NVMe drive Archives

Winsage

December 17, 2025

Windows Server 2025 Gets Native NVMe SSD Support After 12 Years

Microsoft has introduced native NVMe SSD support in Windows Server 2025 as an opt-in feature, marking a significant advancement 12 years after NVMe's inception. This new support allows direct multi-queue access to hardware, delivering up to 3.3 million IOPS on PCIe Gen 5 SSDs and over 10 million IOPS on Host Bus Adapters, while significantly reducing latency. The previous reliance on converting NVMe commands to SCSI commands caused processing latency and overhead. Native NVMe support eliminates outdated translation layers, enhances CPU utilization, and unlocks next-generation storage capabilities. Microsoft has set up an email address, nativenvme@microsoft.com, for user feedback and inquiries. There is no current information on the timeline for native NVMe support in Windows 11.

AppWizard

October 15, 2025

For just $554.99, this MSI gaming laptop with an Nvidia GeForce RTX GPU is a bona fide bargain

Walmart is offering the MSI Thin laptop for 9. The laptop features an Nvidia GeForce RTX 4050 GPU, a 13th-generation Intel Core i5 13420H processor, and 16GB of RAM. It has a 15.6-inch display with a 144Hz refresh rate and a 512GB SSD. The RTX 4050 supports Nvidia DLSS 4 upscaling and has 2,560 CUDA cores with 6GB of GDDR6 VRAM. The laptop's RAM is in DDR4 SODIMM format, allowing upgrades up to 64GB. The Intel Core i5 processor has eight cores, with a boost capability of up to 4.6GHz. The storage can be upgraded as it uses a PCIe 4.0 NVMe drive and a standard M.2 socket.

Winsage

August 28, 2025

It wasn’t supposed to work, but someone booted this retro Windows OS on one of 2025’s fastest CPUs

A YouTuber named Omores successfully booted Windows 98 on a Ryzen 9900X CPU. This required various modifications, including BIOS tweaks, using a PCI SATA card to bypass modern SATA controllers, and employing a PCIe-to-PCI adapter. Additional adjustments involved disabling ACPI and using a Gen 5 NVMe SSD with a partition limited to 8.5 GB. The project demonstrated the capabilities of the vintage operating system, with successful benchmark results using retro graphics cards like the GeForce 7900 GS and ATI X700LE.

Winsage

May 2, 2025

How To Dual Boot Linux and Windows on any PC

The process of installing Linux has evolved from text-based installers in the late 1990s to user-friendly graphical installers in distributions like Ubuntu and OpenSUSE. Users can start with a single-board computer like the Raspberry Pi or set up a dual-boot configuration with Windows and Linux using a custom boot menu called GRUB. It is advisable to back up the drive before installation to prevent data loss. To create a Linux Install USB, users need to download an ISO image of the Linux distribution and use Rufus to write it onto a USB drive of at least 8GB. The steps include selecting the USB drive, choosing the Linux OS, selecting the GPT partition scheme, and writing the OS in ISO image mode. For dual-boot installation, users should insert the USB drive, boot from it, and select “Try or Install Ubuntu” from the GRUB menu. After testing hardware functionality, the installation process involves selecting language, configuring accessibility, choosing keyboard layout, connecting to the Internet, and selecting installation options. Users must choose “Install Ubuntu alongside Windows Boot Manager” and allocate space for each operating system. After installation, users need to adjust BIOS settings to ensure the system boots from the Linux installation. This includes selecting the Boot menu, setting the Linux install as Boot Option 1, and saving the changes. Upon rebooting, users can select their Linux OS from the GRUB menu and verify the functionality of both operating systems.

Winsage

March 19, 2025

How to transfer your Windows 11 setup to a new hard drive — no extra app required

Users of Windows 11 may need to upgrade their hard drive due to space constraints or the drive nearing the end of its lifespan, typically within three to five years. They can create a system image backup using the Backup and Restore feature in Windows 11. To create a system image, users must access the Control Panel, navigate to System and Security, and select "Create a system image." The backup can be saved on a hard disk, and users can choose to include additional drives. To create a USB bootable media for recovery, users should visit the Windows 11 download page, download the Media Creation Tool, and follow the prompts to create a USB flash drive. Replacing the hard drive involves powering down the computer, removing the cover, disconnecting cables, and installing the new drive. After installation, users can restore the previous Windows 11 installation from the system image backup by booting from the USB drive and selecting "System Image Recovery." If the new drive has unallocated space, users can create a new partition or expand the existing setup partition. To create a data partition, users can access Settings, navigate to Storage, and create a new volume from unallocated space. To expand the setup partition, users must delete the recovery partition, extend the installation drive, and recreate the recovery partition using Command Prompt and Disk Management. Finally, users should re-enable BitLocker after completing these processes.

Winsage

October 26, 2024

Z890 motherboards are having instability issues with Windows 11 24H2 — BIOS updates or disable iGPUd required to update Windows

A significant number of Intel Z890 motherboards have experienced issues following the Windows 11 24H2 update, particularly affecting users of Intel's Core Ultra 200S series CPUs with integrated Iris Xe-LPG graphics. The problems coincide with the launch week of Arrow Lake. Users may need to update their BIOS, which can vary by motherboard model, but many can download and apply updates directly within the BIOS. Additionally, the Windows 11 24H2 update has been associated with other issues, including BSOD incidents for Western Digital NVMe drive users, an 8.63 GB cache error, and compatibility problems with Easy Anti-Cheat affecting certain games. Despite these challenges, there have been optimizations in the update process and improvements in newer Windows 11 previews.

Winsage

October 15, 2024

Western Digital NVMe SSD users beware: Windows 11 24H2 is causing BSODs unless you tweak your registry | Tom’s Hardware

Since October 8, users of Western Digital NVMe SSDs, particularly the WD Blue SN580 and WD Black SN770, have reported persistent Blue Screens of Death (BSOD) following the Windows 11 24H2 update. This issue is linked to a misconfigured NVMe Host Memory Buffer (HMB), which has been observed to allocate up to 200MB instead of the intended 64MB, causing instability. A Registry edit can limit HMB allocation back to 64MB or disable it entirely, resolving the issue. Users of Western Digital SATA SSDs are not affected, and the problem may also impact other NVMe drives due to a misconfiguration in Windows 11. Some users have successfully reverted the Windows 11 24H2 update as an alternative solution.

Winsage

July 22, 2024

Migrating Windows 10 from PC to NVMe on 5,1

An individual attempted to migrate a PC Windows 10 installation to an NVMe drive on a Mac 5,1, encountering issues with cloning the SSD but finding success when cloning the HDD on a PC. After transferring the NVMe drive back to the Mac, they noticed the drive was labeled as "EFI Boot" instead of "Windows." Despite some initial functionality issues, installing Bootcamp drivers resolved them. The individual is seeking advice on the correct sequence for migrating a PC to a bootable NVMe drive on a Mac 5,1.