So I'm pretty stuck now. I'm not really looking to invest a lot in this laptop but at the same time I would love it if I could use it with one internal ssd for the remainder of its life.

Can anybody help me with activating the disk controller in bios so that I can use the ssd in the second slot as my boot disk. Or is there another way to get this machine up and running again without replacing the motherboard?

Thanks a lot in advance!

Pieter

[RealBlackStuff]

You must be mixing up laptops.
Maybe you installed the P51 BIOS instead of P51s?
The P51 has an option for RAID in BIOS, where you can make those changes.
Your P51s does NOT have that option.
You'll need to select which drive to boot from first in BIOS/Startup/Boot (double-click Boot and select).

[PieterVanHecke]

Hello,
thanks for the reply.
I didn't succeed yet in installing a bios update. So the bios that is installed came with the machine.
I don't have the machine with me at this moment but I will check after the weekend to see if I mixed some things up.
I do know that I have a P51s (I will recheck the type and SN when I get home), I know that I installed a second hard drive and now that the connector to the first one is malfunctioning, am unable to install an os to the second one and havent succeeded in finding a workaround.

The second hard drive is not visible in the boot selection menu at the moment. Haven't found how I can unable that (if possible at all)

What I am unsure of from your comment is the following: If I have a P51s will I never be able to boot from the second hard drive (while the connector of the first is broken) and is my only option to replace the motherboard?

Thanks in advance for any attempts to help.

[RealBlackStuff]

If I understand you correctly, the 2.5" HDD was faulty and was removed.
The 2nd Transcend drive in the WAN-slot has now also been removed, while you have a new one.
You try to boot from USB (but without any other drive in the P51s), but that doesn't work.
Possibly that machine needs to have a drive in it, be it a 2.5" HDD/SSD or the Transcend.
It's also possible that that new drive needs to be initialized before it can be formatted.
Try and do that in another machine if you can't get it going.

[PieterVanHecke]

There is no 2,5" hdd.
It was an ssd in a 2,5" slot (special case/bracket)
the ssd is not faulty (I know because I put it in an external enclosure and it works - I can copy the drive no problem), the connector to the motherboard is. It just broke off (seems to be something that has occurred with a lot of people when I look on the internet)
So using that connector is out of the question without replacing the motherboard.

So I have replaced 2nd transcend drive with an identical new one to try and put my os on there. When that didn't work, I did as you suggested - I initialised it with an external enclosure on another machine using windows disk management. Put it in my P51s again. I boot to windows 10 install from a usb drive. The wan ssd drive is visible there, but when I try to select it as the drive I want to install my OS on, i get the message that "disk controller is not activated" and that I need to do that in the bios

Went through the bios and the wan ssd is not visible there. Can't remember if it ever was. No difference when I insert the old transcend drive if I remember correctly (I will check that again after the weekend)

Thanks you for trying to help. This is really frustrating. I normally am pretty able to fix things, but now I seem really stuck.

[RealBlackStuff]

You wrote "connector to the motherboard..." which I assumed was the cable.
I didn't get that the (soldered) motherboard-connector itself had broken off.
Sloppy work apparently from Wistron, who makes those mobos.
Maybe if you use a magnifying glass, you might find some solder-points on that (now empty) spot, that are falsely connected and you can carefully separate them.
If nothing else seems broken, maybe you can find someone to solder the connector back on.
Most likely you will need to replace the motherboard with one from either a P51s or a T570.
Apparently they are identical except for the graphics, see e.g. this.
You'd be looking at around €150 for a mobo.
Alternatively, get a newer generation laptop.

[PieterVanHecke]

So no way to use the second slot and the transcend sdd as my boot disk? darn.
The soldering is way too small to fix.
I will see if I can find a motherboard (maybe second hand)

thanks for helping out!