Solved M.2 SSD setup issues

[Kreamdog]

Hey everyone.

I hope this is the right place for this post. I recently bought a Samsung 960 EVO M.2 ssd but i'm having trouble getting it set up. After installing the card I tried to format it but there's no option for me to do so. I initialized it when prompted to and chose GPT instead of MBR. The disk is visible in disk management and says it's online with no errors, Samsungs own software (Magician) also confirms this and all drives are up to date. I tried going into the BIOS and setting it up, whilst there is no M.2 option for me I did select X4 mode. Nothings working and i'm not that tech savvy to be honest so if anyone can help i'd appreciate it.

 

[crjdriver]

OK, are you attempting to use this drive as a system drive ie for windows install?
Next it would really help if you posted all of your exact system specs; ie exact motherboard, exact pw supply, etc, etc. If this is a big box system ie dell, hp, whatever, post the exact brand, model# and service tag#

Some motherboards share resources between a m.2 slot and a sata port. This may or may not be an issue however we have no idea since we do not know what hardware you are running.

After you get the drive up and running, there is a nvme driver available on the samsung site. Installing this driver will boost read/write times a little bit.

 

[Kreamdog]

The drive is not going to be used to run any kind of OS. I have the nvme driver already installed from Samsung and my specs are as follows.

MB- Asus Rog Maximus viii hero
CPU- i7 6700
PSU- Corsair ax-1500i

Cheers.

 

[crjdriver]

There is a bios update for your motherboard that addresses samsung m.2 issues. What exact bios are you running? You need bios 3703 or later.

BTW this is why we need exact specs

 

[Kreamdog]

Ok so I updated my bios to the newest version and now I’m stuck in a bios update loop. After installing the new version it rebooted and went to the “bios is updating do not shut down” screen but it constantly reboots and returns to this screen. I’ve tried entering bios on a reboot but it won’t let me.

 

[crjdriver]

How did you update the bios ie using ezflash or from within windows?
Have you tried clearing cmos or as asus calls it RTC?
The ROG boards usually have a bios flashback feature. Read your motherboard manual to see if you have this feature and how to use bios flashback.

 

[crjdriver]

Just checked your manual and yes you have bios flashback. Page 2-12 of the online manual explains how to use this feature. Before you attempt this, be sure you have tried clearing cmos AND you read and fully understand the flashback procedure.

 

[Kreamdog]

Ok so I’ve sucessfully updated my bios to the latest version and it appears to have worked this time but I’m still in the same place in regards to my m.2.

 

[crjdriver]

Just to be sure, in disk management you are not able to create a partition? When you right click on the unallocated space, you do not have an option to create partition/volume?

 

[Kreamdog]

Yeah all options were greyed out for me. However I uninstalled the device and reinstalled it and got it working. I’m going to assume that the main problem was my bios needed updating. Either way it’s working now so thanks for the help.

 

[crjdriver]

You are welcome. You can mark your own thread as solved using the button at the upper left of the page. No need to do so for this one; I will mark it for you.