How can an M2 undetected by the BIOS be detected by Windows? Acer Nitro 5 AN515-57

Lordubu

Hi
I bought an Acer Nitro 5 (label enclosed). It came with a factory installed M2 and two adictional free slots. I added a second M2 (label enclosed), and also an SSD.
The SSD is detected by the BIOS but the M2 doesn't show in the BIOS (pic enclosed). Surprisingly, although it is undetected by the BIOS it still shows up in Win10 and works OK (screengrab enclosed).
Would someone be able to explain this to me? I would assume that something that is not detected by the BIOS would also not be detected by the operating system. Also, why is it not detected by the BIOS?
Thanks

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[Edited the content to hide sensitive information and to add model name to the title]

JackE

One of the M.2 SSD sockets is PCIe Gen4x4lanes NVME hight speed. The other m.2 SSD socket is PCIe Gen3 x 4 lanes NVME high speed. The 2.5" SSD is SATA3 low speed. The 2.5" low speed SSD is missing in the BIOS.

The Western Digital m.2 SSD picktured is a SATA3 low speed that you have installed in a high speed socket.

What happens when you remove the Western Digital m.2 low speed SSD? Does 2.5" low speed SSD then show up in the BIOS?

JackE

Not necessarily. Some contacts might be a bit smudged with perhaps finger oils or other contaminants so not making good contact. In fact, a few weeks ago I had a brand new SSD fail post with a no-bootable device BIOS warning Shut down. Started up again. Still no-bootable device. Panic time!!! Opened it up, swabbed its gold-colored contacts with a Q-tip moistened with rubbing alcohol. Then gently rubbed dry with a soft cloth. Reseated it a few times for good measure to help clean its contacts with those in the mainboard connector, and, voila, back in business. But a frightening experience nonetheless.

JackE

Press WIN+R. Enter 'diskmgmt.msc'. Post screenshot of result.

Lordubu

Here it goes

JackE

Looks OK. Shut down Windows normally. Then turn it back on and F2 back into the BIOS Menu Information tab and press Ctrl+S if it doesn't appear.

Lordubu

https://community.acer.com/en/discussion/comment/1189853#Comment_1189853

The BIOS still looks exactly the same as in my pic. It shows only two disks.

In the meantime, someone pointed to me that it is the SSD, and not the M2 that is undetected by the BIOS (the M2 serial is displayed in the BIOS). Why did I believe it to be the M2? Well, for reasons that make this story even weirder! When I first entered Windows after I installed the M2 and the SSD only one aditional disk was showing. I tested it with Crystal Disk Mark in an effort to find out if it was the SSD or the M2 and I got a writing speed of around 500 MB/s. I tested the system disk and I got a speed of around 3000 MB/s, so I assumed the recognised disk was the SSD. After I had finished these test a third disk suddenly appeared, so I assumed it was the M2.
I have just tested the three disks and oddly both the M2 and the SSD have similar speeds, while the system disk that came with the Nitro is noticeably faster. Apparently, this is a slow M2.

Enclose please find the speed tests.

JackE

One of the M.2 SSD sockets is PCIe Gen4x4lanes NVME hight speed. The other m.2 SSD socket is PCIe Gen3 x 4 lanes NVME high speed. The 2.5" SSD is SATA3 low speed. The 2.5" low speed SSD is missing in the BIOS.

The Western Digital m.2 SSD picktured is a SATA3 low speed that you have installed in a high speed socket.

What happens when you remove the Western Digital m.2 low speed SSD? Does 2.5" low speed SSD then show up in the BIOS?

Lordubu

https://community.acer.com/en/discussion/comment/1189938#Comment_1189938

"What happens when you remove the Western Digital m.2 low speed SSD? Does 2.5" low speed SSD then show up in the BIOS?" - good question, but I'm not going to open the laptop a third time so I'll probably never know. I get nervous when I do it, fearing I do something wrong and ruin the equipment. Especially with the 2.5" SSD which uses a very flimsy connector that required a lot of fiddling before it finally clicked in place.

Thanks for the explanation about the sockets.

JackE

»>good question, but I'm not going to open the laptop a third time so I'll probably never know. I get nervous when I do it»»

Good decision. That's what I'd do too if everything seems to be working OK inside the Windows environment. The speedy BIOS POST routine must be correctly recognizing the missing 2.5" drive, but for some reason the drive hasn't printed its own model & serial numbers on the screen.

Lordubu

https://community.acer.com/en/discussion/comment/1190182#Comment_1190182

"The speedy BIOS POST routine must be correctly recognizing the missing 2.5" drive, but for some reason the drive hasn't printed its own model & serial numbers on the screen" - I didn't know that was even possible.

In the back of my mind I have this fear that I didn't connect the SSD properly (the connector is minuscule and extremely difficult to deal with), some pin isn't connected and that's what's causing the problem. But that doesn't make much sense, does it? Either it is 100% connected or it isn't connected at all, right?

JackE

Not necessarily. Some contacts might be a bit smudged with perhaps finger oils or other contaminants so not making good contact. In fact, a few weeks ago I had a brand new SSD fail post with a no-bootable device BIOS warning Shut down. Started up again. Still no-bootable device. Panic time!!! Opened it up, swabbed its gold-colored contacts with a Q-tip moistened with rubbing alcohol. Then gently rubbed dry with a soft cloth. Reseated it a few times for good measure to help clean its contacts with those in the mainboard connector, and, voila, back in business. But a frightening experience nonetheless.

