Motherboard with a DOA M.2 slot -- to RMA or no?

[Rybo]

Hey all,

 

I got this MSI MPG x570 motherboard new and found to my mild disappointment that the M.2_1 slot was apparently dead -- the debug LED indicated a "missing or failed boot drive" when I had a drive installed in it.  I reseated it 3 or 4 times, then finally switched to the M.2_2 slot and got a boot on the first shot, so I'm pretty confident that it wasn't a seating issue.  

 

The rest of the board seems to be working fine, and if it continues to work fine I'm content with the computer as it is (and honestly I'd rather not swap out the motherboard at all).  My only concern is whether the dead slot is a harbinger of things to come.  Anybody have any thoughts on whether simple failures like this -- particularly on new hardware -- might indicate a deeper problem that will affect other parts of the board eventually?  

[ragnarok0273]

I personally would RMA it. I don't know much about how motherboards work, but I'm fairly certain that problems don't stay isolated. Besides, what if you want to install another M.2 drive?

[Fasauceome]

the first slot is your CPU lanes, the second slot is chipset.

 

Are you sure it's the motherboard at fault? might want to reseat the CPU

[Rybo]

20 minutes ago, Fasauceome said:

the first slot is your CPU lanes, the second slot is chipset.

 

Are you sure it's the motherboard at fault? might want to reseat the CPU

The computer is working fine now -- booted to windows, installing/running apps.  Haven't stress tested it, but if there's a problem so subtle that the computer completely works fine except for the M.2 slot and reseating solves it, that'll be one I've never heard of.  Knowing that the computer is 100% functional, do you still feel like reseating the CPU might be a solution?  

 

22 minutes ago, ragnarok0273 said:

I personally would RMA it. I don't know much about how motherboards work, but I'm fairly certain that problems don't stay isolated. Besides, what if you want to install another M.2 drive?

I doubt I'll ever add more storage, but this is a pretty nice board with, as far as I can tell, plenty of runway ahead of it...if I end up selling it down the road or something, I'd hate to have a dead slot.  Blehhh.  I really don't want to swap out the thing, but I do agree that I probably should (if only for the principle of the thing)

[Fasauceome]

13 minutes ago, Rybo said:

The computer is working fine now -- booted to windows, installing/running apps.  Haven't stress tested it, but if there's a problem so subtle that the computer completely works fine except for the M.2 slot and reseating solves it, that'll be one I've never heard of.  Knowing that the computer is 100% functional, do you still feel like reseating the CPU might be a solution?  

if there's some piece of debris blocking a single pin that's needed for that PCIe connection to work properly, everything else should be running just fine and that slot would be the only problem.

[Rybo]

For anybody seeking closure, it was a PEBCAK error.  The m.2 drive I have is a SATA drive and the board only supports SATA in the m.2_2 slot.  

 

So yeah, I learned something about the m.2 standard today.  I've always been curious and it's never really been made clear to me what different types of cards fit in that slot.  I guess I know a little more now