Failure to Post PC with Optane 905P Series M.2 380GB PCI-Express 3.0 x4

[CTobi3]

I am building a new PC and ran into an issue causing the build to fail to post and then power cycle. After various debugging I figured out it was the Optane drive installed in an m.2 slot.

I used the bare minimum set up required to post; Mobo (Gigabyte Aorus Extreme z390), PSU, CPU with cooler, RAM and using onboard graphics of i9 intel chip. The PC posts fine, temps are fine on CPU; 25C. Introducing a similar samsung 970 evo m.2 drive (alone) into any of the 3 m.2 slots allowed the PC to post. Introducing the Optane m.2 into any slot alone or together with the samsung drive caused a failure to post. The slots seem good and are usable by a drive with comparable interface (NVme/pcie). Various other components like the GPU worked fine when introduced. The Optane drive appears to be the sole culprit.

I checked all other common causes of post failure: ram seating, cooler seating, mobo seating etc. I hadn't realized a drive in m.2 would cause post failures so I came to that fairly late in the process and after checking most everything the Optane is pretty clearly the sole culprit given the bare bones test above with a similar device/interface and eliminating variables.

Is there any way to make the drive usable or is the drive just fubar? I don't believe I am missing any special setting in the bios. The Mobo is pretty new and I believe Optane memory should work with it straight out of the box. I have not attempted to update bios or firmwares etc. but since it can't even post I am skeptical about that.

[DiegoV_Intel · Accepted solution]

Hi CTobi3,

Thank you for posting in the Intel® communities.

I understand the Intel® SSD 905P Series is making your PC to not boot. I haven’t seen this behavior before and it’s really weird actually.

There are some system requirements to use this drive that can be checked here: https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/support/articles/000028298/memory-and-storage.html. There is also an NVMe* driver that is recommended in case the drive is not recognized: https://downloadcenter.intel.com/download/28325/Client-NVMe-Microsoft-Windows-Drivers-for-Intel-SSDs?v=t, however even though the SSD is not recognized, it should not make the PC to not boot at all, you should be able to at least enter into the BIOS of the motherboard.

Anyhow, my recommendations are the following:

1. Contact the motherboard manufacturer to confirm your specific motherboard model supports the SSD. There are some motherboards that have been tested, however the one you have is not listed here: http://compatibleproducts.intel.com/ProductDetails?activeModule=Memory%20and%20Storage#, so it’s necessary to get the manufacturer confirmation about the SSD compatibility.
2. If the motherboard manufacturer confirms the SSD is compatible, but you are still not able to boot or not even to enter in BIOS, then it’s probable that the SSD is somehow damaged making the PC to have a short circuit that doesn’t allow the system to be powered up properly and therefore, to not enter in BIOS or to not boot the OS. In this case, I recommend you to contact the place of purchase as the drive may still be under the warranty period.

I hope you find this information helpful.

If there is anything else I can help you with, feel free to ask.

Have a nice day.

Regards,

Diego V.

Intel Customer Support Technician

Under Contract to Intel Corporation

[DiegoV_Intel]

Hi CTobi3,

I’m wondering if you have any updates.

Regards,

Diego V.

Intel Customer Support Technician

Under Contract to Intel Corporation

[DiegoV_Intel]

Hi CTobi3,

Since I haven't received any updates, the thread will be closed. If you have any updates to share, feel free to post them here.

Regards,

Diego V.

Intel Customer Support Technician

Under Contract to Intel Corporation