Question BIOS doesn't see NVMe drive anymore, after I pulled it out and then later put it back?

[BlurryMachine]

Scenario: I offered to install a fresh copy of Windows 10 on my friend's M.2 NVMe drive, but I only have 1 M.2 slot on my mobo, so I powered down and pulled my M.2 out. I put his in and used a USB Windows installer that I've had for a long time and used many times. Everything goes smoothly, so I power down, and pull his out and put mine back in it's slot.

Problem: I have a 500GB SATA SSD with an old Windows install on it that I keep plugged in (incase I forgot anything over there when I upgraded to my 2TB NVMe), and my PC now boots to that old SSD drive. No problem, I open BIOS to set the preferred boot load, and in BIOS I can see my NVMe drive by it's name, but nothing about a windows install or windows bootable anything - just the manufacturer name. Then, when I select the drive anyway, I boot to a black screen that says:
"Reboot and Select proper Boot device, or Insert Boot Media in selected Boot device and press any key."

Not my picture, but this is what that screen looks like: https://i.ytimg.com/vi/ZAeiDw8MYKA/maxresdefault.jpg

Temporary Workaround: If I disable ALL boot options in BIOS, and I also unplug my old Windows SATA drive so that only my M.2 NVMe is plugged in, then my system somehow boots to the correct drive (because it's the only option, I guess). I mean, in BIOS, it literally shows zero selected (and zero available) boot options... and then, somehow, my system boots correctly.

Desired Outcome: I want my bootable Windows install on my NVMe drive to show up properly in BIOS so I can select it as the preferred boot drive and I can plug in my old SATA drive as well and BIOS will boot to the correct drive even with both plugged in. This was all working this way before I pulled it out and used that slot to install windows on the other drive for my friend.

Info: Mobo is a Gigabyte Z270 running UEFI. Let me know if I left anything out...

 

[DSzymborski]

Have you tried simply only having the NVMe drive, booting to the USB install media, and doing a full fresh install? Ideally with updated installation media, not the same one you've been using for "a long time." The timeline here is a little tricky to follow.

I'm also a bit confused why you're installing Windows on your friend's NVMe in your PC; that's just about the worst practice. It makes me wonder what else is going on.

 

[USAFRet]

Scenario: I offered to install a fresh copy of Windows 10 on my friend's M.2 NVMe drive

??

The OS should be installed when the drive is in the system where it will live.

Not install here, and move to there.

 

[BlurryMachine]

Have you tried simply only having the NVMe drive, booting to the USB install media, and doing a full fresh install? Ideally with updated installation media, not the same one you've been using for "a long time." The timeline here is a little tricky to follow.

I'm also a bit confused why you're installing Windows on your friend's NVMe in your PC; that's just about the worst practice. It makes me wonder what else is going on.

But I have a windows install on the drive... It was previously working and I want to keep that data there. Maybe I can try to run it through a repair process...

I didn't know it would be an issue. It's just an SSD right, why should it care where it was installed... I mean, I believe you, I just didn't see it that way before and still don't know why it's an issue.

 

[USAFRet]

But I have a windows install on the drive... It was previously working and I want to keep that data there. Maybe I can try to run it through a repair process...

I didn't know it would be an issue. It's just an SSD right, why should it care where it was installed... I mean, I believe you, I just didn't see it that way before and still don't know why it's an issue.

Windows does NOT like to be moved between physical hardware systems.
We'd all wish it were more modular, but it is not.


Moving this drive over to the other system has 3 possible outcomes:
1. It works just fine
2. It fails completely
3. It "works", but you're chasing issues for weeks/months.

#3 is the most likely.

 

[DSzymborski]

But I have a windows install on the drive... It was previously working and I want to keep that data there. Maybe I can try to run it through a repair process...

I didn't know it would be an issue. It's just an SSD right, why should it care where it was installed... I mean, I believe you, I just didn't see it that way before and still don't know why it's an issue.

A Windows install itself has no value. One should always be prepared for the eventuality of having to reinstall Windows. I assume, from what you said, that no backups have been made of anything?

