Question

A technician installs a new PCIe x16 graphics card in a desktop. After the upgrade, the system boots normally but the M.2 NVMe data drive (a secondary drive, not the boot drive) no longer appears in the OS or in the UEFI storage list. The boot drive and all other components work fine. What is the MOST likely cause?

Accepted Answer

Installing the card in the x16 slot disabled shared PCIe lanes used by the M.2 slot

Answer

The graphics card is drawing too much power, causing the NVMe drive to be disabled

Answer

The NVMe drive firmware needs to be updated before it will be recognized

Answer

The M.2 drive failed at the exact moment the graphics card was installed