Question Unrecognized External SSD in Lenovo M70Q: BIOS Boot Issues Even Cloning to NVME

[JelleSA]

Dear reader,

I recently purchased a Lenovo M70Q (I5 10th, 8GB RAM, 256 GB SSD). The intention was to connect an already functional external SSD drive via USB (from much older Lenovo Dekstop), but the BIOS does not recognize the SSD as a bootable device. I've tried various things such as activating Legacy BIOS mode, deactivating Secure Boot, and even cloning the USB SSD to the onboard NVME SSD. Note that before the NVME received the cloned data, it was recognized in the BIOS. Unfortunately, after receiving the cloned data, the issue persists.

After all this, i recently installed Windows 10 on the empty NVME and then connected the USB SSD, but this did not solve the problem either.

Does anyone have any idea what the problem might be?

Best regards,

 

[USAFRet]

The intention was to connect an already functional external SSD drive via USB (from much older Lenovo Dekstop), but the BIOS does not recognize the SSD as a bootable device.

What is on this external SSD?

If a Windows install, what you see it absolutely correct...will not boot from that.


What is your overall goal here?
What is the starting config, and what do you want the end state to be?

 

[JelleSA]

What is on this external SSD?

If a Windows install, what you see it absolutely correct...will not boot from that.


What is your overall goal here?
What is the starting config, and what do you want the end state to be?

I have an old Lenovo Dekstop that uses an external SSD drive (main partition), including Windows . I want this external SSD to work on the Lenovo M70Q.

 

[USAFRet]

I have an old Lenovo Dekstop that uses an external SSD drive (main partition), including Windows . I want this external SSD to work on the Lenovo M70Q.

For multiple reasons, this will not work.

A Windows install is not modular, to be moved between different systems. Even 2x Lenovo.

Getting Windows to run from an external drive is non-trivial.

Even if this config was "working" on the old system, the small boot partition almost certainly lived on a different drive, probably the old internal.

 

[JelleSA]

For multiple reasons, this will not work.

A Windows install is not modular, to be moved between different systems. Even 2x Lenovo.

Getting Windows to run from an external drive is non-trivial.

Even if this config was "working" on the old system, the small boot partition almost certainly lived on a different drive, probably the old internal.

Now that M70Q's onboard SSD contains Windows, is there a way to copy only the data from the external SSD? The external SSD only contains one partition with Windows and the data.

 

[USAFRet]

Now that M70Q's onboard SSD contains Windows, is there a way to copy only the data from the external SSD? The external SSD only contains one partition with Windows and the data.

What specific "data"?

Your personal files, probably.
Applications, no.