[SOLVED] Samsung 970 evo plus troubles

[FunkeyMonkey26]

Hello, my roommate recently got a new 970 evo plus and we are having troubles allocating disk space. After hours of troubleshooting, even referring to forums posted here, I am totally lost. We are not trying to install windows on it as he already has an SSD boot drive, we are just trying to add another storage device. When I got my NVME, I installed it, booted up disk management, and allocated the drive. Windows itself recognizes the m.2 in device manager but it doesn't appear in disk management. (There is no unallocated drive in disk management.) We also installed the Samsung m.2 driver and that didn't help either. There's a mention of (*M2_2 and SATA3_3 share lanes. If either one of them is in use, the other one will be disabled. ) in ASRock's specs page and I think it has to do with that.
Thank you

Specs:
asrock b450m pro4
AMD ryzen 5 2600
32 gig memory
RTX 2060
ssd
hdd

 

[Darkbreeze]

Try using Paragon Partition manager, which is free, and might offer some functionality lacking in drive management.

This is an excellent partition management utility that will even allow operations that windows drive management expressly forbids, like deleting Windows partitions on secondary non-boot drives. I'd definitely try that first, at least to see if it shows up as a drive with unallocated space at all. Be sure when using paragon to apply any actions you take. There are many good tutorials on using Paragon.

Paragon Partition Manager Community Edition | Paragon Software

Quickly organize and optimize partitions on your internal and external disks and media for free.

www.paragon-software.com

 

[FunkeyMonkey26]

Try using Paragon Partition manager, which is free, and might offer some functionality lacking in drive management.

This is an excellent partition management utility that will even allow operations that windows drive management expressly forbids, like deleting Windows partitions on secondary non-boot drives. I'd definitely try that first, at least to see if it shows up as a drive with unallocated space at all. Be sure when using paragon to apply any actions you take. There are many good tutorials on using Paragon.

Paragon Partition Manager Community Edition | Paragon Software

Quickly organize and optimize partitions on your internal and external disks and media for free.

www.paragon-software.com

It does not show up in paragon. Thank you for the response though.

 

[Darkbreeze]

What BIOS version is currently installed on this B450m Pro4?

Do you have other drives, whether HDD or SSD, that are connected to the SATA_3 header? Because if you don't, then that isn't related to the problem. And if you do, then it is, and you should move that device to a different SATA header.

 

[Nemesia]

Hi FunkeyMonkey26.

Here is the information from your motherboard website. The issue is that the M2_2 only support M.2 SATA SSD and the 970 EVO Plus is PCIe not SATA.

- 1 x Ultra M.2 Socket (M2_1), supports M Key type 2242/2260/2280 M.2 PCI Express module up to Gen3 x4 (32 Gb/s) (with Matisse, Picasso, Summit Ridge, Raven Ridge and Pinnacle Ridge) or Gen3 x2 (16 Gb/s) (with Athlon series APU)**

- 1 x M.2 Socket (M2_2), supports M Key type 2230/2242/2260/2280 M.2 SATA3 6.0 Gb/s module

SATA VS PCIe Connectors.

https://imgur.com/a/4fjIDLu

View: https://imgur.com/a/4fjIDLu

 

[Darkbreeze]

I knew that was it, but I looked at the ATX Pro4, which DOESN'T have that issue on it's second M.2 socket so I didn't go look at the specs for the mATX model. I knew I should have taken a look. Won't make that mistake again. That IS definitely the problem. Good call Nemesia.

 

[Nemesia]

I knew that was it, but I looked at the ATX Pro4, which DOESN'T have that issue on it's second M.2 socket so I didn't go look at the specs for the mATX model. I knew I should have taken a look. Won't make that mistake again. That IS definitely the problem. Good call Nemesia.

Thanks You're right the ATX pro4 doesn't have that issue but it can only run at x2 on the M2_2.

 

[Darkbreeze]

16GB/s is still much faster than any SATA device, and you're highly unlikely to come anywhere close to maxing out the x2 PCIe bus anyhow under normal circumstances. Unless you're transferring one large file from the primary M.2 to the second one, it's pretty much a non-issue really.

