Asrock z97 extreme 9 + sm951 256 GB m.2

[bittoliquido]

Hello,

I cannot complete the win 8.1 64 installation. The m.2 disk does not appear in boot options.
What do i have to do before destroying everything? 😳

Thanks

[RamCity]

Re: Asrock z97 extreme 9 + sm951 256 GB m.2

Hello,

I cannot complete the win 8.1 64 installation. The m.2 disk does not appear in boot options.
What do i have to do before destroying everything? 😳

Thanks

First, make sure you have the latest bios installed. Then follow our installation guide. It's for the XP941, but the process for the SM951 is exactly the same.

Let us know how it goes.

cheers, Rod

[bittoliquido]

Re: Asrock z97 extreme 9 + sm951 256 GB m.2

Thanks,

I have repeated the procedure described in your link several Times.
After the first restart windows does not find the m.2 disk and so it restart from usb, reinstalling again the first part.

Is there any beta bios for extreme 9 that permit to choose m.2 as booting disk?

Thanks

[parsec]

Re: Asrock z97 extreme 9 + sm951 256 GB m.2

Which M.2 port are you using for your SM951?

You must use the Ultra M.2 slot, that is just below the first/top PCIe x 16 slot.

The Z97 Extreme6 board has a beta bios for use with the SM951. So far, your board does not have this kind of beta BIOS. Hopefully ASRock will see your thread and create one for this board. Or you can contact ASRock support directly here:

ASRock > Support Request Form

Did you start the System Browser tool in the BIOS, to see if the SM951 is recognized by the board? With new SSDs like this, or even standard SSDs, it may take a restart or two of the board before the SSD is recognized.

If you configured the BIOS settings correctly when you installed Win 8.1, in the boot options you should see an entry of "Windows Boot Manager". That is how the SM951 will be identified in the boot order when correctly installed in UEFI mode.

What boot entry are you using for the USB flash drive with Win 8.1? You must choose the entry that says, "UEFI...", whatever the name of your flash drive is.

[bittoliquido]

Re: Asrock z97 extreme 9 + sm951 256 GB m.2

hello,

thanks Parsec.

I tried both, the ultra and the normal.
The ssd is very recognized in the bios, I can see listed in the section storage. But it does not appear in the boot menu.
The only combination to have "windows boot manager" listed in the boot option is to choose the sata as RAID.
I am installing from a USB selecting by f11 the uefi usb. I also tried from the exit menu load efi bios (I do not remenber the exact name, but is the last option in the exit menu).
I also used the ripping from original win8.1 - no OEM - disk and used the ISO from Microsoft. With all the combination of no extra file in the usb root, or adding the shellx64 and/or the bootx64.

I have installed on an old drive and then copied with the one-to-one sw to transfer from old drive to m.2 drive.

I made all the combinations also with adding drivers in the windows formatting window, loading form CD, from USB stick with a folder created from BIOS.
I am missing only the beta driver in the airsick beta section, but these are really out of date compared to the CD (!!!) and to the USB Stick from BIOS.
I have the latest BIOS version and in the beta is available a really old one.

I always get stuck after the first step of installation, where it does not find the m.2 drive as booting option. And if I choose raid windows start but it stop immediately with and system error asking to modify bios and reinstall the OS.


I'll contact asrock - thanks for the link - to get some clarification.

If you have any other suggestion please let me know.


Thanks

[parsec]

Re: Asrock z97 extreme 9 + sm951 256 GB m.2

A beta BIOS like the one for the Z97 Extreme6 board probably is the only way to fix the installation problem.

The Launch EFI Shell from filesystem device option in the BIOS will not help you with this problem. That option is used to run the shellx64 program from the BIOS.

I'm not sure if you did this, when you used RAID mode and got the Windows Boot Manager entry in the boot order, did you set the SATA mode to RAID before you started to install Windows? If you didn't, setting the SATA mode to RAID before you start the OS installation (and always use RAID mode) might help.

Did you let the Windows installation program format the SM951? That is the best way to get it formatted correctly. It must be formatted as GPT.

[ASRock TSD-Eddy]

Re: Asrock z97 extreme 9 + sm951 256 GB m.2

Dear bittoliquido,

I'm ASRock HQ Eddy_Huang
Please update below link of Z97 Extreme9 BIOS L1.52, this BIOS have update Samsung SM951 compatibility.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B0D...ew?usp=sharing
We will also update and put this version BIOS on our website recently.

If have any question, please feel free to contact us.
ASRock TSD
Eddy.

[bittoliquido]

Re: Asrock z97 extreme 9 + sm951 256 GB m.2

A beta BIOS like the one for the Z97 Extreme6 board probably is the only way to fix the installation problem.

The Launch EFI Shell from filesystem device option in the BIOS will not help you with this problem. That option is used to run the shellx64 program from the BIOS.

I'm not sure if you did this, when you used RAID mode and got the Windows Boot Manager entry in the boot order, did you set the SATA mode to RAID before you started to install Windows? If you didn't, setting the SATA mode to RAID before you start the OS installation (and always use RAID mode) might help.

