F5F Stay Refreshed Software Operating Systems The M.2 drive seems to have a specific issue, though it's not always clear what that is.

The M.2 drive seems to have a specific issue, though it's not always clear what that is.

The M.2 drive seems to have a specific issue, though it's not always clear what that is.

P
Poliformado
Junior Member
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07-07-2026, 07:33 PM
#1
I just bought a brand new computer and wanted to make a clean start by using the Windows installer from a USB stick. I tried this on both Win 10 and got the same results every time. When I look at my M.2 drive in the BIOS, it shows up as an NVMe device, but it won't boot if CSM is turned off. Turning on CSM makes it start, but then a black screen appears saying something about needing a bootable device to hit a key. Even though there are EFI\Boot files and other settings in the FAT 32 partition of my M.2 drive, the BIOS doesn't see them? I have an Asus Crosshair X670E motherboard with an AMD 7950X3D processor. Can you help me figure out what's wrong here? Should I just buy a brand new SSD and M.2 instead? Thanks!
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P
Poliformado
07-07-2026, 07:33 PM #1

I just bought a brand new computer and wanted to make a clean start by using the Windows installer from a USB stick. I tried this on both Win 10 and got the same results every time. When I look at my M.2 drive in the BIOS, it shows up as an NVMe device, but it won't boot if CSM is turned off. Turning on CSM makes it start, but then a black screen appears saying something about needing a bootable device to hit a key. Even though there are EFI\Boot files and other settings in the FAT 32 partition of my M.2 drive, the BIOS doesn't see them? I have an Asus Crosshair X670E motherboard with an AMD 7950X3D processor. Can you help me figure out what's wrong here? Should I just buy a brand new SSD and M.2 instead? Thanks!

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M
master_scope
Posting Freak
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07-15-2026, 08:33 AM
#2
What version of your current BIOS do you have? You don't actually need any partitions there, nor does it really matter if they exist when you click install on the "where do you want to install Windows" screen. Windows has been NTFS for a long time, so trying to put it on an FAT partition is a bad idea anyway. What you DO want to do here is choose the "Custom" option and delete EVERY existing partition on that specific drive. Because of this, it's smart to have NO other drives connected to your system while installing Windows except two things: the drive you are installing TO, and usually a USB flash drive you are pulling from (though some people use just one drive). Once you click next after deleting all those old partitions, Windows will automatically create everything needed and format them. You don't have to do that manually or even try to; but first make sure your BIOS is the latest stable version. Often, this single step fixes M.2 drive problems entirely. However, what kind of drive do you have? What other drives are attached, and exactly which headers are they plugged into? Also, if you turn off CSM (Secure Boot) I'm pretty sure you also need to enable Secure boot for Windows 11. For that version, you'll likely need to make sure TPM is enabled in the BIOS unless you have a real TPM 2.0 chip installed.
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M
master_scope
07-15-2026, 08:33 AM #2

What version of your current BIOS do you have? You don't actually need any partitions there, nor does it really matter if they exist when you click install on the "where do you want to install Windows" screen. Windows has been NTFS for a long time, so trying to put it on an FAT partition is a bad idea anyway. What you DO want to do here is choose the "Custom" option and delete EVERY existing partition on that specific drive. Because of this, it's smart to have NO other drives connected to your system while installing Windows except two things: the drive you are installing TO, and usually a USB flash drive you are pulling from (though some people use just one drive). Once you click next after deleting all those old partitions, Windows will automatically create everything needed and format them. You don't have to do that manually or even try to; but first make sure your BIOS is the latest stable version. Often, this single step fixes M.2 drive problems entirely. However, what kind of drive do you have? What other drives are attached, and exactly which headers are they plugged into? Also, if you turn off CSM (Secure Boot) I'm pretty sure you also need to enable Secure boot for Windows 11. For that version, you'll likely need to make sure TPM is enabled in the BIOS unless you have a real TPM 2.0 chip installed.

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