# Help please. My nvme SSDs do not show up on BIOS/Windows install screen.



## adulaamin (Jun 10, 2019)

Hi! My 2 x 1tb Samsung 960 EVO Plus nvme SSDs do not show up on the BIOS or on the Windows install screen. I've updated to the latest BIOS, tried to reseat/reinstall both drives and it's still the same. I don't have any other drives (SSDs/HDDs) installed. Any suggestions?

Thanks!


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## erixx (Jun 10, 2019)

Basically 2 options: they are broken or you have a wrong BIOS setting. (It's your laptop, right? No cabling issues possible then.)
I have exchanged 1 HDD on my ROG laptop for 2 SSD's and it's hard to do it wrong....


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## Flaky (Jun 10, 2019)

What OS are you installing?
What storage controller mode is selected? AHCI or RST?


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## adulaamin (Jun 10, 2019)

I'm sorry, the drives I'm referring to are the drives on the PC.



Flaky said:


> What OS are you installing?
> What storage controller mode is selected? AHCI or RST?



I'm trying to install Windows 10 and I've tried AHCI or RST and they do not show up. Maybe I did something wrong? Which part of the BIOS do you need to see so I can take a picture of it?


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## londiste (Jun 10, 2019)

M.2 drives do not always show up in the BIOS depending on its layout.
Start by making sure you have the latest BIOS updates.

When it comes to Windows, you may need to feed the storage drivers (try motherboard manufacturer's drives page) into the installer. Generic M.2 drivers should be there in Windows 10 although in some cases you still need to feed specific drivers to it. With Windows 8/7 you definitely need to feed drivers and your mileage with support may vary.


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## adulaamin (Jun 10, 2019)

londiste said:


> M.2 drives do not always show up in the BIOS depending on its layout.
> Start by making sure you have the latest BIOS updates.
> 
> When it comes to Windows, you may need to feed the storage drivers (try motherboard manufacturer's drives page) into the installer. Generic M.2 drivers should be there in Windows 10 although in some cases you still need to feed specific drivers to it. With Windows 8/7 you definitely need to feed drivers and your mileage with support may vary.



I've updated to the latest BIOS and still no luck. How do I "feed" the storage drivers into the installer? Do I just copy paste the storage driver on ASUS's website to the flash drive with the windows installer or is it a bit more complicated? I'm sorry, it's my first time to use nvme drives on a desktop. The nvme on my laptop worked right away so I thought it would be the same with the desktop.


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## londiste (Jun 10, 2019)

Using USB Flash drive for the drivers is probably the easiest way, getting USB Flash drive detected and mounted usually works fine if it is inserted at boot.
An image from quick Google search - I do not remember if the visual is still the same but options should be - Load Driver is the button you need:


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## adulaamin (Jun 10, 2019)

londiste said:


> Using USB Flash drive for the drivers is probably the easiest way, getting USB Flash drive detected and mounted usually works fine if it is inserted at boot.
> An image from quick Google search - I do not remember if the visual is still the same but options should be - Load Driver is the button you need:



I downloaded drivers from ASUS and Samsung and copied them onto the flash drive. I reach that part (pic you uploaded) of the installation and follow the process for the "Load driver" option and select the proper folders on the flash drive. It returns a message saying "No signed device drivers were found. Make sure that the installation media contains the correct drivers, and then click OK."


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## Flaky (Jun 10, 2019)

With AHCI mode win10 installer has to see NVMe devices using it's built-in driver. If it does not, then there is a problem with bios configuration or a hardware problem.


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## adulaamin (Jun 10, 2019)

Flaky said:


> With AHCI mode win10 installer has to see NVMe devices using it's built-in driver. If it does not, then there is a problem with bios configuration or a hardware problem.



All the settings in the BIOS are default. Is there something I need to adjust other than the AHCI or RST? I thought they'd auto detect or something.


