Z170 ProM4s build help

SacsTC wrote: Xaltar...  I was using older sata cables, but just received some new ones.  Have not yet tried them Parsec...Can't speak for Culdog1, but my 0 and 1 ports are not being used as I did read they would be disabled when using M-2. I tried a blank formatted 1GB HD with the M-2 and still get no boot. As for post, I am getting the ASrock Logo and 4 options in the lower right corner.  I can get into bios which does recognize all HDs and Optical drives.  It shows the M-2 as first boot option and the Asus optical as second.  All other boots are disabled. After POST, which seems really slow to me, with HDs hooked up, it goes into a loop to scan and repair HDs.  Never got beyond 9% when this happens. Just received a new HD, (retail) so not formatted and will hook that up soon to try. " SATA Controllers option"  unknown.  Have to check that. " CSM settings" ????  OK, looked up CSM settings.  Machine has only had win10 installed and I also tried resetting defaults in BIOS.   With the slow POST, (my opinion), I am beginning to think that it may be a DDR4 incompatibility problem, so am going to research that also.  Am using Corsair Vengeance LPX ddr4 2400 OK, gotta go, Solar Power Estimator is here to look at house and price that out for us. Thanks for trying to come up with a reason for this problem

So you tried using JUST the ONE new HDD, with no other drives attached besides the M.2 drive, which is a 950 Pro (?), and the PC would still not boot?

The thing about, "... with HDs hooked up, it goes into a loop to scan and repair HDs.  Never got beyond 9% when this happens"  could be related to what I said about the MBR System partitions, but I can't tell. That sounds like you had multiple HDDs connected to the PC. Where did those HDDs come from, another PC, or what? The failure to complete the repair on those HDDs, if that is the case, is not a good sign. Why they would need to be repaired is the question, which again could be due to what I described previously.

To install Win 10 on an NVMe SSD, you would have to at least set the CSM sub-option, Launch Storage OpROM Policy to UEFI Only. That is NOT a default setting. If you reset the defaults in the UEFI as you said, and did not fix that setting, the PC will not boot.

That might be an added factor to your original problem, whatever it is. Did you buy this PC pre-built? I wonder because I would think you would recall configuring CSM for your 950 Pro.

After I installed an Intel 750 NVMe SSD as the OS drive on my Z77 Extreme4 board, I am finally realizing that it does not seem to be the NVMe SSD OS drives (950 Pro used with my Z170 board) that are causing a relatively longer POST than I have experienced in the past. The Intel 750 is known to be slow to start up, even after a firmware update to improve startup time. The Z77 Extreme4 board completes POST faster than I expected with the Intel 750. Boot times with Win 10 are random and never the same twice, who knows what Win 10 is doing before the desktop is displayed.

My point? It seems that DDR4 memory is slow to POST, or simply takes longer to complete its POST procedures. Meaning it is normal for Z170 boards to have a longer POST process than other systems. It also depends upon how much memory you are using, the more you have, the longer it will take. If you want to see a long POST situation, try an X99 board with quad channel memory.

The Corsair Vengeance^® LPX 16GB (4x4GB) DDR4 DRAM 2666MHz C16 Memory Kit - Black (CMK16GX4M4A2666C16) is included in your board's Memory Support List. So while the 2400 speed kit is not included, and the PC boots without the HDDs connected (right?), then your memory should be Ok. OTOH, Vengeance LPX like this was originally meant for X99 boards. We have seen some weird issues that were apparently fixed by using compatible memory, so who know?

Both of you Z170M Pro4S owners may know this, but with a PCIe SSD in the M.2 slot, the SATA3_0 and SATA3_1 ports will be disabled. That's because of the Z170 chipset's resources being shared between the two interfaces.

But I know you said you tried all of the SATA ports, and with the SATA drive connected, the PC would not boot, correct?

When you say the PC won't boot, what happens? Do you get a black screen that might show a two character code? Are you able to get into the UEFI/BIOS with the SATA drive connected?

Your board does not have the Dr Debug POST code display, so if POST fails you might see the POST code shown on your monitor.

Or does it seem that the PC finishes POST, and you get the single POST Ok beep, if you have the POST beep speaker connected and enabled in the UEFI/BIOS?

Can you review what CSM settings you are using?

About the SATA drives, are they new or did you use them with other PCs? If you can get into the UEFI/BIOS, can you see the drives in the Storage Configuration screen? What is the SATA Mode Selection option set to? Is the SATA Controllers option set to Enabled?

If you've used the SATA drives with other PCs, they could have a Windows System/boot partition on them, even if they were not the OS drive. Skipping the details about why that happens, it is a known thing that happens with Windows.

Assuming the SATA drive has a System/boot partition on it, it is most likely the usual MBR type partition. Your Samsung 950 Pro configured as an OS drive, will have a GPT System/boot partition on it, which is required for any NVMe drive used as an OS drive. An NVMe SSD will not boot if it only has an MBR System partition.

Given this situation, with the SATA drive running on your board with an MBR System partition, you now have two System/boot partitions. If the MBR System partition is used, or simply having multiple System/boot partitions, with one being incompatible with booting the 950 installation, the result is what you get, the PC won't boot.

If you can put those SATA drives in another PC, and run Disk Management, you can check what partitions are on the SATA drive you are trying to use. If you find a System Partition on that drive, that is most likely the problem.

The best way to fix that is to delete that partition, and format the drive. If the drive has files you want on it, transfer them off the drive first.

Regardless, please answer my questions so we can figure out what is happening. I use SATA drives with an NVMe SSD as the OS drive on several ASRock boards, so it is certainly possible to do so.

Well it doesn't look to good for us here

I'm wondering if anyone could help guide me with an issue. I have installed a samsung 950 NvMe m.2 drive on my board and was able to install win 10 after  many tweeks w/ the bios. It boots fine (actually super quick boot time) but when I try to add a second drive for storage it wont boot (no post no nothing). I've tried every sata slot with no luck. When I disconnect it boots fine, I believe the problem lies in CSM or PCI-E or SATA settings in the bios. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks