[SOLVED] M.2 PCIe SSD stopped working after plugging it on the motherboard while PC is on.

[Alyseus]

Hello guys!

Ive been using my Kingston HyperX Predator 240GB PCIe Gen2 x4 M.2 SSD for about 4 years now and yesterday while looking for an upgrade on Newegg, I went to take it out from the motherboard without turning the PC off. I took it off to make sure I get the right thing which is NVMe for PCIe not M.2. Note that it's not my main drive, i mainly use it for video games. So I put it right back into the motherboard, HUGE MISTAKE. Now, my computer won't detect the PCIe SSD anymore. I went into the BIOS and tried to look it up there and still nothing. It's completely gone. I also tried downloading the Kingston software for their SSD's and still nothing. I've also tried resetting the CMOS, disconnecting all my hard drives and basically following a bunch of instructions from tomshardware, reddit and youtube but still no luck. There's no problem whatsoever with the PC, it's just that it won't detect the PCIe SSD anymore. Ive tried taking out my GPU from x16 PCIe slot and tried it out there but still nothing. So I guess didn't burn the x8 PCIe slot where the PCIe SSD it used to sit, right? Did i just completely destroy my PCIe SSD for removing it and putting it back on the motherboard without turning the PC off? And is there any other way to fix it? Thanks in advance!

My setup is:
Motherboard: MSI Z370-A Pro
GPU: 1080 Ti
Ram: Corsair vengeance 3600mhz 16GB
M.2: Samsung 970 EVO Plus 500GB
I also have a bunch of SSD's and HDD's connected to the motherboard

 

[USAFRet]

Did i just completely destroy my PCIe SSD for removing it and putting it back on the motherboard without turning the PC off?

Yes, maybe/probably.

Only way to tell:

Try another drive in that same port.
Try your drive in another port of motherboard.