Your computer is starting from the incorrect SSD.
Your computer is starting from the incorrect SSD.
At first I bought a 500GB 860 Samsung Evo SSD for my system. Later I realized I needed more space, so I added an M.2 (Samsung 970 Evo 1TB) to my setup. People suggested it runs faster, so I used the Samsung cloning tool to copy my 860 Evo to the 970 Evo. I plan to reformat the 860 Evo for storage purposes, but whenever I connect it to the PC it starts up from that drive. Even after changing the boot order in the BIOS, it still boots from the 970 Evo. I’ve tried using the boot menu, but it won’t boot from the 970 Evo when the 860 Evo is connected. If the 860 Evo isn’t plugged in, everything works perfectly and the PC boots from the 970 Evo.
You might turn on data hot-swapping and power the secondary drive, then insert the old one. The SATA M2 functions similarly to a standard SATA cable, which should resolve the issue.
I think the OP's 860 EVO measures about 2.5 inches, based on the wording. Since I haven't seen a hotplug feature in a consumer BIOS before, I'm unsure how enabling M.2 hotplug would work.
Ope... that's correct. On my B250M Bazooka it's set to default, so I probably can't disable it. Just remove the HDD and install another, no issues expected. I think M2 SATA hot-swap should function similarly to regular SATA, avoiding problems with PCIe hot-swap.
I attempted that but it failed, since inserting the 860 EVO wouldn't appear as a storage device.