ASUS ROG STRIX Z690-I GAMING WIFI - secondary NVME (M2_2) issue

[PeDeGe]

I recently purchased an Alder Lake system (ASUS Z690-I motherboard), but have problems with enabling the secondary NVME SSD (Samsung 980 PRO 2TB) in Windows 11. The drive is detected and visible in the BIOS, but does not show in Windows (or only for a very limited time).

The weird thing is: when installing the Intel RST driver, at around 22% into the process, the secondary NVME SSD is detected by Windows 11 (a notification appears) and useable for a little while. During that time I can copy files to it and the drive operates as normal. When the RST driver installation finishes, even before reboot, the drive is ejected again and unavailable in Disk Management again. I can reproduce this behaviour.

Hardware
--------
Motherboard: ASUS ROG STRIX Z690-I GAMING WIFI
CPU: 12th Gen Intel(R) Core(TM) i5-12600K
RAM: 2x16GB Crucial DDR5
NVME SSD #1: Samsung SSD 980 PRO 2TB -> connected to CPU (on M2_1), boot drive
NVME SSD #2: Samsung SSD 980 PRO 2TB -> connected to Chipset (on M2_2) -> problem M2 slot
SATA SSD: Samsung SSD 870 QVO 4TB -> not relevant here, but added for completeness

Software
--------
Windows 11 PRO -> fully updated
Intel_RST_Driver_Software_V19.0.0.1067_WIN10_WIN11_64-bit -> downloaded from ASUS (Z690-I) Product Support page

Some observations
-----------------
- Both NVME SSD are technically working correctly. I've switched the drives multiple times and installed Windows on both of them. I've also run self tests and used Samsung Magician for checking the health and performance.

- One time, after switching the drives in the motherboard M2 slots, the secondary drive (in M2_2) was actually active for a short while. During that time I managed to update the firmware of both drives, but shortly after the secondary drive was ejected again.

- During the Intel RST driver installation, the Windows Event Viewer generates the following warning: "The application \Device\HarddiskVolume3\Windows\System32\DriverStore\FileRepository\iastorvd.inf_amd64_815480839574a92b\RstMwService.exe with process id 3560 stopped the removal or ejection for the device PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_467F&SUBSYS_86941043&REV_00\3&11583659&0&70.
Process command line: C:\Windows\System32\DriverStore\FileRepository\iastorvd.inf_amd64_815480839574a92b\RstMwService.exe" -> this seems important, but I'm not able to determine what this exactly means.

- In Windows Event Viewer another error appears after a system reboot/restart: "The driver detected a controller error on \Device\RaidPort2.". I noticed other people experiencing the same problem in this forum, but for a different motherboard, although no resolution there yet. In that thread they concluded it might have to do with SSD power management and suggested to disable "PCI Express Native Power Management" in the BIOS, but that didn't work in my case. More information here: https://rog.asus.com/forum/showthread.php?126865-Hero-Z690-having-issues-with-getting-windows-errors...

- Tried Windows 10, but same issue occurs there.

Could you please assist? I'm very confused about this behaviour. For me, it seems now either a hardware malfunction (M2_2 slot defect), a BIOS issue (NVME Power management not working correctly) or a Chipset/RST driver issue.

Thank you.

[luki12]

Hello
Read this thread on this forum

https://rog.asus.com/forum/showthread.php?126428-ROG-STRIX-Z690-I-GAMING-WiFi-m-2-Problem

This is a problem with M2_2 slot, the ssd does not get detect sometimes, or runs at incomplete speed

[neoku]

Hello,

I have a similar issue with a Samsung 980 PRO 1TB, this one works in M2_1 but not in M2_2.
When the 980 pro is connected to M2_2, it appears in BIOS but not in the boot settings, when i try to install W11 on it, the installer report a 0Mb disk and cant continue.
This issue seems appeared since i update the 980 pro firmware to the latest 4B2QGXA7 . Before this update, it worked fine in the M2_2.

I tried to reseat the drive by pushing it and tighten the screws, but nothing change.
I also tried to disable "VMD" feature in BIOS, the drive appears in the boot settings, but it is not usable in windows too.
The M2_2 port seems to be ok, i have tried another NVME drive on this port , a samsung 980 (not pro) and it works correctly.

Maybe, ASUS have to upgrade BIOS to make compatible M2_2 with the 980 pro firmware 4B2QGXA7 ?

Thank you for your assistance.