 

[FunkeyMonkey26]

Hi FunkeyMonkey26.

Here is the information from your motherboard website. The issue is that the M2_2 only support M.2 SATA SSD and the 970 EVO Plus is PCIe not SATA.

- 1 x Ultra M.2 Socket (M2_1), supports M Key type 2242/2260/2280 M.2 PCI Express module up to Gen3 x4 (32 Gb/s) (with Matisse, Picasso, Summit Ridge, Raven Ridge and Pinnacle Ridge) or Gen3 x2 (16 Gb/s) (with Athlon series APU)**

- 1 x M.2 Socket (M2_2), supports M Key type 2230/2242/2260/2280 M.2 SATA3 6.0 Gb/s module

SATA VS PCIe Connectors.

https://imgur.com/a/4fjIDLu

View: https://imgur.com/a/4fjIDLu

Thank you guys for all the responses, but I'm still confused. I understand the differences in m.2 SATA and PCIe, as one has two inserts, the other has three but my second roommate is running the same exact motherboard and successfully installed a Crucial P1 500GB 3D NAND NVMe PCIe Internal SSD. So in comparison what is the difference between Crucial and Samsung? Does Samsung have "newer" specs, which is causing connectivity issues? I was just going to reorder the Crucial drive because it worked for roommate 2, but I noticed the two drives are the exact same "PCIe interface". Would you recommend any drives and or videos that explain this fully?
Also last question, could this just be an outdated bios problem?

 

[Nemesia]

Thank you guys for all the responses, but I'm still confused. I understand the differences in m.2 SATA and PCIe, as one has two inserts, the other has three but my second roommate is running the same exact motherboard and successfully installed a Crucial P1 500GB 3D NAND NVMe PCIe Internal SSD. So in comparison what is the difference between Crucial and Samsung? Does Samsung have "newer" specs, which is causing connectivity issues? I was just going to reorder the Crucial drive because it worked for roommate 2, but I noticed the two drives are the exact same "PCIe interface". Would you recommend any drives and or videos that explain this fully?
Also last question, could this just be an outdated bios problem?

You can only install a m.2 SATA in the M2_2 slot. Your friend did not install a NVMe PCIe in the M2_2 slot.

Are you sure you two don't have the B450 pro4 instead of the B450M pro4? Only the B450 pro4 can support a PCIe NVMe in the M2_2 slot.

Please check and make sure of what you two have as board, SSD.

 

[FunkeyMonkey26]

You can only install a m.2 SATA in the M2_2 slot. Your friend did not install a NVMe PCIe in the M2_2 slot.

Are you sure you two don't have the B450 pro4 instead of the B450M pro4? Only the B450 pro4 can support a PCIe NVMe in the M2_2 slot.

Please check and make sure of what you two have as a board, SSD.

Roommate 1 and 2 both have b450m Pro4. So here's where I am still confused. Roommate 2 has the Crucial P1 500GB 3D NAND NVMe PCIe Internal SSD installed in the Ultra m2_1 slot, has allocated space, and runs games off. Roommate 1 has the Samsung 970 EVO Plus SSD 500GB NVMe PCIe and is plugged into the same Ultra m2_1 slot. It doesn't show in Disk Management but does in device manager. Any screenshots I can provide or more information please ask.

 

[Darkbreeze]

Ok, so, forgetting about the Roomate 2 situation for a moment, what is the SSD that Roomate 1 has the operating system installed on AND what SATA header on the motherboard is it connected to, specifically?

Also, EXACTLY which M.2 slot are you trying to use the 970 EVO Plus in?

The ONLY slot they can use the 970 EVO Plus in is the ultra M.2 slot which is located in between the x16 slot and the CPU. The other one, closer to the bottom right corner of the board, ONLY supports SATA M.2 drives and it has nothing to do with "inserts". Visually, they will be exactly the same for all intents and purposes. They are both 2280 M.2 form factors. They have entirely different architectures however. His/Your 970 EVO Plus is PCIe. It can only be used in the Ultra M.2 slot, which I assume you already know.

