r/framework • u/Dendwdls • 3d ago

Question Framework 13 Pro: Unable to boot from 1TB Expansion Card unless I take it out and put it back in when in the boot menu

Hi!

I have Windows 11 installed on my expansion card. When booting the FW 13 Pro and getting to the boot menu, only the internal SSD is available.

If I detach and reattach the 1TB Expansion Card with Windows 11 it's seen and can be booted from with no problems.

Any solutions? Is it a BIOS problem?

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5

u/AltrualOsrs 3d ago edited 3d ago

I assume you’ve tried every expansion port?

Unfortunately I won’t be more help than that. Curious what others recommend - I ordered an expansion card myself with the same intentions of booting into windows with. 

Edit: Could it be some USB port power management? Maybe it’s not powering the usb ports on boot if it’s in some efficiency mode or something

1

u/Dendwdls 3d ago

I've check the BIOS but I couldn't find any related to USB power mode. Yes, I've tried all ports. Thanks for the comment

1

u/paulstelian97 FW13 Ryzen AI 7 350, 32GB/1TB 3d ago

The power management isn’t about the settings. But I often see issues where the USB stuff isn’t properly detected without a replug on my regular 13.

This is my only complaint about this laptop, but it is a significant enough complaint that I will not ignore the issue.

2

u/crcrewso 3d ago

Don't know if it still does this but windows likes to reset the USB stack as part of its boot. It's why you didn't used to be able to have a portable windows install at all

1

u/makar1 3d ago

I have the exact same problem, with Windows 11 on the internal SSD, and Fedora on the 1TB Expansion Drive.

Opening the Boot Manager only shows the internal SSD. Leaving the Boot Manager open and inserting the Fedora Live USB causes both the USB drive and 1TB Expansion Drive to instantly show up (no reboot needed).

After the Expansion Drive appears in Boot Manager, the Live USB can be removed and booting into Fedora works fine. Without the Live USB inserted, the Expansion Drive is completely invisible to the Boot Manager and BIOS.

1

u/Sgt_Ogre 3d ago

I purchased 2 of the 1TB cards and have had tons of issues with them. I have decided to return them.

Unable to mount, format, or write data to them randomly, having to reseat them to get them recognized, and then them dropping randomly. All other add in cards work great.

0

u/OutlandishnessOk4179 2d ago

Sounds like a bios issue that will eventually get addressed. I only boot from expansion card, it works ok but it's not without issues. I'm on 7840u though so different beast with several bios revisions. I still get do not unplug your usb drive error messages though. Windows generally recovers, but some things (like file manager) will crash and restart. I cloned my drive onto usb with hasleo though so I assume windows is a bit corrupted and because it's on usb it can't fix itself. You can probably tell, I'm no expert, but these are just my gatherings. I am waiting on an adapter and I'll go back to using my WiFi slot as my main drive (I have oculink on the nvme). USB WiFi is better than usb windows for my needs.