Windows 10 always installing on the second NVME drive but never the first (original OS drive)

[Koshaugh]

 Hi, I received a new HP Z8 G4 with 3 x M.2 NVME drives over two NVME adapters. I am trying to install a Win10 image via Configuration Manager over PXE. It keeps installing onto the second NVME drive on the first adapter (while the OS that it came with is in the first NVME drive) I have subsequently performed a secure erase on all NVME drives, but still goes to the second. Anyone experienced the same thing?

[BambiBoomZ · Accepted solution]

Koshaugh,

Try locating the target OS drive in the permanent original boot drive position (adapter and slot) and removing all other drives of any kind - NMVe or mech'l HD, before installing.

BambiBoomZ

[DGroves]

there are a few reasons for this some can be,......... different SSD types PCI-e/SATA/ or the PCI-E ssd slot positions or boot order in the bios

also, your 3 ssd's on 2 m.2 cards indicates one card has dual ssd's and this card unless it has boot circuitry cannot be a boot device unless using the intel matrix raid

[Koshaugh]

Thanks BambiBoomZ,

I wanted to maintain a situation whereby if I needed to restore the machine via Config Mgr  \ SCCM, that whoever was doing it would not need to know to remove any other drives to do so. I took your advice in part by isolating the NVME drive I wanted as my OS drive on the 1st adapter and putting the other two onto the second adapter. This worked for me, so thanks for the steer to a resolution. Ken

[Koshaugh]

Thanks DGroves for your advice. I got it to work by isolating the OS drive on the first adapter and putting the others onto the second adapter. Ken