Need assistance with your HDD functionality?
Need assistance with your HDD functionality?
I'm at a complete loss here. I only come to Tom's when it's a last ditch effort, but the people here usually are the best at figuring this stuff out.
I've only had m.2's in this build, so I finally got a hdd for recording clips/general storage. I cannot get my WD Black HDDs to work. Notice there is an "s", because yes, I cannot get multiple HDDs to work. I've tried running a dedicated cable from the power supply, swapped the sata cable from the motherboard, got a USB to sata adapter, and every other thing recommended online. I had a 8TB drive, now I just bought a 10TB drive because I thought, maybe I bought a lemon. There is no way I got two bad WD Black hard drives in a row. No way God hates me that much. The only other thing that I've seen recommended that I haven't been able to do, was change a setting "AHCI" in the bios, that option does not exist anywhere in my BIOS, and I don't even see the drive showing up in BIOS. I have an ASUS ROG Strix Z790-F Gaming WIFI II motherboard running Windows 11. All drivers, firmware, BIOS, etc. is up to date. I've tried switching computers, two other laptops one that has Windows 10, and nothing works. I only get "no media" in disk management. I can't format it, nothing. I'm at my wits end since I've tried trouble shooting it for at least 12 hours over the past few days. The only thing I haven't tried is a random suggestion from a Reddit poster that seemed to have the same problem. They said they plugged it into a mac, was finally able to format it, and it worked with his main computer. No sure if that helps, but please, help me.
I've only had m.2's in this build, so I finally got a hdd for recording clips/general storage. I cannot get my WD Black HDDs to work. Notice there is an "s", because yes, I cannot get multiple HDDs to work
Please list the specs to your build like so:
CPU:
CPU cooler:
Motherboard:
Ram:
SSD/HDD:
GPU:
PSU:
Chassis:
OS:
Monitor:
include the age of the PSU apart from it's make and model. BIOS version for your motherboard at this moment of time. Would also be a good idea to mention which ports you'd tried hooking the HDD's to and what slots on your board are populated with M.2 drives as well as the slots on the PCIe expansion slots.
got a USB to sata adapter, and every other thing recommended online.
Can you include links to said contraptions?
Thank you for your reply.
Hardware details: Intel i7 13700k with 3400mhz base clock, Arctic Liquid Freezer III Pro 360 cooler, ASUS ROG Strix Z790-F Gaming WIFI II motherboard, Corsair Dominator Titanium RGB DDR5 RAM 32 GB (2x16GB) at 6000MHz CL30, two WD_BLACK SSDs and a SK hynix Platinum P41 2TB PCIe NVMe M.2 2280, MSI Gaming GeForce RTX 4070 Ti 12GB GDRR6X with HDMI/DP Nvlink Tri-Frozr 3 (RTX 4070 Ti Ventus 2X White 12G OC), Corsair RM850x 80 Plus Gold PSU (approximately 18 months old), and a Lian-Li O11 Dynamic EVO ATX mid-tower case with white finish.
Operating system: Microsoft Windows 11 Home (10.0.26100 Build 26100).
Display: 32" Samsung Odyssey G7 1440p, 240Hz (LC32G75TQSWXXL), and a 43" Samsung Odyssey Neo G7 4k 144hz UHD with 1ms HDR 600 Smart Gaming Monitor (LS43CG702NNXZA).
Apologies for the delay in gathering all the information.
BIOS version is 2001, which is the latest available, though I experienced issues with older BIOS versions. I also tested connecting every SATA port on the motherboard and swapped cables, but nothing resolved the problem. The NVMe SSD adapter is in the bottom slot, and the GPU is in the top PCI slot. Still uncertain if these changes would help.
Also, I eliminated the USB to SATA adapter. It seems it wasn’t providing sufficient power for the HDD. It worked with an SSD but not with the HDD. Eventually, it appeared on my roommate's machine after formatting, though it doesn’t show up on my computer. I plan to remove the SK Hynix via the PCI slot—perhaps that’s causing all the SATA ports to be disabled.
USB to SATA adapters require additional power to function with HDDs (the USB power from the port is enough for an SSD, but not for a HDD). In the BIOS, navigate to the advanced settings, then select Advanced - > PCH storage configuration. Ensure the SATA ports are activated.
After several more troubleshooting attempts, I'm running out of options.
From what I observe, you seem to have four M.2 NVMe storage units, one connected via a PCIe adapter, along with an 8TB drive and a 10TB drive.
My motherboard features five M.2 NVMe connections and four SATA interfaces. It's typical for boards to run out of PCIe lanes from the CPU and chipset, which often leads to a method known as "lane sharing."
This approach can cause some SATA ports to become inoperable when an M.2 device is installed, or it may prevent an M.2 slot from functioning properly. The total number of available lanes isn't sufficient to accommodate all possible hardware combinations.
I've reviewed your motherboard's user guide and found no reference to "lane sharing" or the disabling of SATA ports under certain conditions. If specific M.2 slots are filled with NVMe drives and PCIe cards are present, this is likely due to the limitations of the available lanes.
I suggest starting with a single M.2 NVMe drive—your Windows boot drive—in the nearest slot to the CPU socket.
You might try using the BIOS to see if the hard drives become active once other M.2 units are removed, then gradually add more drives until they're detected.
Assuming your drives are standard 3.5" models, they require both +12V and +5V power to operate. The +12V supply is essential for the motor that spins the platters in a hard disk; without it, 3.5" drives won't function.
2.5" drives and 2.5" SATA SSDs don’t need +12V—they rely solely on the +5V rail. This likely explains why USB-to-SATA adapters work well with 2.5" SSDs in laptops, but not with 3.5" hard disks. The missing +12V rail might be the issue.
As others have noted, you'll need a separate external power source if using a USB-to-SATA adapter with 3.5" drives. If the adapter is only compatible with 2.5" drives, it won't include a mains power supply.
When your motherboard finally recognizes your 8TB and 10TB drives, ensure the BIOS isn’t set to RAID mode—AHCI is usually the default.
If you encounter a blank hard disk that hasn’t been used before, you’ll need to partition it and format the new partition. These steps are related but distinct: you can partition the drive without immediately formatting it. Note that the drive won’t be useful for data storage until the partition is formatted. For 8TB or 10TB drives, use GPT partitioning (Windows Disk Manager typically offers this as the default).
A warning: GPT partitioning creates a small hidden partition (about 16MB) on the drive, visible in Disk Manager but not in File Manager. This can add complexity.
If you mistakenly choose MBR partitioning (more common with drives up to 2TB on older systems), you’ll end up with a maximum first partition size of 2TB on your larger drives, leaving unused space. You’d need to create additional partitions (up to three more) to utilize the remaining capacity. Stick with GPT for simplicity.
You can switch between MBR and GPT formats, but be cautious—this risks losing all data unless handled properly. For Windows 11, boot drives should use GPT, especially if you use the standard Microsoft Media Creation Tool to prepare a bootable USB drive.