If it IS in the Ultra M.2 slot and won't work, and all the required settings are enabled in the BIOS, then either the drive isn't installed correctly, the drive is faulty, the drive is not fully supported by the BIOS firmware version, you are lacking the required Windows driver (Unlikely unless you are running Windows 7) or there is one or more bent pins on the CPU. That should pretty much cover the reasons why it wouldn't work or be seen in drive management. It's pretty unusual that it's being seen in device manager but not drive management at all. Not even as an unallocated drive.

You might try creating bootable media using Gparted, and then boot to Gparted and see if the drive is showing up in there in a non-Windows environment. Or a bootable Linux distro like Ubuntu.

What version of Windows are you running?

 

[FunkeyMonkey26]

Ok, so, forgetting about the Roomate 2 situation for a moment, what is the SSD that Roomate 1 has the operating system installed on AND what SATA header on the motherboard is it connected to, specifically?

Also, EXACTLY which M.2 slot are you trying to use the 970 EVO Plus in?

The ONLY slot they can use the 970 EVO Plus in is the ultra M.2 slot which is located in between the x16 slot and the CPU. The other one, closer to the bottom right corner of the board, ONLY supports SATA M.2 drives and it has nothing to do with "inserts". Visually, they will be exactly the same for all intents and purposes. They are both 2280 M.2 form factors. They have entirely different architectures however. His/Your 970 EVO Plus is PCIe. It can only be used in the Ultra M.2 slot, which I assume you already know.

If it IS in the Ultra M.2 slot and won't work, and all the required settings are enabled in the BIOS, then either the drive isn't installed correctly, the drive is faulty, the drive is not fully supported by the BIOS firmware version, you are lacking the required Windows driver (Unlikely unless you are running Windows 7) or there is one or more bent pins on the CPU. That should pretty much cover the reasons why it wouldn't work or be seen in drive management. It's pretty unusual that it's being seen in device manager but not drive management at all. Not even as an unallocated drive.

You might try creating bootable media using Gparted, and then boot to Gparted and see if the drive is showing up in there in a non-Windows environment. Or a bootable Linux distro like Ubuntu.

What version of Windows are you running?

Sata3_2 which is the SSD that holds the operating system, roommate 1 is running windows 10, and his BIOS version is 3.30. He also has a hard drive that is connected to Sata3_3. In regards to "*M2_2 and SATA3_3 share lanes. If either one of them is in use, the other one will be disabled." the m.2 is connected to the ultra m.2 so I don't think that's the problem.

What do you mean by "all the required settings are enabled in the BIOS" what settings need to be changed, granted I don't assume you have a similar MOBO on hand but a suggestion to disable or enable a setting?

I just looked at ASRock's bios page, and one of their latest update "4.30" https://www.asrock.com/mb/AMD/B450M Pro4/#BIOS
Should we update to this version? What is AGESA Combo-AM4 ? His CPU is Ryzen 5 2600

Also, Roommate 2 did not update his bios to install his m.2, could this be because Samsung has the newer technology?

Again thanks.

 

[SkyNetRising]

Check Windows Storage spaces.
Remove the drive from storage spaces, if it appears there.

 

[Darkbreeze]

I'd update to the latest BIOS version and THEN do a hard reset, to reset the hardware tables. Then check storage spaces as suggested by SkyNetRising.

Just updating the BIOS, if necessary, isn't always going to reset all of the hardware settings in the BIOS, so it's best to follow it up with a reset and then reconfigure any custom settings you require such as boot order, fan profiles, overclocking, etc. to be sure.

BIOS Hard Reset procedure

Power off the unit, switch the PSU off and unplug the PSU cord from either the wall or the power supply.

Remove the motherboard CMOS battery for five minutes. In some cases it may be necessary to remove the graphics card to access the CMOS battery.

During that five minutes, press the power button on the case, continuously, for 30 seconds. After the five minutes is up, reinstall the CMOS battery making sure to insert it with the correct side up just as it came out.

