HP Z620 motherboard issues - optical drive and diagnostics startup screen

[bkl4114]

I bought an HP Z620 motherboard so that I could do a build with a Xeon processor. I've got two problems, one major, one minor:

Major: the computer doesn't recognize my optical drive. I've tried every SATA connection, different SATA cables, different optical drives, one of which worked fine in my previous build and the other is brand new, and it doesn't get recognized. I have the latest BIOS from HP, and running Windows 10. It's not listed as a device in BIOS.

Minor: I get the diagnostics screen at every startup where it tells me that certain fans etc. are not detected. I just hit F1 and it's fine, but it's getting a little old.

Thanks in advance.

 

[smorizio]

cpu fan warning...a lot of mb now have a main cpu fan port and a backup port for powering pumps. make sure your fan on the main cpu port. if it a case open warning you may need a jumper/cable on the server mb or turn off that warning.
in the bios make sure all the sata ports are on and if set for raid or achi, raid is for drives. also see if the drives have to be on a set port on the mb. if both power and data cables are connected. if there not showing in the bios or windows device manager the cpu or mb may be damaged.

 

[bkl4114]

cpu fan warning...a lot of mb now have a main cpu fan port and a backup port for powering pumps. make sure your fan on the main cpu port. if it a case open warning you may need a jumper/cable on the server mb or turn off that warning.
in the bios make sure all the sata ports are on and if set for raid or achi, raid is for drives. also see if the drives have to be on a set port on the mb. if both power and data cables are connected. if there not showing in the bios or windows device manager the cpu or mb may be damaged.

Thank you for your reply.
This is an older motherboard. It was designed for a specific HP case, but I now have it in a more generic case. I have no doubt that the diagnostic warnings about missing fans etc. are legitimate, because I have not hooked everything up to all of the ports. However, I have plenty of fans running in there, so overheating is not a problem. I just don't want to see the diagnostic warnings any more.

The hard drives are on SATA and working, so I can check that but I have my doubts that that is the issue.

update: I think it's the mode. It's set to "RAID+ACHI" right now. I tried to change it to only ACHI but then the computer didn't detect my hard drives either and Windows wouldn't start. Sounds like maybe a Windows reinstall with SATA set to ACHI? That will suck; I may have to consider alternatives first.

 

[bkl4114]

Solved! I switched the hard drives to ACHI, but that didn't fix it. After studying the HP z620 manual closely I opened her up and plugged the optical drive into the SATA2 connector, which faces the front (very weird); so if the motherboard is on its back facing up, SATA2 and 3 face to the right. I had to pry out the video card and move a ton of stuff out of the way, but I plugged it in and the optical drive works! I'm listening to a CD (remember those?) right now on it!

I still have an issue with the diagnostics screen showing up every time, but I can live with it until I figure it out.