ENVY 15t-j000 mSATA SSD + HDD fresh install, with mSATA as boot drive

Back to normal now. Still seems like if I load bios at all, it immediately rejects the msata boot and forces me to remove reboot and replace the HDD. Looking for help from anyone who has been running it set up for a bit to compare info.

 

I have the same issue. I have been on this setup for about 3 weeks now. I am running the F35 BIOS as well. It looks like that might the culprit. I have learned to live with short comings and am using the work arounds.

 

so the solution is to never go in bios, or revert? I don;t know if I am immediately comfortable flashing an old bios with the risks of f'ing it all up. anyone else? what other shortcomings?

 

things I've learned with this laptop and the multiple times I've tried to set it up with SSD + HDD:
- F.24 bios works well. Some have had success with F.35, but since that's been pulled off the HP update server I suspect there may have been some issues with it
- NEVER flash an older version of a BIOS. I bricked my laptop last time and had to get a new one from HP, and I think someone else here bricked theirs too doing this.
- Dual boot with HDD and SSD doesn't work. I've tried it, my HP support engineer has tried it, neither of us could make it work. This is mostly due to the BIOS not having the option to select which drive to boot from...you can only select categories of drives i.e. USB, CD, hard drives (which includes both SSD + HDD) etc.
- Highest success comes from installing Win 8/8.1 onto the msata SSD while the HDD is installed, with all partitions deleted, set up as a new drive and then formatted. Please refer to my previous posts on how best to do this. I currently have no issues going into BIOS and coming back out to boot with the SSD
- I once tried to delete all partitions on my HDD again (so I can use the space taken up by the recovery partitions) AFTER Win 8 was installed onto the SSD, but this didn't work, the "no OS installed" error message comes up again, so I had to delete everything and reinstall win8 onto the SSD again.

my 15t-j000 is working fine now with SSD as boot and HDD as storage. I got a 240GB SSD, but I've only used about 1/3 of the space with all my programs installed, so if you don't have a ton of software/games, a 120/128GB drive should be plenty for a boot drive

Meanwhile, if anyone can chime in:
When I have my laptop speakers on at 80% volume, I'd like it to automatically go down to say 30% when I plug in my headphones i.e. volume profiles are attached to the speaker and headphones separately. When I unplug my headphones, the speaker volume should go back to 80% (or whatever I set it at).
This used to be the case on my old laptop running Windows 7, but I can't figure out how to change this on the Envy 15t. I'm also not sure if it's an HP driver issue or a Windows 8.1 setting. It seems to be due to the fact that there is only 1 playback device "Speakers / HP" and not separate "Speakers" and "Headphones" as it was on my old laptop.

 

This is what I have to do if I go into the BIOS in order to boot off the mSATA again. You should be able to use this method also if the computer stops booting from the mSATA and is looking at the HDD

-Pull the HDD
-Boot into WInows using the mSATA
-Shut down the computer
-Install the HDD
-Boot into Windows
-If the HDD doesn't show up, install the Rapid Storage driver for the 15t-j000 quad edition using WIndows 8 from HP's website. It will ask you if you want to repair the installation files or something along those lines so you will select yes to that option
-One final reboot and then everything should be working

Hope this helps

 

Yep it does thanks.

Basically the answer is using this laptop, with a msata os HD you can't, and bios f.35, you can't open bios without removing the HDD and restarting a few times.

I guess we can hope it to be address in a later bios update if there is one?

 

One other quick question. When I look at most things, including advanced options in display/resolution, it seems like its always using the intel HD graphics. I believe in the nvidia software its set to autoselect... should it be set to always the geforce?

 

Let me clear that up a bit. In the nvidia control panel lit automatically selects a physX controller. It chooses the intel.

When I am adjusting advance settings its showing the intel feeding my display. Am I somehow bypassing my geforce?

PErformance seems great, I am just having trouble getting use to a smaller display (was using the hp hdx 9000 20 inch), and the adjusted viewing angle causing the screen to seem awfully bright when its on my coffee table.

 

Hi I've been following you guys for a while. Thanks for the setup info. If I had realized this would be such a pain after you got it setup I probably wouldn't have bought this laptop (15t j100 quad notouch).

