I installed a 2TB Samsung 9100 Pro in the top M.2 slot on an MSI Z590-A Pro, but it does not appear in Windows Disk Management. The CPU is an Intel Core i7-10700K. Could the slot or PCIe generation be the issue, and what should I check next?
Why isn’t my 9100 Pro showing up on this motherboard?
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That CPU is 10th generation, and the top M.2 slot on this board depends on an 11th-generation CPU. Try moving the SSD to one of the lower M.2 slots, which are the relevant ones to test with your processor. Then check whether it appears in BIOS before troubleshooting Windows.
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Start with BIOS, not Disk Management. If the drive is absent there too, Windows cannot initialize it yet. Check the motherboard manual for which M.2 slots work with a 10th-gen CPU, reseat the drive in a supported slot, and confirm the BIOS detects it.
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Yes, the processor and slot pairing is the likely snag. With a 10th-gen CPU, use a lower M.2 slot rather than the top one. The drive may run at a lower PCIe generation than its maximum, depending on the slot and board, but that is separate from whether it is detected at all.
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Once you move it, look in BIOS first. If BIOS sees it but Windows still does not, then check Disk Management again and see whether it needs to be brought online or initialized. Don’t initialize anything unless you are sure it’s the new, empty SSD.
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So the top slot may be the reason, even though the drive is installed properly?