Question mobo doesnt see M.2 (and it's generally junk)

[DigDog]

I built a new system on a MSI B450 Tomahawk MAX II and it doesn't see my brand-spanking-new Samsung M.2 drive; not in BIOS, not in device manager.

My SATA are *not* plugged in to ports 5/6.

AHCI mode on by default.

I'm gonna try a BIOS flash tomorrow but with all likelyhood this won't do much.

Also this damn board takes FOREVER to get into BIOS and reboot. Seriously. 1m40sec for a reboot.

 

[DAPUNISHER]

I built a new system on a MSI B450 Tomahawk MAX II and it doesn't see my brand-spanking-new Samsung M.2 drive; not in BIOS, not in device manager.

My SATA are *not* plugged in to ports 5/6.

AHCI mode on by default.

I'm gonna try a BIOS flash tomorrow but with all likelyhood this won't do much.

Also this damn board takes FOREVER to get into BIOS and reboot. Seriously. 1m40sec for a reboot.

It does sound like a corrupted bios. Could be struggling with the ram too. I would use 1 stick until you have it sorted, just as a failsafe.

I have the OG version of that board, and it has been a champ for a couple of years now.

 

[DigDog]

It does sound like a corrupted bios. Could be struggling with the ram too. I would use 1 stick until you have it sorted, just as a failsafe.

I have the OG version of that board, and it has been a champ for a couple of years now.

new BIOS is coming tomorrow (i only have 1 USB drive and i'm keeping my previous LTSC W10 on it). Hopefully, and im not terribly hopeful, it will fix the issue.
As for the ridiculously slow boot time, i dont know what is could be. Keep in mind that running 4 sticks of ram has been shows to actually *improve* the efficiency of the 5600x for up to 10% ...
I didnt do any stress test but i ran a quick benchmark (from userbenchmarks website) and all 32Gb are visible in BIOS, so i'm not sure it could possibly be that ...

 

[DAPUNISHER]

new BIOS is coming tomorrow (i only have 1 USB drive and i'm keeping my previous LTSC W10 on it). Hopefully, and im not terribly hopeful, it will fix the issue.
As for the ridiculously slow boot time, i dont know what is could be. Keep in mind that running 4 sticks of ram has been shows to actually *improve* the efficiency of the 5600x for up to 10% ...

Understood, but if your ram is not on the QVL Ryzen can be finicky. Especially with all slots populated. BIOS updates usually address it. That board is so newish, I think ram is not an issue, but ya never know.

Temps all look good in UEFI? Cleared CMOS? All the usual stuff right? If so, and the bios isn't nerfed, then you are unfortunately right about getting a lemon.

 

[DigDog]

Understood, but if your ram is not on the QVL Ryzen can be finicky. Especially with all slots populated. BIOS updates usually address it. That board is so newish, I think ram is not an issue, but ya never know.

Temps all look good in UEFI? Cleared CMOS? All the usual stuff right? If so, and the bios isn't nerfed, then you are unfortunately right about getting a lemon.

I have not cleared CMOS, all settings were vanilla. Ill try it anyway.
RAM is the cheapo GSkill stuff, 3200, nothing absurd, they sold TONS of these are they are very likely the most often coupled with 5600x modules.
I'm leaning more on a DOA m.2 drive, but i have seen a few "mobo dont recognize NVMe" threads around - none of which was solved, although they mentioned the BIOS update.

Note that, this bios update was done by the retailer, it's the official MSI Amazon store, but who knows. The BIOS date is listed, and it does *NOT* match any BIOS in the Support page. So, they could well have flashed the wrong BIOS, who knows.

(temps are all spectacular)

 

[UsandThem]

I have not cleared CMOS, all settings were vanilla. Ill try it anyway.
RAM is the cheapo GSkill stuff, 3200, nothing absurd, they sold TONS of these are they are very likely the most often coupled with 5600x modules.
I'm leaning more on a DOA m.2 drive, but i have seen a few "mobo dont recognize NVMe" threads around - none of which was solved, although they mentioned the BIOS update.

Note that, this bios update was done by the retailer, it's the official MSI Amazon store, but who knows. The BIOS date is listed, and it does *NOT* match any BIOS in the Support page. So, they could well have flashed the wrong BIOS, who knows.

The BIOS version is whatever version it was when it was manufactured.

