Hard drive showing up as USB

[abwhite]

Windows Vista machine. Issues with USB devices (printer, Ext HDD, Camera) causing lock up. Tried numerous things. Noticed today that the SATA HDD and DVD show up as removable USB devices. Thought that might be the issue. Any ideas why they show up like that and how to correct.

 

[WyomingKnott]

I'm not sure about this (going from Win7 experience). All of my hard drives show up as removable devices, because the SATA protocols and the motherboard and the BIOS allow it.

I think (I'm away from that machine now) that if you read the entry it will say "Scsi device." If it says "USB device," then my input is useless.

 

[abwhite]

The HDD and DVD show up in the information (where you can safely remove usb devices) as USB devices. I work in an office and this is not the case on any of the other Vista machines.

 

[WyomingKnott]

Sorry, then. I bypassed Vista for the sake of my middle-aged blood pressure. Good luck.

 

[sminlal]

You can download a document from this Microsoft web page which tells you how to configure your SATA ports so they don't show up in the "safely remove devices" widget.

 

[abwhite]

After a quick scan this may be the answer. I will have to look at it harder in the morning. I'll let you know. Thanks for the input.

 

[abwhite]

You can download a document from this Microsoft web page which tells you how to configure your SATA ports so they don't show up in the "safely remove devices" widget.

Tried the suggestions in the MS article and had no success. I really have no idea what to do about this. Thanks

 

[sminlal]

So you set the "TreatAsInternalPort" values in the appropriate registry keys (such as "HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\msahci\Controller0\Channel0")?

Which controller and channel numbers did you use?

BTW, this won't help with your lock-up issues - all it will do is to remove the hard drives you specify from the "safely remove drive" widget.

 

[abwhite]

reg.exe add "HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\msahci\Controller0\Channel0" /f /v TreatAsInternalPort /t REG_DWORD /d 0x00000001
reg.exe add "HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\msahci\Controller0\Channel1" /f /v TreatAsInternalPort /t REG_DWORD /d 0x00000001
reg.exe add "HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\msahci\Controller0\Channel2" /f /v TreatAsInternalPort /t REG_DWORD /d 0x00000001
reg.exe add "HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\msahci\Controller0\Channel3" /f /v TreatAsInternalPort /t REG_DWORD /d 0x00000001

 

[sminlal]

So after making those changes and rebooting the drives still show up in the "Safely remove drives" widget? Are you sure the drives are on Controller 0?

 

[abwhite]

I thought so, how can I be sure?

 

[sminlal]

Open up "Computer" so you can see the list of your drives.

Right-click on a drive and select "Properties"

Click the "Hardware" tab in the properties dialogue box

The bottom section will give the location, which should look something like:

Location 0 (Channel 4, Target 0, Lun 0)

"Location" is the controller number and "Channel" is (of course) the channel number.

 

[abwhite]

Mine says: Location: Bus Number 0, Target ID 0, Lun 0

 

[sminlal]

Hmm... I went back and re-read your original post which says you're using Vista - I wonder if that explains the difference in how the "location" is reported. It may also be that the registry entries in question apply only to Windows 7.

I applied the entries on my Windows 7 machine and they did exactly what I needed...

 

[abwhite]

The entries are in the registry as posted above, however the drives still show up as external. If you don't think the two are related, do you have any ideas why the computer freezes up when any USB device is plugged in?

 

[sminlal]

Sorry, can't help you with the freezing issue. I had the same thing happen with my older Pentium-4 system when I used the front USB ports. I spent some time checking the wiring and ensuring the connections to the motherboard were correct, but I never did get it fixed. My solution was to run a cable from the rear USB ports and use them exclusively.

 

[abwhite]

Well, thanks anyway. This system freezes when any USB port is used. It belongs to a buddy and he told me this started after a brief power surge and outage last fall. I guess we may have to look at a new system board. Tried reinstalling the OS and it still does the same thing.

 

[abwhite]

Best answer selected by abwhite.

 

[warp_drive]

Sorry to bring up an old post. I am currently experiencing a similar problem. In the link that sminla provide, it mentions to check the PxCMD.HPCP value, but where do I find it? I didn't see it in the Registry or in the device manager menu.

 

[TechJallen]

I am able to fix this on some manufactured computers by reinstalling Intel RST (rapid storage technology) people uninstall programs quite a bit with out thinking of the repercussions. Let me know if it works for you.

 

[lougo]

reg.exe add "HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\msahci\Controller0\Channel0" /f /v TreatAsInternalPort /t REG_DWORD /d 0x00000001
reg.exe add "HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\msahci\Controller0\Channel1" /f /v TreatAsInternalPort /t REG_DWORD /d 0x00000001
reg.exe add "HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\msahci\Controller0\Channel2" /f /v TreatAsInternalPort /t REG_DWORD /d 0x00000001
reg.exe add "HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\msahci\Controller0\Channel3" /f /v TreatAsInternalPort /t REG_DWORD /d 0x00000001

Sorry to bring up old thread. I'm running into this problem now on a Win7 x64 build. I've got an Intel ICH10, When I go into Regedit under "HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\msahci\" the only thing nested in that directory is folder "Enum". No sign of Controller0 or Channels.

Any idea where I would be able to add entry "TreatAsInternalPort" in this instance?