[SOLVED] Disabled SATA ports when configuring RAID - MSI X570

[mcbenney]

MB: MSI MPG X570 Gaming Plus
CPU: AMD Ryzen 9 3950X
Storage: One 500 MB M.2 SSD in slot 1 + four 2.5" 2TB SSD
RAM: 4 x 16GB DDR4 3200
OS: None yet. Will be Windows 10.

I'm attempting to configure this build using the M.2 drive as the OS drive in slot 1 and the four SSD drives as a RAID 10 Array.
With MB BIOS in factory default configuration, all 6 SATA ports work as intended. That is, if drive is connected to any of these ports, it is recognized and displayed as an attached drive in the BIOS.

In order to use the MB's native RAID capability, it is necessary to change the SATA mode from AHCI to RAID and change Windows OS Configuration from CSM Mode to UEFI. However, when SATA mode is changed to RAID, SATA ports 3-6 will no longer recognize any drive that is plugged in to these ports. BIOS simply displays "NOT PRESENT" If I revert SATA mode back to AHCI, SATA ports 3-6 function as expected. Not surprisingly, the AMD RAIDXpert2 Configuration Utility is unable to initialize disks or build a RAID 10 array because the utility can only see the physical drives in ports 1 and 2.

Of note: SATA Ports 1 and 2 use an ASMedia ASM1061 controller while ports 3 through 6 use the AMD X570 Chipset. This seems significant since ports 3 through 6 are the ones that go missing in RAID mode but I'm not enough of an expert to understand why that might be significant.

Troubleshooting steps already taken:

1. I have read the manual and followed the instructions. (Pages 30-32 and 64-68).
2. I have confirmed that using an M.2 drive on this MB does NOT disable any SATA ports on this MB
3. I have updated BIOS to most recent version (7C37vAB2)
4. I have eliminated SATA cables and power connectors and physical drives as possible culprits
5. I have separately test the four SSD in SATA ports 1-4 and ports 3-6. With RAID disabled all four drives are visible in either configuration. With RAID enabled, no drives are seen in ports 3-6.

Any insights or assistance would be greatly appreciated.

 

[mcbenney]

Ugh. Figures. 30 minutes after posting, the problem magically resolved itself. Drives never showed up in BIOS/Storage but I was finally able to see them in AMD RAIDXpert2 Configuration Utility. Not sure what changed. Perhaps having all four drives plugged into ports 3-6 (which share the same X570 chipset controller) was the trick. As far as them never showing up in BIOS storage list, maybe that was because the MB required the RAID drivers be installed first. I don't know. In any event, my problem is solved. This thread can be closed or deleted. Thanks.

 

[helpstar]

ASMedia ASM1061 does not support RAID

 

[mcbenney]

Thanks. You'd think that the MSI manual would specify somewhere in the instructions on setting up a RAID array (which start on page 64), that users should only use SATA ports 3 - 6. It does not, as far as I can tell.

Furthermore in my hard copy version of the manual that shipped with the MB, there is NO clarification about which ports are using ASMEDIA controller and which are using the X570 controller. Interestingly, in the online manual that l linked to, the wording has been updated and now explicitly delineates this division. Someone at MSI must have figured out that the lack of clarity was causing problems.

So final analysis: Install the drivers per MSI instructions, make sure any RAID drives are plugged into ports 3-6. Even if drives do not show up in BIOS/Storage, they should be visible in the RAID Xpert Configuration Utility. If after all this, they are still not visible, revert SATA mode back to AHCI and Windows OS Configuration to CSM. After doing this, you computer will not boot to the Windows OS (assuming it is already installed). Load BIOS again and reconfigure SATA back to RAID and Windows OS back to UEFI. Reboot, load BIOS again and see if the drives are now visible.