WD Blue SA510 SSD Installation Issues: Troubleshooting Guide

You've just unboxed your shiny new WD Blue SA510 SSD, ready for those lightning-fast load times... but your PC won't see it. Sound familiar? Don't stress. This is a common hiccup for PC builders across South Africa, and we're here to help you solve these frustrating WD Blue SA510 SSD installation issues. Before you start thinking you got a dud, let's walk through a few simple steps to get your rig running at full speed. 💻

Kingston KC600 SSD 1024G Internal SSD 2.5", SATA Rev 3.0, 3D TLC, XTS-AES 256-bit encryption / SKC600/1024G

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DAHUA M.2 PCIe Gen4x4 2TB NVMe SSD / PCIe Gen4.0x4 Supported / Read: Up to 7200 MB/s Write: Up to 6400 MB/s / DHI-SSD-C970VN2TB

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Western Digital SN8100 NVMe Internal Solid State Drive - 4TB / Sequential Read, Write Performance - 14900MB/s, 14000MB/s / PCIe Gen 5 / WDS400T1X0M

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ADATA SE920 1TB External Solid State Drive / Up to 2000 MB/s Read Speed / Up to 3,700 MB/s Write Speed(3,200 MB/s with Thunderbolt 4) / USB4 USB-C Interface (Backwards Compatible with USB 3.2/2.0) / SE920-1TCBK

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XPG 2TB GAMMIX S70 Blade - Works with Playstation 5, PCIe Gen4 M.2 2280 Internal Gaming SSD Up to 7,400 MB/s (AGAMMIXS70B-2T-CS)

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First Steps: Checking the Physical Connection 🔧

Before diving into software settings, let's confirm the basics. Often, the most common WD Blue SA510 SSD installation issues stem from a simple connection problem. A loose cable can be the culprit, so a quick physical check is always the best place to start.

For 2.5-inch SATA SSDs:

• SATA Data Cable: Ensure the SATA data cable is firmly plugged into both the SSD and a SATA port on your motherboard. Try a different port if you're unsure.
• SATA Power Cable: Check that the SATA power cable coming from your power supply unit (PSU) is securely connected to the drive. It should click into place.

If the drive is still not showing up in your BIOS, the problem might lie elsewhere. But ruling out a physical connection fault is a crucial first step.

Diving into the BIOS/UEFI

If the cables are secure, your next stop is the PC's BIOS (or UEFI for modern systems). When you boot up your computer, press the designated key (usually Del, F2, or F12) to enter the setup menu.

KingSpec X500 4TB NVMe Internal Solid State Drive / 3D NAND Flash Memory / PCIe Gen 5.0, M.2 2280, Up to 14 00MB/s/13 000MB/s Read/Write Speeds / X500-2280-4TB

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ADATA SU650 512GB 3D-NAND SATA 2.5 inch Internal SSD / ASU650SS-512GT-R

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ORICO e7400 M.2 NVMe SSD - 2TB / PS5 Compatible / PCIe Gen4.0 x4 / Up to 7,400MB/s Read and 6,600MB/s Write Speeds / ORICO-e7400-2TB-GD-BP

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Western Digital SN8100 4TB NVMe Internal Solid State Drive with Heatsink / Read Speeds up to 14,900 MB/s / Write Speeds up to 14,000 MB/s / TCG Opal Security Encryption / nCache™ 4.0, Game Mode, and Adaptive Cooling / Includes SanDisk Dashboard & Acronis® True Image™ Software / WDS400T1XHM

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ADATA XPG 1TB GAMMIX S70 Blade - Works with Playstation 5, PCIe Gen4 M.2 2280 Internal Gaming SSD Up to 7,400 MB/s / AGAMMIXS70B-1T-CS

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Western Digital 500GB WD Blue SN5000 NVMe Internal Solid State Drive SSD / PCIe Gen 4.0, M.2 2280 / Up to 5,000MB/s Read Speed / Up to 4,000MB/s Write Speed / WDS500G4B0E

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Once inside, navigate to the storage or boot device section. Don't panic if you don't see the WD Blue SA510 listed as a bootable drive yet—that's normal for a new, unformatted SSD. What you're looking for is whether the motherboard's SATA port sees the drive at all.

• Check SATA Port Configuration: Make sure the SATA port your SSD is connected to is enabled in the BIOS.
• Check Storage Mode: Ensure your SATA controller is set to "AHCI" mode. This is the modern standard for SSDs and offers the best performance.

