{"id":2337,"date":"2026-03-25T17:46:43","date_gmt":"2026-03-25T12:16:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mukundasoftware.com\/blog\/?p=2337"},"modified":"2026-03-25T17:46:45","modified_gmt":"2026-03-25T12:16:45","slug":"windows-11-24h2-bsod-wd-sn770-fix","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mukundasoftware.com\/blog\/hardware\/storage\/ssd\/windows-11-24h2-bsod-wd-sn770-fix.html","title":{"rendered":"Drive Not Detected During Windows Installation: How to Fix WD SN770 & NVMe SSD Visibility"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Quick Summary:<\/strong> Choose Your Fix<\/em><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Fix Method<\/td>Difficulty<\/td>When to Use<\/td><\/tr><\/thead>
Disable Intel RST \/ VMD<\/strong><\/td>Easy<\/td>Most common fix for 11th\u2011gen Intel and newer<\/td><\/tr>
Load NVMe Driver<\/strong><\/td>Medium<\/td>When drive appears in BIOS but not in Windows installer<\/td><\/tr>
Switch RAID to AHCI<\/strong><\/td>Easy<\/td>If system defaults to RAID mode<\/td><\/tr>
Check Connection<\/strong><\/td>Easy<\/td>If drive is missing from BIOS as well<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Export to Sheets<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The Problem: WD SN770 Visible in BIOS but Not in Windows Installer<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

You\u2019ve just built a new PC or upgraded your storage. The WD SN770 NVMe SSD is correctly installed and shows up in the BIOS, but when you boot from a Windows 11 or Windows 10 installation USB, the drive list is empty.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is a common but solvable<\/strong> issue, especially on modern motherboards (Intel 11th\u2011gen and newer, or AMD Ryzen systems). The root cause is almost always a missing storage driver or a BIOS configuration mismatch.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why Does This Happen?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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  1. Intel VMD (Volume Management Device):<\/strong> On newer Intel platforms, VMD is enabled by default. It “hides” the NVMe drive behind a controller that the standard Windows installer doesn’t recognize without a specific driver.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  2. RAID vs. AHCI Mode:<\/strong> Some motherboards default to RAID mode. Windows Setup often lacks these RAID drivers out of the box.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  3. Gen 4 Compatibility:<\/strong> High-performance drives like the WD SN770 use PCIe Gen 4. On older boards, a BIOS update may be required for the installer to properly “see” the handshake between the CPU and the drive.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n
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    Step\u2011by\u2011Step Solutions<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    1. Disable Intel RST \/ VMD in BIOS (Recommended)<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

    For 90% of users, this is the quickest fix.<\/p>\n\n\n\n