PeDeGe wrote:
I recently purchased an Alder Lake system (ASUS Z690-I motherboard), but have problems with enabling the secondary NVME SSD (Samsung 980 PRO 2TB) in Windows 11. The drive is detected and visible in the BIOS, but does not show in Windows (or only for a very limited time).

The weird thing is: when installing the Intel RST driver, at around 22% into the process, the secondary NVME SSD is detected by Windows 11 (a notification appears) and useable for a little while. During that time I can copy files to it and the drive operates as normal. When the RST driver installation finishes, even before reboot, the drive is ejected again and unavailable in Disk Management again. I can reproduce this behaviour.

Hardware
--------
Motherboard: ASUS ROG STRIX Z690-I GAMING WIFI
CPU: 12th Gen Intel(R) Core(TM) i5-12600K
RAM: 2x16GB Crucial DDR5
NVME SSD #1: Samsung SSD 980 PRO 2TB -> connected to CPU (on M2_1), boot drive
NVME SSD #2: Samsung SSD 980 PRO 2TB -> connected to Chipset (on M2_2) -> problem M2 slot
SATA SSD: Samsung SSD 870 QVO 4TB -> not relevant here, but added for completeness

Software
--------
Windows 11 PRO -> fully updated
Intel_RST_Driver_Software_V19.0.0.1067_WIN10_WIN11_64-bit -> downloaded from ASUS (Z690-I) Product Support page

Some observations
-----------------
- Both NVME SSD are technically working correctly. I've switched the drives multiple times and installed Windows on both of them. I've also run self tests and used Samsung Magician for checking the health and performance.

- One time, after switching the drives in the motherboard M2 slots, the secondary drive (in M2_2) was actually active for a short while. During that time I managed to update the firmware of both drives, but shortly after the secondary drive was ejected again.

- During the Intel RST driver installation, the Windows Event Viewer generates the following warning: "The application \Device\HarddiskVolume3\Windows\System32\DriverStore\FileRepository\iastorvd.inf_amd64_815480839574a92b\RstMwService.exe with process id 3560 stopped the removal or ejection for the device PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_467F&SUBSYS_86941043&REV_00\3&11583659&0&70.
Process command line: C:\Windows\System32\DriverStore\FileRepository\iastorvd.inf_amd64_815480839574a92b\RstMwService.exe" -> this seems important, but I'm not able to determine what this exactly means.

- In Windows Event Viewer another error appears after a system reboot/restart: "The driver detected a controller error on \Device\RaidPort2.". I noticed other people experiencing the same problem in this forum, but for a different motherboard, although no resolution there yet. In that thread they concluded it might have to do with SSD power management and suggested to disable "PCI Express Native Power Management" in the BIOS, but that didn't work in my case. More information here: https://rog.asus.com/forum/showthread.php?126865-Hero-Z690-having-issues-with-getting-windows-errors...

- Tried Windows 10, but same issue occurs there.

Could you please assist? I'm very confused about this behaviour. For me, it seems now either a hardware malfunction (M2_2 slot defect), a BIOS issue (NVME Power management not working correctly) or a Chipset/RST driver issue.

Thank you.

[PeDeGe]

@luki12: Thank you for the link and this certainly looks very similar to my problem. Based on your suggestion, I've tried reinstalling the M2 stack several times, putting pressure on several locations, but without any luck. I'll try a couple of times more, but I really can't believe this is the cause of my problem or will solve it. I'll explain why: if the seating of the M2 stack would be incorrect, I would think that the drive would never work or would always show the same behaviour. During installation of the Intel RST driver, my M2_2 SSD actually becomes active and is detected by Windows. I can even access it as normal. How can a driver installation temporarily fix a hardware defect? I can even reproduce it...


@neoku: Also thanks for your reply. You have the same problem. For me, the M2_2 drive also appears as 0 Mb in, for instance, DISKPART. However, I can confirm the issue also occurred for me using the older firmware of the Samsung 980 PRO SSD, not just the latest. Now both SSD's are using the latest firmware, so unfortunately I can't doublecheck that anymore.


So the problem still exists and obviously it is not just me. I'm also starting to think this can be solved with a BIOS update. For ASUS it might be interesting to figure out what happens during the Intel RST driver installation around the 22% mark, as this obviously can trigger the SSD to become active.

@ASUS support: when can we expect a fix for this??

