dpwils01

My motherboard has two slots, I tried both. Still freezes on the splash screen with every boot.

Parts List: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/3FGQcq I finished my new build yesterday, and when I went to boot up, the system couldn't get past the motherboard splash screen. I troubleshooted for hours. Finally I decided to remove the M.2 SSD, and the system made it past the splash screen and into the BIOS. I reinstalled the SSD, and sure enough, it froze on the splash screen. I tried the second M.2 slot, and nothing. My first thought was that I had received a dead drive. I proceeded to plug in the drive to my old system to confirm my suspicion, but after getting past an American Megatrends error screen, my old system booted into the BIOS, and the M.2 drive was detected. So it's not the drive? Is the problem the M.2 slots on my new motherboard? Is there a compatibility issues somewhere, something I'm just not thinking of? Any suggestions and advice is greatly appreciated. Thanks.

It was a decent amount of force. The latch was stuck, it was late at night, and I was getting frustrated. Hopefully everything is alright.

Is there any way to tell what that cluster of circuits and modules does? Would it have a specific function? That way I know where to look for issues if something is in fact damaged?

I was using a good amount of force, what are the chances that it caused some sort of damage to the motherboard, and how do I tell? The PC still boots fine, and I didn't see any obvious cracks or scratches. Here are some pictures of the area behind the lever. Hopefully the screwdriver just slid to the left and struck the bare PCB. http://imgur.com/gallery/gTpIkji