NVMe SSD using a PCIe expansion card
NVMe SSD using a PCIe expansion card
Hi there, your Samsung 980 SSD is working in Linux, but you're facing a setup problem with your MSI Z370-A PRO motherboard. The PCIe slot is missing, so you used a PCIe extension card. Windows detected it, but BIOS doesn't recognize the drive. Could something be preventing it from being seen?
Probably the card isn't functional—it's not even bootable and doesn't have the necessary chipset.
It's highly probable you should configure a boot partition on your main storage device, allowing the secondary PCIe drive to take over the initial startup process.
It's a humorous guess based on my experience with a 4-slot nVME card. There are affordable options and high-end ones. The cheaper models can't be booted because they don't support bifurcation. Windows recognizes them, but the premium version lets me install the OS.
NVMe isn't limited to just PCIe devices—it's a type of storage interface. Most NVMe cards use PCIe connections but aren't classified as full PCIe chipsets themselves.
Sure, I understand. I purchased a budget model that won’t start up, but a more costly version that does. It’s just a guess—I might be mistaken, and it could be someone else’s issue.
after researching the issue, I realized that if your motherboard is configured to boot Windows, it might not detect the Linux installation. consider these steps: - record your current BIOS settings (or update them carefully so you can revert to Windows). - remove the Windows SSD and install the arch SSD in the M.2 slot to simplify the setup. - if it boots normally, your motherboard likely isn’t searching for storage devices on the PCIe slots (as noted by MSI). in that scenario, placing the bootloader on a USB drive is a good option since it’s a known boot location. - if it fails to boot this way, it could indicate problems with the arch installation or BIOS configuration. when Arch Secure Boot was recently enabled, it might have been disabled by default—check those settings.