I'm new to M.2 SSDs / how to set it up?

[Dank Rafft]

Hey,

I just got my first M.2 SSD (Samsung 970 Pro) ever and installed it on my Z370-F. BIOS seems to recognize it and set it to PCIe x2. In Windows 10 when I open Disk Management it says something about initialization and lets me choose between MBR and GPT. I'm lost.

Do I need to change something in the BIOS and how do I need to configure Windows? Thanks in advance.

[saddameu]

Hey,

I just got my first M.2 SSD (Samsung 970 Pro) ever and installed it on my Z370-F. BIOS seems to recognize it and set it to PCIe x2. In Windows 10 when I open Disk Management it says something about initialization and lets me choose between MBR and GPT. I'm lost.

Do I need to change something in the BIOS and how do I need to configure Windows? Thanks in advance.

select gpt and then assign it a letter, windows tells you exactly what to do, what's so puzzling about it? btw if you need hardware encryption feature of samsung it won't work as asus doesn;t bother updating their bios so you-ll have to stick with software encryption

[Dank Rafft]

OK, thanks. And how about the BIOS? Is there anything I need to tweak?

[haihane]

OK, thanks. And how about the BIOS? Is there anything I need to tweak?

Secure boot = on
Compatibility support module = off

this enables you to use UEFI boot (GPT) instead of Legacy boot (MBR).

https://www.techrepublic.com/blog/10...ow-about-uefi/

[Dank Rafft]

Thanks, that's good to know. How about the PCIe mode for M.2? Should I leave it at x2 or change to x4?

[haihane]

Thanks, that's good to know. How about the PCIe mode for M.2? Should I leave it at x2 or change to x4?

my first instincts is to leave it to [Auto].
granted, i'm not too familiar with your system; and also, intel is notoriously stingy with their PCI-e lanes... so...

i say: #yolo and x4 it, and see what happens. if something borks up, set it back to x2.

[Dank Rafft]

[Auto] isn't an option from what i can tell. I set it to x4 and so far it seems to work.

Thanks again for all the help.