Framework storage expansion card not recognized by ultra series 3 mainboard

The Problem: I recently bought a 2nd Gen Storage Expansion Card and installed Windows To Go on it using Rufus. However, the drive is completely undetected by my Framework 13 Pro (Pantherlake).

Symptoms:

  • Does not appear as a bootable device in the BIOS (USB boot is confirmed enabled).

  • Does not show up in Windows Disk Management.

  • Does not mount or appear in Fedora Workstation.

  • The only error message I received was a Windows popup stating: “USB device not recognized.”

Troubleshooting Steps Taken: To isolate the issue, I verified the drive is fully functional by testing it on several other devices. It works flawlessly on:

  • My iPhone.

  • Two different Windows 11 PCs (using 10Gbps USB ports).

  • My ROG Ally X (successfully booted the OS).

I also tried swapping expansion ports on the Framework itself, but the drive remains undetected.

Note: I don’t have the machine with me right now, so I won’t be able to run additional tests. Has anyone else run into this specific issue with the 2nd gen cards on Pantherlake, or have any ideas on a fix?