Lordubu

This is interesting. On this YT video this guy installs an M2 and an SSD on a Nitro 5. He sees both of them in the BIOS, but the factory installed M2 doesn't show up?!?! Check out min 9:30 in the video. think there's a bug in this BIOS:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jcaPbYTA2Wk

JackE

If a bug, it's inconsequential. Because it can only be a BIOS display screen rendering bug that doesn't adversely affect the completion of the BIOS POST routine or its handoff to the operating system.

Commodore_1995#

I have two questions:
a) did you disconnect the lithium battery before installing the new m2 2280 ssd?
b) what is the model of the new ssd m2 2280?

Lordubu

a) did you disconnect the lithium battery before installing the new m2 2280 ssd?
YES!

b) what is the model of the new ssd m2 2280?

If you read the whole thread you'll see that I've reached the conclusion that (contrary to what I said initially) it's the Sata SSD that isn't recognized, not the M2.

I enclose the pics for both drives I installed, and an updated/corrected pic of the BIOS. The serial number for the M2 is clearly displayed as HDD2, so it is the Sata SSD that is missing.

[Edited the content to hide sensitive information]

JackE

"What happens when you remove the Western Digital m.2 low speed SSD?
Does 2.5" low speed SSD then show up in the BIOS?" - good question, but
I'm not going to open the laptop a third time so I'll probably never
know.

I still think your decision not to open it up again is a good one.

If it was mine, I'd like to think that I could resist the temptation to open it up too. Just leave well-enough alone. However, if I kept waking up in the middle of the night wondering how an internal 2.5" SATA SSD can be undetected by the BIOS but be detected by Windows, I might not be able to resist. Fortunately, it's not mine.

Sleep well! 😁

.

Lordubu

https://community.acer.com/en/discussion/comment/1190529#Comment_1190529

That is SO low. You know there is a part of me that wants to open the laptop again (and again and again and again), and you're tempting me…

An easier option is to install a Linux Mint on the SSD (dual boot) and see if that forces it to appear on the BIOS.

I'm also going to leave a message on that ohter guy's YT video and ask him if he managed to solve the problem (it's an 11 months old video).

Lordubu

The guy on that 11 months old YT video has answered really fast.

My question: Hi! I've just installed two disks on a Nitro 5 and only one of them is showing in the BIOS, just like what happened to you at 9:30 . All disks show up in Windows though (which shouldn't be possible...). I'm curious, did you ever manage to make all the disks show up in the BIOS or does this BIOS just have a bug? Thanks.

His answer: Hello thanks for watching. I did get them to show up once I reseated the ribbon cable. Maybe just double check that. Perhaps it was connected a little weak and didn't show in bios then was detected after bios. hope that helps!

So apparently the problem might be down to just a cable that isn't properly connected..But I don't think I want to deal with that incredibly small and fiddly miniature connection any time soon. Maybe when/if I buy a bigger (2TB) SATA 2.5 inch drive. I've installed a 500GB drive because that's what I had lying around in some drawer.

I think this BIOS will accept a 2TB drive, right?

kochi777

https://community.acer.com/en/discussion/comment/1190590#Comment_1190590

Installing Linux Mint on the SSD and dual-booting with your current operating system may be a good option to try. It's possible that doing so may force your SSD to appear in the BIOS, as the BIOS may be able to recognize the drive when it is accessed through a different operating system.

Before proceeding with this option, it's important to make sure that your computer's hardware is compatible with Linux Mint. You may want to check the Linux Mint website for system requirements and compatibility information.

If you do decide to go ahead with installing Linux Mint, be sure to back up any important files and data first. You'll also need to create a bootable USB drive with the Linux Mint installation files and follow the installation instructions carefully.

After installing Linux Mint, you can try accessing the SSD to see if it now appears in the BIOS. If it does, you may be able to configure your computer to boot from the SSD and use it as your primary operating system. If it still doesn't appear in the BIOS, there may be other issues at play and further troubleshooting may be needed.

Lordubu

I've tried both LInux Mint and Ubuntu running from a pen, I just didn't install either of them. But I know they work. I've also tried one of them (I think it was Ubuntu) running from RAM (using the TORAM instruction) but I had some problems, maybe I did something wrong.

Anyway, please check what I've posted just before your post, apaprently this whole problem may be no more than a flimsy cable that isn't properly connected.

JackE

That is SO low. You know there is a part of me that wants to open the laptop again (and again and again and again), and you're tempting me…»»>Hello thanks for watching. I did get them to show up once I reseated the ribbon cable. Maybe just double check that. Perhaps it was connected a little weak and didn't show in bios then was detected after bios. hope that helps!

Did I ever tell you the story about the time that I panicked when my brand SSD threw a no-bootable device error? Fortunately, this didn't happen to you. Yet. 🙂

Lordubu

https://community.acer.com/en/discussion/comment/1190625#Comment_1190625

Five years ago I had smoke billowing out of my son's computer (literally) after installing a new graphics card… Miraculously only an Adata SSD was burned. But the smell lingered on that PC for ages.