where I can choose boot menu or to enter BIOS, XC-830 2nd SSD problems

Eirik_nor

Hi!

Tried to install a 2nd SSD, a Kingston NV2 Gen 4 M.2 SSD 1TB in a PCIe adapter, Akasa M.2 PCIe 3.0 x4 NVMe to PCIe x4 host adapter

With only the adapter installed in the PCIe slot the pc boots normal. If i install the SSD disk, the pc stalls at startup, getting stuck on the initial screen where I can choose boot menu or to enter BIOS. BUT nothing happens if I press to enter either of the options.

What to do?

[Edited the thread to add the issue detail]

billsey

It sounds like it's trying to force a boot from the blank SSD, but the real issue might be the GPU slot itself. The specs say that's reserved for a GPU and you are putting something else in. That shouldn't make a difference IMHO, but it might. What happens if you put the original SSD in the card instead of the new one?

Eirik_nor

Oh, I wasn't aware. Is it specifically reserved for a GPU? Then that might be a problem. I haven't tried to switch SSDs since my purpose was to transfer the installation to the new disk. (Larger storage) I'll try it. But if my purpose is to just upgrade storage, what type of other adapter should I look for to connect the new drive while transfering?

billsey

OK, first thing is that your M.2 slot only has two PCIe channels, so the x4 NVMe will work, but at half speed. Not really an issue since x2 drives are actually getting tough to find and the x4 will still run fine. I'd grab an external NVMe case and use cloning software to transfer the OS and data to the new drive. Once it's cloned you can swap the new drive in as a replacement for the old one, then boot from the old one. Once you know it boots and runs fine, put the old drive into the case and use Disk Management to wipe all partitions and repurpose it as a data drive. You have a couple of fairly high speed USB ports so having a data drive on them won't be too slow…