I'm stuck on F.35 I think.

I installed ubuntu on the mSATA and tried to keep windows on the HD, but I moved the bootloader to the mSATA thinking it would be safer. But now it won't boot from the mSATA and since windows is on the HD, removing it only lets me boot to ubuntu which doesn't fix the boot device to mSATA.

Oh well, I'm thinking I need to reinstall but put the bootloader onto the HD and just put the OS on the msata.

Was anyone else actually booting linux on this? I mostly saw you guys talking about windows.

 

Don't know what the deal is, I can't download from the MS store to get the ISO today. Just says "can't connect right now, check your internet connection". Tried from multiple PCs and connections.. no dice. What is the deal MS? How the heck else am I supposed to get the ISO (without paying 15$)???

[edit] it was the keys I was using, using a retail key got me the ISO [/edit]

However, I can confirm that this way does not work on envy 14t - doesn't work to install with both drives in or to install with SSD and then install HDD, no matter what I do whenever the HDD is in, boot device can not be found.

 

darn, i was hoping to get the 14t for my wife and do the same SSD + HDD setup...

 

I have a 17t-j000. I think it is basically the same as a 15t except for size and 2 HDD.
I also have a 240GB msata ssd. Windows was loadaed on msata and all worked fine. Then the F35 bios update. No more boot. Removed both hdd and it would boot fine. One or the other hdd installed and no boot. Tried formatting hdd but still no boot. Seems that the bios update causes the bios to only boot from hdd if one is installed but the boot partition is on msata.. I have a Win 8.1 disk so one hdd disk was removed and Win 8.1 fresh install on other hdd. Msata had all partitions deleted. Win. boots fine. Reinstalled Win. on msata. Deleted all partitions on hdd except for 100mb boot partition and 300mb recovery partition. Win. boots fine. Installed 2nd hdd and it still boots fine. After this the msata no longer has the boot partition located on it. Everything seems to be working OK. If there is an easier way to place boot partition on hdd then that might work as well and save the trouble of all the windows installs and partition deletes. Not the way it should be but it works.

 

I did get it to work after a couple more hours of tinkering, but I had to do the bios trick - if you go into the bios again it's ruined and you have to unplug/replug the drive. The steps fpr the 14t were the same except I had to install the intel RST drivers BEFORE I plugged in the HDD. Everything seems peachy now!

 

good to know, thanks. if you're installing win8, the intel RST drivers need to be installed. I believe if you're installing straight to 8.1 then the RST drivers are bundled in.

 

This thread helped me finalise my decision to buy the Envy 15-j059nr - which looks to me to be a pre-configured laptop with the same chasis. I really liked the user accessible mSATA port and HDD but was worried I wouldn't be able to boot up from the mSATA. In fact I called up HP and they said I would not be able to boot from the mSATA .
I also got a decent price for the laptop at $805 and plan on upgrading with some Black Friday deals.

Thanks for posting guys! I'll post my experiences as soon as I get my laptop and try to boot from the mSATA.

 

make sure you can physically check that the laptop has the msata port, or buy from a shop with a good return policy. I've seen some versions online that DO NOT have the msata port and will have the MB coin battery there instead...

 

I purchased from HP.com. The specs show a 24 GB cache installed and the sales rep I called checked and said it's mSATA. The service manual for the exact model shows how to access and replace the cache SSD.

So I guess some models with the same body come with a different system board? I hope I get the mSATA port version.

Good thing return shipping is covered and there's an extended return period upto Jan 15th.

 

the 24GB cache is a small msata SSD that you can replace with a larger SSD. i suspect the AMD versions are the ones that don't have the msata port.

 

I know most everyone on this thread is interested in adding a high capacity MSSD to their Envy laptop as their new boot drive. However, I would like to know if all that I want to do is to add a MSSD for use as a cache for the laptop's HDD (the normal HP optional configuration). Can I just plug in, for example, a standard 32 GB mSATA MSSD into to the available MSATA socket (the 15.6" Envy I have on order is an i7 model that does not come with the HP mSATA SSD pre-installed). Once a MSATA is physically installed what else will I need to do so that the laptop will begin using it as a cache for the HDD (i.e.,, such as changing BIOS settings, formating the MSSD, etc.????

