Add NVM Express support to H110M Pro VH Plus

[wavedevice]

Hi. I have this board, an H110M Pro VH Plus and it is know for not recognizing nvmes not even in the operational system nor in clover nor in the BIOS. The point is that there are another board with a similar name called GIGABYTE H110M M.2
The second board have an M2 slot, and the first don't have, so I am using an PCIE x16 nvme adapter bifurcation that will bifurcate it in two 8x slots. The problem is not with the adapter, since I've tested a gpu in the 8x bifurcation and it IS still working, while the nvme ssd plugged is not recognized.
I've taken a look in the BIOS of both motherboards with MMTool and searched for the string NVM, and found that both bioses have the exact same nvme software drivers (I guess these are software drivers).
My Idea was to take the drivers from one board and inject them in the other using MMTool, I was not expecting them to run magically so I though I would need either to replace another driver that was already in the bios loading process or create a trampoline to run it.
The point is: there is no need to do that I guess because the drivers are already there, they are exactly the same drivers, so I think maybe the production facility have disabled them...
From the short knowledge of very oldschool processors that I have, any device is accessed from memory address ranges so all that these drivers may be doing is to send a message to the bootloader "Hey! I am a nvm Express slot. I am at address xxxxxx-yyyyyy memory range! If you need my help send a signal to my address!"
Am I guessing it wrong?
What are some things that I can try to enable nvme in this board?
Does the processor needs some special flag to support nvme?
Can efi run a complete bios replacement from outside of the spi bios chip?

I am an advanced user and can take this as a long term project even if it is complicated enough to break the legs of a dromedary.

[chromecut]

yeah there is no on/off switch for nvme functionality within the bios so you are almost home free
I suspect the issue is with the bifurcation but need more details

1.are you sure you have nvme m.2 drive? not pcie m.2 ssd nor sata m.2 ssd(sata ssd look very similiar has 2 teeth insteade of one tooth or golden finger like nvme m.2)and finally the dreaded m.2 ngff(which is sata ssd)
if your board support pcie 3 then use a pcie 3 m.2 ssd-4 will work but changing speed may freeze plus its a waste

2. does the motherboard bios have x4x4x4x4 or similiar feature within? you mentioned bifurcation adapter into 2 x8  slots?
unless it has a switching chip or bios has bifurcation settings then it wont work at the same time-are you sure x16 slot is x16 mechanical
and that the gpu is connecting at its expected speed?
3. speaking of bios are you in uefi mode or bios mode? if clover didnt see it then its a physical thing with your card and bifurcation
it is possible to add bifucation via hex edits and bios modding which is whole other animal-lets suss out the x16 slot first
4. in fact what are your specs? next time start with that info as I would have been able to provide the solution in this post-
I dont know when ill be back thru but if any of this helps please post your full solution for others to find what os are you using?
5.what bios do you have? mmtool is for ami bios and 3 diff tools for 3 diff era of bios plus if mixing use with uefi tool then mmtool needs to be patched-I should have asked first but when running hwinfo report does it say whether bios guard, boot guard, anything similiar to that
is enabled? then at bottom desc range override status? locked? unlocked? if you mod the bios just remember you have to be able to flash it back
might want to check if its locked first and also make a backup
if win7 you need to bake nvme and usb into the install disk
use onboard video to eliminate and confirm slot issues for now
I would use a usb to m.2 external case to install on the same machine as usb hdd or a simple m.2 to pcie 3.0 x4 with heat shield
for amazon for $8.00 then if it works get a quad(4) pcie 3.0 x 16 m.2 adapter with switch and run 4 m.2 in raid0
I run 4 in bootable raid but at pcie 4 and 2 sets of 2 in pcie 3 but cant boot from it, yet
Im thinking you only have 1 x16 slot and need to make m.2 drive and gpu work so here are your options

see if any similiar models of that chipset and verified ami bios has bifurcation fileds? bifurcation may be already there but behind a
locked tab-it wont be as simple as finding a bifurcation module but if you can verify its there it worth a stab at enabling it or adding
the feature if the board is physically able to-you say you are not noob so this is a great way to learn even more on a still relevant board
so either way a complicated but doable process-maybe someone has already located the module-(thats the timekiller, the grind)

get a quad adapter with switch and use onboard graphics and maybe 1 port for gpu with cable(see below) and 3 m.2 drives in softraid-
no guarantee the gpu will work
get a quad adapter $40 without switch and use one port to feed the gpu with $20 m.2 connector to x4 pcie cable for the gpu but
only 1 m.2 will be seen if bifucation not available
what gpu and whats it connecting at? use gpu-z to put it under quick load for actual connected speed example: pcie 3.0 x8 vs 3.0 x1 when idle
there is a cool adapter that is true x16 to dual m.2 @ x4 each plus a x8 slot directly above so basically a slot extender about 1 inch tall for
the side by side m.2 and the gpu needs low profile

