Surface Laptop 3 Not Detecting SSD - Need Help!

[Benass]

Hey everyone,
I'm having an issue with my Surface Laptop 3, and I could really use some help. I've tried everything I can think of, but my laptop just won't detect any new SSDs I install. Here's a rundown of the situation:
Problem:

• My Surface Laptop 3 isn't detecting any new SSDs, including a Sabrent Rocket 2230 256GB NVMe SSD and a Dogfish 256GB M.2 2230 NVMe PCIe Gen 3.0 x4 SSD.
• Both SSDs work fine in other laptops, so I know they are functional.
• The laptop does detect a Forsee 64GB SSD from my Steam Deck, and I can successfully install Windows on it.

What I've Tried:

1. Compatibility Check: Made sure the SSDs are compatible with the Surface Laptop 3.
2. Physical Installation: Ensured the SSD is properly seated and the connector is clean and undamaged.
3. UEFI Settings:
   • Disabled Secure Boot.
   • Checked boot order and made sure the SSD is prioritized.
4. Bootable USB Drive:
   • Created a Windows installation USB drive and tried to install Windows, but the SSD isn't listed as an available drive.
5. Disk Management:
   • Used Diskpart from the Command Prompt during Windows installation to list disks, but the SSD isn't detected there either.
6. Firmware and Drivers:
   • Ensured all Windows and Surface firmware updates are installed.
7. Device Manager:
   • Checked in Device Manager for the SSD, but it doesn't show up there either.
8. Professional Help:
   • Haven't reached out to Microsoft Support yet, but considering it as a next step.

Additional Info:

• The laptop does detect a 64GB SSD from my Steam Deck, and I can successfully install Windows on it. This leads me to believe it might be a compatibility issue with larger or certain types of SSDs.
• Both NVMe M.2 2230 SSDs have been tried, with no success.

Questions:

1. Has anyone else experienced similar issues with the Surface Laptop 3 and certain SSDs?
2. Are there any specific BIOS/UEFI settings I might have overlooked that could help with SSD detection?
3. Any other troubleshooting steps or solutions that worked for you in a similar situation?

Any help or suggestions would be greatly appreciated! I'm at my wit's end here and would love to get my Surface Laptop 3 working with a new SSD.
Thanks in advance!

[Benass]

Interface

• Sabrent Rocket 2230: NVMe PCIe Gen3 x4
• Dogfish 256GB M.2 2230: NVMe PCIe Gen3 x4
• Forsee E2M2: Typically NVMe PCIe, but could vary (confirm specific model details)

Performance

• Sabrent Rocket 2230:
  • Read Speed: Up to 2,500 MB/s
  • Write Speed: Up to 1,100 MB/s
• Dogfish 256GB M.2 2230:
  • Read Speed: Up to 2,000 MB/s
  • Write Speed: Up to 1,200 MB/s
• Forsee E2M2:
  • Read Speed: Generally lower, around 500-1000 MB/s if NVMe, 400-550 MB/s if SATA
  • Write Speed: Generally lower, around 300-800 MB/s if NVMe, 150-500 MB/s if SATA

Is It posible that Forsee is Sata type and thats why its working while Dogfish and Rocket are PCIe and they don't ?

[reformatt]

This model I think is from 2019, which is new enough to have native NVMe support. Start by seeing if the drive is visible in the BIOS first. If not, then it's either MS have a whitelist of drives that will work or their NVMe driver doesn't talk properly with the drives you are using.

If it's detected in BIOS, but not during Windows setup, usually it's because you need to load the Intel RST driver as well.

[Benass]

Thanks for sugestions. Laptop will not detect any nvme ssd. Apart from Forsee.
I just discovered: Orignal SSD is working, I installed it into usb to nvme and run health check on my pc its fine.

so it must be Laptop motherboard issues, or bios, im so confiused.

[reformatt]

Are any NVMe drives detected at all in BIOS? Are you running the latest BIOS? Get Windows running with your working drive, and update the Surface firmware with the app then re-test. I have seen issues with drive compatibility with the 2017 Macbook Air's due to their outdated NVMe driver in the EFI BIOS. This could be the same.

Apparently WD SN520 and Sabrent drives should work fine in this model. There is no hardware lock apparently.

[Benass]

Bios fully updated. Tried 7 different nvme SSD. ( including original) This is so unusual.

Forsee has 6 data lines only, Other drives have 8 or more. maybe there is a problem with a data line, but at this point im just guessing.

[rogfanther]

Can you get nvme drives that are *not* pciex4 to test ?

[Benass]

As of now, customer decided to replace entire mainboard. Original ssd working fine in new(second-hand board) .

At the moment i don't have access to another screen, so can't continue investigation any further.

I can't confirm but have suspicion its something to do with data lines and cpu.