I built my first PC and am trying to install Windows 11, but the SSD does not appear when Setup asks where to install Windows. The drive is installed in the M2C/SB M.2 slot on my B850 Gaming WiFi6 motherboard because the SSD heatsink in another slot physically interferes with the graphics card. I downloaded the motherboard drivers and copied them to a USB drive, but I'm not sure which drivers to load or how to make the installer recognize the SSD. Is this slot supported for a Windows installation, or should I change a BIOS setting or use different hardware?
3 Answers
Before loading drivers, see whether the SSD appears in the BIOS under NVMe or storage information. If it is missing there too, Windows drivers will not fix it: reseat the drive, check the mounting screw and contact area, update the BIOS if necessary, and test another M.2 slot. If BIOS detects it but Setup does not, the issue is more likely the storage mode or a damaged installation USB. Also make sure the drive is not configured as part of an old RAID volume; deleting partitions during Setup will erase the drive.
The M2C/SB slot should not automatically be unusable; it is simply connected through the motherboard chipset rather than directly to the CPU. You generally should not need special chipset drivers just to see a normal NVMe drive during Windows Setup. Check the motherboard manual and BIOS first to confirm that the slot is enabled and that the SSD is detected there. Also try removing or replacing the M.2 heatsink in the CPU-connected slot—many heatsinks can be removed, and the SSD can usually run without one temporarily so the graphics card fits.
A common reason an NVMe drive is missing from Windows Setup is a storage-controller setting such as Intel RST or VMD, although those names apply mainly to Intel systems. On this AMD platform, look for storage, NVMe, RAID, or SATA settings in the BIOS and use standard AHCI/non-RAID mode unless you intentionally configured RAID. If RAID is enabled, download the correct AMD RAID storage driver for the exact motherboard and load it with the “Load driver” option—not the general chipset package.
I created the installer using a Windows PC, so the USB should be fine. I’ll check the BIOS for RAID or other storage-controller options.
The SSD itself fits, but its heatsink blocks the graphics card. I’ll check whether the heatsink can be removed or repositioned and verify the slot in the manual.