Win7 Pro 64 bit does not recognize my Gsata RAID 1 mirror drives

Greetings folks.

Unit runs. Updated bios to the latest on Gigabyte web site (f9 revision)
Set up with both hard disks on the Gsata connections in RAID 1 mirror. Loading windows 7 Pro 64 bit, can’t get hard disks to show. Win asks for a driver for the HDD. (Last one I built a year ago on similar Gigabyte motherboard showed as a single drive in Windows representing the mirror.) Successfully ran WD data lifeguard on both disks separately. Do I need to install a driver for my hard disks?

I've done some research on Microsoft web site and this seems to be a common problem but there are no generic solutions

Here is my configuration:

Processor: Intel LGA 1156 i5-760

Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-P55-USB3

RAM: Gskill F3-10666CL8D-4GBHK. Have 4 sticks and they are being all recognized.

Two HDD’s in RAID 1: Western Digital Caviar Black WD6401AALS 640GB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive

Two CD ROM drives: One Sony AD-7240 (last years model) and one Sony AD-7260 (this years model). Both drives are working fine.

Video board: Gigabyte GT-240 with 512 k of RAM (GV-N240D5-512I)

Power Supply: Antec eartwatts 650 W.

Case: Antec Solo


Any ideas of how to proceed would be appreciated. I really want to keep the mirror. Now I'm wondering if I should try eSata instead. I have ACHI/Raid enabled in both Gsata and eSata. I tried posting images of my BIOS settings, but can't seem to get them to cut and paste in properly.

Did you first try to get your system to run without Raid installed? That is get it to run with one HD only. I have never used RAID, any version; but if I were doing it on a new build, I would first want to know that I had an operating system based on the simplest of builds first. After having a good assurance my simple configuration was working ok, I would then get 'whichever RAID configuration' up and going, but keep that process as simple as possible until I learned it and had a minimal understanding of the process.

Different Post here because something occured to me after the above Post! If you will go to Forums, Click on "First Boot Problems". The second Thread under First Boot Problems is 'Drives Not Recognized' by 'Call me Al'. This was an eight page conversation; on the last page, his post # 79 will mention his final BIOS settings for Integrated Peripherals. It is a short post, ending with three 'Integrated Peripherals' sata settings: a, b and c. - these are a little different from Rob's settings in his instructions.

But Al gives a good explanation why his settings in Intergrated Peripherals did work as a final solution. Initially his drives were not recognized and his motherboard was Gigabyte.

If you would take my first suggestion in my first post and 'remove RAID' configuration. Get to one HD only, make sure your Int Peripherals are set as mentioned in 'Call Me Al' thread (post) above, this might be your starting point. OR you could leave RAID setup alone and recheck your Int Peripheral settings.

To run Data Lifeguard, your Hard Drives had to have operational drivers. As Win 7 uploads, latest drivers from Win 7 should be installed -- someone please correct this statement if incorrect, please!!

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Any ideas of how to proceed would be appreciated. I really want to keep the mirror. Now I'm wondering if I should try eSata instead. I have ACHI/Raid enabled in both Gsata and eSata. I tried posting images of my BIOS settings, but can't seem to get them to cut and paste in properly

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Regards your quote: I cannot 'get' into your RAID configuration (By doing so, I will create confusion). Again, I suggest you get back to one HD Drive only and make sure the 'simplest system' works by using 'Call me Al' settings; then convert to RAID but only after one HD works fine. (Note that I am repeating myself somewhat -- I do not want to mix the 'Int Per' settings with anything regarding RAID.)

Z,

Thanks for quick response. If I did enable only one drive, I guess I could just see if I get a drive to show up in the screen that is blank now in Windows. I sure don't want to load Win 7 on one drive, only to have difficulty loading my mirror later because one drive had some Windows data on it from a single drive loading operation.

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Two HDD’s in RAID 1: Western Digital Caviar Black WD6401AALS 640GB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive

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You have 3.0Gb/second Hard Drives. This means you do not use GSATA at all. GSata is for 6 GB/sec. Where GSata is 'enabled' in the BIOS, change it to Disabled. If you have GSata Control Mode, set it to IDE. If you have PCH Sata Control Mode, set it to RAID. If you have Onboard ESata Controller, set it to Enabled. Set eSata Ctrl Mode to RAID (if you have it in BIOS). Last if you have GSATA RAID Configuration, see what your manunal says for your particular RAID setup.

I need to take a look at your on line Gigabyte manual. What I said above comes from Rob's online instructions but for a slightly different mobo, Gigabyte P55A-UD4P (While I think the settings I just gave above will be the same, I cannot be sure until I get into your manual. I will try a quick look right now, but it may have to wait until the morning; if so I will post back and tell you that.)

I was able to download your mobo manual and I looked at your BIOS settings for Int Peripherals; they are somewhat like Rob's online instructions but not word for word or phrase for phrase. I cannot go thru what your BIOS settings for the HDs should be tonight but I can in the morning. So if what I gave you in the previous post helped or fixed things, let me know one way or the other and I will get on it early morning.

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Last if you have GSATA RAID Configuration, see what your manunal says for your particular RAID setup

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This is from my first post above and I guess I have said it very wrong. Since GSata is for 6GB/sec, you should have it Disabled. If you have anything that looks like 'GSata Raid Configuration' pick whatever implies 'disabled' -- if there is no logical setting, just leave it alone but you should be able to tell from the settings what to do!!

Hello Z,

Once again, thanks for the detailed and rapid response.

I am buried in work this week, so no experimentation until this weekend. At least I still have a job!

