Asus X99A won't recognize both storage devices

[slecker95]

I have a Samsung 850 Pro SSD (512 GB) and a Western Digital WD Green WD20EZRX (2TB). When I boot the computer and it enters BIOS only the optical drive and one of the storage devices appear in the 'Boot Priority' list. However, if I shut down the computer and unplug one of the storage devices, then the other one will show up. If I exit 'EZ Mode,' however, and go to 'Advanced Settings' then under configure storage devices both the SSD and HDD are listed there. My OS is Windows 7 Professional 64-bit, but I haven't installed it yet, and I have both storage devices, and even optical drive, plugged into SATA 6GB (if that's even important to know).

So 2 questions:

1) If both storage devices are not listed under the boot priority list does this only one of the two storage devices is operating?

2) If so then how to fix this?

First time build so please bear with me.

 

[SuperSoph_WD]

Hey there, slecker95!

I'm sorry to hear about your connectivity issues with the system. I think that you should try resetting BIOS by re-seating the CMOS battery or resetting the jumper on the motherboard. You can take a look at this tutorial: http://www.wikihow.com/Reset-Your-BIOS
However, keep in mind that this would get your BIOS settings back to factory defaults, so you should know how to re-configure them afterwards.
In order to avoid any OS confusion, I'd recommend installing Windows with just the SSD plugged in and SATA mode set to AHCI. If you have both drives plugged in during the installation, you are risking a lot of booting issues later on that would require you to re-install the OS once again.
Here's a tutorial that might help you with the dual storage optimization: http://www.overclock.net/t/1156654/seans-windows-7-install-optimization-guide-for-ssds-hdds

Hope it helps. Keep me posted!
SuperSoph_WD

 

[slecker95]

Hey there, slecker95!

I'm sorry to hear about your connectivity issues with the system. I think that you should try resetting BIOS by re-seating the CMOS battery or resetting the jumper on the motherboard. You can take a look at this tutorial: http://www.wikihow.com/Reset-Your-BIOS
However, keep in mind that this would get your BIOS settings back to factory defaults, so you should know how to re-configure them afterwards.
In order to avoid any OS confusion, I'd recommend installing Windows with just the SSD plugged in and SATA mode set to AHCI. If you have both drives plugged in during the installation, you are risking a lot of booting issues later on that would require you to re-install the OS once again.
Here's a tutorial that might help you with the dual storage optimization: http://www.overclock.net/t/1156654/seans-windows-7-install-optimization-guide-for-ssds-hdds

Hope it helps. Keep me posted!
SuperSoph_WD

Turns out that I just needed to format the drive in windows and assign it a letter. Thanks for your help though!