When Magician is unable to find a Samsung SSD, you can’t use it to manage that SSD. As a result, you wonder what’s going on, but don’t worry; this article will let you know.
We have identified five causes that show why Magician behave this way, and we’ll teach you how to fix it. Now, grab your computer, and let’s make Magician recognize your SSD!
Contents
Why Magician Is Unable To Find a Samsung SSD?
Samsung Magician software failed to recognize your SSD because of the following:
- SSD does not have enough power to function.
- You have RAID enabled in the BIOS.
- SSD is not connected through the right controller.
- You don’t have an NVMe driver on your computer.
- Your Samsung Magician needs an update.
– SSD Does Not Have Enough Power to Function
Like every other device in your computer, an SSD requires a certain amount of power to function well. As a result, third-party utilities like Magician can detect them. The power consumption of each SSD varies, and it depends on its structure and technology. On a general level, a 2.5 SATA SSD will use like five volts and a little over one Ampere of current.
This leaves the total power usage at around seven and a half Watts. Now, if your computer uses a USB 3.0 to SATA adapter connection, there can be a shortage of power to your SSD. When this happens, the SSD will not have enough power to work, so the Magician will not detect it. As a result, you can’t use Magician features like Secure Erase.
– You Have Enabled Raid in the Bios
RAID stands for Redundant Array of Independent Disks. It allows you to combine physical drives into a unit. You can enable RAID in your computer’s BIOS using the RAID mode setting. This gives you improved performance, speed, and reliability after a crash.
Sometimes if you enable RAID, Magician will not detect your connected SSD. You can disable RAID and switch to Advanced Host Controller Interface (AHCI mode). AHCI allows software like Magician to communicate with SATA devices like your SSD. We’ll explain how you can do this in the “How to fix” section.
– SSD Is Not Connected Through the Right Controller
The SSD controller provides the connection between your SSD and its output interfaces. If your SSD uses an Intel controller, it’ll need matching software on your computer. As a result, when you connect your SSD, your computer can work with it. But, if you have another controller, your computer and Magician won’t find your SSD.
– You Don’t Have Nvme Driver on Your Computer
Software drivers allow your hardware to work with your computer. That means they provide a bridge between hardware and software. An example of such hardware is your SSD that uses a Samsung NVMe driver. Some 960 EVO SSD need this driver in your computer before Magician can see the SSD.
When you don’t have the driver for NVMe, Magician will not see your SSD. As a result, you can’t use Magician to manage it.
– Your Samsung Magician Needs an Update
The software evolves to add features and support to newer hardware. This allows Magician to work with your new SSD. But, you’ll encounter an issue if you have an older version of Magician. That’s because Magician does not support all types of SSDs.
So, with each update, Samsung will add a list of supported SSDs to Magician. As a result, if you have a Magician updated five years ago, it can’t work with your new SSD for compatibility reasons.
How To Fix Magician Not Finding a Samsung SSD Issue?
Magician can’t find a Samsung SSD issue can be solved using any of the following methods:
- Know the power requirements of the SSD.
- Switch to AHCI drive configuration.
- Connect Magician via a controller from Intel.
- Install the driver for NVMe.
- Get the latest version of Magician.
- Update the driver for the SSD.
- Use other software.
– Know the Power Requirements of Your SSD
Knowing the amount of power needed by your SSD is a factor that’ll let you use Magician for SSD management. Your computer can have USB 3.0 ports, and the power of these ports might not be enough for your SSD. That’s because these ports can support 900 Milliampere (900mA or 0.9A), but your SSD may need more. For example, if you have 850 EVO Solid State Drive, it needs at least 1.4A, that’s more than what your USB 3.0 provides.
This causes problems if you are connecting your SSD to your computer using a USB 3.0 to SATA adapter. The solution is to get a USB 3.0 to SATA adapter that has two USB cables. The combined power of the cables is 1.8A, which is more than what your SSD needs. For 870 EVO, when you know how your USB works, you’ll prevent Samsung Magician not detecting 870 EVO errors.
– Switch to Ahci Drive Configuration
AHCI allows you to use SATA disks; if you enable it in your computer’s BIOS, this can let Magician recognize your SSD. You can switch to AHCI using two ways; you can do it via your BIOS or command prompt. For the BIOS option, do the following:
- Shut down or restart your computer.
- Use the appropriate key combination to access the BIOS. On most computers, it’s the escape key or F9 key.
- Look for the setting to turn off RAID, then disable it.