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## er557 (Jun 10, 2019)

Hi There,
If you use the asus maximum XI formula board, you can either try to use a pcie host card for nvme drives, or if you are using the on-board slots, the configuration should usually be done appropriately.
Please refer to this guide and set the similar settings on your board to match these:





						How To Install Windows On A PCIe SSD
					

USING PCIe SSDs AS YOUR WINDOWS OS/BOOT DRIVEThese simple instructions will allow you to install Windows...




					forum.asrock.com


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## TheLostSwede (Jun 10, 2019)

Disable CSM in the UEFI and it'll work.

On top of that, you need to create a GPT enabled bootable Windows USB drive, not MBR, or Windows won't see the drives. Nothing to do with drivers.








						How to Create Windows 10 USB Boot Disk with RUFUS (ISO2USB) • Repair Windows™
					

This tutorial contains instructions to create a Windows USB Boot Media using "Rufus Creator Utility" (Create Windows 10 USB, Create Windows 8 USB, Create Windows 7 USB)




					www.repairwin.com


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## adulaamin (Jun 10, 2019)

I'll try both options and report back once I've finished. Thanks!


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## Flaky (Jun 10, 2019)

TheLostSwede said:


> On top of that, you need to create a GPT enabled bootable Windows drive, not MBR, or Windows won't see the drives. Nothing to do with drivers.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


At this point this might unnecessarily confuse the OP.

Manual partitioning of data drives is only needed when the OS is already installed.
The installer sees unpartitioned drives, and allows installing the OS to "unallocated space", taking care of preparing all the required partitions.


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## er557 (Jun 10, 2019)

I think he meant to create a gpt INSTALL DRIVE, for windows to be able to detect such environments, i.e a rufus created windows setup disk, in UEFI MODE, rather than legacy, as that is the type of article he linked to, However, of course one also does not need to "PREPARE" the target drives or partition them in advance, as you said.


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## TheLostSwede (Jun 10, 2019)

Flaky said:


> At this point this might unnecessarily confuse the OP.
> 
> Manual partitioning of data drives is only needed when the OS is already installed.
> The installer sees unpartitioned drives, and allows installing the OS to "unallocated space", taking care of preparing all the required partitions.



Eh? I think you are the one that's confused. This has nothing to do with  the OS drive, this has to do with the bootable USB install drive.
If it's not GPT, you're not going to get your OS onto an NVMe SSD.
Windows takes care of the OS drive during the installation.


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## Flaky (Jun 10, 2019)

Yep, I kind of misread your post. Sorry.

Anyway, even if OP would launch the installer in bios/legacy mode, he should still see the drives (but with not bootable message).


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## adulaamin (Jun 10, 2019)

I've tried both methods and they don't work... the nvme SSDs do not show up on the BIOS or on the Windows install process... I think I'll test both nvme drives on another PC... I hope I didn't get 2 DOA SSDs...


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## erixx (Jun 10, 2019)

Maybe your mobo make the ssd use not the cpu or chipset drivers but the extra Marvell etc lanes that can be disabled. Check Onboard devices page in the Bios


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## Deleted member 67555 (Jun 10, 2019)

Have you tried one drive and not both at the same time, in each slot.


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## TheLostSwede (Jun 10, 2019)

erixx said:


> Maybe your mobo make the ssd use not the cpu or chipset drivers but the extra Marvell etc lanes that can be disabled. Check Onboard devices page in the Bios



NVMe drives, no controller on the board.


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## kapqa (Jun 10, 2019)

Hello , i  have had also problem with Windows 7 not recognizing NVME (although BIOS would see it), and used this driver here for Samsung SSD








						Recommended AHCI/RAID and NVMe Drivers
					

Preliminary notes: Many AHCI and RAID users are unsure or don’t even know, which AHCI/RAID driver will give them the best results regarding stability and performance. They either don’t have the time or are not interested to do intensive tests comparing the different types and versions of the...




					www.win-raid.com
				



This helped me to install the Windows onto the fast NVME.
You would need to load it inside the Windows 7/8.1 installation procedure from a USB. With Windows 10 this is not needed.


