"Checking media presence, no media present" straight to BIOS

[Ross740]

I keep getting the error message. "Checking media presence" then "no media present", followed by the BIOS screen.

I did see some drives in the boot order, but they've dissapeared for some reason.

I've disconnected all drives and reconnected in the hope that would help.

I did email tech suppport but they are saying I need to do a fresh install of windows but this would mean I'd lose all my work files. I've also been working on a video for the last year and while there are multliple backups in the software, the software will be on that drive as put my programme files on the same drive.

Surely there's a solution to getting the computer to work?

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[B4zookaw]

Can you post your spec from your orders page?

 

[Ross740]

I just did a new post with the spec. but can't seem to delete this post now

 

[stegor]

Your new post doesn't seem to have the spec either. Post it from the order page.

 

[steaky360]

I just did a new post with the spec. but can't seem to delete this post now

Your other post didn't have the spec in it either.

If you could, please paste the spec here as this thread is in a more appropriate part of the forum

 

[Ross740]

Please find spec below.

Just to add, I was downloading a game from steam (never used steam on this computer before and had just downloaded/installed that prior) and that's when the issue occurred.

Case
CORSAIR 175R RGB MID TOWER GAMING CASE
Processor (CPU)
AMD Ryzen 7 3700X Eight Core CPU (3.6GHz-4.4GHz/36MB CACHE/AM4)
Motherboard
ASUS® PRIME B550-PLUS (DDR4, USB 3.2, 6Gb/s) - ARGB Ready!
Memory (RAM)
32GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR4 2400MHz (2 x 16GB)
Graphics Card
8GB NVIDIA GEFORCE RTX 3050 - HDMI, DP, LHR
1st M.2 SSD Drive
1TB PCS PCIe M.2 SSD (2200 MB/R, 1500 MB/W)
1st M.2 SSD Drive
1TB PCS PCIe M.2 SSD (2200 MB/R, 1500 MB/W)
1st Storage Drive
1TB PCS 2.5" SSD, SATA 6 Gb (520MB/R, 470MB/W)
1st Storage Drive
4TB SEAGATE BARRACUDA SATA-III 3.5" HDD, 6GB/s, 5400RPM, 256MB CACHE
External DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
8x Slim USB 2.0 External DVD-RW
Power Supply
CORSAIR 750W TXm SERIES™ SEMI-MODULAR 80 PLUS® GOLD, ULTRA QUIET
Power Cable
1 x 1.5 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Processor Cooling
PCS FrostFlow 120 Series RGB High Performance Liquid Cooler (AMD)
Thermal Paste
STANDARD THERMAL PASTE FOR SUFFICIENT COOLING
Sound Card
ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Network Card
10/100/1000 GIGABIT LAN PORT
Wireless Network Card
WIRELESS 802.11N 300Mbps/2.4GHz PCI-E CARD
USB/Thunderbolt Options
MIN. 2 x USB 3.0 & 2 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL + MIN. 2 FRONT PORTS
Firewire
2 Port IEEE 1394a Firewire PCI-E Card (2 x 6 pin)
Operating System
Windows 11 Home 64 Bit - inc. Single Licence [KUK-00003]
Operating System Language
United Kingdom - English Language
Windows Recovery Media
Windows 10/11 Multi-Language Recovery Image - Unlimited Downloads from Online Account
Office Software
FREE 30 Day Trial of Microsoft 365® (Operating System Required)
Anti-Virus
BullGuard™ Internet Security - Free 90 Day License inc. Gamer Mode
Browser
Google Chrome™
Monitor
ASUS VA249HE 24"
Speakers
LOGITECH S150 2.0 BLACK SPEAKER SYSTEM
Warranty
3 Year Standard Warranty (1 Month Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 5 to 7 working days
Welcome Book
PCSpecialist Welcome Book - United Kingdom & Republic of Ireland
Logo Branding
PCSpecialist Logo

 

[B4zookaw]

I presume one of the 1TB PCS PCIe M.2 SSD drives is your boot/OS drive? I’d try disconnecting all other drives other than this boot drive and see if it’s detected in bios. I’d also try swapping the boot SSD to another a slot in case it’s a motherboard issue

Ultimately though the drive might have failed and if you’ve no backups, your data is lost.

 

[Ross740]

To confirm, the problem drive is my boot/OS drive.

