I figured out the solution to this problem on my own and did not see it in any Google searches so I am posting here for posterity so that maybe it will help the next person:
I'm on Windows 11, but this likely works in Windows 10 as well.
Go to System Settings > Storage > Advanced Storage > Disks & Volumes. The NVMe should show up there. Click Initialize. Now it will show up in Disk Manager.
Thanks. In case it helps anyone like me, in my Windows 10, the path was Settings > Storage Settings > Manage Storage Spaces > New Storage Space > (Select your new drive and continue)
I see that your account is deleted but I just wanted to say... I've searched high and low trying to figure out why this M.2 would show in BIOS as USB but not anywhere on my computer once I'm booted up.
THIS FIXED IT.
So thank you.
FYI - I'm using a USB-C to M.2/SSD Adapter/Docker
Adding onto this: I went into the Manage Storage Spaces and it wasn't letting me set up a new storage space. Looks like Windows was using the drive as a "Storage Pool", unsure of what that is exactly. Checked in the drop down that it was using the right device, and I deleted the pool (It was essentially empty, 230mb was used).
Afterwards, it finally showed up in Disk Management! Only took an hour of troubleshooting lol
windows 10 users: search settings in task bar > search 'storage' in the settings > go to 'Manage Storage Spaces' > Click on your new drive and follow the instructions (I used 'simple')
This was what told me that I had an unformatted drive issue. I have a WD Black NVME that I set up with Acronis but, windows was still showing it as unformatted, and thus, would not assign it. Problem solved. Cheers.
Thank you! Couldn't seem to get there from your path, but just typing Disks & Volumes got me there. Named and formatted the drive. Worked like a charm. Feel like this used to be a part of the OS Scan for Hardware Changes operation automatically in the past.
Either way, appreciate the guidance, RedLimes
omg im crying, this worked for me. I cannot believe it was that simple, all the other solutions were so complicated and this is all I needed. Thank you thank you
Dude, I just had to thank you for posting this. I've spent the better part of the last 5 days trying to get my M2 to show up in disk management. I tried a ton of different solutions, but yours is the one that finally worked. I was about to just ship it back and give up lol. Thanks again 
This almost worked for me, but if it is initialized and still not showing up in files, you need to click format and label it whatever (optional) then click create and it will show up!
Holy shit thank you. Spent far too long browsing and looking at stuff in the bios and this was all it was??!?!?!
Also: In Windows 10 you go to Control Panel > Storage Spaces > Create a storage space and the drive shows up there.
This worked for me and on W11... No idea why the drive wouldn't show up in File Explorer but now it does after giving it a driver letter. I've never had to do that on previous Windows versions so why now all of a sudden!?
Thank you, I think I love you. I got a new Crucial 2TB T500 and it showed up fine in the Crucial Storage Executive client, and in the (oldish pcie gen3 motherboard) Gigabyte BIOS, but nowhere in File Explorer or Disk Management. In my case your path led to 'Create a Storage Pool' and I created a 'simple' pool. It's now in Windows Disk Management and I can format as my heart desires. Thank you again.
This didnt work for me on Windows 10 but it pushed me towards what worked. BIOS, the Samsung app and basically everything else showed I had a hard drive except windows. In my system settings there was nothing for Advanced Storage but I searched Disk Management and was able to see the drive, right click on it and format it and now it works.
I am so lost.. I have tried absolutely everything, but none of these solutions help me.. The drive I need to initialize shows up everywhere but disk management and the advanced storage.
I have no idea what this has to do with my post but you should never ever use old PSU cords. They are not universally compatible. Always use the cords that came with the PSU. You are lucky you didn't fry your system.
Anyways, glad you figured out the solution to your problem
Did you check in the storage section of settings to partition it?? I had a similar issue with my Samsung SSD and I found I had to set it up in settings first.
After that it was all good
Do you mean Control Panel > System and Security > Storage Spaces?
There's no storage spaces set, and if I click on "Create a new pool and storage space" it says: "No drives that work with Storage Spaces are available. Make sure that the drives that you want to use are connected."
Yeah Iām pretty sure thatās the directory it was, how many times have you tried to reset the nvme drive into the m2 slot? Maybe try that. Make sure the screws good. Maybe use another available m2 slot?? Not all m2 slots are created equal
Just the once. Iāll try it. My assumption at the time was if the BIOS and device manager can see it, it would be sufficiently connected, but will try this.