Did you let the Windows installation program format the SM951? That is the best way to get it formatted correctly. It must be formatted as GPT.

hello,

thanks, I did it also in that sequence, raid before the OS installation. No success. It install only the first part but at the restart windows ask to repeat the installation

paolo

[bittoliquido]

Re: Asrock z97 extreme 9 + sm951 256 GB m.2

Dear bittoliquido,

I'm ASRock HQ Eddy_Huang
Please update below link of Z97 Extreme9 BIOS P1.52, we have update Samsung SM951 compatibility.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B0DVm6-IyvdOU3FJMDRveEtOOEU/view?usp=sharing

We will also update and put this version BIOS on our website recently.

If have any question, please feel free to contact us.
ASRock TSD
Eddy.

wow Eddy!


I'll try asap.


have a great day,

paolo

[bittoliquido]

Re: Asrock z97 extreme 9 + sm951 256 GB m.2

Eddy!

problem solved, with new bios now it works perfectly.

The disk is listed in the storage section and windows boot manager is in the boot list.

:-)


thanks and congratulation to this great forum

paolo

[ASRock TSD-Eddy]

Re: Asrock z97 extreme 9 + sm951 256 GB m.2

Dear bittoliquido,

Thanks for your reply.
Wish you have a nice day.

ASRock TSD
Eddy.

[RamCity]

Re: Asrock z97 extreme 9 + sm951 256 GB m.2

Eddy!

problem solved, with new bios now it works perfectly.

The disk is listed in the storage section and windows boot manager is in the boot list.

:-)


thanks and congratulation to this great forum

paolo

Yay!

Now that's why we always recommend ASRock motherboards to customers who ask for a recommendation. Not only great products, but awesome customer service.

Great result.

[RamCity]

Re: Asrock z97 extreme 9 + sm951 256 GB m.2

Eddy!

problem solved, with new bios now it works perfectly.

The disk is listed in the storage section and windows boot manager is in the boot list.

:-)


thanks and congratulation to this great forum

paolo

I did the same test myself with the beta bios 2.04 on a ASRock Z97 Extreme6. I was able to install Windows 8.1 on the SM951 (installed in the ultra M.2 socket) and boot no problems.

I also experimented with putting the SM951 in a Lycom DT-120 adapter card in the first PCIe slot. The windows installation began just fine but after the initial installation and first windows 8.1 install reboot, windows just cycled over from the beginning and started again like the installation was starting from scratch. It's very similar behaviour to that you described before you updated to the beta bios in your Extreme 9.

It's not a big deal since it works just fine in the Ultra M.2 socket, but I'm sure someone will want to put the SM951 in an adapter. Anyone else had this happen and figured it out? Any suggestions Eddy?

[ASRock TSD-Eddy]

Re: Asrock z97 extreme 9 + sm951 256 GB m.2

Dear RamCity,

Thanks for your information.
Please kindly try to update below Z97 extreme6 BIOS L2.01N.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B0D...ew?usp=sharing

Below thread of discuss have some information about SM951, maybe this can help you.
http://forums.tweaktown.com/asrock/6...ing-sm951.html

If have further question, please feel free to contact us.

ASRock TSD
Eddy

[Kelxin]

Re: Asrock z97 extreme 9 + sm951 256 GB m.2

Dear bittoliquido,

I'm ASRock HQ Eddy_Huang
Please update below link of Z97 Extreme9 BIOS L1.52, this BIOS have update Samsung SM951 compatibility.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B0DVm6-IyvdOU3FJMDRveEtOOEU/view?usp=sharing

We will also update and put this version BIOS on our website recently.

If have any question, please feel free to contact us.
ASRock TSD
Eddy.

Hello Eddy,

I have a Z97 Extreme 9 that I've been running an XP941 on for about 8 months and have recently purchased a SM951.

While on bios version 1.14 and 1.30 it would lock up when trying to get into the bios while the SM951 was installed.
On bios 1.52 I can get into the bios and see the SM951 listed as the drive in the M.2 ultra socket (4x socket), and lists it as a boot choice, but all of my UEFI boot options are completely gone.
I have changed around the options for CSM including disabling CSM, enabling CSM with video / storage / network boot options at either legacy or UEFI only, but no matter what no UEFI boot option shows up.

I have a 120GB USB drive that is partitioned with Win7 / Win8 / Win8.1 that is UEFI and MBR bootable for installing Windows on different computers.
I also have a Windows 2012 R2 WDS server with IP4 / IP6 traditional and UEFI PXE boot.

With bios 1.14 I was able to install Windows 7 on the XP941 in UEFI or MBR (my preferance is UEFI so I can use the enhanced GPT partitioning and boot).
With bios 1.52 I can see the SM951 but when prompted to install to it from a MBR usb bootable stick or from the PXE boot it tells me that the bios is not setup to boot from the drive.
With no UEFI options, I cannot try to install windows via any UEFI source at all.

Previously on the "boot selection menu" I would see all of the hard drives listed, the USB stick listed, then each of the USB paritions listed after "UEFI:", now none of the UEFI options are there.
I have physically unplugged all of my other hard drives and blu-ray drive and the SM951 is listed as P0 in the bios boot selection, have it set as the only boot option, and then used F11 to select either the Intel network card or the USB stick to no avail.

I did notice though, that when I put the XP941 back into the system with bios 1.52 that was previously formatted GPT and installed via UEFI that the boot option for "Windows Boot Manager" does show up, and I can boot from it (what I'm posting this from now).

Is there anything else that I have missed that you can think of to enable UEFI options on the boot menu?

- Kelxin