 

I'm replacing the 2.5" HDD with an SSD and I plan on installing Linux of the mSATA SSD - so 24 GB is enough for me for now.

 

Have a look at Intel Smart Response Technology that allows an SSD to be the cache for an HDD. I guess the other hardware (motherboard chipset & ??) would have to support SRT. You should be able to find articles detailing how to setup SRT.

I think you will get better performance if you just use the SSD as a boot drive and install your OS on it. Something to consider; you might be better off just getting a dive that your OS fits on and using the HDD for everything else.

 

I received my laptop this morning

I opened up Intel Rapid Storage Technology manager and saw it pictorially depicted my storage setup and it may help RonJones get a new mSATA SSD run as a cache.

 

Thank you for the guide, I'm getting a 17t-j100 Leap Motion QE laptop soon and I ordered this off Newegg since it was sale on BF:

Newegg.com - Toshiba Q Series HDTS251XZSTA 512GB SATA III Internal Solid State Drive (SSD)

Will it work on my laptop?

 

It's a 9mm SSD it should physically fit in the laptop.

I opened up mine and pushed a 7 mm Samsung SSD in just fine. Waiting for my black Friday deal to reach me.

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Thanks, I wonder if I can just clone my boot drive to the SSD. The HP bloatwares doesn't look so bad.

Will a simple USB3.0 to SATA adapter work to connect my SSD externally?

 

I think you could get away with cloning the drive. The windows key is embedded in the BIOS as far as I remember reading so activation shouldn't be a problem.

Yea you should be able to use the SSD with an external enclosure but I would shove it into the laptop. Its half the weight (though you won't notice since both drives are very light) and I am trying to get this to weigh as little as possible.

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Yeah I mean for the cloning process I'll just connect the SSD externally and then take out the boot drive and insert my SSD.

I hope that works?

 

Yea. You can then verify the clone will work by booting from the SSD when its in the external case.

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Awesome, thanks man!

 

Hey i'm new on this forum, actualy i register myself to ask in this thread, i own a hp envy 15 j-0005ss for two weeks, my idea was to install a msata for the operating system, it is a crucial m500 120gb
But i have trouble on the operation, i manage to install windows 8 on the msata, but when i try to boot the laptop with the two drives inside it just not start, i can't even enter in the bios, but i can enter without problem on both drives separately.
The problem just come when i try tu turn on my laptop with the two drives inside.
What cold it be??

Thanks

 

So you have the original HDD which came with Windows 8 pre-installed? And then you popped in an mSATA drive and did what?

Usually the BIOS queries drives in a serial order so even if both drives had Win on them on e would boot. I'm surprised you can't enter the BIOS. Have you tried using the F9 key to bring up the one time boot device selection menu?

Also could you link the product page for that model of the envy 15. I couldn't find it.

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Well, i'll explain the process i follow
I just take the cover out plug in the msata disk and close the cover
An now i turn on my laptop and if i press F10 to enter on the bios or esc to see the option menu it just keep frezze with a write line at the bottom of the screen with the option i have selected
I don't know why but i think that there is no english version of this laptop (i'm spanish) and i just could found the spanish website of this laptop
Descarga de software & controladores PC Notebook HP ENVY 15-j005ss | Soporte HP®
I'm going to look for an english version fo it

 

It's OK Google is doing a good job of translating. Can you try this: Cómo ver información del disco duro PC Notebook HP ENVY 15-j005ss | Soporte HP® and report what happens?

Can you use the F9 key to enter the boot device screen?

So the mSATA is a new disk with no data on it?

 

I've had that problem for a short while. It only happened to me when I restarted the computer through software i.e. click restart in windows. If I shutdown the computer and turn it back on it would not be an issue and I could boot properly. Still, it was annoying enough that I tried to find a solution.

So the solution, as I posted before, was to install Win8 onto the msata WITH the HDD installed, all partitions deleted, new partition created and formatted. It seems this is the only way that the BIOS/boot manager would recognize the HDD as empty and go ahead and boot with the msata. Erasing and clearing the HDD externally and then plugging it into the laptop later doesn't seem to work all the time, so the best bet is to do it while you install Win8/8.1.

