New Laptop - empty m.2 socket - doesn'r recognise SSD

Make and model of laptop so we can check

My apologies

Lenovo IdeaPad S530-14IWL

From what I've been able to research, seems like it needs an m.2 PCIe 22 x 42 mm (but what I'm confused about is whether the terms NGFF and/or SATA III and/or mSATA and/or NVMe are at all relevant).

Thanks,

Art

The closest I can find is YouTube and its m2 needed

ArthurDent said:

Lenovo IdeaPad S530-14IWL

A typo? Lenovo don't list that precise model, if it's S530 it seems it can only be a -13nnn, the S540 can be -13nnn or -14nnn. I guess it's either an S530-13IWL or an S540-14IWL. Whichever it is, click the appropriate link and you can get the relevant hardware manual from Lenovo Support.

If neither of those are correct, then just enter your serial number in the box on the left. It will tell you preciously what you model is, what warranty is left, and as a bonus will add a 'Machine info' link that says its hardware spec as shipped.

From what I've been able to research, seems like it needs an m.2 PCIe 22 x 42 mm (but what I'm confused about is whether the terms NGFF and/or SATA III and/or mSATA and/or NVMe are at all relevant).

Yes, it can be confusing. M2 just specifies the shape of the package, the rest specify the type of electronics used inside that package. An SSD is designed to use the Pcie interface as either NVMe or as SATA, the difference between the two types of SSD is the speed. This may help dispel some confusion...

...NVMe is an open standard developed to allow modern SSDs to operate at the read/write speeds their flash memory is capable of. Essentially, it allows flash memory to operate as an SSD directly through the PCIe interface rather than going through SATA and being limited by the slower SATA speeds....

Are all M.2 drives NVMe?

No. Remember, M.2 is just the form factor. M.2 drives can come in SATA versions (like the Crucial MX500 M.2 for example) and NVMe versions (like the Samsung 970 Pro/EVO), which describes the bus they use to electrically communicate with the other PC components. SATA M.2 SSD drives and 2.5” SATA SSDs actually operate at virtually identical spec. NVMe M.2’s on the other hand, definitely do not, as we’re about to discuss....

NVMe vs. M.2 vs. SATA – What’s the Difference? - Custom Gaming & Enthusiast PC Blog | Velocity Micro

This is the motherboard of a Lenovo IdeaPad S540-14IWL. (I don't see a second M.2 mount on a S530 board.) From what I see at crucial.com, it's an M.2 2242 PCI-E slot. It should only have an M key. M.2 - Wikipedia



It seems to be common for 2242 SATA drives to have both B and M slots. That means they can be physically inserted into the slot. They just won't work.

There are 42 mm long PCI-E M.2 drives, but they don't seem common. PCI-Express 3.1 x4, M.2 2242, Internal SSDs, SSDs, Components - Newegg.com I don't know whether the ones in the link are available in the UK. (The UK baranch of Newegg appears to not sell them.)

It may ultimately be simpler just to replace the 256GB SSD with a larger capacity drive in the more common 2280 format. The down side would be having to clone the 256GB drive to it. That's not onerous, if you have an external HD as normally used to back up the SSD. (Or an external adapter for an NVME M.2 SSD.)

Ahh...

The fog begins to clear. That makes perfect sense - many thanks for posting that Bree.

Bree said:

A typo? Lenovo don't list that precise model, if it's S530 it seems it can only be a -13nnn, the S540 can be -13nnn or -14nnn. I guess it's either an S530-13IWL or an S540-14IWL. Whichever it is, click the appropriate link and you can get the relevant hardware manual from Lenovo Support.

Yep - a typo. Should have said IdeaPad S540-12IWL

Will check out the link you posted for the hardware manual.

If neither of those are correct, then just enter your serial number in the box on the left. It will tell you preciously what you model is, what warranty is left, and as a bonus will add a 'Machine info' link that says its hardware spec as shipped.

From what I've been able to research, seems like it needs an m.2 PCIe 22 x 42 mm (but what I'm confused about is whether the terms NGFF and/or SATA III and/or mSATA and/or NVMe are at all relevant).

Yes, it can be confusing. M2 just specifies the shape of the package, the rest specify the type of electronics used inside that package. An SSD is designed to use the Pcie interface as either NVMe or as SATA, the difference between the two types of SSD is the speed. This may help dispel some confusion...

NVMe vs. M.2 vs. SATA – What’s the Difference? - Custom Gaming & Enthusiast PC Blog | Velocity Micro

I need an m.2 PCIe NVMe 2242.

@bobkn

That is the same as the interior of my wife's laptop.

The second m.2 slot is just above and to the right of the 2280 PCIe card. In my wife's laptop, they have put a 2242 card in with an adapter bracket but the upper right socket is empty.

I'll try to get a pic together for you.

As the laptop is an Intel machine, I believe that this second socket is also capable of running a PCIe SSD. Indeed, the label beside the 2280 connector in your picture is labelled 'JSSD1' and beside the second m.2 connector it is labelled 'JSSD2'.

You are right in saying there aren't many 2242 cards out there - I found a WD 512GB at Misco (sadly out of stock until 10th March) - link: WD-PC-SN520-NVMe-SSD

Cheers,

Art

- - - Updated - - -

As promised, my wife's laptop's mobo:



If the laptop didn't have a 3-year warranty, I'd whip out the 256GB 2242 SSD and put a 500GB or 1TB 2280 card in instead.

If the mobo manufacturer had had a bit more about them, they wouldn't have soldered 4GB of RAM onto the board which would have freed up space to put two 2280 m.2 cards in.

Ho hum!

Art

You don´t necessarily have to use a 2242 card. The "adapter" which is seen below the SSD can be removed to install a 2280 card. Check this, remove the card and the adapter.

A laptop usually doesn´t have a "spare" m.2 port. When there are 2 M.2 ports, one is used for the SSD, the other for a Wi-Fi card.

You can get detailed information about the installed SSD using Hard Disk Sentinel and similar programs. Useful when searching for a replacement.