Area-51 R5, U.2, Secure Boot Problems

the two external ssd in R5 is called U.2 and not M.2.  this is an interface rarely seen in modern pc, which may explain why you could not easily boot from them.

https://www.techtarget.com/searchstorage/definition/U2-SSD-formerly-SFF-8639#:~:text=A%20U.,%2Dstate%20drives%20(SSDs).

Are you running Win 11 now?  Is BIOS settings in AHCI or RAID mode?  Beside the NVMe boot drive on motherboard, what type of drives are connecting to the slots on the back of the computer right now?  Were the drives and cables originally shipped with the computer?  And, how were they setup, NTFS formatted for data uses?

If the storage setup information does not yield any clue, we will go through the PCIe lanes settings to see if any conflicts later.

Those are not M2 slots but U2 slots, and will accept U2 drives only.

U2 is not really used anymore in consumers systems.

Not sure what type of drives you have attached to the U2 slots, but whatever they are they need to be U2 interface. M2 will not work.

@redxps630​ I miss stepped, YES, they are U.2. I did some research and found U.2 adapters that take the U.2 connection and convert it to a internal NVME drive. They work great!

@Chino de Oro​ 1. NO, not using Win11 just yet. Trying to get Win10 in secure boot mode first.

2. Not sure about the AHCI or RAID mode selection in the BIOS, I'd need help in discovering how to make sure that is correctly set when in secure boot mode. Please help me here, does this matter when switching to secure boot mode?

3. NO drives are connected to the "back" of the computer, only connected to the motherboard connectors (Back meaning inside back plane of R5). Two HD and two SSDs are connected the the HDD1,2,3, and 4 (SATA). Original DELL installed NVME BOOT drive on motherboard (Approaching EOL), U.2 adapter to NVME drive in both U.2 slots. At present, ALL HDs (SATA), SSDs (SATA), U.2 drives (NVME), and motherboard NVME are functional, working attached drives (NOTHING IN RAID MODE). ALL drives NTFS formatted.

4. ALL original cables that came with this Alienware AREA-51 R5 computer are in use, and kept in good condition. (As I purchased this computer completely built out with two 1080 TIs, 64GB Ram, 7980XE, completely maxed out at the time of purchase from Alienware/Dell.)

Thanks for all your help!

@Vanadiel​ Understood, my mistake. U.2 slots are filled with u.2 adapters, that each adapter contains a NVME drive, that are very functional, and lightning fast I might add.

To all here, THANKS FOR THE RESPONSES!

The attached U.2 adapters contain NVME drives that are highly functional, lightning fast. Where the errors come in is that when I switch the BIOS to secure boot mode, I have to detach the U.2 connected drives to get secure boot mode to work on the motherboard NVME boot drive (presently approaching EOL). I'm guessing from one of your responses that AHCI or RAID mode might be causing the conflict. Maybe secure boot is switching something to RAID mode, thus making the U.2 slots unusable? Is this easily fixed/switched in BIOS?

Maybe all the issues can be resolved when you are ready for Win 11.  A clean installation will be a better solution than an upgrade.  It allows Win 11 to connect and setup all data drives within its parameters for Secure Boot.  All data should had been backup externally.  All SATA drives will need to be disconnected during installation.  Both U.2 (NVMe) drives will stay connected so they can be wiped (by deleting all partitions on every drives).  After Win 11 installation is complete, use Disk Management wizard to set them up as storage drives, then reconnecting all SATA drives.  System should boot with Secure boot mode with all drives attached.

To prepare system firmware, reset BIOS settings to default.  Then going through each settings and making adjustment to match with current system components and usages.

Three settings need to be enabled:  UEFI, Secure Boot, and TPM. 

There are two storage settings need to be changed from default:  change ISRT to AHCI, enable PCIe Gen 3.

Area 51 R5 service manual  https://www.dell.com/support/manuals/en-us/alienware-area51-r4/alienwarearea51r5_servicemanual/before-you-begin?guid=guid-956b72df-15cc-4a72-b721-f6f8268f8481&lang=en-us

@Chino de Oro​ I will try this on another AREA-51 R5, (YES, I have more than one of these) that I have here before I attempt this on my primary system. Being a severely disabled veteran, legally blind, I can't do without a functional system. Doing this to my secondary system will allow me to take my time and not get stressed out over something not working right, I can just leave it for later if it stresses/wears me out trying to get these changes done.

 I will return here with my findings when I attack this again with this new information in the coming days.

THANKS!

It's good to hear that you have spare machine to practice on.  To recap the main points, performing a clean Windows installation with just the boot drive and the U.2 drives connected.  Delete all partitions on all drives.  After installation, using Disk Management to add both U.2 drives (with default suggestion except the volume name).  Reconnecting all other data drives afterward.  Windows should managed all drives connection fluidly at start up boot and within seconds.

Taking precaution while working on system board.  All important data should have been stored externally and/or on cloud.   

Review this installation tutorial to get some idea prior to practice it on your machine.