If you had to remove the graphics card you can now reinstall it, but remember to reconnect your power cables if there were any attached to it as well as your display cable.

Now, plug the power supply cable back in, switch the PSU back on and power up the system. It should display the POST screen and the options to enter CMOS/BIOS setup. Enter the bios setup program and reconfigure the boot settings for either the Windows boot manager or for legacy systems, the drive your OS is installed on if necessary.

Save settings and exit. If the system will POST and boot then you can move forward from there including going back into the bios and configuring any other custom settings you may need to configure such as Memory XMP, A-XMP or D.O.C.P profile settings, custom fan profile settings or other specific settings you may have previously had configured that were wiped out by resetting the CMOS.

In some cases it may be necessary when you go into the BIOS after a reset, to load the Optimal default or Default values and then save settings, to actually get the hardware tables to reset in the boot manager.

It is probably also worth mentioning that for anything that might require an attempt to DO a hard reset in the first place, IF the problem is related to a lack of video signal, it is a GOOD IDEA to try a different type of display as many systems will not work properly for some reason with displayport configurations. It is worth trying HDMI if you are having no display or lack of visual ability to enter the BIOS, or no signal messages.

Trying a different monitor as well, if possible, is also a good idea if there is a lack of display. It happens.

 

[Jardonnay]

I'd update to the latest BIOS version and THEN do a hard reset, to reset the hardware tables. Then check storage spaces as suggested by SkyNetRising.

Just updating the BIOS, if necessary, isn't always going to reset all of the hardware settings in the BIOS, so it's best to follow it up with a reset and then reconfigure any custom settings you require such as boot order, fan profiles, overclocking, etc. to be sure.

BIOS Hard Reset procedure

Power off the unit, switch the PSU off and unplug the PSU cord from either the wall or the power supply.

Remove the motherboard CMOS battery for five minutes. In some cases it may be necessary to remove the graphics card to access the CMOS battery.

During that five minutes, press the power button on the case, continuously, for 30 seconds. After the five minutes is up, reinstall the CMOS battery making sure to insert it with the correct side up just as it came out.

If you had to remove the graphics card you can now reinstall it, but remember to reconnect your power cables if there were any attached to it as well as your display cable.

Now, plug the power supply cable back in, switch the PSU back on and power up the system. It should display the POST screen and the options to enter CMOS/BIOS setup. Enter the bios setup program and reconfigure the boot settings for either the Windows boot manager or for legacy systems, the drive your OS is installed on if necessary.

Save settings and exit. If the system will POST and boot then you can move forward from there including going back into the bios and configuring any other custom settings you may need to configure such as Memory XMP, A-XMP or D.O.C.P profile settings, custom fan profile settings or other specific settings you may have previously had configured that were wiped out by resetting the CMOS.

In some cases it may be necessary when you go into the BIOS after a reset, to load the Optimal default or Default values and then save settings, to actually get the hardware tables to reset in the boot manager.

It is probably also worth mentioning that for anything that might require an attempt to DO a hard reset in the first place, IF the problem is related to a lack of video signal, it is a GOOD IDEA to try a different type of display as many systems will not work properly for some reason with displayport configurations. It is worth trying HDMI if you are having no display or lack of visual ability to enter the BIOS, or no signal messages.

Trying a different monitor as well, if possible, is also a good idea if there is a lack of display. It happens.

Roommate 1 here. I just wanted to say thank you for the help! We are going to refund the 970 and get the m.2 my other roommate has. Since the majority of our parts are the same and he didn’t seem to have any problems at all.
Sorry for the trouble and thank you for trying to help!

Hopefully someone else visits this thread and can find it useful! A lot of good recommendations!

 

[Darkbreeze]

No problem man. Let us know if the other drive resolves the issue. Of course, it's always a possibility that the hardware itself is the problem, and often, it IS, but we like to try to remove all other options before convicting something. In some cases though you simply have to throw parts at a problem to solve it.

At this point it's likely that it's either the drive itself, or the motherboard. I doubt it is anything else, but I wouldn't rule it out either.