x399 Taichi RAID issue

Mobo: Asrock  x399 Tr4 (P2.00 BIOS)
CPU: AMD threadripper 1900x
RAM: G.Skill 3200 DDR4  4x16gb
Storage:
1x Samsung 960 EVO 250GB NVEM
2x2GB Toshiba SATA HDD drives
1x500GB SATA HDD
Optical drive: One DVD-RW optical drive

This is my first build with an AMD processor (always built Intel rigs).  I am trying to setup a RAID and running into a lot of issues.  Upgraded the board to Bios 2.00 and running on the default bios configuration - no OC.

M.2 port: 250GB Samsung EVO
SATA Port#1: 1x2TB SATA HDD
SATA Port#2: 1x2TB SATA HDD
SATA Port#3: 500GB SATA HDD (with Windows 7 pulled from another PC and needs another thread to deal with the windows 7 issues on Tachi x399)
SATA Port#4: DVD drive

I first installed Windows 10 on the M.2 and can see all the drives in windows.  I just want to keep the 2TB disks for storage (no OS) so I only selected disks on port 1 and 2 for RAID 1 by following the AMD raid setup instructions.

When I booted into Windows 10, it can't see the RAID1 volume and 500GB hdd.  The DVD drive is missing as well.  The device manager has the exclamation overlay icon on the storage controller which I think is due to windows not have the RAID controller drivers.  I tried the drivers from Asus but no avail.  Windows driver update kept saying it can't install the driver. 

I am guessing if I manage to install the right RAID driver, all the SATA drives including the DVD drive should show up in windows.  Any suggestions?

Thanks

Thanks MisterJ for the signature suggestion.

Yes I created the RAID 1 using the RaidExpert2 (RX2) in UEFI/BIOS using SATA#1 and #2 ports.  I don't want to boot to the RAID 1 volume.  Those 2TB disks will be used for storage. 

The CSM is set to legacy for all the policies (storage, etc).  In fact, it didn't make any difference if they are all non-legacy.  SATA Mode is set to "RAID mode" and NVMe RAID is "disabled" in UEFI. 

If I configure bootable RAID1, it will be on the M.2 drives which at the moment has only one 250GB NVMe drive.  I am planning to configure the NVMe RAID sometimes later but for now I will boot off the Windows 10 on the Samsung EVO.   

I just simply want the SATA RAID controller use ONLY sata ports #1 and #2 for RAID1 and leave others as NON-RAID ports.  It seems the board converts all the SATA ports to RAID mode when the RAID mode is enabled.  This explains why my DVDRW drive on port #4 disappears when I log into windows.  I must be doing something wrong here for the SATA RAID controller to take over all the ports for RAID.  This wasn't the case on my old X58 Intel board.

I installed the RX2 on Windows but it wont let me login with the admin/admin for userid/pwd.  The submit button is grayed out.  The device manager also has the exclamation overlay on the storage icons which means Windows 10 is lacking the RAID controller driver.  I tried the driver on the disk came with the board and downloaded it from asrock and amd with no success.  Above all, I am disappointed that Asrock and/or AMD chose to install a web server to manage the RAID on Windows - one more attack surface for scumware to exploit.  I will uninstall it and manage RAID in UEFI.

I decided not to run Windows 7 on Threadripper as AMD won't support it.  So I went ahead and upgraded the W7 installations to W10.   




Edited by rocker7617 - 12 Feb 2018 at 12:52am

rocker7617, here is the ASUS reference:
https://rog.asus.com/forum/showthread.php?99520-Zenith-Extreme-Raid-NVME-Raid-SATA&highlight=raid
Here is the image - I think from the RX2, ASUS version:



No guarantee, but almost all the RAID support is from AMD not board vendor.  You may be plowing virgin soil for ASRock.  Please keep us informed.  You can try to make your DVD a VOLUME.  Enjoy, John.



Edited by MisterJ - 12 Feb 2018 at 4:56am

DVD shows up in Windows 10 if I set the SATA mode back to AHCI.  However, I can see the DVD in UEFI in SATA RAID mode as one of the disks available for RAID volume.  So Bios sees the drive but not Windows.

I did some googling on having optical drives on SATA ports in RAID mode.  I found the mobo needs to support optical drives on the RAIDed SATA ports but I can't seem to find any information on X399 Taichi.  I am sure I am not the only one with this situation.  I must admit the DVD drive is about 7 years old but I will buy the latest and greatest if I know exactly what's compatible on x399 Taichi.

 

rocker7617, try using one of connectors SATA3 Connectors (SATA3_A1_A2).  There are two SATA connectors that do not support RAID and I think these are the two.  They use the ASMedia ASM1061 controller.  Please let us hear.  Enjoy, John.