Can't Boot from M2 SSD in PCie Adapter

[holygamer]

I have a Gigabyte GA-Z77X-UD4H motherboard. It doesn't have any M2 slots so I bought a PCIe adapter. Windows sees the drive but I can only use it as a data drive. When I try to install Windows on the drive it says Windows can't be installed because the hardware may not support booting to this disk. Ensure that the disks controller is enabled in the bios menu.

I made sure the disk was GPT before trying to install Windows. I also tried using CloneZilla and Easeus Todo to clone the old C drive to the new one but that didn't work - it still wouldn't boot.

I read reviews before buying the adapter and the Samsung SM951 SSD and people said they could boot from both devices fine. I assume they must have a motherboard made in the last year. The last bios released for my motherboard was on 7th Jan 2013.

Is there any way to get Windows to boot from the drive?

Is there any M2 drive that WILL work?

[kalniel]

Unlikely. You'll probably need a BIOS update or 9X chipset to be able to boot from PCIe.

[Bonebreaker777]

That's a kick in the teeth. Did you tried to Google modded BIOS for your mobo?

[elite1981]

i'm having the same trouble with a Samsung SM951 PCIe SSD but in an asus 170 pro gaming motherboard and get the same error I've contacted asus support and scan support and neither seem to be able to help, if you try a windows 10 install (even after changing CSM support to UEFI first) setup starts and then says cannot load boot-critical drivers there is clearly some sort of compatibility issue or as mentioned above a UEFI update that's needed to get it to work - one thing i'm trying now is to install windows 7 on a normal hdd then cloning it to the PCIe SSD (haven't finished yet so I don't know if it'll work) but that's not really acceptable as it should work straight off. I can't believe many people would have the technical now how for doing this long winded way of installing an OS so I hope Asus comes up with a solution soon. did you ever find a solution holygamer?

[EarlGrey]

I am interested in getting exactly this for my system, the Samsung SM951 (or 950 pro) with a PCIe adapter. My motherboard is ASRock Z77 Extreme6.

Can I even use the PCIe adapter in the second PCIe slot - normally for SLI - full length slot, even though the adapter is short?

And if it will work, what are the chances it will boot from M.2 drive?

Any help much appreciated!

[Hypertension]

Hello Earl. I am new to this forum, but I am really struggling with trying to install a SM951 to the same board, the Z77 Extreme 6.

There is a beta update available for the NVMe version of the drive (although I have purchased the AHCI version). As per the OP, initially I couldn't install Windows 7 to the drive, despite it showing in Windows. After many hours of trawling through posts, I managed to find one that suggested the Windows itself was an issue. The suggestion was to try Windows 8.1. This worked... at least to install the files to the drive. However, once installed, the PC requires a reboot, and herewith lies the next problem. Windows now cannot detect it as a boot device, so cannot complete the installation. I'm at my wits end with it TBF!

If anyone has any suggestions on where to go from here, please fire away! Would I recommend spending hard earned money on a SM951 with the Z66 Extreme 6, no. BIOS updates are not forthcoming.

[EarlGrey]

Hi Hyper, Thanks for taking the time to post, your feedback is very much appreciated. Is there any chance that Win10 would help over Win8.1? I guess not.

I did also notice however, that there is a BIOS update for the motherboard from here (ASRock website) which is from 2015 and available for Win8 or Win10. May be this is worth a shot?

Do let us know if you have any breakthroughs!

[Hypertension]

Hi Hyper, Thanks for taking the time to post, your feedback is very much appreciated. Is there any chance that Win10 would help over Win8.1? I guess not.

I did also notice however, that there is a BIOS update for the motherboard from ... which is from 2015 and available for Win8 or Win10. May be this is worth a shot?

Do let us know if you have any breakthroughs!

Tried again this evening with the new info. I had actually already used the link you provided to install the Beta BIOS update. Thought I'd try some of the Windows 10 specific drivers too.

As you thought, Windows 10 installs to the SSD fine, the same as Windows 8.1. The issue is the reboot to complete installation. I have tried so many combinations of BIOS settings to get this to work. I can see all me older Sata SSD's, but the PCIE one isn't listed. It will not boot with them unplugged.

The Windows 10 drivers install to a working copy of Windows 10, so to my knowledge they will not make any difference unless I can finish installation. Anyone know if that is incorrect? One of the drivers sounded interesting, it was called "restart to UEFI", wondered if that would make a difference. Doesn't seem to have though...

Anyway, thought about throwing it out of the window this evening. I don't call myself Hypertension for nothing (beside the fact that it sounds like I'm going to be hyperfast in games, when in reality I'm getting a little on in age now!)