Dual boot does not work on this laptop, at least with the current F.24 or F.35 BIOS, as you cannot select the drives to boot from independently.

 

Ouch that's going to be a problem. I planned on having Linux on the mSATA and Win on the other drive.


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The thing that when i pluged in the two drives, it doesn't matter if both of them are with or without data on it, i mean; I f i pluged in the msata as it come out of the box the laptop just don't start a all, i haven't try with the two drives totally empty cause i don't want to risk until i have a solution, i want to try also pluging in the msata qith windows 8 on it and try a hdd of my other laptop wich is totally empty but the hdd of this laptop is very hard to take it out so i will try this weekend.
But, until that, as i said when i plug in the two drives i can't enter in any part on the BIOS not even the boot manager with F9 if i could it will be a lot easier. I'm going to make the report of the hdd with F2 and post it here later, the ssd report will have to wait until i arrive home

Edit:
Here we are the report from the hdd

 

I've seen some users use a custom boot manager on the HDD that seemed to work, but it seemed quite complicated to set up. Then again if you're into dual booting linux you should be quite familiar with these

 

take out the current HDD, plug in your new msata and a blank HDD somewhere and try installing win8 fresh. should be fine after that, if not you always have your current HDD as backup.
alternatively, make a restore USB stick after you boot into windows (you'll need a 32GB stick)

 

Yes i'm going to try this but taking out the hdd is quite difficult, any trick to do it??

 

Should be quite easy. Follow the service manual. I changed the ram with no issues.

I have been using dual boot with MBR. This GPT and UEFI scene is new for me. I tried experimenting with the dual boot last night. I can't select the boot drive so I have to get the Linux os to show up in the windows 8 os boot manager list. So far no luck with EasyBCD. And ideas?

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Well, finally i manage to boot the laptop with two drives, as we said the problem was that the laptop have troubles managing a empty msata with a full hdd cause it try to boot from the msata without success and it seems to blow up his mind. And more or less happend when we have two drives with operatin system on it, so i tried with a empty hhd from my old laptop and the msata with windows 8 wich i installed it the other days and it just boot perfect without any problem

 

sorry i made double post by error

 

I could get it to boot with 2 drives each with an OS. But it would default to Windows each boot and ignore the mSATA with Linux.

I just tried rEFInd through a flash drive and it works great. So I will install that as the primary boot manager and dual boot should be OK.

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Never say victory before having it in your hand....
I'm making the process just like in the first post, but when i arrive to the acreen for select in wich drive windows should install the operating system, it sais to me that it couldn't be installed in any drive, and an message error come out saying
In possible that the hardware od this laptop wouldn't be able to boot on this drive. Make sure the drive controller is enabled on the bios menu.

If i installed it anyway it just happend the same as before, it don't let me enter on the bios and nothing, if i make a hard reset (pressing for 15 sec the power button) it sometimes let me enter but this is just not a way on living with a laptop

Any ideas??

 

Backup your data and make sure you have the recovery media and Windows install media before you try this.

Delete the partitions on both drives so that they are both completely empty (no EFI partitions, no MBR partitions just empty space). Boot into the Windows install. Check if you can start the install on the drive you want as the Windows drive. Windows should automatically create the EFI and recovery partitions and let you decide what to do with the remaining space. After you have the install complete and you boot into Windows, if you still have not created partitions on the second disk, try using the Windows disk manager to partition it.

 

I have tried it, i mean, last time i start the install with both drives totally empty and the installer said that error, if i ignore that error it just don't start later
I don't know what more to do...

 

So you wiped clean the drives - I thought there were 2 EFI boot partitions competing with each other which is why the loading failed. Did you disable Rapid Storage? I did that because it was hard enough getting this to work and didn't need the BIOS thinking there was a cache drive in the picture. Try with just one drive connected and install it. Then add the second drive and see what happens.

 

hmm, i also try the thing of connecting the second drive after installing but the only way it boot like this is when i make a hard reset before turn on the laptop, and this is so stupid to live with it. But this thing about the rapid storage, how can i disable it??

 

If you're not using it Rapid Storage can be disabled from the BIOS.



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i don't have the option, not at least with the hdd installed