SSD recognized as SCSI external drive

[hunuok]

I am running 2 Vertex 3 120Gb SSDs using the Red SATA3 ports 1 & 2 on an Asus Maximus IV Extreme-Z. I believe these use the Marvell controller.

Both are running AHCI mode with hotswap enabled in BIOS.

After a quarterly format (clean install), both drives are NOW recognized as SCSI external disks. They show up on Safely Remove Hardware menu in taskbar.

Performance is the same.

Intel RST doesn't list SSDs.

OCZ Toolbox doesn't recognize SSDs.

I have used both Marvel controller drivers on Motherboard DVD and also downloaded new drivers off the net.

If I connect using SATA2 port, I have no issues.

I have read that this is a common problem (without affecting performance), but I just wanted to know if there was a solution.

This problem hasn't occured previously and the steps I used to clean install were exactly the same.

This setup doesn't allow me to update SSD firmware as OCZ utility doesn't recognize my SSDs.

I have tried updating BIOS, clean install Windows 7, rolling back drivers, update drivers option in device manager and re-installing drivers.

Any input would be appreciated.

NB: I have spoken to ASUS and they said that this is "normal" and if I wanted to update SSD firmware, I should use a SATA2 port. I find this ridiculous as I have updated firmware previously using the same SATA3 ports without issue.

 

[tcstech]

One of my OCZ SSDs was doing the exact same thing. From my experience it is pretty harmless as my benchmarks are reading exactly where they should be. I did coincidentally do a reinstall of my operating system and oddly, it reverted back to the standard status. The only thing I did different was upgrade the drivers for my sata controller.

 

[hunuok]

UPDATE

Turns out I had the SSDs connected to the Marvell Controller. Switched over to Intel Controller.

However, now my HDDs connected to the Marvell Controller are showing up as SCSI drives.

No biggie I suppose. Performance is the same.

Thanks ALL.

 

[sminlal]

...both drives are NOW recognized as SCSI external disks. They show up on Safely Remove Hardware menu in taskbar.

You can solve the "Safely Remove" icon issue by tweaking the Registry. This Microsoft document describes how to do that.

 

[hunuok]

Hey there.

Read that doc previously. I don't really want to mess with registry ATM. I've spent a SOLID week rebuilding/reformatting/reinstalling.

Might give it go further down the track.

Thanks anyways.

 

[dreamingbinary]

One of my concerns isn't so much performance now, but performance down the line. I'm trying to ensure that trim is enabled. Anyone verify if it is enabled? I'm not sure how beyond the standard toolbox provided.

Please advise. Thanks!