FIX: BIOS Recognizes SSD But Won’t Boot [2023 Guide]

by Milan Stanojevic
Milan Stanojevic
Milan Stanojevic
Windows & Software Expert
Milan has been enthusiastic about technology ever since his childhood days, and this led him to take interest in all PC-related technologies. He's a PC enthusiast and he... read more
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  • Many users reported that BIOS recognizes SSD, but it won’t boot the PC from it.
  • In order to fix this problem, you should first use a reliable third-party backup software.
  • You should also consult the motherboard manual and find the Legacy boot setting to enable.
  • Remove the system reserved partition from the other drive by following our guide below.
bios recognizes ssd but won't boot

SSDs are great since they offer better performance, but many users reported that BIOS recognizes SSD, but PC won’t boot from it.

This can be a big problem, especially if you purchased a new SSD to replace your hard drive. Fixing this problem is simple, and in today’s article, we’re going to show you how to do that.

What do I do if BIOS recognizes SSD but won’t boot?

1. Reset BIOS

  1. Make sure that your SSD is the only storage device connected to your motherboard.
  2. Also, make sure that SSD is connected to SATA 0 port on the motherboard.
  3. Check if that solves the problem.
  4. If the issue is still there, enter BIOS and reset it to the default.

This method can be useful if legacy BIOS recognizes SSD, but not as a booting device, so be sure to try it out.

2. Enable Legacy boot

  1. Start your PC and enter BIOS.
  2. Locate the Boot settings, and make sure that you have both UEFI and Legacy or Legacy boot enabled.

To see how to find this setting, it would be best to check your motherboard manual for detailed instructions.

3. Reinstall Windows 10

If your SSD is recognized, but you still won’t boot, perhaps your only solution is to reset Windows 10. Some users are also suggesting performing a clean install of Windows 10 on SSD, so you can try that instead.

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A few users reported that they can’t install Windows 10 on an SSD, but we already covered that in detail in one of our older articles.

4. Use a third-party backup software

If you’re having issues with your SSD, then our recommendation might be able to help you.

The software can easily perform a full system or disk backup, allowing you to move all your files to a new SSD.

The software supports GPT to MBR cloning, which might come in handy if you’re moving an older operating system to a new PC.

Regarding backups, the software supports incremental and differential backups, and there’s also a file backup feature available as well.

It’s important to mention that the software supports the Hot backup feature, so you can create backups in the background while focusing on other tasks.

This great tool offers great features, especially if you need to move data from your hard drive to an SSD, so we recommend trying it out.

Other great features:

  • Ability to backup to NAS, network storage, external storage, or cloud
  • Command-line support
  • Event-triggered backups
  • Scheduled backups
  • Flexible cloning

⇒ Get Aomei Backupper

5. Update BIOS

  1. Download the latest BIOS for your motherboard.
  2. Use the downloaded file to flash your BIOS to the latest version.

Keep in mind that the BIOS update is an advanced procedure that can damage your motherboard, so be sure to follow the instructions from the motherboard manual in order to avoid damaging your motherboard.

6. Remove System Reserved partition from the other drive

  1. Boot to Windows.
  2. Now press Windows Key + X and choose Disk Management.
    disk management bios recognizes ssd but won't boot
  3. Try to locate the System Reserved partition on the old hard drive and try to remove it.
  4. If that doesn’t work, you’ll have to format the hard drive. To do this, right-click the hard drive and choose Format.
    format drive bios recognizes ssd but won't boot
  5. Follow the instructions on the screen to complete the format process.

This issue occurs if you have boot files on both your SSD and hard drive, and by formatting the drive, you might be able to fix the problem.

Note icon NOTE
This process will cause you to lose all your files from the hard drive, so be sure to back them up. Use this method only if other solutions aren’t able to fix your problem.

Not being able to use your new SSD can be a problem, but we hope that after reading this article you managed to fix all SSD booting issues on your PC.

For more suggestions or other questions regarding this topic, please access the comments section below.

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