All Processor Modules feature at least one PCIe controller which is connected to the M.2 socket J10. The standard use for the M.2 Key M port is a NVMe SSD (solid state disk). To install an SSD card, plug it into the socket at an angle and then press down the opposing side into the latch. To remove the card, just pull on the two protruding metal springs of the latch and the card will pop out. An SSD is already installed in Hyper models of MNT Pocket Reform.
This strongly implies that all Pocket Reforms are supposed to have a latch that meets and holds (presumably 2280) M.2 devices, even non-Hyper ones. Mine does not, it just has a standoff without a mounting screw in it. I’m nervous to procure my own mounting screws because it’s unusual in my experience for one not to be provided and I’m not sure if the latch that’s supposed to be here would hold the drive at an angle that differs from what I’d get by screwing the drive down directly to the standoff.
Is this latch present in other people’s non-Hyper Pocket Reforms? Is it possible it has broken off and is hiding somewhere like a part of my battery bracket was?
No, a screw is used to mount the drive properly. That is what I would recommend here as well. Usually, the NVME drives come with them in their packaging also. Just look online for a screw or maybe get with MNT to see if they can send you one. Will be faster to just source one yourself. Perhaps this was just a minor oversight on MNT’s part, but certainly understandable.
If the handbook is wrong, then somebody with a pocket reform should submit a merge request against the pocket-reform-handbook git repository. This is where you have to change the wording:
Yep that wording seems wrong. I can’t say with 100% surety that there was a screw holding my Pocket Reform NVME down, but I will look again tonight. But this image from @selfawaresoup
has their NVME held in with a screw as well.
The latches that are being mentioned here sound more like this text was pulled from a RAM installation guide, as I’m pretty sure the NVME in the Reform is held down with a screw as well. This is the customary way to secure M2 Sata / NVME drives that I have noticed. While a latch would work, it just seems like overkill.
@josch I would be willing to make a change request for that, BUT my account is still pending activation. (Account uses the same username as here.)
oh for sure. i was not expecting to have to consult the docs at all to install this drive; i only checked in the first place because i was surprised to find there wasn’t a mounting screw provided
i’m on my way to get some regular 3mm m.2 mounting screws and i’ll report back about whether they fit right
okay, the standard screw worked to hold the drive down
almost certainly unrelated, but reform-setup-encrypted-nvme seems to have bricked my ssd; no software recognises it as a block device any more, even after a reboot. i’m not sure what to do about this. i bought this drive specifically for use in this computer, but i did so a year ago so there’s no way it’ll be accepted as a return if it was faulty
is there anything i can do to maybe diagnose or fix this?
Makes me wonder if your device reported itself in a strange way such that the offset was wrong? Are you sure the drive is really bricked? It shouldn’t have done anything but delete data on it.
i took the drive out, reseated it, and tried again. it was recognised as a block device. trying reform-setup-encrypted-nvme caused the same failure, but at offset 9437184. when i get an opportunity, i’ll try again from a different m.2 slot on a different computer
okay i didn’t need another computer. i took the drive out, put it in an external USB M.2 NVMe adapter, edited the reform-setup-encrypted-nvme script to set DEV_SSD to sda (which is what the drive showed up as according to lsblk) and the script ran fine and offered to run reform-migrate for me (i declined). i am pretty sure this means there’s something wrong with the m.2 slot in my pocket reform
