It's labeled as a local drive yet starts with FreeCom.
It's labeled as a local drive yet starts with FreeCom.
I recently replaced my CPU with a Ryzen 5 2600, upgraded the motherboard to an Asrock B450m Pro4, installed DDR4 RAM, and added an A Kingston A1000 240Gb M.2 NVMe drive. After weeks of trying without results, I think I’m almost there. When I switch off the HDD and open File Explorer, both drives appear as local storage. If I boot from the M.2, it launches freeCOM. Based on this, I just need to make the M.2 bootable so it should work... how do I do that?
FreeCOM refers to a tool or method used to access or manage data from a hard drive without requiring paid software. It’s often associated with extracting information or files from storage devices. In simpler terms, it’s a way to retrieve content from a hard drive using free resources.
I installed Windows by using a physical disc or a USB drive. If it was a USB, I created the installation media myself. The computer is running in either legacy mode or UEFI, depending on the system settings.
You're using a USB drive created through a software you downloaded from the Microsoft website. It seems to be a media creation tool, possibly a bootable USB for installation. For the boot mode, you can check by booting from the USB and looking at the boot options in your computer's BIOS/UEFI settings. If it should be UEFI, it will typically be listed there.
Open your UEFI settings and locate an entry for CSM or Compatibility Support Module (available on Asus or Gigabyte boards). Turn it off. If you're using an MSI board, the equivalent is Windows 8/10 Mode—ensure it's active. It's puzzling why MSI changed the terminology. After adjusting, power down and disconnect all other hard drives temporarily for simplicity. Insert the USB stick, restart, press F8 until the boot menu shows, choose your USB, boot to Windows setup, during partitioning erase everything except the M.2 drive, then click next. Windows will create the partition and after installation it should restart into Windows 10.
And someone familiar with these topics suggested using a DVD, though it didn't help. He mentioned a driver problem that could be fixed with the disk included with the motherboard. At home, I've used that disk and reached this stage. Yeah, I've tried it a few times, but for now I'm giving it another shot... Let's see if it works this time.