I've just swapped round the 2 x M.2 drives and see that one is no longer being recognized by the motherboard.

I guess I will need to replace.

Would it be worth getting an M2 to USB reader? I can then hopefully retrieve the files on to another computer? Or will I need to get a recovery expert to remedy?

 

[B4zookaw]

To confirm, the problem drive is my boot/OS drive.

I've just swapped round the 2 x M.2 drives and see that one is no longer being recognized by the motherboard.

I guess I will need to replace.

Would it be worth getting an M2 to USB reader? I can then hopefully retrieve the files on to another computer? Or will I need to get a recovery expert to remedy?

I think if BIOS can't read the drive, connecting it to the USB reader is going to have the same result.

 

[ubuysa]

Over the years I've seen a few issues caused by badly seated M.2 drives. I think it's worth carefully cleaning the drive connector and retrying it.

It only takes a microscopic spec of dust on a drive connector (or on a socket connector) to cause havoc at the speeds these drives operate.

 

[B4zookaw]

Over the years I've seen a few issues caused by badly seated M.2 drives. I think it's worth carefully cleaning the drive connector and retrying it.

It only takes a microscopic spec of dust on a drive connector (or on a socket connector) to cause havoc at the speeds these drives operate.

I assumed from the OP's update above that they had swapped the M.2 drives between the two slots, and the boot drive failed to show in either slot, but the second drive worked fine in both slots. Which would point to issue with drive and not slot.

 

[Ross740]

I'm going to ask PC Specialist if I can Buy another
1st M.2 SSD Drive
1TB PCS PCIe M.2 SSD (2200 MB/R, 1500 MB/W)

This would give me time to find someone to try and recover the files, while also being able to use the computer again.

Then return the faulty drive and get a cash refund at a later date but still in warranty. Hopefully they'll help.

Any other ideas/suggestions more than welcome.

Can't believe in this day and age, drives less than a year can fail. I thought these non-moving drives were more reliable than regular hard drives.

 

[SpyderTracks]

Can't believe in this day and age, drives less than a year can fail. I thought these non-moving drives were more reliable than regular hard drives.

Unfortunately it's the opposite. SSD's either work or don't, there's no in between. For any critical data, you should always store on an HDD as they tend to gradually fail sector by sector so you have time to swap it out. SSD's just catastrophically fail, there's no warning. And you can't protect against failure with circuitry, it's all down to luck of the draw, that's why warranty is so important.

You can't recover off an SSD, the chip is corrupt, not recoverable.

You ordered standard warranty so parts are covered for one year after purchase.

 

[Ross740]

Unfortunately it's the opposite. SSD's either work or don't, there's no in between. For any critical data, you should always store on an HDD as they tend to gradually fail sector by sector so you have time to swap it out. SSD's just catastrophically fail, there's no warning. And you can't protect against failure with circuitry, it's all down to luck of the draw, that's why warranty is so important.

You can't recover off an SSD, the chip is corrupt, not recoverable.

You ordered standard warranty so parts are covered for one year after purchase.

Thanks for the info.

I always back up family pics/videos on a couple of portable drives but in this instance, I thought the files would be safe, considering it is less than a year old. A lesson learned.

I may have backups of the project on another drive so hopefully that's the case.

 

[Ross740]

I sent my drive off to get the files recovered but they can't get hold of the damaged chip for another 6 months. I have emailed pcspecialist but while waiting for a reply, can anyone please confirm that the replacement drive they send would be blank and no drivers/operating system installed? If that's the case, I'm thinking of getting the replacement from somewhere else, with a view to gettting the damaged drive fixed later on - this way I get to keep the drive. Or if PC specialist could provide one at cost.

I can't see how pcspecialist don't understand that a damaged drive with files on is different than any other part of the computer. I'd happily send it back for them to confirm it's faulty, then them send it back, but this is not the case.

The faulty drive is: 1TB PCS PCIe M.2 SSD (2200 MB/R, 1500 MB/W) so not sure whether I have to get the same model that came with the system or anything simiar would be suitable?

 

[SpyderTracks]

I sent my drive off to get the files recovered but they can't get hold of the damaged chip for another 6 months. I have emailed pcspecialist but while waiting for a reply, can anyone please confirm that the replacement drive they send would be blank and no drivers/operating system installed? If that's the case, I'm thinking of getting the replacement from somewhere else, with a view to gettting the damaged drive fixed later on - this way I get to keep the drive. Or if PC specialist could provide one at cost.