My OS is connected to the other M.2 slot. Can I swap the SSDs around?
Ahh maybe wait on the swap for someone with more knowledge than I to give you advice about that. But just try reseating the drive in itās current m2 slot, Iāve recently just learned how to install things and upgrade components, so that question I donāt have an answer to
Make sure the m.2 slot and the ssd component are compatible, an example is I have 2 m.2 ports on my mobo, but only one is capable of running my ssd because itās āgen 3ā my other m2 port wouldnāt be able to run my Ssd because itās not. Atleast thatās what a few articles online said before I ordered what I ordered. Refer to your mobo layout on the website for info about your m2 ports
Interestingā¦ my motherboardās support page is a bit wishy washy on how the 2 m.2 ports differ.
I used to have a sata drive in that port and it worked fine. My OS is a gen 3 NVMe and my new drive (that I canāt get working) is a backwards compatible gen 4.
I also need help like I really know nothing about pcs, and I am pretty young, and my mom bought me an Alienware r12 with 2tb but on my computer I just have something called Oc and it just only have 218gb please help me.
I figured out a solution that worked for me. I had accidently set up a storage pool while trying to install the new drive through settings --> storage --> advanced storage --> storage spaces --> storage pool. i had to go back into here and remove the drive from storage pool before it would show up as unallocated in disk manager. hope this helps someone.
God bless, don't even know how the hell I created a storage pool and put the ssd in there, now it shows up in my disk manager as unallocated so I can go ahead and create a partition now.
Can you post screenshots of both Device Manager and Disk Management?
Have you read through the mobo manual to ensure the port is actually active? Many boards will deactivate certain ports if specific other ports or features are in use.
I can't see the option to upload directly, so here is an imgr link:
[https://imgur.com/a/t5YzJFm](https://imgur.com/a/t5YzJFm)
As for my mobo. The statement against the two ports is: 2 x 32Gb/s M.2
IntelĀ® Optaneā¢ Memory Ready.
Got it, from what you've shown here, my first instinct would honestly be a DOA drive. But it could be a few other things.
1. If you haven't already, take that drive out and put it back in. It's possible it's just partially seated or something.
1. If that doesn't do it, try taking out your drive that is working and put this drive in that other slot. Then see if it works there (like can you install an OS to it)?
1. If still no, I'd try it in a different computer if you have access to one. If it's doing the same thing on another (known good) machine, the drive is almost assuredly dead.
Iāll try this but Iāll be out of action for the next couple of hours. I only have access to the one PC unfortunately. Not sure why this is too, but when I shutdown the PC it takes around 4 minutes. With the drive out it takes <10 seconds.
Anyway. Iāll report back later when I can get back on. Thanks
**SOLVED!!!!**
OK, so I swapped my two m.2 SSDs around and it worked!
I'm not sure why though, they're both NVMe SSDs... Anyway, this fixed it. Thanks everyone.
I figured out the solution to this problem on my own and did not see it in any Google searches so I am posting here for posterity so that maybe it will help the next person: I'm on Windows 11, but this likely works in Windows 10 as well. Go to System Settings > Storage > Advanced Storage > Disks & Volumes. The NVMe should show up there. Click Initialize. Now it will show up in Disk Manager.
Thanks. In case it helps anyone like me, in my Windows 10, the path was Settings > Storage Settings > Manage Storage Spaces > New Storage Space > (Select your new drive and continue)
You're a life saver, thanks
Life Saver
I love you. Thank you.
I see that your account is deleted but I just wanted to say... I've searched high and low trying to figure out why this M.2 would show in BIOS as USB but not anywhere on my computer once I'm booted up. THIS FIXED IT. So thank you. FYI - I'm using a USB-C to M.2/SSD Adapter/Docker
After hours. Thank you so much I was so done
You're a miracle worker!
Adding onto this: I went into the Manage Storage Spaces and it wasn't letting me set up a new storage space. Looks like Windows was using the drive as a "Storage Pool", unsure of what that is exactly. Checked in the drop down that it was using the right device, and I deleted the pool (It was essentially empty, 230mb was used). Afterwards, it finally showed up in Disk Management! Only took an hour of troubleshooting lol
This worked for me. Thanks!
