M+B M2 ssd not working in M key

[Bookmem]

I thought M+B keyed ssd cards were supposed to work in either slot but I just tried 3 different ones in my M keyed PC and it doesn't see them. But they do work in a B keyed external enclosure. I also tried them in an M keyed external and they don't work there either.

[securitybreach]

What is a "M+B keyed ssd card"??

[securitybreach]

Ah nevermind, the two types of nvme drives.

[securitybreach]

I found this:

 

Quote

"An M.2 B key slot is only compatible with B+M key SSDs, and an M.2 M key slot is compatible with both B+M key SSD and M key SSD."

https://www.partitionwizard.com/partitionmanager/m2-m-vs-bm.html

[Bookmem]

1 hour ago, securitybreach said:

I found this:

 

https://www.partitionwizard.com/partitionmanager/m2-m-vs-bm.html

I can recall having to initialize M+B cards in a B enclosure but that they would then work in an M key device. But I'm beginning to think that not all M+B cards are created equal.

[securitybreach]

6 minutes ago, Bookmem said:

I can recall having to initialize M+B cards in a B enclosure but that they would then work in an M key device. But I'm beginning to think that not all M+B cards are created equal.

 

I agree, that is most likely the case.

[Bookmem]

16 hours ago, securitybreach said:

 

I agree, that is most likely the case.

After a more research, it seems newer M2s in PCs don't support SATA and are PCIe only. But there are adapters that plug into the PCIe slots on the MB that work. No good in a laptop but I think most latop M2 slots still support SATA. 

Edited April 3 by Bookmem

[abarbarian]

I used two add on cards on my last Skylake built pc. One was PCIe 3 and did nvme and sata, you could use two m2's with it

 

PCIe M.2 controller card for 2 SSD : 1x M2 SSD B Key SATA + 1x M2 M Key PCIe

The other one was a single PCIe 4

 

GLOTRENDS PA09-HS M.2 NVMe to PCIe 4.0 X4 Adapter with M.2 Heatsink for 2280/2260/2242/2230 M.2 NVMe SSD

Only ever used nvme cards with them and they both were blisteringly fast.

As a cheap way of boosting an older pc they are neat especially with second hand m2 cards these days.

 

 

This is the sort of add  on I first used

 

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Valuegist-Adapter-Controller-Expansion-MKeyBkey/dp/B08M3VTY6D/ref=pd_ci_mcx_pspc_dp_d_2_t_4?pd_rd_w=5RYiD&content-id=amzn1.sym.8db49f41-2d78-4c1c-bc3b-fb9e44b9efb4&pf_rd_p=8db49f41-2d78-4c1c-bc3b-fb9e44b9efb4&pf_rd_r=Z7QYS4QJNBFFY40A4GPC&pd_rd_wg=MvfAv&pd_rd_r=14156ccb-b777-4ecc-bfa6-dc5335b7da31&pd_rd_i=B08M3VTY6D&th=1

 

Quote

Support 2 Types SSD】- The Valuegist M.2 PCIE Adapter can support dual M.2 SSDs, one for NVME SSD (M-Key) and the other for SATA SSD (B-Key). However, it is important to note that it does not support connecting two NVME SSDs or two SATA SSDs.

 

Edited April 4 by abarbarian

[Bookmem]

4 hours ago, abarbarian said:

I used two add on cards on my last Skylake built pc. One was PCIe 3 and did nvme and sata, you could use two m2's with it

 

PCIe M.2 controller card for 2 SSD : 1x M2 SSD B Key SATA + 1x M2 M Key PCIe

The other one was a single PCIe 4

 

GLOTRENDS PA09-HS M.2 NVMe to PCIe 4.0 X4 Adapter with M.2 Heatsink for 2280/2260/2242/2230 M.2 NVMe SSD

Only ever used nvme cards with them and they both were blisteringly fast.

As a cheap way of boosting an older pc they are neat especially with second hand m2 cards these days.

 

 

This is the sort of add  on I first used

 

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Valuegist-Adapter-Controller-Expansion-MKeyBkey/dp/B08M3VTY6D/ref=pd_ci_mcx_pspc_dp_d_2_t_4?pd_rd_w=5RYiD&content-id=amzn1.sym.8db49f41-2d78-4c1c-bc3b-fb9e44b9efb4&pf_rd_p=8db49f41-2d78-4c1c-bc3b-fb9e44b9efb4&pf_rd_r=Z7QYS4QJNBFFY40A4GPC&pd_rd_wg=MvfAv&pd_rd_r=14156ccb-b777-4ecc-bfa6-dc5335b7da31&pd_rd_i=B08M3VTY6D&th=1

 

 

I've got a card coming today from Amazon that supports one M and one B. Don't need the M because the MB already has that. But seems there aren't any B only that are any cheaper. NVMe is much faster than SATA but SATA SSDs are still a lot faster than HDDs. I use NVMe in my own boxes but I think the 128gb M2 SATA and 2tb HDD will be fine for the one I'm going to sell.