Question

1. after installing a second m.2 ssd on the motherboard, a user reports that one of their sata drives no longer appears in bios. which of the following is the most likely cause? a) the sata drive has failed b) m.2 and sata share the same bus channel c) the bios battery is dead d) the sata power cable is unplugged

Explanation:

When an M.2 SSD is installed, if it shares the same bus channel with a SATA drive, it can cause the SATA drive to no longer operate as the system may prioritize the M.2 device on that shared channel. A dead BIOS battery would affect settings like time/date and boot order but not directly make a SATA drive "no longer operate" in the context of adding an M.2. A failed SATA drive is a standalone issue not related to installing an M.2. An unplugged SATA power cable is a physical connection issue, but the question implies the problem is due to the M.2 installation, so sharing the bus channel (which is a design - related conflict when adding the M.2) is more likely.

Answer:

B. M.2 and SATA share the same bus channel