I was under the impression that any 6 gb/s sata connection would be backward compatible to any 3 gb/s equipment. No? If it is not, that is the explanation for why last years Gigabyte Mobo, non 6 gb/s Gsata inputs worked for my RAID 1 builds. I chose to put the two HDD's on the Gsata to offload some work from the main processor's Esata controllers. With the config you state above, I would have to place my two HDD's on the Esata inputs. No?

I got a little cheap maybe when choosing this particular Mobo. Picking one such as Rob's that has all the BIOS settings thoroughly dissected would be a plus for all of us. My adventures with Gsata and RAID would only add to the available data on that board for all to use. At least I'm still in the Gigabyte world.

Yes you would have to put the two HDD's on the ESata inputs. I have not heard the 'backwards compatible' comment, but I will look for it. Nevertheless, from a 'get out of trouble viewpoint', change the hdds to the 3 gig sata connectors, and see it things work ok. After that, confirm 'backward compatibility' yay or nay, and then figure out, by proceeding step by step, why it will not work. In the 'Call me Al' thread which ran 8 pages, the final problem boiled down to the Integrated Peripherals settings for the several sata controllers. Both Al and myself called Gigabyte at least once. In the end, the solution was simply 'enabling the particular controller and disabling the other one that was not being used' .

When I looked at your manual and the BIOS section, I was a little shocked with the 'organization' as compared to Rob's instructions. OK, just had another thought about what I just said. If your backward compatibility comment is correct, then check the Int Peripheral settings for the 'sata connections not being used' and make sure they are disabled or rather that their controller is 'disabled'.

Your backward compatibility comment is correct: However, this comment from Tom's hardware:

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The SATA-IO also added that the same cables and connectors used for current SATA environments could be used to connect SATA 6 Gb/sec. devices. However, cables already maxed out using the current 3 Gb/sec. operating margins will not perform quite as well using the new SATA 6 Gb/sec. because of an increased number of resends.

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Tom's URL for the comment: http://www.tomshardware.com/news/ata...-ssd,7915.html The comment is about cables -- this would include your cables inside your case from mobo to HD -- the cables supplied by Gigabyte -- I would assume your manual would tell you that all the HD cables are 6 gb/sec rated.

I do not see the benefit in being wired to the 6 gb/sec connectors. I would think the backward compatibility requirement is for new mother boards and their layouts having only 6gb/sec connectors eventually yet allow older drives at 3 gb/sec; also, it must be a benefit for Western Digital and other HD mfgs; they are heavily tooled for 3gb/sec and maybe they have reasons for needing a relatively long period of a year or more to get 3gb/sec out of their systems, etc..

Anyhow, if your 3gb/sec components are going to only work at 3gb/sec, there is no reason to wire them to the 6 gb/sec connector -- you do not get anything for it.

One last point. The new standard came out in 2009. The mobo manufacturers had a inventory of controllers for 6 and 3 gb/sec -- their inventories were not necessarily backward compatible 'until a certain point in time' -- their software had to be rewritten and fully tested. I have tried to take this 'line of thought forward' -- but I keep getting bogged down in 'numbers of iterations or combinations of what works and will not work'. Suffice it to say that 'backward compatibility' exists when the mobo, cables, sata controllers, chipset and anything else that deals with HD speed -- all will recognize and operate equally well with a 6gb/sec or 3 gb/sec component.

Unless you know that every component you have in your build is backward compatible to all components 3 gb/sec related, you cannot be certain your present arrangement will work. However, if you switch to all '3gb/sec' configuration and everything is working, then make a careful changeover to 6 gb/sec connections and see if things still work ok -- but I do not see any benefit. Your HDs are 3gb/sec and that will not change.

Ok, Z,

I'm writing this post on my new machine, thanks to your advice. I left my two HDD's on Gsata inputs and reset them to JBOD's. Then loaded windows far enough to see if there were any drives visible and yes, they were both shown. So I backed out of the Win install, and reset them as Gsata RAID 1 and they were invisible again. I experimented with adjusting the "on board SATA/IDE control mode", i.e. Gsata, to AHCI mode, and I attempted to set up RAID and could not get BIOS to put me in the Gsata RAID setup screen using control + G. So adjusting to the RAID mode does indeed enable the RAID setup screen.

So, I removed the two sata cables from Gsata inputs and put them in two empty Esata inputs, left the E sata BIOS settings with eXtreme hard drive (XHD) set on enabled, left the PCH sata control mode right below it set on RAID (XHD), I changed onboard sata/IDE control mode (Gsata) to AHCI mode from the previous RAID mode, onboard sata IDE device to enabled mode (probably could have left this disabled, as I now have nothing plugged into Gsata jacks). Booted through BIOS and set up RAID 1 in Esata. No sweat doing that. Booted into Win 7 pro 64 bit setup and one drive appeared just as it did for me last year when I setup another RAID 1. It looks to the OS like a single drive. So I loaded Windows, drivers, got online, updated windows, downloaded AVG antvirus free and I'm virtually done less loading other utilities, and possibly MS Office if I can find a cheap enough copy. Also need Zone alarm firewall.

Thinking more about what happened, I'm still confused as to why Gsata did not work for me. This mobo is a Gigabyte GA-P55-USB3 which, according to my mobo manual on page 25, "conform to SATA 3GB/s standard and are compatible with SATA 1.5 GB/s standard" for the Gsata2_6/7 connectors. So my mobo has no 6 GB/s capability. I can't help it but think that there may have still been some set of BIOS adjustments to get the Gsata to work. I had the Onboard lan boot ROM disabled and the onboard USB 3.0 controller enabled. Would either of those settings have affected Gsata?

Oh well, it's running and life is good.

Thanks Z!!!