[Solved] Can't see SSD for Mojave install - H370N

[cw2]

Hi, this is my first time building a Hackintosh (or any computer). I've been reading this site for quite a while and am very excited.

The installation guide has been pretty smooth so far. My only hiccup was figuring out that, for now, my USB drive, keyboard, and mouse all need to be plugged into a USB2 hub which is plugged into the lower USB under the ethernet port. Otherwise the Mojave installer doesn't see them. BIOS settings are as indicated in the guide: optimized defaults, Vt-d off, XHCI handoff on, Secure boot off. Other settings don't seem to apply to the H370N (at least, I can't find them).

My problem is that Disk Utility does not see my SSD (Crucial MX500 M.2). Nor does it show up in Clover, or even in the F12 boot selection of the motherboard. I can see and format it on my old MacBook Pro (via a USB adapter).

I am pretty sure that when I first assembled my hardware and went into BIOS, I did see the SSD in BIOS when I had CSM support enabled. But the SSD hasn't been in my hackintosh the whole time since then: My MacBook Pro was dying (I thought) so I pulled the SSD out, put it in a USB Adapter, formatted it to GPT and OS X Extended (Journaled), and saved an image of my MacBook Pro's main partition to it. Later I was able to repair the MacBook Pro, so I put the SSD back in the hackintosh, thinking I could use the Mojave installed to erase it. When it didn't show up, I tried booting with CSM support both on and off (and didn't see the SSD in BIOS either way). I pulled it out, erased it to GPT & OS X Extended (Journaled) using my MacBook Pro, put it back in, still no dice.

Thank you in advance!

 

[cw2]

I should add ... I ran Terminal in the Mojave installer, and the SSD did not show up when I ran diskutil list. (And it is not showing up even after selecting "show all devices" in Disk Utility.)

 

[cmn699]

I should add ... I ran Terminal in the Mojave installer, and the SSD did not show up when I ran diskutil list. (And it is not showing up even after selecting "show all devices" in Disk Utility.)

A rule of thumb that will save a lot of wasted troubleshoot time BEFORE anyone boots an Installer USB Flash disk is to make sure that both the Installer USB and the Target hard disk are already recognized by the BIOS.

The GUIDE assumes the user already knows this basic requirement for any Operating System installation and may not include that in the listed steps. They emphasize only what specific settings are needed for Hackintoshing.

If you cannot find the SSD or SpinDisk in the BIOS_Hard Drive BBS Priorities and in the Boot Option Priorities lists, DO NOT launch the USB Installer as it will not find the target to install.
In the above scenario, open the case and see if the Disk is properly connected , unplug and replug both SATA and Power cables to assure. Reboot and recheck BIOS.
If still missing SSD you can try another Power and Data Cable to the Disk to rule out Cable related problem before pronouncing the Disk dead.

 

[cw2]

cmn699, thank you. I think my narrative was a bit jumbled.

... my SSD (Crucial MX500 M.2) ... I can see and format it on my old MacBook Pro ... I am pretty sure that when I first assembled my hardware and went into BIOS, I did see the SSD in BIOS when I had CSM support enabled.

So there are no cables between the SSD and the board, the SSD itself is functional, and it was recognized at first.

But the SSD hasn't been in my hackintosh the whole time since then: My MacBook Pro was dying (I thought) so I pulled the SSD out, put it in a USB Adapter, formatted it to GPT and OS X Extended (Journaled), and saved an image of my MacBook Pro's main partition to it. Later I was able to repair the MacBook Pro, so I put the SSD back in the hackintosh, thinking I could use the Mojave installed to erase it. When it didn't show up, I tried booting with CSM support both on and off (and didn't see the SSD in BIOS either way). I pulled it out, erased it to GPT & OS X Extended (Journaled) using my MacBook Pro, put it back in, still no dice.

I was hoping that something I did after I removed the SSD the first time, something that might be correctable, caused it to not be recognized later. In other words, I hope it's not the M.2 connector on the motherboard that's the problem. I'm working on this without a case for now, and there is a light on the SSD that lights up when the computer's on, so at least we know it's getting power.

The GUIDE assumes the user already knows this basic requirement for any Operating System installation and may not include that in the listed steps. They emphasize only what specific settings are needed for Hackintoshing.

Apologies, I did not mean to imply that the guide should include specific info about my issue. Please let me know if there's a more appropriate forum I should move this to.

And again, thank you!

 

[cw2]

Anyone have any ideas on this or experience similar issues? Basically the SSD was seen by BIOS at first, then when I removed it and formatted it in on old MacBook Pro (among other actions, see above) and put it back in the Hackintosh, it wasn't seen by BIOS. Is there anything about formatting it, etc., on another computer that could cause it to not be seen by BIOS?

 

[cw2]

Well, not sure what I did, but the SSD is working now! Decided to forego the SSD, had to turn on CSM support in order to format a regular HDD via the USB Mojave Installer, and as I was doing that, I noticed the SSD was now appearing in the Boot Options again. Maybe I never had CSM support turned on at the right time before ...

 

[mrjimmoes]

A rule of thumb that will save a lot of wasted troubleshoot time BEFORE anyone boots an Installer USB Flash disk is to make sure that both the Installer USB and the Target hard disk are already recognized by the BIOS.

The GUIDE assumes the user already knows this basic requirement for any Operating System installation and may not include that in the listed steps. They emphasize only what specific settings are needed for Hackintoshing.

If you cannot find the SSD or SpinDisk in the BIOS_Hard Drive BBS Priorities and in the Boot Option Priorities lists, DO NOT launch the USB Installer as it will not find the target to install.
In the above scenario, open the case and see if the Disk is properly connected , unplug and replug both SATA and Power cables to assure. Reboot and recheck BIOS.
If still missing SSD you can try another Power and Data Cable to the Disk to rule out Cable related problem before pronouncing the Disk dead.

u cant read, is an m2

 

[Stranding]

I'm having the same problem. I'm unable to see my ssd's in disk utility even though they're showing in the BIOS.

 

[cw2]

I'm having the same problem. I'm unable to see my ssd's in disk utility even though they're showing in the BIOS.

Hi sorry for the extreme delay, I've been inactive for a while.

And this probably won't be much help, but just in case you're still trying to solve this, I'd say that your problem isn't exactly the same as mine. See post #5 in this thread; it's a better summary of my issue than my initial post. Basically, my SSD was showing in BIOS, and then it wasn't; the issue was probably that I just didn't have CSM support enabled when I thought I did.

I think your issue is different, since your disk is showing in BIOS. And I'm afraid I don't have any suggestions that I can think of. If you're still wrestling with this, I'd suggest starting a new thread, so more people see your issue.

Sorry I couldn't be of more help, and good luck!