Question 1

After formatting, my SSD's capacity is smaller than advertised. Why?

Accepted Answer

Definition of capacity: KIOXIA defines a megabyte (MB) as 1,000,000 bytes, a gigabyte (GB) as 1,000,000,000 bytes and a terabyte (TB) as 1,000,000,000,000 bytes. A computer operating system, however, reports storage capacity using powers of 2 for the definition of 1GB = 230 = 1,073,741,824 bytes and therefore shows less storage capacity. Available storage capacity (including examples of various media files) will vary based on file size, formatting, settings, software and operating system, such as Microsoft Operating System and/or pre-installed software applications, or media content. Actual formatted capacity may vary.

Question 2

I’m unable to boot from my EXCERIA PLUS SSD/EXCERIA SSD. What can I do?

Accepted Answer

This can have multiple reasons. Please ensure that your system or motherboard supports NVMe™. If it doesn’t, you will be able to use EXCERIA PLUS SSD/EXCERIA SSD as a storage device only, not as a boot device.
If you have made sure that your system or motherboard supports NVMe™ and you’re unable to boot from an OS installed on EXCERIA PLUS SSD/EXCERIA SSD, please review the following points:
 
 • Is the drive recognized in the BIOS/UEFI?
 • Is EXCERIA PLUS SSD/EXCERIA SSD on top of the boot priority list?
 • If you use an onboard M.2 slot, could this slot’s bandwidth be shared with any other media in use? Your system/motherboard manual contains information on media bandwidth sharing.
 
Should you still encounter issues, please get in touch with our support team.

Question 3

Why is my SATA SSD slower than it should be?

Accepted Answer

If you're experiencing low performance using your SATA SSD, this may have one of the following reasons:
1. Different benchmark method
All SATA SSD models have been specificed using the ATTO benchmark to determine sequential read and write speeds. Other tools may have different benchmark patterns, configurations (different queue depths, block sizes, etc.), file sizes and may thus yield different results.
2. Low performance third-party SATA controller
Many motherboards feature additional onboard SATA controllers from vendors like Marvell, ASMedia, etc. These controllers may not have sufficient PCIe bandwidth and/or generally inferior performance metrics compared to the chipset vendor's solution. In some cases on older motherboards, the first party (AMD, Intel®) SATA2 controller may even outperform a third party SATA3 controller.
3. Using SATA controller in IDE mode instead of AHCI or RAID
All EXCERIA SATA SSDs are optimized for use on a SATA controller running AHCI mode, RAID mode will work just as well. IDE mode however may cause the drive performance to be lower than specified.
4. Outdated or not optimized driver
All modern operating systems come with standard AHCI drivers. In Windows, vendors like AMD, Intel®, Marvell etc. offer additional AHCI driver sets that may improve SSD performance. Please refer to the chipset vendor's website for available driver packages.
5. SATA 6Gbit/s SSD on SATA 3Gbit/s controller
All EXCERIA SATA SSDs meet the SATA Revision 3.0 or later standard and support SATA 6Gbit/s link speed. They require a SATA 6Gbit/s controller to achieve it's specified performance metrics. All models are compatible to SATA 3Gbit/s controllers but would be limited in performance, usuAll EXCERIA SATA SSDs meet the SATA Revision 3.0 or later standard and support SATA 6Gbit/s link speed. They require a SATA 6Gbit/s controller to achieve it's specified performance metrics. All models are compatible to SATA 3Gbit/s controllers but would be limited in performance, usually maxing out around 250-260MB/s.

Question 4

Windows does not recognize my SSD with a drive letter when I connect it, what do I do?

Accepted Answer

Please make sure to have data and power cables properly connected to your SSD.
If this is that case, you will have to initialize your SSD in Windows in order to use it.
Please use the steps below:

• Please go to Control Panel -> Administrative Tools -> Computer Management -> Disk Management
 • Once the SSD is recognized, a popup will appear
 • Please follow the instructions to initialize and format your drive
 • Please assign a drive letter to the drive
 • Once the process has finished, your new SSD should appear in Windows Explorer with the previously assigned drive letter.

Question 5

How do I install EXCERIA PLUS SSD or EXCERIA SSD as a boot drive?

