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Question

Difficulty: EasyStorage Devices and Interfaces

A technician is purchasing a replacement solid-state drive (SSD) for an older laptop motherboard that only supports the SATA protocol through its M.2 internal connector slot. Which type of drive should the technician select to ensure full hardware and protocol compatibility?

  1. An M.2 SATA SSDAnswer
  2. B
    An M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD
  3. C
    A 3.5-inch SAS Hard Drive
  4. D
    A PCIe x16 Expansion Card SSD

Answer

An M.2 SATA SSD is required because the motherboard slot specifically requires the SATA communication protocol over the M.2 physical connector.
Matching the M.2 physical form factor with the SATA protocol specification guarantees that the storage controller can communicate with the drive without bus or keying mismatches.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Identify the physical connector and protocol requirements
The host system requires an M.2 physical form factor drive operating specifically on the SATA protocol.
M.2 slots can support SATA, PCIe/NVMe, or both depending on motherboard pin routing.
2
Match drive specifications to slot capabilities
Select an M.2 drive that utilizes the SATA bus interface.
Installing an NVMe PCIe drive into a SATA-only M.2 slot results in the drive not being recognized by system firmware.

Key Concept

M.2 Form Factor vs Protocol Compatibility
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Topics

Storage Devices and Interfaces

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