[SOLVED] NVME M.2 Sabrent Rocket512Gb Primary boot issue

[Geoff25]

I have a new NVME Sabrent M.2 PCIe drive (512Gb)
My aim is to use this as my primary boot drive on a Z170i Pro Gaming Mini ITX board.

Currently I have a Samsung 850EVO 512Gb SSD as primary boot which is stable with latest Windows 10 build: 18362. (64BIT)
BIOS is in UEFI Mode and the SDD is formatted in GPT partition mode.

The following is my attempt to boot from the new NVME Sabrent drive:

1. NVME drive installed into M.2 port on underside of motherboard.
2. Entered BIOS to confirm NVME drive detected OK.
3. Checked that BIOS BOOT is in UEFI mode for boot devices. CSM enabled at this point.
4. Used Macium Reflect to clone current boot drive over to NVME Sabrent drive. 26 minutes to clone successfully.
5. Set BIOS to boot from new Windows boot partition on NVME drive. Disabled CSM. Disconnected other two drives (C: Samsung SSD with Boot Partition and Seagate SSHD backup drive.)

The problem:

After various attempts I have been unable to get the system to boot from the new NVME Sabrent drive. The system error is always INACCESSIBLE BOOT DEVICE.

These are the various checks I have made to the NVME Sabrent drive:

1. I booted the PC successfully back to windows 10 via my old Samsung SSD boot drive after changing the BOOT sequence and enabling CSM in BIOS.
2. I can see the new NVME drive in my file explorer and it is fully accessible to read and write to. Windows confirms it has a boot partition.
3. I can see an exact copy of my C: Boot Drive on the new NVME Sabrent drive and the partition is GPT UEFI mode.
4. My first attempt to clone was made with the NVME drive in an external USB drive interface case.
5. I have made another clone of the C: Drive via Macium Reflect with the NVME installed in the motherboard M.2 port.
6. The motherboard is compatible with the NVME drive.

Present position:

I still get the same error message (INACCESSIBLE BOOT DEVICE) when attempting to boot to the new NVME drive despite ensuring all the formatting, UEFI and BIOS settings are correct for this device. My motherboard also has the very latest BIOS

I originally had a standard Seagate HD as my primary boot drive and cloned this to my present SAMSUNG SSD without any problems two years ago.

I am now at a loss as to what to do in order to get the new NVME drive to boot Windows 10.

I do not want to have to reinstall a fresh copy of windows to the new NVME drive. Chances are this won't boot either bearing in mind the above.

Questions:

1. Am I missing something in the BIOS settings that I need to be aware of?
2. Does the Motherboard need a separate firmware update to fully utilised the NVME drive as a boot device? I'm guessing not with the fact the drive is recognised in the Windows File Explorer.
3. Is there a strict sequence of steps to BIOS settings and booting the NVME for the first time that need should explore?

Any help and support on this issue would be most welcome.

Regards

Geoff

 

[Lutfij]

Instead of cloning the prior OS on the prior SSD, you should've just reinstalled the OS after creating the bootable installer using Windows Media Creation Tools. To add, armed with only the Sabrent SSD, install the OS on the device while all other drives are disconnected.

Prior to that, make sure you're on the latest BIOS update for your motherboard. You should also then have CSM disabled. It's only necessary if you want to install an OS like Windows 7.

 

[SkyNetRising]

support on this issue would be most welcome.

Can you show screenshot from Disk Management?
(upload to imgur.com and post link)

If OS on your old SSD is installed on MBR drive, you can't just clone it to GPT drive.
Certain modifications are necessary for it to work.

Source and target drive partitioning must be identical or it will not boot.

You have 2 options:
1. convert nvme drive to MBR and perform cloning.

2. use mbp2gpt to convert your current OS to GPT/UEFI and then clone to GPT drive.

 

[Geoff25]

Can you show screenshot from Disk Management?
(upload to imgur.com and post link)

If OS on your old SSD is installed on MBR drive, you can't just clone it to GPT drive.
Certain modifications are necessary for it to work.

Source and target drive partitioning must be identical or it will not boot.

You have 2 options:
1. convert nvme drive to MBR and perform cloning.

2. use mbp2gpt to convert your current OS to GPT/UEFI and then clone to GPT drive.

Can you show screenshot from Disk Management?
(upload to imgur.com and post link)

If OS on your old SSD is installed on MBR drive, you can't just clone it to GPT drive.
Certain modifications are necessary for it to work.

Source and target drive partitioning must be identical or it will not boot.

You have 2 options:
1. convert nvme drive to MBR and perform cloning.

2. use mbp2gpt to convert your current OS to GPT/UEFI and then clone to GPT drive.

Thanks for your input. It has given me something to consider including revising my approach to the clone process, Intel Rapid storage drivers and disabling SATA devices during the reboot process from the NVME.

 

[Geoff25]

Instead of cloning the prior OS on the prior SSD, you should've just reinstalled the OS after creating the bootable installer using Windows Media Creation Tools. To add, armed with only the Sabrent SSD, install the OS on the device while all other drives are disconnected.

Prior to that, make sure you're on the latest BIOS update for your motherboard. You should also then have CSM disabled. It's only necessary if you want to install an OS like Windows 7.

Thanks for your input. I will revise the OS install process with SATA devices disconnected while in UEFI mode and CSM disabled. I have a feeling this is the root cause of the boot issue.

 

[SkyNetRising]

Thanks for your input. It has given me something to consider including revising my approach to the clone process,

Just show screenshot from Disk Management.

 

[Geoff25]

Just show screenshot from Disk Management.

Just show screenshot from Disk Management.

Drives are GPT partitioned having just checked Disk Management tool.

 

[SkyNetRising]

Why can't you show it?