of course it is possible that the windows install got messed up and there is no efi partition to boot from(explains why clover didnt boot nvme directly)but a non noob would have checked that on top of the install "mode" bios or csm uefi or pure uefi with gpt partition instead of mbr
because since nvme already in bios then diskpart should have seen the drive and if your adapter is actually splitting the x16 into 2 x8 then problem as both gpu and nvme use first set of x4 portion of the slot with gpu using another x4 of the second half of slot-the slot has to halves to it-you cant connect the nvme to the second halve and it work even if it fits-its hard to explain without graphic but think of it as lookng at the slot itself long ways from left to right and split it in half-if nvme in normal x4 single carrier plugged into a full x16 slot you will see empty area of slot becomes back halve so your bifurcation adapter is not splitting it like you think and gpu getting all x8 bandwidth?
I have a x16 pcie insert with 2 slimsas 8-i connectors x8 for each cable
the second slot is dead becuase my x16 slots are only x8 electrical 
I do not have bifurcation either so I have 1 slimsas 8i to 2 slimsas 4i feeding a dual nvme carrier and the other feeding a pcie x4 cable for gpu
each m.2 only getting x2 speed but raided together im getting 7,000 as its pcie 4 but not bootable on identical machine I have HBA card feeding dual nvme at full with 13,200 speed-but again not bootable-lor persepctive pcie 3 max is 3,500-I also have 2 additional machines running pcie 3 and I found 2 dual pcie 3 adapters with switches and im getting roughly the same speeds as the pcie 4 units but double the cards and gpu on x4 slot-but my main rig is deskmeet b660 with 4 m.2 running bootable raid0 at full 16gts per drive and a whopping 22,400 speed!
$1,500 brand new or in my case $500 luck of the gods-hope some gf this helps

[wavedevice]

> First of let me explain: I've tried to be direct in the answers, wish you can understand my intention is not to offend anyone. My conclusions with your answers/questions is that I should research a bit more about this chipset, and by chipset I mean the IC name, not the board name, I wish it is different than the board name, because if it is not, them I have a problem. For the hardware thing, buying more hardware is not an option (kind of a self-imposed ninja rule, I want to solve it in the bios side or at least check if it is possible). But, as you know a lot about these adapters, do you know any adapter that can bifurcate everything with some kind of cable and put the GPU outside of the case?
As I said my main objective is to continue more on the path of bios modification, all the other checks have already been done, no os thing nor hardware thing, no buy more hardware.
Thanks for your answers/questions

- yeah there is no on/off switch for nvme functionality within the bios so you are almost home free
> not exactly an switch, there is "something", but only the drivers know this "something"

- I suspect the issue is with the bifurcation but need more details
> No, it is not, I double-checked the pinouts and took a photo of the nvme connector and the connector of a usb case were the nvme is working, compared both and they are exactly the same. Also, the bifurcation is working perfectly with a GPU

- 1.are you sure you have nvme m.2 drive? not pcie m.2 ssd nor sata m.2 ssd(sata ssd look very similiar has 2 teeth insteade of one tooth or golden finger like nvme m.2)and finally the dreaded m.2 ngff(which is sata ssd)
> yes, I took care to prevent this, it is an nvme m2

- if your board support pcie 3 then use a pcie 3 m.2 ssd-4 will work but changing speed may freeze plus its a waste
> no more buy hardware

- 2. does the motherboard bios have x4x4x4x4 or similiar feature within? you mentioned bifurcation adapter into 2 x8  slots?
> I will need to check this. Yes it is a x16 -> 8x + 8x

- unless it has a switching chip or bios has bifurcation settings then it wont work at the same time-are you sure x16 slot is x16 mechanical and that the gpu is connecting at its expected speed?
> Not sure what this means

- 3. speaking of bios are you in uefi mode or bios mode? if clover didnt see it then its a physical thing with your card and bifurcation
> UEFI, I already said that

- it is possible to add bifucation via hex edits and bios modding which is whole other animal-lets suss out the x16 slot first
> this is what I asked for

- 4. in fact what are your specs? next time start with that info as I would have been able to provide the solution in this post-
> I already gave my specs, the motherboard name, you don't need to know how much HD or RAM or wherever I have because it does not matter, only the motherbord id matter

- I dont know when ill be back thru but if any of this helps please post your full solution for others to find what os are you using?
> Does the OS matter?

- 5.what bios do you have?
> does the bios matter? unless I was using some custom bios It does not. It is just the "last" bios from the manufacturer which may be some source code created 10 years ago and replicated along multiple boards.

