Need help with Nvme m.2 ssd setup in an Asus Z170-A mobo pls
Posted by Mundienator@reddit | buildapc | View on Reddit | 3 comments
Hello! I built my PC many years ago, I'm running a intel i7 6700 on an Asus Z170-A mobo, and I think I lost the box, so I looked for the manual online, but I cannot fully understand it :( I've been running the OS on a 2.5" SSD (240gb) and apart from that I have 3x 3.5" HDD's (optical, 2x 1tb and 1x 2 tb). My bf just gifted me a NVME M.2 SSD (2tb). I would really like to "clone" the OS drive into the new one, so I made a restoration point with the Windows tool, it's on the old SSD rn. I did some research and found out the new SSD wasn't showing up in Windows bc I had to enable the M2 slot or something on the BIOS (ver. 1203). I couldn't really find any video or forum specifically talking about this motherboard so I went in and tried enabling the "Raid" support (that was the only option mentioning M.2), but even if I change that or any of the other options in the BIOS I still cannot be sure if it's working since now Windows would not initialize... I am changing the SATA port for the OS drive and it just doesn't find it :'c Pls help! I do streams, photos and videos with my PC so I am kinda desperate at this point TuT I can upload pictures or anything you need that helps understanding my situation 🙏🏻
Ripe-Avocado-12@reddit
Try section 2.6.8 in your manual. Make sure its set to m.2 and not sata express.
Mundienator@reddit (OP)
Hey, thank you so much for replying! I didn't really know what "raid" was, so after your comment I went and looked for information on it and well... Now I understand why I didn't have to set it to Raid xD What I did last night is resetting the CMOS battery, disconnected every other HDD from the sata ports and left only the new M.2 and the old SSD (sata). Opened the BIOS and set it to default. Both drives were being read by the mobo but windows wouldn't boot up. I figured out it got corrupted or something. So I plugged in my USB drive with windows installer and installed it in a new 200gb partition on the M.2. It was working perfectly, I even got to copy some files I had in the old sata SSD. But then, I wanted to connect the rest of the drives. Turned off the PC, connected the rest of the drives (3x HDDs) and turned on again. Black screen. Restart. Got the initial screen and went to the boot options, changed the order so it looks for the new drive first. Save & Exit. Black screen after the Asus logo for almost 10 minutes 😐 and then I got to Windows. Why is it taking soooooo long to boot to Windows now? Isn't M.2 supposed to be faster? I'm crying 😭 Sorry for the wall text and thanks if you read this.
Ripe-Avocado-12@reddit
New thread will get new eyes on it, and I'm out of ideas sorry! Sounds like something is wonky with the windows install and it's causing at least "some" of your issues. Good luck!