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## TheLostSwede (Jun 10, 2019)

Just to be clear, NVMe drives don't show up like SATA storage devices in the UEFI.
Below are the only two places in my UEFI that I can see the NVMe drive.
This varies a bit between boards and drives, but normally they don't show up. It only appears here at all, because it's the boot device.


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## adulaamin (Jun 10, 2019)

jmcslob said:


> Have you tried one drive and not both at the same time, in each slot.



It works with one SSD at the m.2_2 slot... I'm installing windows now and I'll try plugging both SSDs after I've finished. Stupid me, I don't know why I didn't think of that earlier!


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## TheLostSwede (Jun 10, 2019)

Also check the manual, as you might have some conflict with something else plugged into a shared resource, like SATA on Intel boards.
A lot of boards disables something to enable the second M.2 slot. You might also want to check that you don't have to explicitly enable the other M.2 slot somewhere in the UEFI, by for example disabling the x4 PCIe slot.


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## erixx (Jun 10, 2019)

adulaamin said:


> It works with one SSD at the m.2_2 slot... I'm installing windows now and I'll try plugging both SSDs after I've finished. Stupid me, I don't know why I didn't think of that earlier!



I suscribe that you have not set it correctly in the Bios, in non highest end boards, resources are shared, so sometimes it is A or B, not A and B.


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## Deleted member 67555 (Jun 10, 2019)

I bet he has 1 NVME M.2 slot and 1 SATA M.2 slot.


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## xtreemchaos (Jun 10, 2019)

or the lanes are taken up by gpus ?


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## adulaamin (Jun 10, 2019)

It will only work with one SSD either on the m.2_1 or m.2_2 slot... I've tried plugging in both SSDs but the board won't detect either. I've checked the manual and my BIOS settings and there's something on the manual that doesn't appear on my BIOS. On the BIOS Manual in the "Onboard Devices Configuration" page, there's an "M.2_1 Configuration" option but there's none on my BIOS? I also only have one GPU in the system right now if that helps.


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## TheLostSwede (Jun 10, 2019)

Yeah, the M.2 config options were removed on many boards, as they didn't 1. show the drive 2. have any options...

I assume you're on the latest UEFI?


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## adulaamin (Jun 10, 2019)

TheLostSwede said:


> Yeah, the M.2 config options were removed on many boards, as they didn't 1. show the drive 2. have any options...
> 
> I assume you're on the latest UEFI?



I updated to the latest BIOS if that's what you mean?


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## TheLostSwede (Jun 10, 2019)

adulaamin said:


> I updated to the latest BIOS if that's what you mean?



UEFI is what you're using, BIOS is what motherboards used to use, they're similar, but not the same.


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## Solaris17 (Jun 10, 2019)

TheLostSwede said:


> Just to be clear, NVMe drives don't show up like SATA storage devices in the UEFI.
> Below are the only two places in my UEFI that I can see the NVMe drive.
> This varies a bit between boards and drives, but normally they don't show up. It only appears here at all, because it's the boot device.
> 
> ...



My wifes didnt. the PCI-E option did show on the list (which looks like what you are saying) but only after I disabled the extra sata ports to free up pci-e lanes. (probably because the second controller was getting shut off) then it did show up in bios and could be installed too.

Was a gigabyte aorus board.


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## adulaamin (Jun 10, 2019)

TheLostSwede said:


> UEFI is what you're using, BIOS is what motherboards used to use, they're similar, but not the same.



How do I update that? 



Solaris17 said:


> My wifes didnt. the PCI-E option did show on the list (which looks like what you are saying) but only after I disabled the extra sata ports to free up pci-e lanes. (probably because the second controller was getting shut off) then it did show up in bios and could be installed too.
> 
> Was a gigabyte aorus board.



Should I just disable all the SATA ports? I don't plan on using any of them anyway.


