@Sybershot - learning new things every day, which makes up for what I forget that same day! haha. I actually studied your response because of the techs contained in it. My edumacation was before m.2 drives and we worked on Windows 7 with some FS and other file management executables that I probably still have on 3.5 floppies in the garage.

I am glad I have a pretty good fundamental understanding of PC operation, but yeah, I dug a little to understand your response and I get what you're laying out.
Having said that, AI is better than Google. So, entered your statement:
windows 11 on a 1tb m.2 drive. every time I try to start up the 1 tb m.2 drive, I get the missing file error and it loops back to the boot menu. I got the following reply:
Potential Causes
BIOS Settings: Incorrect BIOS settings such as Compatibility Support Module (CSM) enabled, or Secure Boot not set to "Windows UEFI."
Boot Configuration Data (BCD): Corrupted or missing BCD can result in boot errors.
Drive Not Recognized: The M.2 drive might not be initialized properly, or the system may not recognize it.
UEFI Mode: Not using UEFI mode can cause issues, especially if the drive is formatted for GPT but the system is not configured to boot using UEFI.
Suggested Solutions
BIOS Adjustments:
Disable CSM in BIOS settings.
Ensure Secure Boot is set to "Windows UEFI".
Turn off Volume Management Device (VMD) if applicable.
Repair BCD:
Boot from a Windows installation USB and select "Repair your computer."
Open Command Prompt and enter commands like bootrec /rebuildbcd to repair boot entries.
Initialize and Partition Drive:
Use tools like Disk Management or Partition Wizard to check if the drive is initialized and formatted correctly. Make sure it's using GPT.
UEFI Configuration:
Ensure that the system is set to boot in UEFI mode and not in legacy mode.
Disable legacy boot options.
Hope this gives you a few more options. ;-)
Checker57