[SOLVED] ASUS ROG z490-i + LSI Megaraid 9271-8i + Windows 10 Pro

[oscy]

So my old server gave up on me so I decided to build another computer using Windows 10 Pro instead. First I tried just moving the LSI Megaraid 9271-8i card to another computer to ensure it would work and that system running ASUS z87 pro motherboard and windows 10 Pro picked up the array immediately and everything was as it should.

So I built my new system getting a Z490-i from ASUS. Installed and got it to run just with the m.2 nvme SSD on the motherboard. So last step was just to add the raid card in the PCI-e and everything should be fine....

...NOT!

Once I add the card Windows won't boot. The Megaraid webbios posts like it should, I can see all drives listed and the virtual drive that I have had for ages and then the UEFI bios for the motherboard. It then continues and attempts to start windows however it gets bsod before the login page with stop code: DRIVER IRQL NOT LESS OR EQUAL. What failed: storport.sys.

I am not sure if it's windows or the motherboard that's not complying with the LSI raid card. From UEFI bios I tried mostly everything and anything in regards to fast boost, CSM settings (UEFI/legacy) etc. For Windows, I can't even get it to boot from USB bootable or get into safe mode. I thought maybe it's just a missing driver but I can't even get to a point of installing driver.

Oh and firmware for the Megaraid and BIOS for motherboard are upgraded to latest. I am pulling my head out and would appreciate any help!

Best regards

 

[jimbo6262]

Which Windows 10 version do you use? (Not the edition) like Windows 10 2004 version.

 

[oscy]

Which Windows 10 version do you use? (Not the edition) like Windows 10 2004 version.

I downloaded latest directly from microsoft:

Windows 10 Pro
Version: 2004
Installed: 2020-06-18
OS-version: 19041.329

 

[oscy]

Your question actually gave me an idea. Like I wrote in the orginal post, my RAID-card worked immediately in my other computer which was running Windows 10 Pro as well... I looked to see which version that computer was running and it was the 1903 (build 18362.900).

So I went online and found the ISO closest to this which was 1903 (build 18362.300). I then formated and reinstalled using this build. I put in the RAID card after everything was running and VOILA it works like a charm.

I have been so sure this was a motherboard / BIOS problem that I didn't really think that it could be a Windows problem. So many hours spent troubleshooting this issue and trying different settings.

I have tried runnings Windows update. For now only version 1909 has been installed (build 18363.900) and the RAID-card still works and Windows starts. However, the 2004 update isn't found by Windows Update. Would have loved trying to updating to it to see if this would then fail the system again or if it's just the clean install to it that has this problem.

So problem solved! How do I properly forward this issue to Microsoft etc so they can have a look at it?

 

[jimbo6262]

Your question actually gave me an idea. Like I wrote in the orginal post, my RAID-card worked immediately in my other computer which was running Windows 10 Pro as well... I looked to see which version that computer was running and it was the 1903 (build 18362.900).

So I went online and found the ISO closest to this which was 1903 (build 18362.300). I then formated and reinstalled using this build. I put in the RAID card after everything was running and VOILA it works like a charm.

I have been so sure this was a motherboard / BIOS problem that I didn't really think that it could be a Windows problem. So many hours spent troubleshooting this issue and trying different settings.

I have tried runnings Windows update. For now only version 1909 has been installed (build 18363.900) and the RAID-card still works and Windows starts. However, the 2004 update isn't found by Windows Update. I would have loved trying to updating to it to see if this would then fail the system again or if it's just the clean install to it that has this problem.

So the problem solved! How do I properly forward this issue to Microsoft etc so they can have a look at it?

I think it's the LSI issue. I have the same raid card and it works fine until Windows 10 1909. The latest 2004 does not work and it gives you storport.sys blue screen.
So.... Yeah... We have to wait for LSI to release a firmware that support 2004. Not sure when but... Yeah, it sucks.

 

[oscy]

Yes seems like their driver doesn't work with the 2004 version. I spoke to a tech rep from Broadcom. He is thankful for making him aware of the problem. However it doesn't seem like the "old" 9271-8i will receive any more updates unfortunately. So if new firmware is needed I don't think we will ever get it. If it's just the windows driver maybe?

 

[Dennis Faas]

I can confirm that after many, many, many hours of wasted time, the issue is a combination of Windows 10 2004 + LSI RAID + NVMe as the culprit.

My hardware: MSI B350M Mortar, Ryzen 1700, Seagate Firecuda 520 2TB, LSI 9265-8i.

If you install Windows on a regular SATA SSD (non-NVMe), Windows 2004 boots fine even with the NVMe + LSI RAID plugged in.

As soon as I try and boot the Windows 10 2004 install media with the NVMe and LSI RAID, it crashes and reboots indefinitely. If I don't have the RAID card plugged in, I can install Windows 10 2004 onto the NVMe and can boot from it.

As soon as I plug the RAID card back in with the NVMe, I get the blue screen of death with DRIVER IRQL NOT LESS OR EQUAL (storport.sys).

Windows 1909 works fine.

What a piss off and a waste of a day.

 

[Starman575757]

Glad to have stumbled into this post. Same exact problem for me....LSI MEGARaid 9271-8i + NVMe boot drive working like a champ for 4 years through all of the versions of Win 10. Updating to the next Win version has been a routine exercise until this Summer when I kicked off the 2004 update....seems to finish the update just fine then BSOD crashes with the storport.sys error during the reboot phase. It rolls back the update and I've been stuck at 1909 ever since.

I was actually starting to think I was going crazy or there must be something wrong with my Windows load because I have other computers that have moved on to 2004 just fine...just without the MegaRaid installed.

I don't have high hopes for a firmware update from Broadcom as the latest one is over 3 years old at this point. However, weirder things have happened.

 

[Dennis Faas]

The way I fixed this issue was to install Windows 10 1909 cleanly with the LSI RAID card plugged in, then I manually upgraded from 1909 to 2004. The upgrade was forced using an ISO I downloaded using Microsoft's Media Creation Tool.

 

[jimbo6262]

I have the answer. After reading a lot of solution including my question on the LTT forum, (https://linustechtips.com/topic/121...ompatibility-with-the-latest-windows-10-2004/) instead of installing fresh copy's of Windows 10 1909 and then update the driver for the LSI card and then update the Windows 10 to the latest one, I recently successfully installed Windows 10 20H2 without upgrade from the old version of Windows 10.

What I did (thanks to Nigel Johnstone) is I unplug any Mini SAS cable from the LSI 9271-8i card and just install the card ONLY (NO HDDs ATTACHED) and then plug USB for installing a fresh copy of Windows 10 20H2 or newer) and then do all the installation of drivers including LSI 9271-8i from Broadcom (the official driver site) by entering device manager > find Avago LSI RAID card under the storage controller > manually update the driver (in my case MR Windows Driver - 06.714.18.00 ). Once the driver is done, SHUTDOWN system and then re plug in all the MINI SAS cables back to the card and then boot into Windows. DONE!

Thank you, anyone, suggest plugging the RAID card WITHOUT the MINI SAS cable ideas!!!