The ASROCK NVMe storage device leads to a frozen boot screen with no keyboard response.
The ASROCK NVMe storage device leads to a frozen boot screen with no keyboard response.
I was assembling a computer with the ASROCK B365m Pro as the main motherboard. I planned to install a 512GB NVMe SSD for gaming and a 250GB SSD for the operating system. When I first inserted the NVMe drive, it would boot to the ASROCK boot screen but wouldn't respond—my keyboard wouldn't work, and I couldn't access BIOS or the quick boot menu. It stayed stuck on the boot screen. I suspected the drive had a Windows version installed, which might be causing issues. I attempted to wipe the drive, but without an NVMe to USB adapter, I had to use a desktop setup and booted Macrium Reflect from a USB drive. The software deleted all partitions and transferred the Macrium software to the NVMe drive, assuming no proprietary drivers would interfere. However, when I reinstalled the drive, the same problem persisted. I double-checked drivers, ensured BIOS updates were applied, but nothing resolved the issue. Please help!
The B365 Chipset by Intel allows only 20 PCI-E lanes, with 16 dedicated to the GPU and the remaining for other functions such as storage (SSD, HDD, Intel Optane), I/O, and even sound and internet. It seems you're reaching this limit and possibly disabling one USB controller. Verify in your BIOS whether you can adjust the lane usage.
I have verified the problem: identical motherboard. In BIOS POST it freezes on the BIOS menu, requiring f2 to access BIOS and f11 for boot manager. The keyboard stops responding and waiting 10 minutes offers no relief. I don’t have any external GPU connected. The non-f version of the board supports two NVMe drives, which is unusual—my newer, cheaper SN7305 256GB would stall, while the older, costly Corsair P510 would boot perfectly without issues. I believe the BIOS version is faulty. It seems only the non-f version has newer BIOS updates available. I suspect different NVMe protocol versions, and newer protocols might not be supported.
Did you figure it out? The same issue persists—one NVME works perfectly while another, more expensive and faster one causes the splash screen to freeze. I’m currently using a basic 256GB NVME drive but plan to upgrade to a 4TB Crucial NVME. However, the latter is causing the same problem. (I’ve tried it on another system and it functions well.)