HDD seen by Windows but not by the BIOS (kind of)

I am running Win 7 Pro 64 bit.
My MB is an ASUS A8N32 SLI-Deluxe w/BIOS 1405

I installed a 3rd SATA HDD.
My problem was that 2 of the 4 SATA ports on the south bridge were blocked by my graphics card.
I had another port that is described as a Silicon Images SATA port for a RAID configuration with eSATA. (I have nothing hooked to eSATA port.) So I connected the HDD to this port.

Windows configured it just fine. It looks good and seems to work well. But it does not show up in the BIOS listed with the other SATA Drives. However, it does show up when I drill down into RAID BIOS.

My question: Is this going to be a problem down the road? I do not plan to use it for anything other than data storage.

Any assistance is appreciated.

 

you mean you can't access to 2 SATA ports because your graph card is over them?

 

Yes. The card is so long (GTX260) that it blocks SATA1 & 2. I tried using a 90deg SATA plug, but it stuck out just far enough for the graphics card to not seat reliably in the PCIe slot.

 

Hmm...

I readed the specifications of your MoBo, there's 2 PCI x16 slots for your graphic card, did you tried to connect the Graph card in the other PCI x16 slot?

Maybe it give to you the extra space needed.

*****************************************Graph Card*****
Designed for PCI Express 2.0 x16 (PCI Express 2.0 devices are backwards-compatible with PCI
Express 1.x devices)
*********************************************************
----------------------------------------------MoBo Connectors-------
2 PCI Express x16
--------------------------------------------------------------------------

I didn't read whole document because it's a few errors on the Asus Website, but you can take a look over it i guess.

 

Thanks for taking the time to research this.

Moving to the other PCIx16 slot just blocks SATA 3 & 4 leaving me in the same boat.

 

I see.. it's really big then... obviously i can't calculate size using images, now, you're connecting the HDD in that Orange SATA right?

 

Well, i had to read a lot to have an idea about it, i guess the simple description of that port ("orange, were i guess you connected your hard drive") is used for some purpouses (it supports RAID configs) and as storage too, this is in the MoBo manual:

Storage
Silicon Image® 3132 SATA controller supports:
- 1 x Internal Serial ATA device (3 Gb/s)
- 1 x External Serial ATA device (3 Gb/s)
(for SATA On-The-Go)
- RAID 0 and RAID 1 configurations

That's the connector you are using (if it is the orange that i attached in the image)

I found this article, maybe make you have a better idea than me:

http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/108191-30-silicon-image-3132-controller-this

This is the manual of Mobo:

http://dlsvr.asus.com/pub/ASUS/mb/socket939/A8N32-SLI Deluxe/E2280_A8N32-SLI_Dlx.pdf

I don't see problem to use it with an HDD even it is listed as a port in "Storage!!", iif you found something do not hesitate to feedback us!!

 

Yes, it is a really big graphics card. It is just easier when you block the top slots rather than the bottom.

You are correct about the port. It is the "orange" one (on my card they are all orange, but the port I refer to is the one that is orange on the card in the image)

I have been using it now for almost a week with no ill effect. I just was not sure. My reading indicated that it was for creating a RAID across an external and internal SATA setup. That is reinforced by the fact that I find it in the RAID BIOS. My original thought was that it would be OK for storage purposes, but since I have little RAID experience I figured I would throw it out there and see if someone knew different.

Thanks.

 

Ok, no problem, i readed in other forums that is a expansion to connect extra SATA drives.

Cheers.