Intel 600p Compatibility with 990FX Extreme6

I'm upgrading my boot storage from a M2 Crucial CT500MX which is a 500GB SATA SSD in M2 form-factor to a Intel 600p NVMe 1TB SSD which is also in M2 form-factore but uses PCIe instead of SATA. The drive is detected as it should be and seems to install Windows 10 just fine and will go through several boot cycles without problem. This is a fresh install of the ISO with Anniversary update included. At some point after a few update reboots the computer hangs. It happens early during the spinning circle before the desktop loads. The Circle will go around a couple of times and then slow down and stop. It seems that I can back up to a restore point and boot again, but it immediately tries to install a set of updates and the cycle starts over. I have returned to the Crucial drive with no problem and all the same hardware otherwise.

redsaxo wrote: I'm upgrading my boot storage from a M2 Crucial CT500MX which is a 500GB SATA SSD in M2 form-factor to a Intel 600p NVMe 1TB SSD which is also in M2 form-factore but uses PCIe instead of SATA. The drive is detected as it should be and seems to install Windows 10 just fine and will go through several boot cycles without problem. This is a fresh install of the ISO with Anniversary update included. At some point after a few update reboots the computer hangs. It happens early during the spinning circle before the desktop loads. The Circle will go around a couple of times and then slow down and stop. It seems that I can back up to a restore point and boot again, but it immediately tries to install a set of updates and the cycle starts over. I have returned to the Crucial drive with no problem and all the same hardware otherwise.

So the only difference between failure and success for Windows to boot or not after some Windows updates, is changing the SSDs after the Windows update, that is the case, right?

One of the main difference between the two SSDs you are using is they each use a different driver for their different storage controllers.

NVMe SSDs use an NVMe driver, which is different and not related to SATA. The Intel 600p, which I use as the OS drive in a Windows 10 PC, uses the inbox Windows NVMe driver for its built in NVMe controller. The Windows NVMe driver is the driver Intel intends to be used with the 600p. Intel makes several other NVMe PCIe SSDs, the 750 model being the main PC oriented NVMe SSD. Intel provides their own NVMe driver for the 750 SSD, but it can be used with the Windows NVMe driver. I don't know if the Intel NVMe driver used with the 750 is compatible with the 600p.

The Crucial M.2 SSD is a SATA SSD, and uses your board's SB950 SATA controller, and either the AMD or Microsoft AHCI driver (assuming you are not in RAID mode.)

I cannot think of another reason besides Windows update either installing a non-compatible NVMe driver for the 600p, or for some reason the update removes the NVMe driver. Since you cannot boot from the 600p when that happens, there is no way to check what happens.

One thing you can do is to try starting Windows in Safe Mode with the 600p, after you get the failure to boot with it. A list of drivers being loaded scrolls across the screen, and you may be able to notice the NVMe driver being shown. The Windows NVMe driver is called stornvme.sys.

Unfortunately, you cannot use two M.2 SSDs in your board at the same time. I thought if you could run both at the same time, but boot from the Crucial, after the Windows updates if things were consistent, at some point the 600p would fail to work. You could then check what NVMe driver is installed, or if there is an NVMe driver installed.

Are you able to use the Intel SSD Toolbox software with the 600p, on an AMD chipset board? I wonder if the Windows update installs the Toolbox software, which fails to run on an AMD system. The Toolbox software does not auto-run when Windows starts, or runs in the background, so that idea is likely worthless.

Sorry to say, but this is an interesting problem IMO. I'm curious what is causing it. I have not used the PC with the 600p as the OS drive for several weeks, but I started it tonight and will do so in the following days to see if a Win 10 update causes mine to fail. I'm using it on a new Intel chipset board, so that is a major difference.