[yangning8109]

neoku wrote:
Hello,

I have a similar issue with a Samsung 980 PRO 1TB, this one works in M2_1 but not in M2_2.
When the 980 pro is connected to M2_2, it appears in BIOS but not in the boot settings, when i try to install W11 on it, the installer report a 0Mb disk and cant continue.
This issue seems appeared since i update the 980 pro firmware to the latest 4B2QGXA7 . Before this update, it worked fine in the M2_2.

I tried to reseat the drive by pushing it and tighten the screws, but nothing change.
I also tried to disable "VMD" feature in BIOS, the drive appears in the boot settings, but it is not usable in windows too.
The M2_2 port seems to be ok, i have tried another NVME drive on this port , a samsung 980 (not pro) and it works correctly.

Maybe, ASUS have to upgrade BIOS to make compatible M2_2 with the 980 pro firmware 4B2QGXA7 ?

Thank you for your assistance.

My 980 PRO 1TB w/ firmware 4B2QGXA7 works perfect on Z690I M2_2. You can check M.2 slot installation or try SSD on other motherboard/SSD enclosure.

[PeDeGe]

I'm still shocked, but I managed to get it working. I must have tried reseating the M2 stack on the motherboard 15 times or so. I was about to give up, but somehow the last try got it fixed. It appears @luki12 suggestion was indeed the way to go. I still can't explain what I exactly did differently the 15th attempt and why the Intel RST driver installation process could make the SSD visible in Windows 11 at first (but only during installation).

I hope it will stick. I'm now worried that the slightest bump to the case will cause the M2 stack to disconnect again, even thought the screws are tightly secured. This is certainly something for ASUS to look into. It shouldn't be this problematic to insert M2 SSD's.

Anyway, thanks everyone for the replies and in particular @luki12 for pointing me to the solution.

[neoku]

Hello,

I try again many times but my 980 pro 1TB always show 0mb disk on M2_2. Could you explain me , what steps have you done for reseating the stack (the upper one and the lower ?) ?
The strange thing is that the SSD samung 980 (not pro) works prefectly on this port without any reseating, is that because it's a Gen 3 ssd ?

Thanks.

[PeDeGe]

I really don't know what I did differently, neoku. I was about to give up and reinserted everything one final time (somehow assuming this would be fixed by a future bios update). Something must have connected then, which didn't before. It was just luck. My problem didn't have to do anything with bios, firmware, driver updates or settings. It's just bad design of the m2 stack/board. It shouldn't be this sensitive.

Hope this helps and good luck...

[Auspcbuilda]

Im having issues with this motherboard as well. I am currently on my 2nd one.
The first one had the same issues as most other posts I have seen about the M2_2 slot not working in full speed or showing up at all.
I returned that board for RMA as suggested by Asus support, I was then sent a replacement motherboard.

Now this board the M2_2 slot is working at full speed and seems too be working, the problem now is when you start the PC for the first time, it does not see the m2_2 slot, but if I then restart the PC, the drive will now show and work fine.
I have tried the lastest bios, turn off fast boot, set the drive too Gen4/PCIE/AUTO but nothing seems to change.
This is a weird one as the slot works, but not showing when you start it for the first time seems weird.
I have contacted support about the issue and they are now saying to RMA this motherboard as well.
Already had so much down time with the PC already, I would like to try everything else first before having to RMA this one as well, cause if I do have to RMA this again, I will not be getting a Asus board again.
So any help or if your having the same issue please let us know. Thanks.

Also this stack m.2 and sata ports they have done with this motherboard is a really bad design and they should not do this again. Also since this board does seem very faulty do you think they will recall it at all? or just try and patch it up with RMA's till the 3 year warranties run out?

[asayler]

Auspcbuilda wrote:

Now this board the M2_2 slot is working at full speed and seems too be working, the problem now is when you start the PC for the first time, it does not see the m2_2 slot, but if I then restart the PC, the drive will now show and work fine.

There seems to be a second, but unrelated, issue with M2 slots on a number of the Z690 chipset boards related to the PCIe power management settings: https://rog.asus.com/forum/showthread.php?126865-Hero-Z690-having-issues-with-getting-windows-errors.... You might want to try disabling "PCI Express Native Power Management" option in the BIOS as suggested in that thread. (Note: SR-IOV also needs to be disabled in the BIOS for this to have an impact, although I belive it is disabled by default.) Hopefully Asus can fix that in future BIOS firmware updates.