- Search for “SATA Mode entry” and set it to AHCI.
- Save your changes.
- Restart your computer.
But if the above steps don’t work, you can use Windows Command Prompt. Log in to Windows and do the following:
- Launch the “Run” dialog box by pressing the “Windows Key” and “R” on your keyboard.
- Type in “cmd” (without quotes), hold the “Shift” key, and press enter.
- Type “bcdedit /set {current} safeboot minimal” (without quotes) and press the enter key.
- Restart your computer and access the BIOS.
- Change the SATA operation mode to AHCI.
- Save changes and exit the BIOS. Your computer should boot into Safe Mode.
- Open command prompt as an administrator in Safe Mode.
- Type “bcdedit /deletevalue {current} safeboot” (without quotes)
- As an alternative, type “bcdedit /deletevalue safeboot” (without quotes)
- Restart your computer, and Windows will start with AHCI drivers.
Once you’re logged in, check if the Magician detects your SSD. If not, there are other fixes you can try below.
– Connect Magician via a Controller From Intel
If you have a controller from Gigabyte, you should use a controller made by Intel. This can let Magician recognize your SSD. Mind you; this will only work if you have enabled AHCI as we did in the previous section.
– Install the Driver for Nvme
Samsung recommends that you install a driver for NVMe before you use Magician with your SSD. You can get the driver from Samsung’s official website. To do this, note the model of your SSD, and use the following:
- Visit the Samsung web page for your SSD Model.
- Scroll down the page and look for the link to download the driver for NVMe.
- Open the driver software on your computer.
- Follow the on-screen instructions to install the driver.
- Restart your computer after installation.
After the restart, check if the Magician can see your SSD; if not, try the next fix.
– Get the Latest Version of Samsung Magician
With every release of Magician, Samsung adds devices to the list of supported devices. An old Magician software will not work with your new SSD due to compatibility issues. The new version of Magician should work with your SSD, but you should remove the older one. You can remove the older one using the following:
- Launch the “Run” dialog box by pressing the “Windows Key” and “R” on your keyboard.
- Type “control appwiz.cpl” (without quotes) and hit the enter key. This will show the list of installed applications on your computer.
- Locate the Magician software from the list of applications.
- Uninstall it and restart your computer.
- Visit Samsung’s official website and start a Samsung Magician download process. This will download the new version of Magician.
- If you have an MSI laptop, the same process will download the Samsung Magician MSI software.
- Update Samsung Magician using this new version.
- Restart your computer for a second time.
After the restart, the Magician should see your SSD. If not, let’s update the driver for your SSD.
– Update the Driver for Your SSD
If Magician can’t see your SSD, it could be a driver problem on Windows. As a result, you can get a message like “the device is connected to the driver that magician does not support“. You’ll need the Device Manager in Windows to update the driver for your SSD.
Plug your SSD into your computer and do the following:
- Launch the “Run” dialog box using the Windows Key and “R” on your keyboard.
- Type “devmgmt.msc” (without quotes) and press the enter key.
- Locate the “Disk drives” and expand its drop-down menu. You should see your SSD drive.
- Right-click on it, and click “Update driver”. If there is a new SSD driver, follow the on-screen instructions to download it.
- Restart your computer.
The updated driver should solve Samsung Magician not detecting 980 errors. Now, Magician should recognize your SSD; if not, you’ll have to use another tool to manage your SSD.
– Use Other Ssd Management Software
If Magician can’t find your SSD using one of the methods above, you can use other SSD management software. Examples of these software are:
- MiniTool Partition Wizard
- Hard Disk Sentinel
- Intel SSD Toolbox
- Crystal Disk Info
- Intel Memory and Storage Tool
Using any of the tools above, you can manage your SSD and your hard drive. Using any of these tools, you can solve Samsung SSD not showing up in Disk Management errors. However, you won’t get the experience of Samsung SSD software like Samsung Magician.
Conclusion
This article explained why Samsung Magician can’t find your SSD and how you can fix it.
We’ll leave you with the following points about the entire process:
- If there is low power from your USB ports, the Magician will not find your SSD.
- When you don’t have a controller from Intel, Magician will not work with your SSD.
- An outdated Magician will not recognize a new SSD.
- You can use other SSD management software if you can’t get Magician to work with your SSD.
With everything that you’ve learned in this article, Magician will find your SSD. As a last resort, you can use other SSD management tools; in the end, it’s a win for you.