Hit another wall in PC build

[TenthAveN]

So I left my mobo sitting on top of the box for 5+ days. Today I just decided to get on with it, screwed in the mobo, shorted the power headers, and everything started working. So I got everything else plugged in (USB3, front panel headers, Optical drive SATA cable, etc), and I fired it up. I insert my Windows install disk and it wouldn’t recognize my SSD. I go into BIOS and I have no idea what I’m looking at. So I turn the pc off, insert my Linux Mint boot USB, and I can’t find the SSD there either. What could be the issue?

 

[Sketcher]

So I left my mobo sitting on top of the box for 5+ days. Today I just decided to get on with it, screwed in the mobo, shorted the power headers, and everything started working. So I got everything else plugged in (USB3, front panel headers, Optical drive SATA cable, etc), and I fired it up. I insert my Windows install disk and it wouldn’t recognize my SSD. I go into BIOS and I have no idea what I’m looking at. So I turn the pc off, insert my Linux Mint boot USB, and I can’t find the SSD there either. What could be the issue?

Can you screenshot the BIOS on your phone and post the pics here? There are often different tabs of options. Try to show pics of each tab.

 

[jacks]

To help narrow the problem down, check to see if your BIOS sees the SATA drive. If it doesn't see it, Windows 10 probably won't either.

 

[Pop D.]

If the BIOS doesn't see it, try plugging it into a different SATA port. It's possible your motherboard might not be enabling all of them at the same time. Or maybe even try a different SATA cable. It's rare, but I've had those go bad on me.

Other things to try:

1. Plugging in other drives and seeing if they're detected.
2. Plug the SSD into another machine and see if it detects it.

 

[TenthAveN]

Can you screenshot the BIOS on your phone and post the pics here? There are often different tabs of options. Try to show pics of each tab.

 

[Sketcher]

View attachment 294278

Under Boot Option #1, look at your available options. You want to leave it on UEFI ATAPI so that it will boot your installation media, but your SSD drive should be listed under those options. If it is not, it needs to be seated properly. And if it's hooked up via SATA port, make sure both the SATA cable and the power cable are plugged in and properly seated.

 

[TenthAveN]

Under Boot Option #1, look at your available options. You want to leave it on UEFI ATAPI so that it will boot your installation media, but your SSD drive should be listed under those options. If it is not, it needs to be seated properly. And if it's hooked up via SATA port, make sure both the SATA cable and the power cable are plugged in and properly seated.

It’s an m.2 drive, so it’s not connected to a SATA drive

 

[Sketcher]

It’s an m.2 drive, so it’s not connected to a SATA drive

What is your CPU, and which revision is your motherboard?

 

[paul1149]

From an Amazon review of that GB Board:

Decent for the price
By Bill on November 23, 2020
The price for the motherboard I would say is really good. The only things to be noted of is that you cannot use the M.2 slot unless you have a specific cpu. Also, there are only 2 RAM slots instead of 4 on an average motherboard

 

[TenthAveN]

I have a Gigabyte A320M-S2H and an AMD A-Series Black Edition

 

[Wookiee]

Try updating the BIOS. There's one as recent as a month ago:
https://download.gigabyte.com/FileList/BIOS/mb_bios_ga-a320m-s2h_f53.zip

One of the older updates also says it improves support for M.2 SSDs, so this may help fix your issue.

 

[TenthAveN]

Try updating the BIOS. There's one as recent as a month ago:
https://download.gigabyte.com/FileList/BIOS/mb_bios_ga-a320m-s2h_f53.zip

One of the older updates also says it improves support for M.2 SSDs, so this may help fix your issue.

Well unfortunately I just dropped the SSD screw somewhere in the case, and I have no idea where it is or how to get it out.

 

[Wookiee]

If it's not too heavy - and you're confident everything is screwed tightly - lift it up and give it a shake over the table or something. At the very least you'll hear it rattling around if it's still in there.

If it gets lost (so long as it's not floating in the case) it's not necessary, but it helps a lot.

 

[TenthAveN]

If it's not too heavy - and you're confident everything is screwed tightly - lift it up and give it a shake over the table or something. At the very least you'll hear it rattling around if it's still in there.

If it gets lost (so long as it's not floating in the case) it's not necessary, but it helps a lot.

My primary fear is that it’s touching the motherboard, in the power supply, or inside the front panel

 

[Wookiee]

My primary fear is that it’s touching the motherboard, in the power supply, or inside the front panel

As long as the power's unplugged and been left sitting for a while, it'll be safe to pick it up and shake it to get the screw to come out (obviously pull the SSD out of the slot before then too).

 

[TenthAveN]

As long as the power's unplugged and been left sitting for a while, it'll be safe to pick it up and shake it to get the screw to come out (obviously pull the SSD out of the slot before then too).

I may remove the motherboard to see if it’s back there.

 

[TenthAveN]

I appreciate all the help. Got a new SSD today and now the computer is running Windows.