Z170 Gaming K6+ and Samsung 950 Pro

Hey All!

Nice site, nice MB and enjoying the pace of the new system greatly.  I have searched and the usual apology that I might not be seeing the forest for the trees, but not asking leaves (pun intended) me out on a limb (again) and unclear how to proceed.

So, simply.  I have a Samsung 950 Pro 512Gb [MZ-V59512BW] that my MB does not seem to recognise.

Set up:
MB:      K170 Gaming K6+
CPU:    i5-6600
Ram:   16Gb
Boot:   SSD - Sandisk 256Gb
Win 7  as well as Linux Mint 17.3 Dual boot.  GRUB is NOT on the SSD.

Linux [Gparted] cannot locate inserted M.2 950 Pro.

Searching and from what I read, I believe that it ought to be seen.  To the besst of my knowledge, all updates are apply.  [ASRock Live Update caused some USB3 dramas but fixed via restoration point...for now]  It reports all up to date.

Therefore any suggestions will be MOST warmly welcomed and greatly appreciated.

Have fun!

OzRattler


Edited by OzRattler - 13 Oct 2016 at 11:53am

Check to see if the device is detected in the "System Browser" in your UEFI. If it is seen there then try clear CMOS. If not then there is a problem either with the connection (not seated correctly) or the drive itself. 

OzRattler wrote: Hey All! Nice site, nice MB and enjoying the pace of the new system greatly.  I have searched and the usual apology that I might not be seeing the forest for the trees, but not asking leaves (pun intended) me out on a limb (again) and unclear how to proceed. So, simply.  I have a Samsung 950 Pro 512Gb [MZ-V59512BW] that my MB does not seem to recognise. Set up: MB:      K170 Gaming K6+ CPU:    i5-6600 Ram:   16Gb Boot:   SSD - Sandisk 256Gb Win 7  as well as Linux Mint 17.3 Dual boot.  GRUB is NOT on the SSD. Linux [Gparted] cannot locate inserted M.2 950 Pro. Searching and from what I read, I believe that it ought to be seen.  To the besst of my knowledge, all updates are apply.  [ASRock Live Update caused some USB3 dramas but fixed via restoration point...for now]  It reports all up to date. Therefore any suggestions will be MOST warmly welcomed and greatly appreciated. Have fun! OzRattler

I can't speak about Linux, but as said above, Win 7 does not have an NVMe driver that must be installed via the Custom installation option. Plus you must search the Internet for the Samsung driver files extracted from their otherwise Windows executable program to install in Windows 7. The link to the Samsung NVMe driver above is the full Windows executable driver installation program, that cannot be used during a Windows installation.

Don't forget a 950 Pro is an NVMe SSD, a new protocol that is not SATA whatsoever. The latest UEFI/BIOS updates for ASRock Z170 boards will now show NVMe SSDs in the M.2 slot listing in the Storage Configuration screen. That would be in the 7.xx versions.

As said above, you should find the 950 Pro shown in the System Browser tool. All of the above is standard for NVMe SSDs, there also should be an NVMe Configuration screen listed in the Advanced screen in the UEFI, where the 950 Pro will be listed.

You'll also need to select your OS installation media in the Boot order, with the prefix, "UEFI:", which will cause the use of the EFI boot loader. Windows 7 has a bug in the location of its EFI bootloader that must be fixed in the installation media. Samsung claims the 950 has a built in EFI Option ROM that will work with Win 7, but you still must boot the installation media in UEFI mode.

Welcome to NVMe SSDs, not plug and play when used as the OS drive.

Ripper for the replies!   For courtesy, I am replying now rather than wait until next weekend which will be when I can next attempt the install.

I'll post the results to be read by others if successful, or more thoughts should I fail!

Thanks,
OzRattler.