Z690 Proart with Kingston KC3000 issue

[Zetra89]

Hello there nice people,

I will try to re-cap it and someone might be able to help since one of ASUS members suggested that I make a post here as well.

Anyway, I have Z690 Proart motherboard, and I got 2 KC3000 kingston SSDs, 1 that is 1tb and 2tb version.

There is no way I can install windows on them format partitons, tried with VDM enabled or disabled, default BIOS settings, preety much everything.

Problems came, at least I think with ME firmware version 16.1.30.2307 and there is no way to downgrade that.

I have 256GB ADATA nvme gen4 SSD working fine, tried to install win on that one, all good.

Also, I've tried one more thing, I have older KC3000, 1tb version, with different firmware version then these two new ones, and guess what, all good, working.

Post on ROG forum:

https://rog-forum.asus.com/t5/gaming-motherboards/re-z690-proart-possibly-faulty-issue/td-p/1030150

If anyone have any idea what could be the issue, or suggestion, that would be nice.

Br, 

Zetra

[Jiaszzz_ASUS]

Hello, @Zetra89 

We apologize for the delayed response.
However, the scenario you provided here seems inconsistent with the situation described in the ROG forum.
To avoid confusion and errors, we suggest updating the hardware specifications and issue context here, as the ROG forum is exclusively for ROG and TUF series products.

Regarding the Intel ME, it is factual that after updating the BIOS, it cannot be manually downgraded.
Kindly arrange an RMA to send the motherboard for repair and request a specific BIOS and Intel ME reflash if needed.

Based on your description, the Kingston 1TB SSD shows abnormalities (such as I/O errors or OS waits for disk response) after some usage, and the newly purchased 2TB SSD has similar issues, while the ADATA SSD does not.
May I ask which slot the SSD was installed in when the issue occurred, and if you have tried testing other slots?

Could you clarify whether the "Kingston email: While it is clear that both 1TB and 2TB SSDs are not defective as they are working in the laptop, it is no clear why they are not working in the ASUS ProArt Z690 motherboard." means that you cross-tested the SSDs in a laptop? did the same issue occur when cross-tested with another motherboard?

Thank you.

[Zetra89]

Hello Jiaszzz_ASUS,

Let me answer these questions:

May I ask which slot the SSD was installed in when the issue occurred, and if you have tried testing other slots?

I've tried both SSDs, 1tb and 2tb kingstone in M2_1 which uses CPU lanes and M2_2 and M2_3 as well which uses chipset lanes. Same behaviour.

Means that you cross-tested the SSDs in a laptop? did the same issue occur when cross-tested with another motherboard?

Correct, I've tested both SSDs 1tb and 2tb ones, plugged into laptop, installed windows with same usb stick that I used on PC, tested, working normally. So I've tried one thing to try to trick PC, I've installed fresh system on laptop, to init part, where you choose username, took SSD out, plugged into PC, and guess what, it cannot boot since I get an error (system was installed without VDM enabled, which I tried both option on PC so it is not that part).

On PC, when I try to reinstall system on ADATA SSD, that works normally, only two new SSDs are the issue.

Specs are: 

I7 12700KF, 

Z690 Proart,

2x16GB kingston beast at 6GHZ,

Nvidia Palit 4080, 

Full NZXT perfs, cooling and case.

Br, 

Zetra

[Jiaszzz_ASUS]

Hello, @Zetra89 

Thank you for your response.
May I ask if other M.2 slots are occupied when both new SSDs, Kingston 1TB and 2TB, are installed in M.2_1, M.2_2, and M.2_3 and you encounter issues with formatting the drives and installing the system?
Additionally, during a complete system installation and initialization, if the SSD is moved from a laptop to the motherboard and you encounter issues where the SSD is not recognized and the system fails to boot, does the BOOT Q-LED indicator light up at that time?
If the Kingston SSD has completed all system installation and initialization settings, will this issue persist when installed on the motherboard?
Please also confirm the following details for us to verify further:
- the images of BIOS main page
- the complete model of the Kingston 1TB and 2TB SSDs, such as KC3000 PCIe 4.0 NVMe M.2 SSD, and the current firmware version
- the brand and model name of the RAM (part number and installed slots as well) and PSU currently installed
- are there any extensions or adapters used to connect any devices, such as GPU or SSD?
- the OS version and OS build
- Record a complete video following these steps:
Start recording> Install the Kingston SSD in the M.2_1 slot with no other SSDs/HDDs installed> Clear CMOS> after powering on, if the system fails to boot, does the Q-LED indicator on the motherboard show any lights?

Thank you.

[Zetra89]

Hello @Jiaszzz_ASUS ,

Let me answer some of the questions:

So, no other SSD slots was attached while trying M2_1, M2_2 and M2_3 slots, and on all slots is the same error. Fails to format, or if it manages to format the drive, fails to install windows. Keep in mind multiple USBs and Windows images are used (which all work when installing Win on laptop).

When swithcing SSD from laptop to PC, I was not paying attention to LED light, since system does see Windows boot partiton, but fails to boot.

SSDS are :

 KC3000 PCIe 4.0 NVMe M.2 SSD, both 1TB and 2TB versions.

RAM is Kingston Fury Beast RGB, 2x16GB kit. 

KF560C36BBEA-16

On GPU I am using NZXT Vertial mount kit, Gen4.

Windows I am trying to install is Windows 11 22H2 and  21H2.

Possition of RAM is: 

Firmware of both 1tb and 2tb drivers is:

Br,

Zetra