Question Motherboard BIOS not finding M2.2 SSD in BIOS ?

[hummingkiki]

Hi all! I just finished my second ever build, my first one was 8 years ago so it's been a while haha.

I've got as far as everything booting with no issues and now I'm stuck in BIOS.

I moved my SanDisk X400 128 GB M.2-2280 SSD with Windows 10 installed from my old build to my new one and installed it into the m2_2 slot of my motherboard and it's not detected at all.


My HDD is in Sata 6 as my motherboard manual states Sata 5 isn't available if using M2_2.


I've seen a lot of discussion about changing from UEFI to CSM to fix this issue but that doesn't seem to fix it either?? At least, when I change to CSM it says "select boot device" and doesn't show my SSD as an option.


I'm confident it's installed correctly, but I'll be unscrewing it shortly after posting this, hoping I can find some help on more things to try.


Specs:
Intel Core i7-12700F 2.1 GHz 12-Core Processor
Thermalright Phantom Spirit EVO 69 CFM CPU Cooler
MSI PRO B760M-P DDR4 Micro ATX LGA1700 Motherboard
Corsair Vengeance LPX 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3200 CL16 Memory
Crucial Ballistix 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3200 CL16 Memory
Western Digital Caviar Green 1 TB 3.5" 5400 RPM Internal Hard Drive
SanDisk X400 128 GB M.2-2280 SATA Solid State Drive
Gigabyte WINDFORCE OC GeForce RTX 4060 Ti 8 GB Video Card

Thank you so much in advance, this build has been such a headache, today is my birthday and I just want it completed so I can play games whilst I still have a day off of work!

 

[Aeacus]

You need to install your M.2 drive into M2_2 slot and within BIOS, set the slot to SATA mode.

If you have it installed in M2_1 slot, then your M.2 won't work there, since your drive is AHCI (SATA), while M2_1 slot only supports NVMe drives.

I moved my SanDisk X400 128 GB M.2-2280 SSD with Windows 10 installed from my old build to my new one

Formatting the drive and making clean Win installation is a must.

You can not re-use your OS. If you do, you will see all sorts of issues, BSoD and even complete corruption of the OS and data on OS drive.

 

[hummingkiki]

You need to install your M.2 drive into M2_2 slot and within BIOS, set the slot to SATA mode.

If you have it installed in M2_1 slot, then your M.2 won't work there, since your drive is AHCI (SATA), while M2_1 slot only supports NVMe drives.


Formatting the drive and making clean Win installation is a must.

You can not re-use your OS. If you do, you will see all sorts of issues, BSoD and even complete corruption of the OS and data on OS drive.

It's installed in the M2_2 slot but I can't find an option within the BIOS to change it to SATA mode. The only M2 setting I can find is to set it to Gen1 , 2, 3 or 4 or to "Auto" (which it's currently on). I can't seem to find any other M2 settings?


As for new installation of Windows, will I need to buy it again? Luckily the SSD with the issues is purely a boot drive, so I'll lose a couple of programs but no important data. I'm happy to do a fresh install if I can keep my copy... Is it attached to my Microsoft account?

 

[Aeacus]

Is it attached to my Microsoft account?

If you attached the installation to your MS account, then you can deactivate the license from your MS account, install OS anew and use the same activation key to activate your Win again.
Note: Only one system can be activated at given time. You have to deactivate older system before you can activate the new installation.

It's installed in the M2_2 slot but I can't find an option within the BIOS to change it to SATA mode. The only M2 setting I can find is to set it to Gen1 , 2, 3 or 4 or to "Auto" (which it's currently on). I can't seem to find any other M2 settings?

Looked your MoBo BIOS manual myself and even i couldn't find an option to switch the M2_2 slot between NVMe and AHCI mode.

I suggest that you make a topic in the MSI official forums and ask the MSI gurus directly on how to change the M2_2 slot mode,
link: https://forum-en.msi.com/index.php?forums/msi-intel-boards.54/

From time-to-time, i've also asked help from official MSI forums, about questions about MSI MoBos. Helpful bunch over there.

Since at current moment, there are 2 possibilities;
#1 your drive works but you're held back due to not being able to set the M2_2 slot into AHCI (SATA mode).
#2 your drive is dead. (E.g died during transfer.) Hence why it doesn't show up in BIOS at all.

 

[hummingkiki]

If you attached the installation to your MS account, then you can deactivate the license from your MS account, install OS anew and use the same activation key to activate your Win again.
Note: Only one system can be activated at given time. You have to deactivate older system before you can activate the new installation.


Looked your MoBo BIOS manual myself and even i couldn't find an option to switch the M2_2 slot between NVMe and AHCI mode.

I suggest that you make a topic in the MSI official forums and ask the MSI gurus directly on how to change the M2_2 slot mode,
link: https://forum-en.msi.com/index.php?forums/msi-intel-boards.54/

From time-to-time, i've also asked help from official MSI forums, about questions about MSI MoBos. Helpful bunch over there.

Since at current moment, there are 2 possibilities;
#1 your drive works but you're held back due to not being able to set the M2_2 slot into AHCI (SATA mode).
#2 your drive is dead. (E.g died during transfer.) Hence why it doesn't show up in BIOS at all.

I really appreciate you replying! I've posted my question there so hopefully I'll get somewhere.

Thanks!

 

[Aeacus]

I've posted my question there so hopefully I'll get somewhere.

One helpful step would be linking this TH topic in MSI forums, so folks there can read this topic and not ask you to do same troubleshooting steps as i asked. Also, they can find out where the troubleshooting stalled.

 

[hummingkiki]

One helpful step would be linking this TH topic in MSI forums,

Oh thanks! I don't really use forums much so I don't much about the etiquette on posting other URLs in such.

 

[Aeacus]

so I don't much about the etiquette on posting other URLs in such.

It's not as much as etiquette but more in terms of 2nd forum helpers not having to do same steps as in here. Less typing this way, where you can already show what you've been suggested and what you've already done.