System Requirements for OS Installation on a PCIe* NVMe* SSD

Documentation

Install & Setup

000026416

04/04/2020

PCIe* NVMe*-based SSDs require specific hardware, BIOS and driver support to be used as a boot device.  See below for some requirements for a successful installation.

Basic requirements

To use as a bootable drive, you need:

  • PCIe NVMe storage-capable hardware motherboard support for the form factor of the SSD (i.e. PCIe, M.2, U.2). Consult your system or motherboard vendor for more information
    • There may be multiple connectors available, but that does not mean all of them support the NVMe standard.  Consult your motherboard vendor and user manual for the right connections
    • M.2 form factors come in 3 different key types.  The key type (M, B, B+M) is related to the notches in the M.2 card and this must be compatible with the motherboard support.  Consult your motherboard vendor for more information
  • System BIOS that supports UEFI 2.3.1 or later with NVMe support
  • GPT drive format (See how to install OS to GPT)
  • Microsoft Windows 7* or Windows® 10 operating system (OS)
    Note Other OS supporting these requirements may function properly, but we have not validated them.
  • Compatible NVMe driver available during OS installation for the drive to be detected

For installation instructions, refer to the Intel® Solid State Drives with PCIe* NVMe* Boot Installation Guidefor more information.

To use as a secondary data drive, you need:

  • PCIe NVMe storage-capable hardware motherboard support for the form factor of the SSD (i.e. PCIe, M.2, U.2). Consult your system or motherboard vendor for more information
    • There may be multiple connectors available, but that does not mean all of them support the NVMe standard.  Consult your motherboard vendor and user manual for the right connections
    • M.2 form factors come in 3 different key types.  The key type (M, B, B+M) is related to the notches in the M.2 card and this must be compatible with the motherboard support.  Consult your motherboard vendor for more information
  • System BIOS that supports UEFI 2.3.1 or later with NVMe support
  • Microsoft Windows 7 or Windows 10 OS
    Note Other OS supporting these requirements may function properly, but we have not validated them yet.
  • Compatible NVMe driver installed within the OS for the drive to be detected