Invisible M2 SSD.

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Wabefuhon

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Oct 26, 2016
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I build a Intel computer with a M2SSD (OCZ). I've installed Linux on it before, this month, and am now wanting to put windows 7 home on it. I've used GParted to reformat the drive to different formats. I've tried fat32, ntfs, and some others. No matter what, windows installer does not see this drive. Not even diskpart will see it.

Any solution to get windows installer to see this drive would be appreciated the most. Worse case scenario is I'd have to buy a new one, which I really don't want to do because this is a 512Gb chip and cost me over $300.
 
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Boogieman_WD
This does not apply to all M.2 drive. In my opinion this could be an isolated case as there are many people using and M.2 drive with Windows 7. Try the drive's customer support to see if the guys there can elaborate on that.
As for gaming in the near future, well perhaps games will support Windows 7 longer that they did Windows XP, but still, at some point we'll all have to move forward along with the developing technology and software. :)
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Boogieman_WD

Boogieman_WD

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Jul 31, 2014
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Hey there, Wabefuhon.

Try the drive with a different port if you have one available, or even better - with a different computer. Try a different Windows installation media, e.g. a DVD or a USB drive, to see if the same thing happens. Here's how to create one: https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/15088/windows-create-installation-media.

Check if there is an available firmware update for your SSD and if you can install it by using Linux, to see if that fixes things up. Try to reset or update your BIOS/UEFI as well.

Hope that helps. Please let me know how everything goes.
Boogieman_WD
 
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Wabefuhon

Commendable
Oct 26, 2016
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Being that this is a M2 socket SSD and the first computer I've built to have this socket, that rules out the option for another computer. I'd have to buy another motherboard for that. (not going to happen) I've already tried updating the bios. The different windows installer didn't work.
 
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Boogieman_WD

Boogieman_WD

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Jul 31, 2014
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You could try it with an M.2 to USB converter, but that again requires you to get an additional gadget. If I were you, I'd get in touch with the vendor or the manufacturer's customer support and try to get it replaced if it's still under warranty.

Please keep me posted.
 
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Wabefuhon

Commendable
Oct 26, 2016
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To be honest, I'd rather buy the adapter device at this point. Maybe it's just that Windows 7 isn't compatible with it since it'll see drives from every other port. If Windows 10 wasn't so privacy intrusive I would consider it but my experience with that OS has been rather disappointing with trying to run certain games. I do know a computer shop that might be able to have a solution, It's Computers for Kids. I can bring the tower there and we can try installing windows on it that way.

Thankfully tomorrow is Friday so I'll be able to visit then. If everything fails I will just have to either sell the computer close to what I paid and start over or just remove the M2 chip, sell that and buy a new one from a different vendor. If the results are exactly the same I will return the second M2 chip for a refund immediately and sell the whole computer.
I'd then start over again and build another computer. AMD this time.
 
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Boogieman_WD

Boogieman_WD

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Jul 31, 2014
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It would be weird for this to be a Windows 7 related issue, but you could easily check that if you try to install a different OS, just to give it a try (you can find a download link in the tutorial I've posted in my first reply). If you get the adapter I've mentioned and if the drive is recognized by the computer, check for the firmware update for that SSD model and also test it for errors with a diagnostic tool.
 
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Wabefuhon

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Oct 26, 2016
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Went to Computers for Kids and tested it with Windows 10. I've reached the conclusion that the M2 technology was not available during Windows 7's time, but that the tech was available for Windows 8 and later.

There is an adapter available for 13 dollars. This is the last resort to installing Windows 7. If this works, then there is hope. But this is the last hope for Windows 7.
 
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Boogieman_WD

Boogieman_WD

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Jul 31, 2014
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It's actually not like that. You M.2 is just a form factor, it either uses the SATA or PCIe interface (depending on the drive and the M.2 port). You've never mentioned what type of M.2 drive this is or a model, but if it's SATA, it's no different than a regular SATA SSD using a different form factor (e.g. 2.5" vs M.2). You should be able to use a both PCIe and SATA M.2 drives with Windows 7, if there are no incompatibility issues between the mobo and the drive, or wrong BIOS/UEFI settings.
By the way, something simple yet crucial, which we might have missed is that if the drive is GPT formatted instead of MBR you can't boot to Windows if the OS is not 64-bit and if your system is not UEFI based. Although I think you should be able to see it with the installer.
 
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Wabefuhon

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Oct 26, 2016
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Lo and behold.
I use Windows 7 Pro 64bit.
The M2 port is a PCIe compatible port, but this uses the new M2 SSD chips which get screwed into the board. The motherboard is a MSI Z97S SLI Krait Edition.
Note that I have already installed Linux and it can still see the drive. I have tried Windows 10 and it can see the drive. But Windows 7 is blind to it. I have tried multiple copies of 7 64bit and the results were the same between them. It has to be a software incompatibility.
 
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Boogieman_WD

Boogieman_WD

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Jul 31, 2014
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You are right, there seems to be some sort of incompatibility issue. There's even a fix released by Microsoft for Windows 7. Check this out: https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/kb/2990941. However this is to fix a currently installed OS so I'm not sure if it's the same case. Perhaps using the link from my first port on ho to "Create installation media for Windows" could prove useful. What I mean is that the new installation media for Win 7 might be able to "see" the drive.
 
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Wabefuhon

Commendable
Oct 26, 2016
6
0
1,510


I got the adapter and tried it. Sadly, this is a failure. To conclude, Windows 7 will never be on a M2 drive unless someone can come up with a way to get Windows 7 on it. But since Microsoft plans to end support by 2020, there's no point in doing so now.

Our only hope then is for Windows 7 to continue to receive protection support and run our favorite games without the need to buy updated releases and spend even more money. Specifically games on Steam or Origin. Turns out games that run on other applications such as Java don't have this OS compatibility problem.
 
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Boogieman_WD

Boogieman_WD

Judicious
Jul 31, 2014
6,050
2
35,960
This does not apply to all M.2 drive. In my opinion this could be an isolated case as there are many people using and M.2 drive with Windows 7. Try the drive's customer support to see if the guys there can elaborate on that.
As for gaming in the near future, well perhaps games will support Windows 7 longer that they did Windows XP, but still, at some point we'll all have to move forward along with the developing technology and software. :)
 
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