No PCIe lanes detected!

Build:

CPU: Ryzen 7 7800 X3D

Mobo: Asrock B650E Steel Legend

RAM: GSkill Trident 6000 MT/s CL30 16x2 GB

SSD: WD Green 110 GB (to be replaced with Samsung 980 Pro 1 TB)

GFX: Saphire Nitro+ 7900 XT 20 GB

Cooler: Lian Li AIO 240

Display: ASUS TUF Gaming VG27AQ (165 Hz)

The Problem:

So, as soon as I had the PSU and the MB in hand, I plugged it in without any components and flashed the new BIOS (based on AGESA 1.0.0.6) to prevent my CPU's FUBAR-ization. It was successfull according to the manual.

Next comes the CPU, RAM, AIO and GPU installation, all went well without a hitch. No SSD because all I had in hand was the 110 GB SSD and thought it wasnt worth it as of now. Connected to the monitor using DP from the eGPU. Switched it on.

First boot was a bit long, maybe to recognise the CPU and the RAM training. The MB has a status LED called PSC with 4 LED lights (CPU, MEM, VGA, BOOT), cycled through all of them and rested with VGA and BOOT LEDs ON. Saw the forums and decided that there's a problem with the VGA not being detected.

Now I inserted the SSD to see if the status goes away and switched it on. Again, no display and the PSC status is ON for VGA and BOOT again, even if the SSD is in place.

Since the Ryzen 7 series have iGPU, I changed the DP out to the MB, and the system switches on with display and without the PSC status lights. Strange. Goes directly to BIOS and I check to see if it detects the components currently installed. Detects CPU, RAM, but not the SSD and eGPU (both on the MB still). Even detects the cooler pump and fan RPM. Temps at 45-50 SI units.

I decide to hard reset the CMOS. Removed batteries and shorted the CLRCMOS for a minute. Start it up again, same result. No BIOS detection of SSD and eGPU. Has display only with iGPU.

Decided to change the SSD slot (effectively from PCIe 5.0 to 4.0), still no detection. Loaded up Win11 ISO on an USB flashdrive to see if the install manager detects storage media, but no, nada/nothing.

Created a bootable on the go Win11 on the SSD and plugged it into MB using a SATA-USB bridge. Display output from MB, boots up fine. Goes through initial setup and all the Win11 nonsense. Installed all the drivers and checked device manager to see if PCIe is shown in any form. There are a lot of PCIe related stuff, but cannot recognise the nomenclature. Installed HWInfo, and it says motherboard has 1x PCIe x16 and a bunch of x4's. Doesn't add up to the hardware specs.

So, whats up with the damn thing? I do not have hands-on experience with PC builds, but am quite knowledgable with the world of computers. Was bantering/coordinating the build with my best bud, and we both came to the conclusion that this is quite abnormal. It's mostly Plug n Play, with maybe a few hiccups, but nothing this serious.

This is my first build and splurged quite a bit. Could someone shed light on this and help me please? Thanks a ton.

Oh hey! I solved my problem long ago, forgot to update it here.
The motherboard does not accept SATA SSDs, they've removed the compatibility. It only accepts NVMe SSDs.
If your SSD is NVMe, maybe try another one. If it's SATA, well you've to a new one.
Hopefully this is the solution you're looking for :) Happy gaming