Help Needed: M.2 SSD Detection Issues with ASUS Prime B350 Plus

[SweatyMexicanD3]

I'm experiencing persistent issues with my M.2 SSD not being detected by my motherboard. Here's my system configuration and the problem details:

**System Specs:**
- Motherboard: ASUS Prime B350 Plus
- CPU: Ryzen 7 1700
- GPU: Radeon 6600 (upgraded last year)
- RAM: 16GB
- Boot Drive: M.2 SSD (purchased around 2019-2020)
- System built in 2018

**Issue Timeline:**
1. Initially, my PC was crashing while playing Marvel Rivals due to overheating
2. After replacing the CPU thermal paste, my M.2 drive stopped being detected in BIOS
3. After tweaking BIOS settings and multiple restarts, the drive was detected again
4. A power outage occurred a few days later, and the M.2 again disappeared from BIOS
5. Multiple forced restarts eventually got it working, so I kept the PC running for several days to avoid the issue
6. This morning, the M.2 has stopped being detected again

**Troubleshooting Attempted:**
- Reseated the M.2 drive multiple times
- Checked all BIOS options
- Disconnected other HDD drives to isolate the issue

Nothing is working now, and I'm concerned my M.2 drive might be failing. Has anyone experienced similar issues or have suggestions on what to try next? Could this be related to the CPU overheating, the power outage, or is my drive simply failing?

Yes this was written by AI, my english sucks lol

 

[Aeacus]

Could this be related to the CPU overheating, the power outage, or is my drive simply failing?

It could be one, two or all of them.

Since MoBo has 1x M.2 slot, i'd suggest you look towards 2.5" SATA SSD for your OS drive, since when slot itself is bad, this is your only option (or you can replace MoBo).
As of if to know the M.2 slot being the issue, you need 2nd, known to work M.2 PCI-E 3.0 drive, to test it out. If even known to work M.2 drive doesn't work, then the M.2 slot is bad.