Aurora R7, cannot install additional HDD on 2.5 slot while M.2 drive is used.

B keyed M2 drives use one of the SATA ports.

You can only use PCI-E M2 card if you want to use all 4 Sata ports.

M2 has 2 Flavors

Hmm.

This is my M.2 SSD,

I had to open it up and I can confirm. So it looks like that it is impossible to use this SSD and a 1TB 2.5 HDD at the same time.

It is quite disappointing as I was hoping to get more space. Looks like I'm returning the HDD, thanks for the post.

That is a SATA M2 stick so you have to put the HDD onto SATA PORT 1 or 2 instead of port 0.  They cannot both reside on port 0 simultaneously.

You also have to install the M2 Drive with the SATA hard drive Not physically installed.

You would also have to reinstall any apps etc.  You could then use the HDD as a data drive.   That way frequently saved files are on the HDD and the SSD is for booting only.

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@JAnderson7210 wrote:

Hmm.

This is my M.2 SSD,

 

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That is a M.2-SATA SSD.

That will not work in the Aurora-R7. The Aurora-R7 instead use a M.2/NVMe/PCIe SSD (similar, but different).

I think you misunderstand. I had this SSD installed on my R7 for months, with Win10 installed and everything. I also have a 2TB HDD as storage on the 3.5inch bay. The problem is that the PC will remove the M.2 whenever I install an additional 2.5 HDD. That was what I wanted to do. I think I understand that I cannot have both of them, so my best bet is to cut my losses and move on.

But for some reason, this SSD does work on my R7, and it works very well alongside my storage drive.

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@JAnderson7210 wrote:

1. I also have a 2TB HDD as storage on the 3.5inch bay.

2. The problem is that the PC will remove the M.2 whenever I install an additional 2.5 HDD. That was what I wanted to do.

3. But for some reason, this SSD does work on my R7, and it works very well alongside my storage drive.

I think you misunderstand.

4. I had this SSD installed on my R7 for months, with Win10 installed and everything.

5. I think I understand that I cannot have both of them, so my best bet is to cut my losses and move on.

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1. That is fine

2. That should not happen

3. Your Aurora-R7 likely uses a M.2 SSD ... but a MVMe/PCIe version SSD ... (similar-looking to the pic you found online, but technologically different).

4. This would be the optimal config. and fairly common.

5. No, it should work. If you want to give-up, that is up to you.

Yes, for example, you could have these 4 drives installed/working concurrently:
- C: M.2-2280 NVMe/PCIe (boot)
- D: 2.5inch SSD SATA-1
- E: 2.5inch SSD SATA-2
- F: 3.5inch HDD SATA-3

Not sure why it is not working for you. Maybe the original cloning and install of Crucial-SSD was not quite-right, and incorrectly had some lingering boot-dependencies on one of the other existing SATA drives. Forum shows it seems to be a common scenario, and often goes unnoticed for a while. 

I mean it would work if the SSD i have was PCIe. But it's not, it's a SATA drive. I know it cause I bought and installed it. speedstep I think got it right the first time, since the SSD is SATA, it's already taking up one of the ports. If I had a PCIe SSD, then I could've been able to use all 4 slots, but I have tried 3-4 different times and the same thing occurs.

The boot dependency would be unusual since I didn't clone the SSD, I just did a clean install of Windows 10, with all the other drives disconnected.

https://www.crucial.com/usa/en/ct250mx500ssd4

This is my SSD, it was installed for months and is a M.2 SATA. To say that it doesn't work on R7 is just inaccurate since I am using one now as my C: drive. It takes up one of my SATA ports as speedstep as said so that is why it doesn't play nice with other drives on the bottom. It works well with my 2TB HDD so it looks like I'm limited to one SSD and a HDD unless I have a PCIe.