Question Replacing dead Sata SSD with new M2 NVME SSD.

Sep 7, 2021
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Hi,

Hoping i can get some help before I go ahead and perform a fresh Windows 10 install on my new SSD(complete newb here). I've made a bootable flash drive with windows installation media. My old SATA SSD(Intel 535 Series) bricked on me and I've purchased a Samsung M2 NVME 970 EVO Plus SSD to replace it. I just need to confirm a few things first as I'm unsure of what I need to change in the BIOS to make it compatible with the new NVME SSD. This PC was bought pre-built about 5 years ago.

A few things I've noticed is that the BIOS doesn't show the faster M.2_2 slot. The M.2_1 slot is there and I have changed it to PCIE. However I tried plugging the new SSD in to the M.2_2 slot and it does indeed show up in the Boot settings. I'm guessing it may not be getting detected in the Onboard Devices Configuration menu as the BIOS version is as old as the PC and has not been updated. I'm hesistant to update it because I have no idea on how to configure BIOS settings. Would I be ok to just go ahead and install it on the M.2_2 slot? Or is there really much of a difference in performance if I were to just install it on the M.2_1 slot?

I've included an imgur album below with all the current BIOS settings. I'm not sure of what I need to change before I go ahead and install windows. I think the UEFI settings may need to be changed as well as CSM and some other PCIE entries that I can see but am unsure of. Any help would be greatly appreciated.


View: https://imgur.com/a/lKS9rbf
 

USAFRet

Titan
Moderator
Performance should be identical in either of the 2 M.2 ports.
 
Sep 7, 2021
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That's good to hear. In that case I'll just install it on the M.2_1 slot as that's the only one showing in bios. In regards to some of the other BIOS settings, will these entries need to be changed before installing Windows 10 on this drive? This is what they are currently configured as(also shown in the imgur album):

CSM
Launch CSM - Enabled
Boot Device Control - UEFI and Legacy OPROM
Boot from Network Devices - Legacy only
Boot from Storage Devices - Legacy only
Boot from PCI-E Expansion Devices - Legacy only

There are also some PCIE entries in the pics that have options like PCIE speed as 1.0, 2.0 or 3.0 as well as gen1, gen2 and gen3. Does this have any effect on the performance of the SSD?
 
Last edited:
Sep 7, 2021
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Ok so from reading some other sources, I'm gathering that I need the "Launch CSM" setting to be disabled.

Have come across some other questions. Under secure boot options, should I change the current setting from "Other OS" to "Windows UEFI mode"?

Under USB configuration should I have "Legacy USB Support" enabled or disabled?
Again any help would be appreciated. It's all so confusing as different sites are saying different things.