Accepted Answer

To install your EXCERIA PLUS SSD or EXCERIA SSD as a boot drive, please make sure the following criteria are met:
 
 • Your motherboard or system has a free M.2slot
 • Your motherboard or system supports NVMe™ (please see the manufacturer's manual)
 • You do not share resources with another device that could render said slot unusable (Example: M.2 slot disabled if certain SATA ports are used, refer to manufacturer's manual).
 • Ensure that the install media you wish to use contains the latest version of the OS you are about to install. Windows 8.1 and later have integrated NVMe™ drivers and don't require additional drivers to complete the setup.

With the requirements met, please install NVMe™ SSD in the desired slot and insert the OS install media. The following process should be similar to installing the OS to a SATA drive:
 
1. Boot from the OS install media
2. Choose the desired drive to install the system on
3. Complete the installation
4. Reboot and enter BIOS
5. Adjust the boot priority list to move NVMe SSD™ to the top of the list (alternatively, the "Windows Boot Manager" on NVMe™ SSD in case of an UEFI install)

Question 6

Can I use EXCERIA PLUS SSD/EXCERIA SSD in a MacBook (Pro) with M.2 slot?

Accepted Answer

No, Apple utilizes proprietary slots that will not work with standard M.2 drives such as EXCERIA PLUS SSD/EXCERIA SSD.

Question 7

I’m interested in EXCERIA PLUS SSD/EXCERIA SSD Which prerequisites have to be met?

Accepted Answer

Thanks for your interest in EXCERIA PLUS SSD/EXCERIA! To use EXCERIA PLUS SSD/EXCERIA SSD, you require:

• A motherboard or system with a free M.2 PCIe slot. Please do not confuse with an M.2 SATA or mSATA slot.
 • Your motherboard or system’s BIOS/UEFI must support NVMe™ if you wish to use EXCERIA PLUS SSD/EXCERIA SSD as bootable system drive (please refer to your motherboard’s or system’s manufacturer for further details).
 • Your operating system must support NVMe™ drives.

Question 8

Will EXCERIA PLUS SSD and EXCERIA SSD work in any M.2 slot?

Accepted Answer

EXCERIA PLUS SSD and EXCERIA SSD will work in any M.2 slot that supports PCIe NVMe™.
Systems not compatible are:

• M.2 with only legacy SATA or PCIe AHCI. mSATA slots, which are easily mistaken for M.2 slots, are incompatible as well.
 • M.2 WWAN slots which are usually compatible with wireless WAN modules only.

Question 9

Do I need additional mounting material to install EXCERIA PLUS SSD or EXCERIA SSD?

Accepted Answer

Yes, you usually need a screw for the installation to M.2 slot. However many systems or motherboards with an M.2 slot should include the screw necessary to mount EXCERIA PLUS SSD or EXCERIA SSD.

Question 10

Are RAID configurations with SATA SSDs a viable option?

Accepted Answer

Yes. The reliability and/or performance benefits one can obtain via SATA HDD RAID configurations can be had with SATA SSD RAID configurations. Setup, maintenance, RAID levels, etc. are the same as with SATA HDDs.

Question 11

Do I need to make changes to my system UEFI / BIOS to install an EXCERIA SATA SSD?

Accepted Answer

Your EXCERIA SATA SSD requires the SATA mode to AHCI or RAID if the default is IDE. On older systems we do recommend changing the SATA mode to AHCI or RAID if the default is IDE.

Question 12

Do all KIOXIA EXCERIA SSDs support TRIM?

Accepted Answer

Yes, all KIOXIA EXCERIA SSDs on the market today support TRIM.

Question 13

Why should I update my SSD’s firmware?

Accepted Answer

A firmware is a embedded software much like a BIOS. It provides electronical devices with crucial sets of software instructions. Without a firmware, electronical devices would lack the "knowledge" of how to function. In SSDs, firmwares are responsible for how the drive communicates with the system it's installed in, handled TRIM, Garbage Collection, and manages how data is being distributed among the drive's capacity. Firmware updates may contain improvements in terms of compatibility, performance or reliability as well as corrections of bugs that may have caused issues in certain situations. KIOXIA recommends keeping the firmware of SSDs up to date.

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