Z97 Extreme 6 ASmedia 106 Hot Plug Issue

Ok, I understand all your answers perfectly.

Isn't that ASMedia SATA driver a piece of work? You have the Policies tab with one version, and not on another, with the same version of Windows. That makes no sense, unless it was removed so the other driver version would work with different versions of Windows. I assume you tried the ASMedia 2.0.8.0 version?

Frankly, I would not worry about using the ASMedia SATA driver. I would try the standard MSoft Windows 7 AHCI driver, msahci. If you still want to try fixing the issue, even with the software you now use to spin down the drives, you could try that driver. Personally, I would use msahci.

You don't need to download msahci, it is part of your Win 7 installation. You could do an Update Driver in Device Manager, on the ASMedia SATA controller. Select the Browse my computer for driver software, and then Let me pick from a list... on my computer. The list you'll get should have an entry called Standard SATA AHCI Controller. That is the msahci driver.

I would not be surprised if you get the Policies tab with the msahci driver. If the drives do not spin down using the msahci driver with Windows 7 configured to do so, the ASMedia SATA controllers firmware could be the problem. Updating the firmware will likely be as productive as different versions of the ASMedia driver, and the firmware update is not commonly available. Would I even trust doing that firmware update?

BTW, the ASRock Rapid SATA Switch works on the Intel SATA chipset only. When you run it, you also must manually change the SATA mode in the UEFI/BIOS to match your mode selection.

If you changed the Intel SATA mode to IDE, run it again and set it to AHCI. Then restart the PC into the UEFI/BIOS, and check the Intel SATA mode. The default is AHCI, which I hope you are using. It's the preferred option for SSDs and HDDs, if only for the increase in performance.

Raddo wrote: I have setup a File server using Windows 7 with an Extreme6 z97. All the ports are populated with various SATA drives of make and model. The issue I have is that I have a "safely remove hardware" option for the drives connected to the Asmedia 106. In the BIOS I have set the system up so they are not hot swappable and I have tried a few differemt drives as according to some posts, I should see a "Policies" tab in the device manager under the properties. My concern is that the drive wont "spin down" to save power as its performance indicates that it is staying up. Can anyone shed some light on this issue? Thanks

The SATA mode for the ASMedia SATA controllers is set to what in the UEFI/BIOS?

What driver are you using for the ASMedia SATA ports? Standard Windows or ASMedia?

Are you saying you are not seeing a Policies tab in Device Manager for your drives on the ASMedia SATA ports?

The drive spin down is controlled by Windows, in the Advanced Power Plan option setting, Hard Disk, Turn off hard disk after setting. By default that is set to 20 minutes. Try setting it to a shorter time and see if they spin down.

If the drives on the ASMedia SATA ports do not spin down, that could be a driver issue, or a issue with the drive itself. The Safely Remove Hardware option being enabled with hot swap disabled in the UEFI sounds like a driver issue.

Can you detect a difference between the same drive in the Intel SATA ports and the ASMedia regarding spin down?

The Intel SATA chipset, when used with the Intel IRST driver, has configurable power saving options for attached drives. You won't get that level of sophistication with the ASMedia SATA ports.

Did you try enabling the Aggressive SATA Link Power Management option in the UEFI, Storage Configuration screen?

I don't understand how you are judging the power saving by the drives "performance.".

I have setup a File server using Windows 7 with an Extreme6 z97. All the ports are populated with various SATA drives of make and model.

The issue I have is that I have a "safely remove hardware" option for the drives connected to the Asmedia 106. In the BIOS I have set the system up so they are not hot swappable and I have tried a few differemt drives as according to some posts, I should see a "Policies" tab in the device manager under the properties.

My concern is that the drive wont "spin down" to save power as its performance indicates that it is staying up.

Can anyone shed some light on this issue?

Thanks


Edited by Raddo - 06 Jun 2016 at 9:16pm