booting nvme disk via pcie adapter on older machines

[siliconbeaver]

the new modern motherboards support NVMe SSD. don't need this mod method any more.

this mod method is for motherboards during the time of Windows 7, when NVMe revolution NOT occurred and UEFI was vague.

 

[SIW2]

siliconbeaver

have you done any more nvme mods?

 

[siliconbeaver]

I have modded HP Elite 8300/Elitedesk 800 G1, SFF/twr, four in total. Just followed Paul's' guide. It worked. an average user can easily learn to do.

one thing
chipname varied PC by PC. at this point, Paul's' guide is working. but chipname varies. when modding, copy chipname right on screen. It may be different from that of Paul's guide.
HP 8300, twr vs. SFF, chipname NOT same.
HP 800 G1 DM vs. SFF vs. twr, chipname NOT same.

cost
about $30 per PC mod. SSD 512GB<$30. PCIe adapter card <$2 on ebay. I tested 512GB Intel 670P, Samsung PM961 and Toshiba. each worked fine.
If no plan to upgrade PC soon, this mod is NOT bad at all. Crystal test sees some 5X improvement, depending on CPU (i3/i5/i7, PCIe v2 to v3, 3X to 6X in my test).

clean install
these are HP PCs. I was using Windows 7/10 install media from HP Cloud Recovery. clean install no any problem. the HP install media works for HP PC only.

its beauty:
1. including install drivers needed.
2. naturally activated. no need of Window 7 key. no need of online activate.


Con:
1
After BIOS mod, most backup software cannot detect the NVMe SSD on PCIe slot. This causes a problem when backup. I was asking help for MR. indeed I tested about 3-5 backup software. none could detect (ghost MR, , , CrystalDiskInfo). At final, I got a ghost trial copy (broadcom) and did disk image then backup the image.
2
MBR. Its boot menu is out of order (damaged). When use, it's getting abnormal or fails. I got hard time to boot from DVD ROM (MBR).

So, if you would spend more than $30 budget, maybe could upgrade PC to HP 800 G2/3, which naturally support NVMe SSD. and easy to run backup.

 

[SIW2]

It is for people that have an older machine already.

The gigabyte bios on first page works perfectly.

I haven't used Paulie's instructions for oem machines, but I can't undertand what you mean by

most backup software cannot detect the NVMe SSD

Have you included the nvme updates in the backup program's boot media ?

Most backup programs create their boot media using winre.wim.

 

[siliconbeaver]

when run backup software, need source disk and target disk, both visible. I mainly use Ghost 11.5 and MR.
before mod, backup is image data between SATA SSD. Ghost/MR worked fine.

on those modded PC, Ghost/MR/crystaldiskinfo cannot detect the NVMe SSD on slot. hence
1. I couldn't restore image to the NVMe SSD. I had to clean-install. (Paul must have realized the problem, he did in purpose take Samsung disk in order to run Samsung tool to restore image)
2. when clean-install and tune done, I couldn't backup the "clean" OS on NVMe SSD because Ghost/MR only detected SATA SSD. the real source disk on NVMe SSD was invisible.

it really took me awhile to detour the problem. (always clean-install on SSD is bad).
also, to examine SSD "Total HostReads/Writes", need to run Crystaldiskinfo. but on those modded PC, crystaldiskinfo couldn't detect NVMe SSD on PCIe slot. (On Paul's blog, Jim was asking me why NOT posted SSD info, I couldn't. as crystaldiskinfo didn't detect the NVMe SSD)

on my HP 800 G3, ghost does NVMe SSD disk image or backup, no any problem. but on those modded 8300/G1, it's no go.

 

[SIW2]

sounds like a driver problem.

needs windows nvme driver and probably also either the phison driver or samsung driver to read smart data.

View attachment win7nvmex64.zip

can be installed with dism++

for the samsung driver need to run the certificate .cmd file or import the registry blob View attachment A98087ECB8D6D3794EB582386A55724BB5B8BCF3-blob.zip


*************************************************************************************

Using only windows nvme driver:



After installing phison or samsung driver in addition to the windows nvme driver:

 

[siliconbeaver]

could be. but I am NOT sure.

my present backup software are working on newer PC (HP 800 G3 NVMe SSD). but no go on those modded.
so does Crystaldiskinfo, works on any PC except those modded (when OS is up (W7 or 11) on NVme SSD, driver shouldn't be a problem at all).

sounds like a driver problem.

 

[SIW2]

Is anybody on Paulie's site having the same issue ? Or is it just you.

 

[siliconbeaver]

I couldn't tell on his blog.

1. they all did clean-install. Paul assigned Samsung disk in order to use Samsung tool.
2. none posted SSD info. people posted SSD reading/writing rate but no SSD info.
3. Paul cleaned his blog. issues NOT related to direct mod, he removed. I had posted several issues. no more posts after removed.

 

[SIW2]

6th gen is not something I would buy. If I had one hanging around, then it might be worth adding nvme support.

 

[SIW2]

Curious if anybody else has done this.

 

[file3456]

Doesn't a 6th Gen NVMe require PCIe 4?

I don't see needing speed like that. Well, me anyway. I should buy a USB C to NVMe adapter for my clones though. It'd go a lot faster! I'd need a 2TB NVMe drive for the clone though as I currently use a 2TB NVMe drive. Right now my clones go to a Hitachi Enterprise SATA III platter and it takes quite a while to do a full clone backup.

 

[SIW2]

:huh:

 

[file3456]

Ah, it looks like Gen 5 is the highest for NVMe... and I see now you're referring to the poster's CPU. My bad...

 

[SIW2]

These mods allow using a cheap pcie to nvme adapter.

performance varies according to the pcie version and number of lanes.

 

[SIW2]

Add NVMe Boot Support to a HP EliteDesk 800 G1

- - - Updated - - -

Offers: Already modded special BIOSes - Win-Raid Forum

 

[SIW2]

Modify the BIOS of a Lenovo M92 to enable native NVMe support

 

[nt351]

>>>>> "It can boot Windows 10 from a cold start in around 12 seconds!"

My p300 boots Win7 from an SSD in 17 seconds. For the sake of five seconds ? I should use UEFI ?
(If nothing goes right with this BIOS experiment, is it possible to restore M92 ?)

This socket LGA1155 motherboard has builtin NVMe :
https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/nSYAAOSwCdll3aDo/s-l1600.jpg
it could make all them Sandy Bridge and Ivy Bridge computers NVMe bootable (without endangering BIOS)

 

[SIW2]

The point is not buy another board.

The point is to use any old system you have laying around.

 

[nt351]

The point is to use any old system

And a very good one.
My everyday-use computer is a Lenovo P300, assembled in 2013. It is only a year younger than the M92, and the whole Ivy Bridge family.