How to boot windows from you m.2 SM 951 on Asus Maximuss VIII guide

[kiwaczek]

As many ppl (including me) has trouble with installing m.2 SSD on z170 motherboard i post short guide here, share it for everyone who need it .
Bellow method i used to install Samsung SM 951 m.2 card on Asus Maximus VIII Hero z170

There is whats i did :

1st boot ( All other devices, and hdd disconnected)

BIOS settings changed to :
Boot / CSM >>> DISABLED

PCIEX4_3 Slot(black) Bandwidth > Auto

additional options :
Advanced /PCH storage configuration >SATA mode selection > AHCI

2th boot

Tools > secure erase SM951

3th boot

Tools > secure erase SM951 finish it

4th boot

Boot /Secure Boot - OS type >> Other OS
Boot /Secure Boot - Key Menegment - Install default secure boot keys ( and accept )

IMPORTANT !!!
After that connect USB stick with windows 7/8/10 or DVD with properly installation

5th boot

at this point system should boot from USB or DVD , and i you be able to create partition on SM951 +start installation process system
Side note - seems Windows create additional partition with information to m.2 driver is a bootable SSD/HD and
set on stone info which kind of Windows you install , i mean if you install Windows 7 ... you cant upgrade it to Windows 10 and vice versa)

IMPORTANT next boot you need enter bios !!!

6th boot
setup BIOS - Boot /CSM - ENABLED
Boot device control - UEFI and legacy OPROM
Boot from storage devices - UEFI driver first
Boot from PCI-E /PCI extension devices - UEFI driver first
Boot /Secure Boot - OS type >> Windows with UEFI

additional options :
Advanced /PCH storage configuration >SATA mode selection > AHCI
PCIEX4_3 Slot(black) Bandwidth > Auto

7th boot

continue windows installation , after finish and reboot turn off PC, reconnect other devices and HDD

8th boot

PCIEX4_3 Slot(black) Bandwidth > x4

reboot and enjoy m.2 SM951 As bootable drive

p.s.

This process has been done with BIOS version 4.01 ... maybe new 5.08 BIOS dont require such trick's , i dont has a chance to test it .

p.s.
I based this installation on movie guide
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v7PEBscJbno

[nuroo]

Thank you so much for posting this guide.
I have a sm951 and a hero maximus 8 z170 on the way.

Any updates to this guide as far as newer firmwares go? same procedure, easier?

[BellaRose]

M8H - bios 603 and I literally plugged it in and installed no bios changes or tricks required.

[lightninhopkins]

I'm having a lot of trouble getting Windows 7 on the SM951 to install and boot.

Here is what I have that does work and does NOT work.

1. WORKS - Windows 7 on Samsung 850 SATA SSD - with BIOS 0802 set to all defaults.

2. WORKS - Windows 10 on M.2 SM951 - with BIOS 0802 set to all defaults.

3. NOT WORKING - Windows 7 on M.2 SM951 - NOT WORKING. BIOS 0802 on defaults, and all other CSM and Secure boot settings.

I've tried everything for almost 2 weeks, and can't get past formatting. Even did a DISKPART clean, and GPT, and MBR. Nothing works.

Everything on this board is rock solid with Windows 10 w/M.2 and Windows 7 w/SSD. The SM951 get's 2.2GB/s reads as advertised.

For my USB boot, I've tried everything from the Asus EZ Installer, to Rufus, to Microsoft's own ISO/USB installer, and nothing.

I'm waiting for Asus tech to call me back, but I guess no callback yet.

Getting desperate so I figured I'd try the forum. Thanks.

[Menthol]

Lightninhopkins, which version of SM951 do you have? AHCI or NVME. If it is an AHCI Win 7 should install without issue, if it is a NVME version Win 7 does not have a native NVME driver so you may have to try and load the Intel NVME driver for Win 7 to see the drive

[lightninhopkins]

Lightninhopkins, which version of SM951 do you have? AHCI or NVME. If it is an AHCI Win 7 should install without issue, if it is a NVME version Win 7 does not have a native NVME driver so you may have to try and load the Intel NVME driver for Win 7 to see the drive

Thanks for your reply. On my Windows 7 install on an SSD, through the Device Manager, it shows up without requiring drivers, as a secondary drive. Uses the 2006 Microsoft standard disk driver automatically.

Part # MZHPV512HDGL-00000 I'm pretty sure it's AHCI. Get's the full 2.2GB/s reads in Windows 10.

Main issue is, during the Win7 install, it can't get past the screen I attached below:

"Windows cannot be installed to this disk...... Ensure that the disk's controller is enabled in the computer's BIOS menu"

I've kinda given up on this and just using my main SSD as Win7 OS for now. I like Windows 10 somewhat, but a lot of my apps are not compatible. And old school games like COD2 are faster on Win7 vs Win10.

Here are some pics:

[01 Wolverine]

you can identify it by the third letter in the part number.

The NVMe model is designated by a V, while the AHCI model has an H.

[S1mplicity]

I never got windows 7 to install on my sm951 so I installed it on another normal ssd, updated to windows 10 and once activated.

I followed the instructions and did a fresh install of windows 10 on the sm951 AHCI version.

Long winded and awkward but works perfectly now.

[lightninhopkins]

So folks, you will not believe what happened. As you know, I said Windows 10 installed fine with the SM951 and a USB install drive.

I tried multiple combinations of everything to get Windows 7 installed, but no luck.

So I decided to actually try the install with a DVD-ROM, instead of a USB drive.

Latest BIOS 0802, all set to factory defaults. No other drives connected, and BAMMM!!!! Installed from a DVD-ROM with zero issues, and booted up perfectly.

Totally surprised. I guess the combo of getting UEFI and USB, and booting USB as primary, etc, was not functional.

So if anyone else has problems, just get the latest BIOS, set it all to defaults, boot a Windows 7 DVD (I had Service Pack 1), and it should work perfectly.

I'm fully surprised. Old school DVD-ROM to the rescue.

[Menthol]

That"s good news, don't discard the old media quite yet, you have me thinking, the last time I installed on the Hero 8 I followed the guide with the driver disk in a sata dvd drive and windows OS in a usb dvd drive. The first time I cloned the OS onto the Sm951 using Acronis True Image. Glad you got it sorted