Amazon doesn't flash BIOS updates to motherboards, and the only other sellers I see selling that board on Amazon are not a MSI company / storefront. In fact, all the products I looked at on the MSI "store" page are all random 3rd party sellers.

https://www.amazon.com/stores/MSIGaming/Homepage/page/4B9191C5-F3E7-4101-993F-ABD067C141BB

 

[DAPUNISHER]

I have not cleared CMOS, all settings were vanilla. Ill try it anyway.
RAM is the cheapo GSkill stuff, 3200, nothing absurd, they sold TONS of these are they are very likely the most often coupled with 5600x modules.
I'm leaning more on a DOA m.2 drive, but i have seen a few "mobo dont recognize NVMe" threads around - none of which was solved, although they mentioned the BIOS update.

Note that, this bios update was done by the retailer, it's the official MSI Amazon store, but who knows. The BIOS date is listed, and it does *NOT* match any BIOS in the Support page. So, they could well have flashed the wrong BIOS, who knows.

Definitely clear CMOS. I like to disconnect PSU cord, pop the battery, hit the power button a couple of times, and wait a minute. I know you should just have to short jumpers or push a button on the board. But I have had to do the above on some boards to get things running properly.

It sounds like they nerfed the bios as you suspect. Hopefully the flash works out. But on the upside, returns through Amazon are easy. Personally, I get a refund and buy a B550.

 

[UsandThem]

Definitely clear CMOS. I like to disconnect PSU cord, pop the battery, hit the power button a couple of times, and wait a minute. I know you should just have to short jumpers or push a button on the board. But I have had to do the above on some boards to get things running properly.

It sounds like they nerfed the bios as you suspect. Hopefully the flash works out. But on the upside, returns through Amazon are easy. Personally, I get a refund and buy a B550.

It the BIOS was corrupted, it likely would not be usable at all.

When I bought my Asus B550 motherboard a while back, it came with a BIOS version that had some major issues reported by users, so Asus pulled that BIOS update from their site, so it wasn't listed at all. I imagine since the OP's BIOS version isn't listed on MSI's site, my guess would be that is the reason. If there are no major problems with particular versions, the manufacturer generally leaves older versions.

 

[DigDog]

well, it could be that the MSI store isn't directly owned by MSI. However they do promote the board as Ryzen 5000 ready, and they added a sticker as well on the box that says so.

They quite possibly did this for hundreds of boards and wound up using the wrong one.

If it doesn't work i may have to return the board; i have no way to test the NVMe because nobody else i know owns a desktop. Problem is, this board was £59, the same but B550 is £120.

 

[UsandThem]

well, it could be that the MSI store isn't directly owned by MSI. However they do promote the board as Ryzen 5000 ready, and they added a sticker as well on the box that says so.

But who is the seller of the motherboard as listed in your Amazon order details?

 

[DigDog]

But who is the seller of the motherboard as listed in your Amazon order details?

riiiight ... it's not MSI, it's "IT Trade Station Ltd"
let's leave it where it is for now, we'll pick up tomorrow if the bios flash doesnt fix it.

 

[UsandThem]

riiiight ... it's not MSI, it's "IT Trade Station Ltd"
let's leave it where it is for now, we'll pick up tomorrow if the bios flash doesnt fix it.

Yeah, that's some random 3rd party seller, and not related to MSI at all.

Flash the BIOS with a newer version to see if it fixes your issues. Until you do that, there's no way to be sure if you have a motherboard, RAM, or even a SSD problem.

 

[DAPUNISHER]

It the BIOS was corrupted, it likely would not be usable at all.

When I bought my Asus B550 motherboard a while back, it came with a BIOS version that had some major issues reported by users, so Asus pulled that BIOS update from their site, so it wasn't listed at all. I imagine since the OP's BIOS version isn't listed on MSI's site, my guess would be that is the reason. If there are no major problems with particular versions, the manufacturer generally leaves older versions.

You are technically correct, the best kind, and why I used nerfed in other posts. Wonky, flakey... Corrupted does get used in place of those, but you are right, I was wrong, it is best defined as post code or DOA.

 

[Iron Woode]

My Nvme drive didn't show up in the BIOS when I put it in. When I enabled CSM it showed up.

Not sure why it worked but that is one idea to try.

 

[DigDog]

@Iron Woode @DAPUNISHER @UsandThem
no luck.
updated BIOS to latest available. Cleared CMOS. tested with 1 stick of ram. board still does not see NVMe and is still ridiculously slow to boot.
I have started a return with amazon and went with a Gigabyte instead that costs more than twice (B550) because i'm mentally exhausted and i just want stuff to work.

