Aorus Z790 Elite AX indicates no bootable device detected.
Aorus Z790 Elite AX indicates no bootable device detected.
I've spent years working with PCs and coding, yet I just assembled my initial machine. It launched normally at first, but it only recognized the BIOS and said no bootable drive was found. The motherboard is an Aorus Z790 Elite AX NVME SSD, essentially a copy of a Windows 10 setup—BIOS sees it as present. I did this because some software I needed isn't available anymore, and I don’t want to start from scratch with a full Windows install, which would be a big hassle for me. I’ve looked into a few solutions but still face challenges.
1. I found that enabling CMS might help, though it seems not possible with integrated graphics and since my main use is software development, I didn’t set up a GPU.
2. There’s a note about MBR partitions potentially causing issues, but DiskGenius shows it as GPT—so that’s probably fine.
3. I tested the SSD in all three slots and confirmed it reads correctly on the PC that was cloned.
Almost there with my first build, but I’m stuck trying to boot Windows. Any suggestions would be really helpful. Thanks.
Cloned drives from another system usually face issues when transferred to a new machine. This process isn't officially supported on Windows. Check if Secure Boot is enabled in the BIOS. You might want to review it and attempt cloning again (provided you can boot from the clone on the original computer). Consider using sysprep to see if it resolves the problem.
Thank you for the response. Secure Boot is active in the BIOS but hidden, preventing any adjustments. John
UEFI may restrict connections from devices other than the primary one. If you're setting up a new mainboard, consider installing it with a fresh M.2 NVMe drive. These typically offer 5 to 20 times greater speed compared to older SSDs, depending on the PCIe version. Remove all additional drives during installation.
The drive I’m copying to is a brand-new, unused PCIe Gen 4 M.2 NVMe storage device and is the sole disk connected during startup.
Enable legacy boot, and it should start up. NOTE: previously you mentioned it was set for CSM, but GPT requires UEFI support. You must switch it to UEFI mode only. Secure boot isn't necessary here, as UEFI is required. For older systems, cloning usually works if you have the full disk—including EFI and recovery partitions. If missing any, it won't boot. When beginning with a new board, I suggest a clean install on an empty drive, containing just one partition, to let Windows set everything up properly.
I've tried Legacy again, but CSM remains unavailable since I'm using onboard graphics instead of a dedicated GPU. In the BIOS settings, Windows 10 features show CSM support as disabled. Storage Boot Option is enabled, UEFI is active, and other PCI devices are set to UEFI. Switching to CSM restores Other PCI Devices to Legacy mode, but it resets once I power off and restart. I'll attempt cloning once more, confirming all partitions are present.