[SOLVED] Is my M.2 screwed or is it something else ?

[Beaver3]

Hi guys. Here’s my quick specs before I explain the issue:


12th Gen Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-12700K, 3610 Mhz, 12 Core(s), 20 Logical Processor(s)
NVIDA GeForce RTX 3060 TI
Samsung SSD 980 PRO 2TB
ROG STRIX Z690-I GAMING WIFI

So, awhile back I had a problem with my SSD reading and writing at a stupid slow speed. I posted the issue here in case you wondering:

https://forums.tomshardware.com/threads/top-of-the-line-ssd-failing-help.3750042/#post-22612711

Anyway, nothing I did changed it. So I decided, and you’re absolutely welcome to call me an idiot, to do a factory reset. I chose the option to wipe all files and then I let it go to work.

Fast forward 12 hours later and the process still had it restarting my computer. At this point I thought the reset had failed so I turned the pc off. Now I’m reflecting back on it, the back that I had a failing ssd and trying to reset an entire computer was probably the reason why it was not done in 12 hours.
No surprise, but after trying to reboot the pc it resumes the endless loop of restarting.
Okay so here’s the problem:

I loaded windows 10 onto a usb stick in attempt to do a clean install. With the BIOS I got to the installation and then discovered that it could not detect my storage driver. I went online and found a few articles and I tried the solution with intel VD. No luck.
So then I remembered I have another m.2 SSD (used) in another unused computer. I took that old one out, shove it into the current pc, booted up the installation and bam! Storage driver not detected.
.
What do you think the issue is?

 

[Satan-IR]

Have you tried putting the M.2 SSD in another slot. The motherboard has more, right?

The BIOS doesn't see the SSD under boot or other sections?

If BIOS does not see the SSD try finding an option like Storage Options > SATA Configuration and enable IDE Compatibility Mode then save and reboot. See if the system sees the drive.