I’m going crazy trying to install my brand new nvme ssd on the zimaboard 2 but the system seems to not recognise it. Does anyone have a solution for that?
I believe this usually comes down to NVMe compatibility + PCIe mode, not a faulty drive.
From what I’ve seen with ZimaBoard 2:
What I think is happening
- ZimaBoard 2’s PCIe slot does not support all NVMe controllers
- Some Kingston NVMe models (especially newer Gen4 or certain OEM variants) simply don’t enumerate at all
- When this happens, the drive will not show in BIOS, lsblk, or ZimaOS, even though it works fine in a PC
Things I suggest checking first
- Power off the board completely and reseat the NVMe + PCIe adapter
- Make sure you are using a passive NVMe → PCIe adapter (no SATA, no bridge chips)
- Boot ZimaOS and check:
- Storage page in UI
- If possible, BIOS / boot menu
If it still doesn’t show
- I believe this is a known hardware compatibility limitation
- ZimaBoard works best with:
- WD SN570 / SN550
- Samsung 970 EVO / EVO Plus
- Intel 660p / 670p
- Kingston NVMe drives are hit-or-miss on this platform
Workarounds I suggest
- Test the drive in another PC just to confirm it’s detected
- If confirmed working, swap to a known-good NVMe model
- Or use a USB NVMe enclosure, which is much more forgiving
This looks like a compatibility issue rather than setup or ZimaOS itself.