CF-74 M.2 sata ssd issues?

Has anyone found an M.2 sata drive and adapter that will work with their CF-74 MKI?

I have two CF-74CCBAXBM machines which I am trying to install some M.2 drives in, so far without success. The drives are not recognized by the BIOS at boot up, but I know the machine can see them, because when I boot Ubuntu 16.04 to live disk mode, I can see the drives and preform modifications to them using GPartED. I can even go through the installation process, and know the installation worked because the resulting disk placed in a different type of machine works fine. I thought I might be running into the 160Gb limit issue, but when I shrink the partition to below 160Gb, (like I did with some previous CF-28's) the disk still will not boot. The caddies are fine because a regular 160Gb drive works fine in them.

I have sought in vain for relevant BIOS updates. Any suggestions anyone has in that regard will be appreciated.

Thanks again, for the time and attention.

 

What adapters are you using?
What specific drives?
Post photos if you can..

 

There are no markings on the adapter, but the M.2 SSD is a Lighton LJH256V2G - 11.

 

Without some kind of info about your adapter, it is hard to help.
With a photo and or a model number, I can research what chip it uses and go from there.

 

The markings on the only chip on the adapter board are DH 1084-33 1650BG

 

Here is the adapter.

 

That chip is just a voltage regulator.

Ok I recalled something. There are different kinds of M.2 drives.
PCIe and SATA.

That M.2 drive you have is OEM Dell. It may have a PCIe interface.


read this article
https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/201...e-interface-that-will-speed-up-your-next-ssd/


PCB of an M.2 module provides a 75-position edge connector; depending on the type of module, certain pin positions are removed to present one or more keying notches. Host-side M.2 connectors (sockets) may populate one or more mating key positions, determining the type of modules accepted by the host; as of April 2014, host-side connectors are available with only one mating key position populated (either B or M). Furthermore, M.2 sockets keyed to support SATA or two PCI Express lanes (PCIe ×2) are referred to as "socket 2 configuration" or "socket 2", while the sockets keyed for four PCI Express lanes (PCIe ×4) are referred to as "socket 3 configuration" or "socket 3".

For example, M.2 modules with two notches in B and M positions use up to two PCI Express lanes and provide broader compatibility at the same time, while the M.2 modules with only one notch in the M position use up to four PCI Express lanes; both examples also support SATA storage devices. Similar keying applies to M.2 modules that utilize provided USB 3.0 connectivity

 

Shawn.... One day... One day in the (hopefully) distant future... Your head is going to explode from all the knowledge inside trying to get out!

 

Shawn doesn't know that much....he just knows where to find it.
He is after all the Search Ninja.

Blair, Shawn's post needs to be a stickie.

 

Thanks Shawn, really appreciate the information.

 

I agree a lot of his post should be but we are at our limit on sticky's (6) and also not a lot of talk on the CF-74 anymore

 

Well, as far as I can tell, these drives are sata not PCie. That would seem to be confirmed by the fact that I can access the drive with Gparted through the current adapter. That would seem to indicate that I need an adapter which the CF-74 bios will recognize at boot up. The adapter shown only has a voltage regulator and a couple of caps on it, so I am assuming that I need a more sophisticated interface, which brings me back to my original question. Does anyone have any experience with any particular adapters which will help point me in the right direction, or will I have to experiment again?

Thanks again, everyone for the time and attention. Really appreciate it.

 

Those cards are not limited to CF-74. (Sorry about the cross post I was arguing with Blair)

In the early GPS thread there is a statement that a extra ground wire caused the bios to recognize aftermarket GPS. I've personally done this BTW.

Could it be that simple with your project?

 

So start a SHAWN stickie.......
All SHAWN, All the time....



I need a new hat. My old one seems way too small.

 

With no components on it, the adapter is just converting from one style sata interface to another.
The problem is that the BIOS does not and will not recognize that m.2 drive.
Other than hacking the BIOS yourself, you are probably out of luck.

Well you might be able to use OSX on it. As OSX does not use a BIOS..

 

I don't know. As you can see I am new to this. Can you point me to the thread on that, and I will see if I can get one of these to work. Thanks very much for the reply.

 

Different situation.
A ground wire will not solve this problem.
The ground wire enables (or turns on) the gps port.
The hard drive port is always enabled.

 

Thanks Shawn, looks like I will be on the lookout for some SSDs. Any recommendations?

 

"I need a new hat. My old one seems way too small."
naaaaa ... all ya need is a pound of "ego ease greeze" .
apply liberally to the sides of the head , paying special attention to the ears ...
gar-on-teed to let ya slide through the tightest fit .