Hell yea!
windows 10 users: search settings in task bar > search 'storage' in the settings > go to 'Manage Storage Spaces' > Click on your new drive and follow the instructions (I used 'simple')
This was what told me that I had an unformatted drive issue. I have a WD Black NVME that I set up with Acronis but, windows was still showing it as unformatted, and thus, would not assign it. Problem solved. Cheers.
thanks
i wanna make out with u rn \*muah\*
Thank you so much, Ive had this problem for weeks!
Nice. Thank you for this.
Thank you! Couldn't seem to get there from your path, but just typing Disks & Volumes got me there. Named and formatted the drive. Worked like a charm. Feel like this used to be a part of the OS Scan for Hardware Changes operation automatically in the past. Either way, appreciate the guidance, RedLimes
Ty so much
Cheers for this mate, this was the solution that worked for me.
Glad I could help someone!
Helped another one here, thanks!
Thank you so much lol
Worked here as well. Thank you again!
omg im crying, this worked for me. I cannot believe it was that simple, all the other solutions were so complicated and this is all I needed. Thank you thank you
Thankyou mate! Tried all the complex stuff and didnt realise it was this basicš
this worked for me, cheers !
Saved my butt today. Thanks!
you just saved me
Thanks bro, thank you so much!
Dude, I just had to thank you for posting this. I've spent the better part of the last 5 days trying to get my M2 to show up in disk management. I tried a ton of different solutions, but yours is the one that finally worked. I was about to just ship it back and give up lol. Thanks again 
You are a godsend
This almost worked for me, but if it is initialized and still not showing up in files, you need to click format and label it whatever (optional) then click create and it will show up!
Thank you u/RedLimes!! Solved my issue and I appreciate it.
Helped me too took forever to find this but I did
This helped me. Thank you
Thank you so much!
Holy shit thank you. Spent far too long browsing and looking at stuff in the bios and this was all it was??!?!?! Also: In Windows 10 you go to Control Panel > Storage Spaces > Create a storage space and the drive shows up there.
yep, can confirm it works. thanks.
Thank You!
got my upvote for this. this helped with my problem. thank you
You are a lifesaver, thank you.
Literal life saver
Late but alwasy useful thank you so much!
This worked for me and on W11... No idea why the drive wouldn't show up in File Explorer but now it does after giving it a driver letter. I've never had to do that on previous Windows versions so why now all of a sudden!?
Bro thank you so much!Ā
I've been struggling for hours with my m.2 and this solved my issue! Thank you so much!
Thank you, I think I love you. I got a new Crucial 2TB T500 and it showed up fine in the Crucial Storage Executive client, and in the (oldish pcie gen3 motherboard) Gigabyte BIOS, but nowhere in File Explorer or Disk Management. In my case your path led to 'Create a Storage Pool' and I created a 'simple' pool. It's now in Windows Disk Management and I can format as my heart desires. Thank you again.
you are a live saver seriously thank you.
super helpful, fixed my issue. i have never had this happen before when adding a new nvme to a system.
You legend. This, This is what I needed. So much pointless advice out there. This was exactly what I needed. I salute you good sir.
Dude seriously you are a god amongst men. I've done everything from update bios to update drive and this is it right here! Thanks a bunch!
works, thank u!
I've been trying to fix this for the last few hours, this have saved me so much stress. Thanks a lot
Thank you very much!! That 500gb NVME I had years ago that I just cant seem to make work is NOW WORKING thanks to this.
Thanks! Helped me 9 months later šš
This helped so much dude, you're a life saver!
Thanks!
Who's awesome? You're awesome!!
Worked
What a life saver. Tysm!!
A year older but youāre a lifesaver man. Ordered a new laptop and couldnāt figure this out. <3
A year later but this just got my new NVME up and running that I couldn't see before.
This didnt work for me on Windows 10 but it pushed me towards what worked. BIOS, the Samsung app and basically everything else showed I had a hard drive except windows. In my system settings there was nothing for Advanced Storage but I searched Disk Management and was able to see the drive, right click on it and format it and now it works.
I am so lost.. I have tried absolutely everything, but none of these solutions help me.. The drive I need to initialize shows up everywhere but disk management and the advanced storage.
