Turn off M.2?

[Jbonnett]

Hi All,
Is there a way I can turn my M.2 drive off, I want to install an OS on another drive and it will ruin the OS I have on the M.2 if it see's it.

It's not as simple as just removing the M.2 as my graphics card is blocking me from doing so, such a pain.

Jamie

[Mhill2029]

Good point, i noticed in the Bios sometime back that it cannot be disabled. Auto/M.2 is all your offered, which is less than ideal. Unfortunately i feel removing it is your only option for the time being mate.

[Jbonnett]

Thanks man

[Powerfull]

The only way to disabled it without removing it is to plug a X8 device in the PCIE_X8_4 slot when using a 40-LANE CPU.

I would love to have the option to disable it in the UEFI.

[raywood]

I am using AMI BIOS 2.16.1240 (dated 2015) on an ASUS H97-PLUS motherboard. In the BIOS, I go to Advanced > PCH Storage Configuration > SATA (SATA 5,6) and M.2 Configuration.

It offers a choice among Auto, SATA, or M.2. I choose SATA > F10 > Enter. On reboot, the system returns to BIOS. It appears not to find a bootable operating system. If I change that choice from SATA to Auto or M.2, the system reboots into the Windows 10 installation on the M.2 drive.

With that item set to SATA, I boot a live Ubuntu USB drive. It boots by default; I don't have to select it in BIOS. In Ubuntu, I open the Disks program and look at the drives listed. It does not list the M.2 drive. I reboot, change SATA back to M.2, select the Ubuntu USB, and boot into Ubuntu again. Now Disks does list the M.2 drive.

This PCH Storage Configuration setting appears to offer the kind of solution the OP is looking for. Does this option not exist in other BIOSes - or did AMI remove it sometime after 2015 - or is it just hard to find?