- mmtool is for ami bios and 3 diff tools for 3 diff era of bios plus if mixing use with uefi tool then mmtool needs to be patched-I should have asked first but when running hwinfo report does it say whether bios guard, boot guard, anything similiar to that is enabled? then at bottom desc range override status? locked? unlocked? if you mod the bios just remember you have to be able to flash it back. might want to check if its locked first and also make a backup
> I will check this

- if win7 you need to bake nvme and usb into the install disk use onboard video to eliminate and confirm slot issues for now
> it is not an os thing

- I would use a usb to m.2 external case to install on the same machine as usb hdd or a simple m.2 to pcie 3.0 x4 with heat shield for amazon for $8.00 then if it works get a quad(4) pcie 3.0 x 16 m.2 adapter with switch and run 4 m.2 in raid0 I run 4 in bootable raid but at pcie 4 and 2 sets of 2 in pcie 3 but cant boot from it, yet
Im thinking you only have 1 x16 slot and need to make m.2 drive and gpu work so here are your options
see if any similiar models of that chipset and verified ami bios has bifurcation fileds? bifurcation may be already there but behind a locked tab-it wont be as simple as finding a bifurcation module but if you can verify its there it worth a stab at enabling it or adding the feature if the board is physically able to-you say you are not noob so this is a great way to learn even more on a still relevant board so either way a complicated but doable process-maybe someone has already located the module-(thats the timekiller, the grind)
> yes. this is the point. this answer talks about the direction that I want to move, you gave me an idea of versioning all possible bioses that are used in this "chipset", I wish it is about the north and south bridge you are talking about, and not the board name

- get a quad adapter with switch and use onboard graphics and maybe 1 port for gpu with cable(see below) and 3 m.2 drives in softraid- no guarantee the gpu will work get a quad adapter $40 without switch and use one port to feed the gpu with $20 m.2 connector to x4 pcie cable for the gpu but only 1 m.2 will be seen if bifucation not available what gpu and whats it connecting at? use gpu-z to put it under quick load for actual connected speed example: pcie 3.0 x8 vs 3.0 x1 when idle there is a cool adapter that is true x16 to dual m.2 @ x4 each plus a x8 slot directly above so basically a slot extender about 1 inch tall for the side by side m.2 and the gpu needs low profile
> more buy hardware thing

- of course it is possible that the windows install got messed up and there is no efi partition to boot from(explains why clover didnt boot nvme directly)but a non noob would have checked that on top of the install "mode" bios or csm uefi or pure uefi with gpt partition instead of mbr
because since nvme already in bios then diskpart should have seen the drive
> it is not a windows/OS thing

- and if your adapter is actually splitting the x16 into 2 x8 then problem as both gpu and nvme use first set of x4 portion of the slot with gpu using another x4 of the second half of slot-the slot has to halves to it-you cant connect the nvme to the second halve and it work even if it fits-its hard to explain without graphic but think of it as lookng at the slot itself long ways from left to right and split it in half-if nvme in normal x4 single carrier plugged into a full x16 slot you will see empty area of slot becomes back halve so your bifurcation adapter is not splitting it like you think and gpu getting all x8 bandwidth?
> Looks like you confused something here. No Idea what this means.

- I have a x16 pcie insert with 2 slimsas 8-i connectors x8 for each cable
the second slot is dead becuase my x16 slots are only x8 electrical
> Interesting

- I do not have bifurcation either so I have 1 slimsas 8i to 2 slimsas 4i feeding a dual nvme carrier and the other feeding a pcie x4 cable for gpu
each m.2 only getting x2 speed but raided together im getting 7,000 as its pcie 4 but not bootable on identical machine I have HBA card feeding dual nvme at full with 13,200 speed-but again not bootable-lor persepctive pcie 3 max is 3,500-I also have 2 additional machines running pcie 3 and I found 2 dual pcie 3 adapters with switches and im getting roughly the same speeds as the pcie 4 units but double the cards and gpu on x4 slot-but my main rig is deskmeet b660 with 4 m.2 running bootable raid0 at full 16gts per drive and a whopping 22,400 speed!
$1,500 brand new or in my case $500 luck of the gods-hope some gf this helps
> You may be confusing something, using raid in multiple disks don't makes things faster, raid is for backup not for speed.

P.S. One more question. Do bios-mods.com have a discord channel?

[wavedevice]

I am 199% sure it is a bifurcation problem. Guessing that the motherboard configures the slot as a single 16x, so the 8x 4x 4x adapter will not work. How can bifurcation be created? I've seen a tutorial but my bios don't have the IOU options. The closer I could get are these options. Is it still possible or the config should be in these hidden settings?

[DeathBringer]

Chipset H110 doesn't support a bifurcation.

[wavedevice]

Sad...
But,
according to page 21 of the 'Intel ® 100 Series and Intel ® C230 Series Chipset Family Platform
Controller Hub (PCH) Datasheet – Volume 1 of 2',
h110 is PCIE 2.0,
but I know h110m pro vh plus is pcie 3.0
the manual says it have 6 lanes
but the hidden bios configuration seems to show 20 lanes
and looking in the table at page 21 there are two chipsets that have 20 lanes and are not h110
I guess either h110m is not h110 or it is a z170 or q150 masquerading as a h110,c230, or gnomes...

I will check this with the flying gnomes in the sky. Maybe they have a solution.