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## kapone32 (Jun 10, 2019)

I have noticed that sometimes you have to disable SATA in the BIOS for NVME drives to show up in the BIOS but that was with the first gen AM4 boards. You MB also has to support NVME RAID.



adulaamin said:


> How do I update that?
> 
> 
> 
> Should I just disable all the SATA ports? I don't plan on using any of they anyway.



NVME drives are the newest technology on the market. I would at least get a 1 TB SSD or a 2 or 3 TB HDD to use as a baqckup.


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## adulaamin (Jun 10, 2019)

kapone32 said:


> NVME drives are the newest technology on the market. I would at least get a 1 TB SSD or a 2 or 3 TB HDD to use as a baqckup.



The computer will mostly be used for games and internet. Maybe some photo or video editing but 90-95% for games and internet. No important files will be in it so I don't plan on putting hard drives for storage.


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## Vario (Jun 10, 2019)

I have installed my OS to NVMe by using imaging software.  With Samsung, you can use Samsung Data Migration.  With non Samsung drives, you could use Acronis or Macrium.
I have Windows 7 on NVMe and Coffee Lake, and that is supposedly hard to do for many reasons, however I found it only took a few minutes simply imaging the NVMe drive with an image of my OS on a regular SATA SSD.  If the donor drive image is larger or smaller you can shrink/expand the partition before/after the imaging.  As you have Samsung drives, use the Data Migration software they provide here: 








						Samsung Magician & SSD Tools & Software Update | Samsung Semiconductor Global
					

Download Samsung Magician, tools & software for Samsung SSDs, Data Migration Software, Firmware, Driver, Data Center Toolkit, Activation Software.




					www.samsung.com
				




http://org.downloadcenter.samsung.c...6/Samsung_Data_Migration_Setup.exe&OriginYN=N


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## Splinterdog (Jun 10, 2019)

I had this issue when I installed an M.2 SATA drive on my Crosshair Hero VII, where the bios only recognised the drive in the second slot ie, not the one nearest the CPU.


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## TheLostSwede (Jun 10, 2019)

Splinterdog said:


> I had this issue when I installed an M.2 SATA drive on my Crosshair Hero VII, where the bios only recognised the drive in the second slot ie, not the one nearest the CPU.



That's because the first slot is only for NVMe and doesn't support SATA. Different problem, unrelated to the OP's issue.



adulaamin said:


> How do I update that?



You most likely did, as you said you updated the BIOS. I think you just misunderstood what I meant, UEFI is the term that's used now, for what used to be the BIOS. Even so, the motherboard makers still call it BIOS, even though they should know better, as it's the term most people are familiar with. However, no current consumer PC motherboard uses BIOS, they all use UEFI now.


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## Splinterdog (Jun 10, 2019)

TheLostSwede said:


> That's because the first slot is only for NVMe and doesn't support SATA. Different problem, unrelated to the OP's issue.


That's very useful to know and thank you for pointing it out so succinctly.


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## adulaamin (Jun 14, 2019)

I've disabled all SATA ports and still no go... The board just doesn't like 2 nvme SSDs installed and I don't think there are any other setting in BIOS and can adjust unless I'm mistaken and someone else with a Maximus XI Formula can test on theirs...


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## cookiemonster (Jun 14, 2019)

Silly question but have you formatted the
960 EVO Plus nvme SSDs, have just installed one and I read you had to format them first.


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## TheLostSwede (Jun 14, 2019)

The manual seems to suggest both ports can work concurrently, so not sure what's going on. Both slots also support PCIe 3.0 x4.
Have you checked that the M.2_! Configuration setting isn't set to SATA mode? Try forcing it to PCIe mode. It should be somewhere under Onboard Devices Configuration.

Your M.2 slots don't seem to be shared with anything, only the last x16 slot is shared with SATA port 5/6.


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## adulaamin (Jun 14, 2019)

cookiemonster said:


> Silly question but have you formatted the
> 960 EVO Plus nvme SSDs, have just installed one and I read you had to format them first.



Yes, I did try that too. I installed Win 10 on one and the other one I just formatted/initialized. Plugged them both and nothing happens on boot and both don't show up on boot options in the BIOS.