I can't see how pcspecialist don't understand that a damaged drive with files on is different than any other part of the computer. I'd happily send it back for them to confirm it's faulty, then them send it back, but this is not the case.

The faulty drive is: 1TB PCS PCIe M.2 SSD (2200 MB/R, 1500 MB/W) so not sure whether I have to get the same model that came with the system or anything simiar would be suitablle?

 

[SpyderTracks]

I sent my drive off to get the files recovered but they can't get hold of the damaged chip for another 6 months. I have emailed pcspecialist but while waiting for a reply, can anyone please confirm that the replacement drive they send would be blank and no drivers/operating system installed? If that's the case, I'm thinking of getting the replacement from somewhere else, with a view to gettting the damaged drive fixed later on - this way I get to keep the drive. Or if PC specialist could provide one at cost.

I can't see how pcspecialist don't understand that a damaged drive with files on is different than any other part of the computer. I'd happily send it back for them to confirm it's faulty, then them send it back, but this is not the case.

The faulty drive is: 1TB PCS PCIe M.2 SSD (2200 MB/R, 1500 MB/W) so not sure whether I have to get the same model that came with the system or anything simiar would be suitable?

If it's the boot drive that's failed, why are you trying to recover it? Seems odd? There can't be anything of use on the OS drive that can't be replicated with a clean install?

If it's the OS drive, then PCS would have to reinstall Windows when they fit it otherwise they have no way of testing it. So it would come fully built on windows. But you could do whatever you wanted with it after you receive it, there's no penalty if you wipe it and install something else.

I can't see how pcspecialist don't understand that a damaged drive with files on is different than any other part of the computer. I'd happily send it back for them to confirm it's faulty, then them send it back, but this is not the case.

What have PCS said that's led you to say this? None of us work for PCS so we can't see what's been said.

The faulty drive is: 1TB PCS PCIe M.2 SSD (2200 MB/R, 1500 MB/W) so not sure whether I have to get the same model that came with the system or anything simiar would be suitable?

A Standard warranty replacement would be the same make and model, but I think if you ask very nicely, they can change it to another model and charge the difference.

If it's critical data, then:

A: It should never be on the OS drive for this exact reason as SSD's fail outright, there's no warning, and it's work or fail, no inbetween or degredation

B: If it's critical data, it should be on a SATA HDD, not SSD as they fail gradually sector by sector so you have plenty of warning in time to swap out the drive.

 

[B4zookaw]

I sent my drive off to get the files recovered but they can't get hold of the damaged chip for another 6 months. I have emailed pcspecialist but while waiting for a reply, can anyone please confirm that the replacement drive they send would be blank and no drivers/operating system installed? If that's the case, I'm thinking of getting the replacement from somewhere else, with a view to gettting the damaged drive fixed later on - this way I get to keep the drive. Or if PC specialist could provide one at cost.

I can't see how pcspecialist don't understand that a damaged drive with files on is different than any other part of the computer. I'd happily send it back for them to confirm it's faulty, then them send it back, but this is not the case.

The faulty drive is: 1TB PCS PCIe M.2 SSD (2200 MB/R, 1500 MB/W) so not sure whether I have to get the same model that came with the system or anything simiar would be suitable?

I don’t think they’ll send a replacement drive out without you sending the faulty drive in so they can confirm it is actually faulty. Standard process in an RMA. If you want to keep the drive and pursue getting it recovered from a third party then you’re choosing to forgo the RMA process offered by PCS. So if you want a new drive in the meantime you need to purchase it.

 

[Ross740]

I don’t think they’ll send a replacement drive out without you sending the faulty drive in so they can confirm it is actually faulty. Standard process in an RMA. If you want to keep the drive and pursue getting it recovered from a third party then you’re choosing to forgo the RMA process offered by PCS. So if you want a new drive in the meantime you need to purchase it.

Is there anything specific I need to look/be aware of when looking for a a replacement drive elsewhere or will any "1TB PCS PCIe M.2 SSD" be okay?

 

[B4zookaw]

Any Gen3 or Gen4 M2 SSD will be fine. You won’t find PCS brand on other sites obviously.