Z230: One of the hard disks defined as "Portable/Ejectable"

[Ulf_K]

Greetings Forum.

I have a Z230 with all SATA ports used. For system disk (0). For CD/DVD (1) and the other 3 ports connected to three different fixed mechanical disks. All using SATA/AHCI settings in the BIOS which is the latest one available on HP's support/download pages. The disk connected to port (5) has been recognized by W10 as "portable" or USB and it is possible to "Eject" it in the same menu down right in the Windows task bar. If I do that, the disk disappears and does not show up again unless the Z230 is rebooted. There are a number of suggestions to be found on the internet, none of which works. The BIOS does not have any options. Editing the Registry with various options and settings (i.e. "TratAsInternalPort", etc) does not work. The disks are all configured with WriteCache "on" as also suggested from various internet sources.

The Device manager tree has no "Dangs" in it. The entry under Storage controllers is  "Microsoft Storage Spaces Controller".

The System devices lists "Intel (R) 8-series/C220" dedicated chipset drivers loaded instead of what seems to be generic Microsoft drivers installed in a default W10 installation. There are no additional drivers loadable using W10 update service. I have found no other drivers on HP Support pages. Intel RST drivers will not load (hardware not compatible).

Suggestions, anyone?

[itsmyname]

@Ulf_K -- 

For system disk (0).

For CD/DVD (1)

and the other 3 ports

Presumably, those 3 ports are (2) and (3) and (4).  Correct?

The disk connected to port (5) 

Do you have 6 SATA sockets on the motherboard, numbered as (0) to (5) ?

Or, is (5) a "mapped" (across the network) a connection to a remote disk-drive?

Is it a locally-connected USB stick? Sometimes, the USB stick contains something that emulates a disk-drive.  That emulated disk-drive may contain some software -- usually device-driver software for the rest of the device. 

How large (Megabytes) is that (5) device?

Can you use the "diskmgmt" app to assign a drive-letter to (5), so that you can view the files/folders that it contains?

[Ulf_K]

Channels(Bus)/Disks

=================

Disk 0: SSD - System. Samsung EVO

Disk 1: CD/DVD TEAC Slim-Line (As delivered with the computer)

Disk 2: MB1000GCEEK HP-Branded disk.

Disk 3: WD2002FZEZX-00Z4SAO (WD "Black" 2TB)

Disk 5: Hitachi HDS721010CLA632, Deskstar 7K1000.C

(Suprized: No channel/Bus 4...)

All disks have drive letters and labels assigned to them.

No USB devices except mouse connected to the computer.

(Keyboard is a beloved old wonderful mechanic heavy IBM AT-style dating back to 1990 or so connected to the PS2-port)

The disks above are all internal to the system. None being mapped to any kind of network server or service.

Can it be that channel 5 is intended for ESATA and that this intention is "hidden" in the BIOS?

[DGroves]

you need to install the Intel ENTERPRISE RST driver for the C220 chipset

the Lenovo link provided below is a later version than what HP offers for the z230

https://support.lenovo.com/uy/en/downloads/ds103599

https://ftp.ext.hp.com/pub/caps-softpaq/cmit/HP_Driverpack_Matrix_x64.html

https://support.hp.com/us-en/drivers/selfservice/hp-z230-tower-workstation/5367825

[Ulf_K · Accepted solution]

Downloaded and installed the Enterprise RST as suggested by DGroves.

Rebooted...

Disk on port 5 still flagged "External" in the Intel RST GUI and Windows DeviceManager.

Rebooted into the BIOS and from there disabled the eSATA-functionality...

Rebooted and noticed that the Hitachi Disk on Bus (port) 5 is still there but now flagged "Internal".

That did the trick!

😀

[itsmyname]

@Ulf_K -- is this your computer: HP Z230 Tower Workstation Specifications | HP® Customer Support

This page states that there are FIVE SATA sockets, each at 6 Mbits/second.

So, on the motherboard, are they labelled (1) through (5), or as (0) through (4) ?

On the motherboard, close to those existing SATA sockets, is there an orderly grid of tiny circles of solder, as if the motherboard was designed to have SIX sockets, but you see those "dots" of solder, instead?

Perhaps, if that additional port was present, it would have been treated by the motherboard as the fifth socket, while the adjacent socket, which is present on your motherboard, would be treated by the motherboard as being the sixth socket.

So, your motherboard might be: (1) (2) (3) (4) (not installed) (6), 

or (0) (1) (2) (3) (not installed) (5).

So, when you write "Disk 5", it is actually connected to the 6th socket, because there is no 5th socket?

I did not see any mention about the motherboard having an eSATA sockets.

[Ulf_K]

There are 5 ports on the mobo. Numbered 0, 1, 2, 3 and 5. Number "0" is blue. Intended for the boot disk.

There is no number "4" Also, there are no locations elsewhere on the mobo with unpopulated SATA-connectors.

[itsmyname]

@Ulf_K -- There is no number "4".

Not even a 2-by-5 "grid" of dots of solder, where a USB socket would normally appear?

Yes, it seems that "4" has been rerouted, inside the motherboard, to an eSATA socket on the back-panel of the computer.  The only way to confirm this is to connect an eSATA device to the eSATA port, and then see if the motherboard reports something connected to "4".