Not located as a boot priority item.
Not located as a boot priority item.
Hello everyone, I recently upgraded my system with a new M.2 SSD (Samsung EVO Plus 250GB NVMe). After installing Windows 10 x64, everything ran smoothly. During the installation, I removed all other storage devices from the motherboard—both SATA SSD and HDD. Once restarted, I encountered a blue screen error. I performed a hard restart via the BIOS and checked if my motherboard recognized the M.2 drive. It listed "Onboard device configuration" and appeared in the boot selection menu. Interestingly, when trying to set boot options in BIOS, only SATA drives showed up, not the M.2 SSD. My Windows installation was on the SSD, but I formatted it after OS setup and now it's functioning as a storage drive. I can boot Windows normally and use the PC via the boot menu (pressing F8 in BIOS). I want to make the M.2 my primary boot device for speed and convenience. This is confusing because I’ve never used the HDD before, and now I’m stuck choosing between SATA drives in BIOS. Please advise—I’d really appreciate your help!
PC Specs:
- Motherboard: Asus Z97-A
- CPU: Intel i7 4790K
- RAM: 16GB (2x8GB)
- GPU: Zotac RTX 2060 Super
- Storage: WD Blue 1TB, Toshiba SSD 128GB, M.2 NVMe 250GB Samsung Evo Plus (2280)
- OS: Windows 10 64-bit
It might be related to the UEFI setup. I faced the same problem when installing an SSD in my laptop—it was recognized but not listed in the boot sequence. Consider changing to BIOS or using a Windows installer that supports UEFI. The latter option is preferable if you're setting up Windows for UEFI.
I don’t have detailed instructions on bios procedures, but I can guide you through the process step by step. Let me know if you’d like a clearer breakdown!
Consider the BIOS settings, but usually you can check your boot choices and turn off secure boot. Then find a configuration that enables UEFI.
The adjustments that resolved my issue were:
- Advanced PCH Storage Configuration → Sata mode
- AHCI → Advanced → Onboard Devices
- PCIE Express Slot & M.2 Bandwidth → M.2 mode, Boot → Fast Boot (disabled)
- Disable CSM Launch and CSM Boot from Storage
- Enable Boot from CSM for devices
- UEFI and legacy boot options
- Legacy OS boot first from PCIE devices
- Secure Boot enabled on legacy devices
- Other OS boot from storage devices
Thank you for the guidance.
In the boot sequence you can select only the main drive or other devices. The specific drive you pick is defined in a section called hdd priority (or similar). You need to arrange your M.2 as the first disk in order and then choose the boot location from there. I hope this isn't too confusing.
The BIOS is the firmware image for the motherboard, managing all functions. Boot options should be limited to Legacy and UEFI unless your hardware uses a different name. Ensure Boot‑CSM Launch CSM is enabled so the system can detect drives using GUID Partition Table (GPT) with a Fat32 EFI partition marked as bootable. If Windows was reinstalled after another drive was connected, it might have copied the EFI partition to the wrong location instead of your M.2. In that scenario, reinstalling Windows on the other drive is advisable.
Yes, I see your response. If you want to boot from the boot manager, just set up the correct BIOS configuration.