If the BIOS detects the drive, that's great news! The hardware is likely fine, and the issue is with how Windows is configured.

Hikvision Future Lite 2TB M.2 PCI-e Gen 4x4 NVMe 3D NAND Solid State Drive (SSD) / Maximum Read Speed 7,100 MB/s / Maximum Write Speed 6,350 MB/s / HS-SSD-FUTURE LITE 2048G

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ADATA XPG Mars 980 Blade 4TB NVMe 5.0 Internal Solid State Drive / Up to 14,000MB/s Read Speed and Up to 13,000MB/s Write Speed / SMAR-980B-4TCS

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Corsair MP700 PRO SE 4TB PCIe 5.0 x4 NVMe M.2 SSD / Up to 14,000MB/s Sequential Read / Up to 12,000MB/s Sequential Write / M.2 2280 Form Factor / CSSD-F4000GBMP700PNHS

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KLEVV CRAS C930 1TB M.2 NVMe PCIe Gen4x4 Internal Gaming SSD with Heatsink / Compatible with PS5 / up to 7400MB/s with DRAM Cash / K01TBM2SP0-C93

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KLEVV CRAS C925G M.2 NVMe Solid State Drive - 1TB / PCIe Gen4x4 / Sequential Read | Write - 7400 | 6300 MB/s / 3D TLC NAND Flash / K01TBM2SP0-25G

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Adata Mars 980 Storm 2TB NVMe SSD / PCIe Gen5 x4 / Up to 14,000MB/s - 13,000MB Sequential Read/Write / SMAR-980S-2TCI

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Getting Windows to Recognise Your SA510 SSD

This is where most people solve their WD Blue SA510 SSD installation issues. If your BIOS can see the drive but Windows can't, you almost certainly need to initialise it. It sounds technical, but it only takes a minute.

1. Right-click the Start button and select Disk Management.
2. A window might pop up automatically asking you to initialise a new disk. If it does, choose GPT (GUID Partition Table) for modern systems and click OK.
3. If no window appears, scroll down in Disk Management and look for a disk that says "Not Initialised" or shows "Unallocated" space. It should match the size of your SA510.
4. Right-click on the "Unallocated" space and select New Simple Volume.
5. Follow the on-screen wizard. You can typically just click "Next" through all the steps, which will assign a drive letter and format the drive with the default NTFS file system.

Once the process is complete, your new WD Blue SA510 SSD should appear in File Explorer, ready for action!

When the SA510 SSD is Still Not Detected 🤔

If you've followed all these steps and your drive is still invisible, it's time to consider other possibilities. Sometimes, a drive is simply Dead on Arrival (DOA). To confirm this, you could try connecting it to another computer.

Kingston KC600 SSD 1024G Internal SSD 2.5", SATA Rev 3.0, 3D TLC, XTS-AES 256-bit encryption / SKC600/1024G

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ADATA SU650 1TB 3D-NAND SATA 2.5 inch Internal SSD / ASU650SS-1TT-R

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Corsair MP700 PRO SE Hydro X Series 4TB M.2 PCIe Gen5 x4 NVMe 2.0 SSD – M.2 2280 – Up to 14,000MB/sec Sequential Read – High-Density TLC NAND – Pre-Installed Water Block – Black / CSSD-F4000GBMP700PHXS

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Corsair MP700 PRO 1TB with Air Cooler PCIe Gen5 x4 NVMe 2.0 M.2 SSD / Up to 11,700MB/s Sequential Read / Up to 9,600MB/s Sequential Write / M.2 2280 Form Factor / CSSD-F1000GBMP700PRO

R4199.00In Stock

KingSpec X500 4TB NVMe Internal Solid State Drive / 3D NAND Flash Memory / PCIe Gen 5.0, M.2 2280, Up to 14 00MB/s/13 000MB/s Read/Write Speeds / X500-2280-4TB

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Western Digital 2TB WD Blue SN5000 NVMe Internal Solid State Drive SSD - PCIe Gen 4.0, M.2 2280, Up to 5,150 MB/s / WDS200T4B0E

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If it turns out you need a replacement, don't worry. There are plenty of fantastic alternatives on the market. While the SA510 is a solid SATA drive, you might even consider this an opportunity to look at modern M.2 2280 drives for even better performance. Brands like ADATA and reliable options from Kingston offer excellent value and speed.

For those chasing the absolute peak of performance for their high-end rigs, exploring the world of blazing-fast Gen 5 SSDs could be your next exciting upgrade path.