Windows is not modular. And it's concerning because if you're doing things like this, there probably are other weird things going on too. Just wipe the drive and install Windows *properly* and remove it from the equation.

I'd also call your friend and tell them to reinstall Windows properly on their own, so as not to risk causing them present or future problems.

 

[Moonstick2]

It's just an SSD right, why should it care where it was installed... I mean, I believe you, I just didn't see it that way before and still don't know why it's an issue.

Because Windows is an operating system, which among other things means it lets other software talk to the hardware, via drivers. And different hardware needs different drivers, often entirely different. When you install windows, that's what it does, configure itself to the machine. Otherwise you could just clone the drive and change the licence key.

So when you install Windows on a drive in one computer, Windows says "Ooh, okay, there's a Gigabyte Z720 here, I'll give myself the drivers for that chipset...making sure I can talk to that i7 7700K...and I need that USB driver there...and okay there's a Xonar soundcard, fancy, I'll just get the drivers for that...onboard Wifi, set myself up there...GeForce GTX970, I know that one...there, done. Now I know how to talk to everything! Installation done." Then you turn off your computer and Windows goes into a deep, deep sleep.

Then you take the drive out, put it in an entirely different computer and turn it on. Windows wakes up, and is all "Huh? Where's that Z720 chipset gone??? What the hell is an Asus X570?? Where's the Wifi? What's Radeon 6800XT mean??" And so on. And even if it can kludge itself together into a working state, as above it will usually run into problems and issues as time goes on.

Putting it another way, it's like building and tuning an engine to fit into one car and then thinking you can lift it out and drop it into an entirely different model and assume the drivetrain and mounting points and radiator and everything else will line up and it won't leak or vibrate or overheat over time.

 

[BlurryMachine]

Ok, ok, ok... you are all correct and I obviously did something that's not cool.

However, the M.2 in my friends system is working! And... my M.2 was installed in my system, but it was just temporarily removed and then put back, and now my BIOS doesn't recognize it, unless there's no other bootable drives, at which point it does somehow load just fine.

This is a real pickle.

I'll post an update if I ever figure it out. Thanks for everyone's help.

 

[SkyNetRising]

my M.2 was installed in my system, but it was just temporarily removed and then put back, and now my BIOS doesn't recognize it, unless there's no other bootable drives, at which point it does somehow load just fine.

Can you show a screenshot from Disk Management?
(upload to imgur.com and post link)

 

[BlurryMachine]

Can you show a screenshot from Disk Management?
(upload to imgur.com and post link)

Here it is:

 

[Moonstick2]

Have you got Fast Boot enabled?

In the manual for the Gigabyte Z270 Gaming K3 (picked at random, not knowing your specific motherboard) it has an option "Last Boot HDD Only" under SATA support, which disables all SATA devices except the previous boot drive, until the OS finishes booting. It reads as if it only applies to SATA and not NVMe, but still...

It might be, for example, that in the past you had your original 500 GB SATA and booted from that; you upgraded to a 2 TB NVMe, installed Windows and that became "previous boot device"; you pulled it out, installed Windows on your friend's NVMe and that became "previous boot device"; you pulled that out, put in your old NVMe drive but without installing Windows, it couldn't find the "previous boot device" (your friend's NVMe) and now somehow the 500 GB SATA has become "previous boot device instead".

Even if it's not that exactly, maybe disabling Fast Boot will resolve the issue. Or if it's disabled, try enabling it.

 

[SkyNetRising]

Here it is:

Set BIOS to boot in UEFI mode only (or UEFI mode first).
Set first boot device to Windows Boot Manager on 2TB drive.
Also disable Fast Boot.

If you have CSM enabled and legacy boot is tried first,
then your system will boot from other drive, where windows is installed in legacy mode.

Also - which exactly Gigabyte Z270 model board is it.
On some boards usage of M.2 drive may conflict with some sata ports.
You have to read motherboard user manual.

 

[BlurryMachine]

Well, I learned my lesson and wont be doing this again. I pulled all my data off my hard drive, did a fresh reinstall, and then put it all back on there. I'm all fixed up, and it only cost me about a day to do it. Thanks for everyone's advice. This was very annoying...