Hi everyone, I need some help with my laptop.

I am a student in an Indian college. In my first year, I got this laptop as a gift, and my college told us to install Ubuntu either as a dual boot or through VirtualBox. I chose dual boot.

The dual-boot setup became unstable, so I eventually deleted Ubuntu from the F2 boot menu. After that, I started getting some problems, and eventually I got my first Dell SupportAssist diagnostic error: 2000-0155 (Hard Drive Not Installed / Hard Drive Not Found).

There was a Continue button, so I clicked it, and Windows booted normally. I was relieved and continued using the laptop like that for almost two years.

Then, around three months ago, HTTPS Boot started triggering every time I booted the laptop. It would ask for Wi-Fi credentials and then fail with a message saying it couldn't fetch an IP address. After that, it would go into diagnostics and show the same "Hard Drive Not Installed" error.

Again, I used the Continue option and managed to boot into Windows. I continued using the laptop like this for around two months. Later, I disabled HTTPS Boot, and after some time the diagnostic problem stopped happening.

At one point, I decided to install Ubuntu again as a dual boot. After installing it, I started getting some UEFI-related issues and BitLocker prompts. I eventually made Ubuntu stable and mostly used Windows.

Then, three days ago, the situation became much worse.

Suddenly, the laptop started showing "No Bootable Device Found."

With some troubleshooting, I performed the Dell M + Power procedure, and after that the SSD was detected again. Windows booted normally, so I used the laptop for the rest of that day.

The next day, the same problem happened again. This time, the M + Power procedure did not bring the SSD back.

I went into F2 BIOS, and the SSD was not detected there.

I also checked F12, and there were no Windows boot options.

At that point, I thought the SSD had completely failed.

However, I left the laptop alone for some time. When I turned it on later, the SSD was detected again and Windows booted normally. I was able to use the laptop and do some work.

Then I restarted the laptop.

And again, I got "No Bootable Device Found."

This is where things get very strange.

When the problem occurs, the SSD sometimes does not appear in the F2 BIOS at all. The BIOS shows no M.2 PCIe SSD.

But at other times, the SSD suddenly appears again and Windows works normally.

Another strange thing is that Dell Advanced Diagnostics / SupportAssist can sometimes detect and test the SSD even when I have been having boot problems. I also booted into SupportAssist OS Recovery, and its hardware scan was able to go through the disk test instead of immediately saying that the disk was missing.

So I am confused about what exactly is failing.

The SSD is a WD PC SN740 NVMe 1TB, and the laptop is a Dell Inspiron 14 5430.

I have already tried things like:

BIOS reset to factory settings

Dell M + Power recovery procedure

Windows boot repair

Windows recovery environment

Checking the SSD through Dell diagnostics

Checking whether the SSD appears in F2 BIOS and F12

Checking the SSD from Windows when it is detected

Removing the Ubuntu UEFI boot entry

The most important thing I have noticed is:

When the problem occurs, the SSD can completely disappear from BIOS. But after leaving the laptop powered off for some time, it can sometimes appear again and Windows will boot normally.

So I'm trying to figure out what could cause this.

Could this be:

A failing NVMe SSD/controller?

An M.2 connection/contact issue?

An issue with the laptop's M.2 slot?

Intel RST/VMD?

BIOS/firmware?

Some kind of power-state issue?

Something related to the SSD getting hot or cold?

Or something else?

I am not completely sure whether the SSD itself is failing because when it is detected, Windows can work normally, and the problem seems to come and go.

I have also spoken to my family members about this. One of my relatives has a technician whom he has trusted for more than 10 years, and another relative also consulted a technician about the issue.

The advice I received was that the first physical thing to check would be the M.2 SSD connection — whether the SSD needs to be removed and reseated, or whether there is an issue with the connector or slot.

The problem is that I cannot easily open the laptop myself.

The screws on the bottom cover are already worn/stripped, and I don't currently have the proper precision screwdriver/tool kit needed to open the laptop safely. I only have some standard screwdrivers, which aren't suitable for these small laptop screws.

Because of that, I don't want to force the screws and potentially damage the laptop further. I have a trusted technician available through my family, so I can get the laptop opened and have the SSD physically inspected/reseated if that turns out to be necessary.

One technician also suggested that the SSD may need to be replaced and that data recovery from the old SSD could be a separate process if it has actually failed.

However, before spending money on a new SSD, I would like to understand what could be causing this intermittent detection problem.

What would you recommend I test or check next? Is there anything else I can test before having the laptop opened or buying a replacement SSD?

Thanks!

Dell Inspiron 14 5430 intermittently stops detecting WD SN740 NVMe SSD — BIOS sometimes shows no SSD