There is nothing worse than buying a new hardware device and finding that it doesn’t work the first time. This is a situation that usually doesn’t happen but, like everything else, can happen to you.
What if the card does not detect your new M.2 SSD?
If you bought an M.2 SSD and the motherboard does not detect it, it could be for several reasons, so we are going to cover them all to find the solution.
Is your card compatible with the SSD you purchased?
Just because your motherboard has one or more M.2 sockets does not mean that it is necessarily compatible with the SSD you purchased, since M.2 is only the format but compatibility depends on the interface. For example, you may have purchased an M.2 PCIe NVMe SSD but your motherboard’s M.2 sockets have a SATA interface, in which case the device will obviously not be recognized. To check this you should look in your motherboard manual or on the manufacturer’s website.
In case you are sure that your motherboard is compatible with the SSD you have installed, it never hurts to update the BIOS because usually in more advanced BIOS versions from motherboard manufacturers the compatibility with different devices.
Does SSD show up in BIOS but not in Windows?
When you buy a new SSD, it is usually unformatted and you will need to create a volume and assign a drive letter to it to make it work. The best thing to do before anything else is to go to your computer’s BIOS and check if the SSD is listed there. If it appears, the SSD is most likely working fine and the motherboard is detecting it, but if you can’t see the drive in Windows, you haven’t created the volume yet.
To do this, right click on the Start button and go to Disk Management, where you will see a list of all the storage units connected to the computer. If the SSD is functioning properly, there will be a drive with “unallocated” space. Right click on this black area and select “New Simple Volume …”.
Just follow the wizard, because by default it will allocate all available space to the volume and the first available drive letter. There is no loss, it’s “Next, Next, Finish” and voila, your SSD will work.
Check that the device is correctly installed
The first thing to do is obviously to check if you have correctly installed the device. An M.2 SSD has a “hole” in the connector area and therefore can only be connected one way, but you need to verify that the pins are making good contact with the socket on the motherboard. Likewise, check that you have screwed it on correctly and that the device does not move from its place.
By the way, you can also take the opportunity to clean the connection area both in the socket of the motherboard and in the SSD itself, especially in the case when the motherboard is not new, because it is possible dirt has accumulated and is preventing the SSD from making good contact.
If the card does not detect the SSD in one socket, try another
Some motherboards, especially low-end and mid-range motherboards that have multiple M.2 sockets, usually have the first (closest to the processor socket) tied to other interfaces, so if you connect some peripherals (such as SATA storage devices), the socket is rendered unnecessary. There is also the possibility that the socket is damaged, so in any case if your motherboard has multiple M.2 sockets, try to connect it to another of the M.2 sockets, as it would not be unusual for it to works in one and not in another. .
In your motherboard manual, you will be able to check if any of the M.2 sockets is disabled when certain conditions are met, thus avoiding doubts as to whether the socket is damaged or for some other reason why the socket is damaged. motherboard does not detect your SSD in the upper M.2 socket.
What if none of this works?
Of course, it is possible that the SSD came to you damaged from the factory. If you have already tried everything we have discussed in the previous sections on your PC, you can try to make sure by installing the new M.2 SSD on another PC to see if it works, like a member’s one. family or friend. If the device works fine on the other PC and the card detects it correctly, then the device is correct and the problem is probably with your PC. Now if, on the other hand, it doesn’t work on the other PC, it’s likely that it arrived wrong from the factory and you will need to return it or manage its warranty.
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