It would be colossal irony if the NVMe turns out to be faulty but i have no way to test it ...

 

[Iron Woode]

@Iron Woode @DAPUNISHER @UsandThem
no luck.
updated BIOS to latest available. Cleared CMOS. tested with 1 stick of ram. board still does not see NVMe and is still ridiculously slow to boot.
I have started a return with amazon and went with a Gigabyte instead that costs more than twice (B550) because i'm mentally exhausted and i just want stuff to work.

It would be colossal irony if the NVMe turns out to be faulty but i have no way to test it ...

I like the X570 boards for PCIe 4.0 for Nvme drives and such.

 

[In2Photos]

Maybe pick up a USB adapter to test the drive?

Sabrent USB 3.2 Type-C Tool-Free Enclosure for M.2 PCIe NVMe and SATA SSDs (EC-SNVE) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08RVC6F9...t_i_X3S7AV7B6FADWZBND0W9?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1

 

[DigDog]

Maybe pick up a USB adapter to test the drive?

Sabrent USB 3.2 Type-C Tool-Free Enclosure for M.2 PCIe NVMe and SATA SSDs (EC-SNVE) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08RVC6F9...t_i_X3S7AV7B6FADWZBND0W9?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1

thank you, i did not know this existed.

 

[DigDog]

AAARGHH


So i returned the Tomahawk, and got a Aorus Elite AX V2 rev.1.1

Boot time issues have disappeared, it now boots properly in around 15 sec.

STILL cannot see EITHER of the NMVe ... yes, not only did i but a NVMe riser adaptor, i ALSO bough another NMVe. A WD Black and a Samsung 9-something.

 

[blckgrffn]

AAARGHH


So i returned the Tomahawk, and got a Aorus Elite AX V2 rev.1.1

Boot time issues have disappeared, it now boots properly in around 15 sec.

STILL cannot see EITHER of the NMVe ... yes, not only did i but a NVMe riser adaptor, i ALSO bough another NMVe. A WD Black and a Samsung 9-something.

Wow.

So you’re doing it wrong (no idea how, but they are like ram sticks, you gotta get them in there) or your luck is simply *the worst*!

Bummer, man!

 

[UsandThem]

Are you initializing them in disk management?

The odds of getting multiple defective SSDs (especially from different brands) would be very, very low.

https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-server/storage/disk-management/initialize-new-disks

 

[DigDog]

The Toma doesnt have an option to switch NVMe support on or off. The Aorus does, and it's on.
The toma has a "board explorer" that tells you what is plugged into it - it even recognizes my zowie driverless mouse, YET, it doesnt see the NVMe when plugged into the M.2 slot, nor when plugged into PCIE via riser.
The Aorus doesn't see the M.2 slot as populated.

I watched some videos because i was genuinely thinking i missed a step, idk, "peel this sticker" or "format it in BIOS", but not. Even Samsung Magician, or Drive Management fail to see them. ofc the latest (and correct) chipset drives are in. And i'm making sure that there are no conflicts between which SATA ports i populate (the Toma doesnt allow you use of ports 5/6 if you use the M.2).

 

[DAPUNISHER]

I have a couple of hypothesis.

1: You are the first member here, to kill multiple NVME sticks with static discharge. As though you were some kind of Spiderman villain.

2: The controller on your Ryzen is potentially failing. You have had it in 2 boards of late, so it is unlikely that it needs to be reseated due to poor pin connections or something. I would try a different CPU to confirm or rule out that possibility.

 

[In2Photos]

Any chance you can take a picture of the NVME drive installed without any motherboard heatsink covers?

 

[DigDog]

I have a couple of hypothesis.

1: You are the first member here, to kill multiple NVME sticks with static discharge. As though you were some kind of Spiderman villain.

2: The controller on your Ryzen is potentially failing. You have had it in 2 boards of late, so it is unlikely that it needs to be reseated due to poor pin connections or something. I would try a different CPU to confirm or rule out that possibility.

the NVMe controller is ON-DIE ?!?!? Like, in the CPU ?

Anyway, the CPU was brand new, sealed, and it's working perfectly. I ran a quick&dirty benchmark from userbenchmark.com and i got 102% based on identical systems, so ..

Also, while i do have a carpeted room, im constantly grounding myself because YOU KNOW, static. And i have never actually observed static in this room.


On a plus side, i've just finished dismantling, lubing, silencing, and putting back together *without breaking anything* my Topre Realforce, and ladies and gentlemen, WE HAVE THOCC !