TheLostSwede said:


> The manual seems to suggest both ports can work concurrently, so not sure what's going on. Both slots also support PCIe 3.0 x4.
> Have you checked that the M.2_! Configuration setting isn't set to SATA mode? Try forcing it to PCIe mode. It should be somewhere under Onboard Devices Configuration.
> 
> Your M.2 slots don't seem to be shared with anything, only the last x16 slot is shared with SATA port 5/6.



I've given up and plugged a spare 2tb 2.5" 860 EVO as a secondary drive.


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## TheLostSwede (Jun 14, 2019)

I think you should still have a look at the option I suggested, as that's the only thing it might be that prevents it from working, apart from a bodged UEFI. Maybe try rolling back to a previous UEFI version?


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## er557 (Jun 14, 2019)

have a look at the community forums for patched bioses or hacks that might enable other things, specifically for this motherboard.   i.e.  win-raid


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## Assimilator (Jun 14, 2019)

At this point I would suggest you contact ASUS directly for assistance. Barring any physical damage to the motherboard/drives, or improper physical installation of said drives, this config should just work out of the box. @TheLostSwede's suggestion of rolling back to an earlier UEFI version is not a bad one, but honestly if they broke something as fundamental as this in a UEFI update I'd expect ASUS to figure it out and patch it very quickly.



er557 said:


> have a look at the community forums for patched bioses or hacks that might enable other things, specifically for this motherboard.   i.e.  win-raid



There's absolutely no reason you should need a patched BIOS for this functionality.


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## Splinterdog (May 4, 2022)

I know this is an old thread, but it's still relevant.
A friend of mine has just changed his GPU from an RX580 to RX6600XT and used the same PCIe slot. Now when he boots, the EUFI doesn't see his NVMe.
Since he's in the USA and I'm I'm south of the border, I can't look at his PC so we're doing it by email.
Any thoughts?


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## eidairaman1 (May 4, 2022)

Splinterdog said:


> I know this is an old thread, but it's still relevant.
> A friend of mine has just changed his GPU from an RX580 to RX6600XT and used the same PCIe slot. Now when he boots, the EUFI doesn't see his NVMe.
> Since he's in the USA and I'm I'm south of the border, I can't look at his PC so we're doing it by email.
> Any thoughts?



Check the slot the nvme is in, reseat it.


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## ThrashZone (May 4, 2022)

Hi,
Yeah I wouldn't think a gpu swap would effect a m.2 
Try recovery tools with installation media if he doesn't use reflect winpe startup repair options.


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## Splinterdog (May 5, 2022)

I haven't heard back yet, so not much to report.


ThrashZone said:


> Hi,
> Yeah I wouldn't think a gpu swap would effect a m.2
> Try recovery tools with installation media if he doesn't use reflect winpe startup repair options.


Why would swapping a GPU affect an NVMe? Never happened to me before, with the BIOS not even finding it.


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## ThrashZone (May 5, 2022)

Splinterdog said:


> I haven't heard back yet, so not much to report.
> 
> Why would swapping a GPU affect an NVMe? Never happened to me before, with the BIOS not even finding it.


Hi,
Yep something that never happens
I'm sure putting the older card back in was already tried ?

If bios doesn't see the m.2 ? must of failed at a weird time murphy's law kicks in "Anything that can go wrong will go wrong"
Installation media and the m.2 driver see if installing it for the installer maybe the last option but again optimize defaults in bios first.


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## eidairaman1 (May 5, 2022)

Splinterdog said:


> I haven't heard back yet, so not much to report.
> 
> Why would swapping a GPU affect an NVMe? Never happened to me before, with the BIOS not even finding it.





ThrashZone said:


> Hi,
> Yep something that never happens
> I'm sure putting the older card back in was already tried ?
> 
> ...



Potential motherboard flex, sudden failure upon power down or power up.

World of electronics is measured in mttbf. Some last a day some last a millennium or 2, some last beyond that, some in between...


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