[Request] ASUS P8Z77-V LX NVMe Mod

[Twolitrepinto]

Hi all, I don't like asking for help but i've tried for 2 days now on this and getting a bit lost.

ASUS P8Z77-V LX Board.


I have 2 x NVMe PCIe SSD's (HP Z Turbo drives i believe) that i'd like to utilize in this old PC as a tinkering project / home server.

I downloaded the latest bios for this board here. (Asus Website)

I followed >this< guide and managed to get the NVMe module (NvmExpressDxe_4.ffs) into the bios no problem. 

I managed to flash the bios using Asus Suite II trick method as it fails security if i try from USB in the bios itself.


The device just won't appear in the bios OR Windows, i've tried it in both PCIe Slots. with every different combination of bios settings.

The other problem is that the guide states that i can't use the built in RAID as well as the NVMe drives, but i would like to use RAID as i have a load of old server drives that i also want to use here and i wouldn't trust them any other way.

I also extracted the freshly updated (Stock) bios as a .rom file using AFUWIN, modified that, then flashed it back as a .rom file just to rule out the .cap format having any effect, still no cigar.

This variant of board doesn't have USB Flashback either but I've got around the actual flashing 2 other ways so i don't think that's an issue.

Maybe this bios just doesn't like NVMe? please help me!

Thanks in advance,
Rhys

[feluchi]

The device just won't appear in the bios OR Windows, i've tried it in both PCIe Slots. with every different combination of bios settings.

Hello!

• Important:
  
  • The "BOOT" section of the UEFI BIOS and the shortcut to the "Bootable Devices" will not show the NVMe SSD, although it may be bootable!
    
  • After having installed the NVMe supporting OS in UEFI mode onto the PCIe/M.2 connected SSD, you will see the new bootable system drive listed as "Windows Boot Manager".
    
  
  
• [size=undefined]Here are some advices about how to get Win10 properly installed onto an M.2 or PCIe connected NVMe SSD:[/size]
  • Save the important data, which are currently on the NVMe SSD.
    
  • Create a bootable, FAT32 formatted USB Flash drive containing the desired Win10 image by using the tool Rufus (important: choose the UEFI mode partition table = GPT).
    Here is a picture, which shows the most important Rufus settings:
    
    
  • Enter the BIOS and navigate to the "BOOT" section and - if applicable - the "SECURITY" or "Keys" section.
    Make sure, that the "Secure Boot" and "Fast Boot" options are disabled. The "Compatibility Support Module" (CSM) can either be set to "Disabled" as well (better option, but requires full UEFI compatibility of the graphics adapter) or to "Enabled" with the ability/preference to load EFI BIOS modules for the Storage Disk Drives. If you see BIOS options for the "OS type", choose "other OS". This will disable the Secure Boot setting.
    Side note: Some users reported, they they had to disable the ASMedia SATA Controller within the "Storage Configuration" section to be able to boot off the NVMe SSD.
    
  • Most important: Unplug all storage disk drives except the NVMe supporting SSD.
    
  • Insert the prepared USB Flash drive and boot off it in UEFI mode (the related bootable USB drive should be shown by the Boot Manager with the prefix "[UEFI]").
    
  • When you come to the point, where you have to decide onto which Drive and which partition the OS shall be installed, delete all existing partitions from your NVME supporting SSD. After having done that, let the Win10 Setup create a new partition for your future drive C: on the related SSD. Then point to this just created partition as the desired future OS location.
    
  • The rest should be done by the Setup automaticly. You will get a message, that some additional partitions have to be created. Accept that and follow the advice of the Setup where to install the OS.
    
  • Once the OS is up and running, shut down the computer, remove the bootable USB Flash driver and reconnect all your previously used storage drives.
    
  • Before you restart cour computer, make sure, that the NVMe SSD resp. its listed "Windows Boot Manager" is on top of the bootable storage drives.
    

[*]
Another option is to do a clean OS installation in UEFI mode onto any SATA connected SSD (a suitable NVMe driver should be available for the OS!) and to clone the complete disk drive content onto the NVMe SSD. After having inserted the NVMe EFI module into the BIOS, the formerly used SSD should be removed and the NVMe SSD inserted.
Good luck!

[Twolitrepinto]

Thanks for the quick reply.
For some reason, it didn't show the full reply on my phone i could only see from the [*] down? 

I will give this a try tonight or tomorrow and report back.
I don't have a Sata SSD to hand but a normal mechanical drive should work the same just slower to clone right?

Thanks again.

[Twolitrepinto]

Update:

I have now managed to get this working. I had 2 problems.

The first problem was that this is an old HP Z Turbo drive, and after some investigation i found >this< article...

That's what I'm saying - the adapter has a 'feature' that makes it not work on anything but Z workstations. You have to remove a transistor (Q1) from the board to bypass the 'feature'.

The device continually reboots, and thus will not show up, in anything but the systems that know how to disable the reboot loop - HP Z workstations.

And yes, I'm talking about the PCIe adapters w/ M.2 NVMe samsung cards in them "Z Turbo G2".

Well, I owe that guy a drink as sure enough it showed up in Windows installer after desoldering "Q1" transistor. It installed but then still wouldn't boot from it.

After finding out that it was a rebranded Samsung M.2 NVMe drive, i tried some Samsung NVMe modules in the BIOS as per >this< guide.

Now it shows in the BIOS properly and boots from it. Happy days!

I have installed Windows Server 2019 on this SSD, it's going to run Hyper-V role and I'll put a couple of VM's onto another one of these drives I have laying around, with 3 other mechanical hard drives in a RAID 5 acting as Data partitions for these VM's. (If i can get RAID to work with this setup that is!)

Thanks for your help!

[brockerochek]

Update:

I have now managed to get this working. I had 2 problems.

The first problem was that this is an old HP Z Turbo drive, and after some investigation i found >this< article...

That's what I'm saying - the adapter has a 'feature' that makes it not work on anything but Z workstations. You have to remove a transistor (Q1) from the board to bypass the 'feature'.

The device continually reboots, and thus will not show up, in anything but the systems that know how to disable the reboot loop - HP Z workstations.

And yes, I'm talking about the PCIe adapters w/ M.2 NVMe samsung cards in them "Z Turbo G2".

Well, I owe that guy a drink as sure enough it showed up in Windows installer after desoldering "Q1" transistor. It installed but then still wouldn't boot from it.

After finding out that it was a rebranded Samsung M.2 NVMe drive, i tried some Samsung NVMe modules in the BIOS as per >this< guide.

Now it shows in the BIOS properly and boots from it. Happy days!

I have installed Windows Server 2019 on this SSD, it's going to run Hyper-V role and I'll put a couple of VM's onto another one of these drives I have laying around, with 3 other mechanical hard drives in a RAID 5 acting as Data partitions for these VM's. (If i can get RAID to work with this setup that is!)

Thanks for your help!

Hi! Can you attach a modified BIOS to the forum?

[Maxinator500]

Hi! Can you attach a modified BIOS to the forum?

These mods are individual. Save the dump with AFUWIN and send it to me if you don't understand how to modify it yourself.

[brockerochek]

Hi! Can you attach a modified BIOS to the forum?

These mods are individual. Save the dump with AFUWIN and send it to me if you don't understand how to modify it yourself.

Absolute nonsense.

I found it in another place and everything worked perfectly.

[Maxinator500]

I found it in another place and everything worked perfectly.

So you flashed and didn't get someone else's SN and ID? If this is true, then I apologize for what I said earlier and that I could not help.