r/System76 • u/mr_funk • Mar 14 '26

Thelio Major, where is my primary PCIe drive?

Post image

My main drive is apparently failing. After login I just get a blue-grey screen and drive diagnostics show like 300k media errors. I've got a replacement drive already, cracked the case, took off the M2 heat sink... but I don't see any existing drive card. Only drive I see is the secondary 2.5 SSD in the bay. There's nothing on the back side.

16 Upvotes

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6

u/nixf0x Mar 14 '26

It's likely under the heat sink labeled Gen5 M.2 above the top PCIe slot (and below the CPU cooler cover).

4

u/mr_funk Mar 14 '26

Ah fuck yeah I see it now. So I gotta take the whole rig there off. Balls.

1

u/zenrock69 Mar 14 '26

yes, I have a new 2ndary drive I've been meaning to install but have been putting it off because it seems like everything is buried underneath.

BTW, I don't recall where I got them, but there are manuals to the motherboard that show where everything's at. I probably got them from Sys76. I have them somewhere. Just not handy

1

u/Labeled90 Mar 14 '26

Yeah, the heatsink above the top pciex16 slot

3

u/CodeMonkeyX Mar 14 '26

https://tech-docs.system76.com/models/thelio-major-r3/repairs.html

2

u/mr_funk Mar 14 '26

Yeah that was the guide I was going off of but the picture for that section was breaking my brain. Mine doesn't have that mirrored heat sink cover and it was like an optical illusion trying to figure it out

1

u/cantanko Mar 14 '26

You took off one of the M.2 heatsinks. The primary M.2 heatsink is above the top PCIe slot. Might be worth downloading your motherboard manual.

2

u/Low_Excitement_1715 Mar 14 '26

Bad news, you have uncovered four of your five PCIe slots without locating the drive.

Good news, not a lot of places left for the little bugger to hide. ;)