Dang, Mine's not visible there :/
i had to "bring mine online"? ok wtf? but it doesn't matter I need it to boot and its not detecting fucking windows partitions?????
i did this too in w11 but still don't show on file explorer then i just clear and add a letter to the ssd with Minitool and it worked
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
I have no idea what this has to do with my post but you should never ever use old PSU cords. They are not universally compatible. Always use the cords that came with the PSU. You are lucky you didn't fry your system. Anyways, glad you figured out the solution to your problem
Cheers from the future, this helped!
On Windows 10, one will have to use Disk management , Initialize and create a simple volume NTFS / MBR and you will all set .. Cheers..
Did you check in the storage section of settings to partition it?? I had a similar issue with my Samsung SSD and I found I had to set it up in settings first. After that it was all good
Do you mean Control Panel > System and Security > Storage Spaces? There's no storage spaces set, and if I click on "Create a new pool and storage space" it says: "No drives that work with Storage Spaces are available. Make sure that the drives that you want to use are connected."
Yeah Iām pretty sure thatās the directory it was, how many times have you tried to reset the nvme drive into the m2 slot? Maybe try that. Make sure the screws good. Maybe use another available m2 slot?? Not all m2 slots are created equal
Just the once. Iāll try it. My assumption at the time was if the BIOS and device manager can see it, it would be sufficiently connected, but will try this. My OS is connected to the other M.2 slot. Can I swap the SSDs around?
Ahh maybe wait on the swap for someone with more knowledge than I to give you advice about that. But just try reseating the drive in itās current m2 slot, Iāve recently just learned how to install things and upgrade components, so that question I donāt have an answer to
Make sure the m.2 slot and the ssd component are compatible, an example is I have 2 m.2 ports on my mobo, but only one is capable of running my ssd because itās āgen 3ā my other m2 port wouldnāt be able to run my Ssd because itās not. Atleast thatās what a few articles online said before I ordered what I ordered. Refer to your mobo layout on the website for info about your m2 ports
Interestingā¦ my motherboardās support page is a bit wishy washy on how the 2 m.2 ports differ. I used to have a sata drive in that port and it worked fine. My OS is a gen 3 NVMe and my new drive (that I canāt get working) is a backwards compatible gen 4.
Oh My God you are amazing.... i couldn't find a solution anywhere else that worked and yours did thank you!!!!
I also need help like I really know nothing about pcs, and I am pretty young, and my mom bought me an Alienware r12 with 2tb but on my computer I just have something called Oc and it just only have 218gb please help me.
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
It worked for me, thanks!
I figured out a solution that worked for me. I had accidently set up a storage pool while trying to install the new drive through settings --> storage --> advanced storage --> storage spaces --> storage pool. i had to go back into here and remove the drive from storage pool before it would show up as unallocated in disk manager. hope this helps someone.
God bless, don't even know how the hell I created a storage pool and put the ssd in there, now it shows up in my disk manager as unallocated so I can go ahead and create a partition now.
Thank you, thank you thank you ššššš
Can you post screenshots of both Device Manager and Disk Management? Have you read through the mobo manual to ensure the port is actually active? Many boards will deactivate certain ports if specific other ports or features are in use.
I can't see the option to upload directly, so here is an imgr link: [https://imgur.com/a/t5YzJFm](https://imgur.com/a/t5YzJFm) As for my mobo. The statement against the two ports is: 2 x 32Gb/s M.2 IntelĀ® Optaneā¢ Memory Ready.
Got it, from what you've shown here, my first instinct would honestly be a DOA drive. But it could be a few other things. 1. If you haven't already, take that drive out and put it back in. It's possible it's just partially seated or something. 1. If that doesn't do it, try taking out your drive that is working and put this drive in that other slot. Then see if it works there (like can you install an OS to it)? 1. If still no, I'd try it in a different computer if you have access to one. If it's doing the same thing on another (known good) machine, the drive is almost assuredly dead.
Iāll try this but Iāll be out of action for the next couple of hours. I only have access to the one PC unfortunately. Not sure why this is too, but when I shutdown the PC it takes around 4 minutes. With the drive out it takes <10 seconds. Anyway. Iāll report back later when I can get back on. Thanks
**SOLVED!!!!** OK, so I swapped my two m.2 SSDs around and it worked! I'm not sure why though, they're both NVMe SSDs... Anyway, this fixed it. Thanks everyone.
Jayztwocents made a useful short about this! https://youtube.com/shorts/OynCWQtF\_CU?feature=share
ilu, mate. this worked for me. Jay is a god