Question Can an M. 2 SATA SSD have an "M" key?

Apr 29, 2023
2
0
10
Hello,
First of all, thanks for always being there over the years. I have used a ton of tips from the forum and thought I ought to finally sign up. The effort of maintaining this knowledgebase is very much appreciated.

Secondly, I think I have a somewhat annomolous version of a Tough book and need some guidance please.

The laptop in question is a Panasonic CF-54D1443KC Mk2. From what I can find in the manuals it should be a SATA based storage system, though it does have PCIe.

My conundrum is the M. 2 socket. Reading up on those, an "M" key is a PCI 4/ NVMe model. Mine says "M" right on it above the slot. It has 5 contacts up and 4 contacts down, 2280 form factor.

It works with a "B+M" keyed SATA M. 2 SSD but does not show any storage space when an "M" keyed NVMe SSD is inserted. Though, the diagnostics show an additional drive to test compared to the usual 1. It just shows as 0GB, which I assume is because there is not a partition on it yet and I cannot find a way to slipstream a driver for it in yet.

I have read every Panasonic manual on the Panasonic sites relating to any model CF-54 and only found a slight reference to a Flash Drive on-board storage device. Nothing explicitly states M. 2, NGFF, or NVMe.

I tried contacting Panasonic support but the USA division forwards me to the Canadian division but the Canadian division has yet to respond.

I would love to see higher transfer rates, even if I don't get the full 4 lane PCIe. Anything better than the 489 MBps I'm getting now would be a blessing.

Is there anyone at Tom's that can help me figure this out please?
 

Colif

Win 11 Master
Moderator
In addition, there are two types of sockets for M.2: one with a "B key" and one with a "M key".
The different keys are what indicated the maximum number of PCI-E lanes the socket can use and physically limit what drives can be installed into the socket.. A "B key" can utilize up to two PCI-E lanes while a "M key" can use up to four PCI-E lanes.
2280 is its measurements, 22mm x 80mm. that is the common size of an nvme still.

I don't think it should show as 0gb space. Even if its empty.

i can see drives that say they work in it - https://www.computermemorysolutions...panasonic-toughbook-54-cf-54-ddr4-by-cms-d95/

appears it should work with any standard nvme.

Does drive show in disc management?
 
  • Like
Reactions: Bourneon
Apr 29, 2023
2
0
10
Thank you for the break down. The drive does not show in disk management. I'm trying a Samsung 970 EVO PLUS NVMe 250 GB. It fits perfectly in the socket. The part I'm confused on is if the UEFI can drive it. I imagine it needs special programming to achieve an NVMe standard. What I don't get is if the socket is there why doesn't it work? I can't see any settings in the Bios for supporting it. But maybe they show themselves if I get a combination of settings right. Like, does having legacy USB support enabled impact the UEFI performance and configuration. The other thing is, how does one get the drivers into the bios? Or get the disk manager to recognize it? I'm assuming that because it's not partitioned, the disk manager is having trouble seeing it. It's quite confusing. One part of the system at least sees it, if only at 0GB but then the other part doesn't see it at all.

I'll probably have to wait until Panasonic Canada opens on Monday and try them again. I just wanted to feel the speed this weekend.

Any additional tips or links about M. 2 and SATA running through an "M" keyed slot would be appreciated.

Thanks again.
CS