Question Looking for a way to test for a bad SSD

[wxman2]

I posted a week ago looking for help because my new PC build is randomly rebooting.
Here are my parts again:
AMD Ryzen 5 7600X 4.7 GHz 6-Core Processor
Dark Rock Pro 4 50.5 CFM CPU Cooler
Gigabyte B650 AORUS ELITE AX ATX AM5 Motherboard
Corsair Vengeance 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR5-5600 CL36 Memory
Samsung 970 Evo Plus 1 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 3.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive
Zotac GAMING Twin Edge OC GeForce RTX 3060 12GB 12 GB Video Card
CORSAIR RMx Series RM850x 80 PLUS Gold Fully Modular ATX Power Supply
LG WH14NS40 Blu-Ray/DVD/CD Writer

So far I have replace the PS, removed the GFX to run directly from the motherboard, swapped out the cables, reinstalled the latest BIOS, and Windows. In Windows 11 pro I have checked, and rechecked the drivers. I ran RAM tests, and chkdsk with no faults. The system keeps right around 37-43 degrees for a temp. Next I was going to remove the RAM boards one at a time and test, but I doubt that will show anything because the RAM test should have showed faults. That leaves the motherboard, or my M.2 drive with Windows on it. I guess the easiest to test first would be the drive using a spare 2.5" SSD I have from my old system. I saved it because it had a load of files on it I waned to move over.
My question is, can I install Windows 11 pro on that old SSD without loosing my data, then use it to boot into the system to see if the reboots are caused by a faulty M.2 drive? If I can get it to run on the new drive, should I physically remove the M.2 to be sure?
I guess if it still reboots the only thing left is a bad motherboard.

 

[USAFRet]

My question is, can I install Windows 11 pro on that old SSD without loosing my data

Whatever data that may be on that drive...you absolutely need to copy it off to somewhere else before starting an OS install.

And for an OS install, that drive needs to be the only one physically connected.

 

[wxman2]

Whatever data that may be on that drive...you absolutely need to copy it off to somewhere else before starting an OS install.

And for an OS install, that drive needs to be the only one physically connected.

What I think I might try is copy all the data off the 2.5 SSD. I think it's about 500gb so I should have a backup drive that I can sqeeze that on too. Then I could use something like Easeus to clone the M.2 drive to the SSD. That way everything "should" be the same. Then I can pop out the M.2, and tell the BIOS to boot from the new drive. I'm kind of hoping that the M.2 ends up being the problem. I really don't want to have to replace my motherboard, but I also don want a $1300 computer that reboots whenever it wants.

 

[wxman2]

If anyone here has had experiences like this, which part would be the most likely to be failing? Motherboard, CPU, or the M.2 SSD? I just noticed that my SSD is a pcie 3.0 and the board slot is a pcie 4.0 or 5.0. I think today I will pick up a Samsung 980 PRO 1TB Internal Gaming SSD PCIe Gen 4 x4 NVMe on my way home. I guess that's the easiest part to test first. I will even swap it cold and do a completely new Win 11 install from scratch.
How likely is the bad part end up being the motherboard, or the CPU?