No display appears when changing the SSD in an Asus laptop with M.2 system.
No display appears when changing the SSD in an Asus laptop with M.2 system.
Hi, I own an older ASUS laptop from 2018 with a 128GB SSD. It was last updated in BIOS in 2019, and it's still functioning well. I don’t intend to upgrade further since I mainly use it for classes and have a better machine at home. I’ve added 16GB RAM and swapped the SSD for a larger one, but everything seems fine. After replacing the old drive with the new one, the laptop won’t power on at all—no beep, no lights, just silence. When I put back the original SSD, it restarts normally. I’ve also tried using a different SSD and even a PCIe 3.0 slot, but nothing changes. The issue seems to be with the new SSD not communicating properly. Anyone know what might be wrong or if there’s a workaround? Thanks!
I took a risk that seems to back up what I've learned. All the information I've gathered suggests it should work with four lanes in two lanes. The speed will simply drop to half. I created an extra pcie3.0 SSD, made it bootable, and put it on the laptop. The power switch lit up, the boot screen appeared, but the M.2 slot nearly melted the drive (that's fine). Smoke came out. I'm likely returning the Samsung 990 and looking for a two-lane option, but no one sells them.
I looked through Amazon and other online stores and found only x4 SSDs available. That seems logical, but sometimes it doesn’t work perfectly. Using a Gen 4 drive in a Gen 3 port requires compatibility twice—this should be fine, but it doesn’t always happen. Instead of spending on high-end models like the Samsung 990, consider a more affordable Gen3x4 Western Digital blue. It will cost less and won’t noticeably affect performance. There’s always a risk, so verify the slot is clean and test with your existing SSD to confirm functionality. Even if the drive is Gen4x4 in a Gen3x2 slot, it shouldn’t fail to work. Good luck!
I watched a video of someone disassembling the laptop. There is a picture under the m.2 drive indicating that you should use a m.2 ssd with two slots and not a m.2 nvme with one slot. That is likely your issue.
The smoke might simply mean the slot was dirty. The Gen3x4 only has one notch in the port, whereas some Gen3x2 models have two. This could explain where the dirt is stored in the empty space. I didn’t attempt the gen4x4 version. I returned it already. I used the extra gen3x4 drive on my PC, installed Windows 11, and tried to boot it. It managed to prepare, but when smoke appeared I shut it down, removed the drive, reinstalled the old one, and turned it back on—it worked just like before. The gen3x4 drive also functioned normally. Amazon isn’t available in my area. I checked local stores and found similar options, possibly refurbished ones. I’ll follow up when they arrive. I don’t have a photo, but it’s possible the device can’t handle SSDs with just one notch.
I connected the device, and the laptop detected the storage and started up via BIOS. It’s functioning properly. Appreciate your help!