M2 NVME suddenly not showing up in BIOS or windows

Psycho Sonny · 22 Oct 2021 at 14:41

So I have had my system up and running for ages now. Several months. I have 3 SSD's in total. 2 are exact same M2 NVME drives Samsung 970 Evo plus and third drive is a SATA Samsung SSD.

Today all of a sudden M2 NVME stops working in slot 2 whilst PC is on. No restart or shutdown just like vanished.

I remove the drive put it into a USB enclosure and it's detected straight away. So the drive is working fine itself. I noticed from the thermal pads the drive was a little oily. Could oil have went into the slot and messed it up? Or is it possible the second slot is borked on the motherboard some how?

I tried a BIOS update too and nothing on the mobo it won't show.

I have 4 options:

1 - RMA motherboard which means no system for god knows how long and a full system re-build which I want to avoid.
2 - Try contact cleaner - but it's impossible to get into an m2 slot. I tried already with a dry cotton but, but it's tiny and hard to clean the slot itself.
3 - Just use the USB enclosure and live with the performance drop
5 - I could buy a new motherboard and sell the RMA one once I get it back - again full system rebuild which I don't want to do.

Any other suggestion's?

Psycho Sonny · 22 Oct 2021 at 15:00

Think I found a better solution. PCI-E to M2 slot convertor. Asus make one

Psycho Sonny · 23 Oct 2021 at 15:51

Quartz said:
Have you tried cleaning the contacts on the drive and putting it back in?

Have you checked if it appears in the BIOS but not Windows?

Doesn't appear in bios.

The drive works in a usb enclosure so the contacts on the drive are fine I cleaned them anyway just in case. It's the slot either it's borked or the contacts on the slot need cleaned.

I don't want to do another full re-build so just going to use a M2 nvme to pcie convertor. I should though be RMA'img it I might look at my receipt and warrior situation and buy a new motherboard then RMA this and sell the returned motherboard

Psycho Sonny · 24 Oct 2021 at 12:17

darael said:
Clean the contacts on your drive with contact cleaner, then squirt some contact clean into the slot. Now pull the drive in and out of the slot a few times, squirt a tiny bit more cleaner in and gently use a brush to finish off. Give the contacts on the drive a final clean while you wait for the the slot to dry out.

I really don't see how else you can clean the slot - unless you use a bit of cardboard, but you run the risk of any bits straying into the slot. Perhaps a very thin sheet of plastic film, like you get in quiche boxes.

I'm using a m2 to PCI-E convertor now which should giver same speed as m2 slot. I was using a USB enclosure before then but obviously that is slower.

I see no real reason now to attempt to fix the m2 slot through cleaning it. The drive doesn't need any cleaning I'm thinking the slot has died some how. The drive worked fine in the USB and now the pcie adaptor. It is possible the slot needs cleaning but the more I think about it how could anything get in there? The drive was in situ. It had been used for months and had the drive in place and it has a heatsink / cover which would stop anything from getting in there like dust.

I'll maybe try contact cleaner when I do a re-build but for now I'm happy to use the pcie slot.

Psycho Sonny · 24 Oct 2021 at 12:32

darael said:
I hear you, it could be a simple thing as a pin that's been slightly bent back and not making proper contact with the drive.

The drive had been in there for months I don't see how it would just stop working after a while with a bent pin. it has to have died IMO. It could be possible but I don't really want to spend any more time or stress on this. I was worried I'd have to do a full re-build and RMA the motherboard but this system was a right PITA to get working and the cable management at the back is a mess. It's my first RGB build and I have 8 RGB fans, RGB AIO, RGB light strip, etc. It was a real mess to get my head around as I had no idea they came with 2 connectors each and I'd need to use all sorts of splitters and adapters.

It would be nice to get tot he bottom of it one day though. I'm just glad I managed to find a fix and I don't care if it is dead. I'd rather just not have to re-build and that is worth me selling the mobo for cheap in 5 years time as working but the 2nd m2 slot being defective. Shouldn't exactly affect the price too much maybe £10 on the £40 it will be worth. I can live with that.

Hopefully if someone comes across this in future they know there are alternative solutions out there.