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I've been meaning to explore the SATA ports on my new computer for some time (almost 2 years now!)--just haven't put aside the necessary time.....

I've known from the start that what's in the User Guide, what's reported in the BIOS, and what I see during the POST of the system during boot up do not seem to match up very well. 

I have recently been exploring the USB controllers and their corresponding USB ports on several of my systems (see here:  USB Controllers and BIOS Interaction ), and the subject regarding SATA ports came up.

So, I have started this new thread, copied a couple posts from that other thread here, and will start mapping the SATA ports and how they are listed in the BIOS and POST in the near future, and I will report what I find here.....

Hi NightOwl!

Just to let you know that I'm reading your posts with interest but have nothing to contribute. I have actually wondered how the BIOS reads the SATA ports to display them in such a "random" order at bootup. Maybe that's only Gigabyte ... :-/ ... ?

(Rhetorical question, not hijacking your thread!)

@ Christer


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(Rhetorical question, not hijacking your thread!)

Not to worry--it's a little different topic, but of a similar nature!


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I have actually wondered how the BIOS reads the SATA ports to display them in such a "random" order at bootup. Maybe that's only Gigabyte

I understand completely--I too have a newer Gigabyte system--I think we built our systems about the same time--mine is the following:

GA-P55A-UD4P (rev. 1.0)

What is your model?

The BIOS shows a possible 13 IDE Channel connections--but the BIOS list does not specify which ones are the SATA ports (6-SATA2, 2-SATA3, 2-eSATA) and/or 2 PATA devices--and those add up to 12 and not 13 possible devices!  And the channel numbering skips channels 5 and 8

If you look at the motherboard user guide, the ports on the motherboard are identified and numbered--and there are a possible 12 devices that can be hooked up--but they do not correspond to the channel numbering in the BIOS.  And there is no 13th hookup for a 13th device. 

And during the POST, 2 of the channels listed in the BIOS do not show up in the list of possible devices and channels in the POST screen--so that screen is down to only 11 possible channels.

So....what does that all mean ......   :o ! 

I plan on mapping which motherboard port goes to which POST channel and BIOS listing--if you want to start another thread and explore the possibilities, that would be fine with me.

NightOwl,
thanks for your immediate response and interest!

My model is the GA-870A-UD3 (rev. 2.1) which was built in late 2010. A few months earlier, I built a system for a friend based on the Gigabyte GA-P55A-UD4 but have no information on which revision.

I remember that, in both cases, hooking up the devices to the physical ports SATA_1 (master HDD), SATA_2 (mobile rack for removable HDDs) and SATA_3 (DVD-ROM) on the board did not result in a corresponding list during bootup.


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And there is no 13th hookup for a 13th device.

Isn't that the middle connector on the IDE-cable?


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I plan on mapping which motherboard port goes to which POST channel and BIOS listing--if you want to start another thread and explore the possibilities, that would be fine with me.

Let's put the SATA-issue on hold until the USB-issue has been explored.

The last 3 Posts were moved here from PC Hardware + Software (except Cloning programs) by NightOwl.

@ Christer


Christer wrote on Mar 6^th, 2013 at 1:57am:

Let's put the SATA-issue on hold until the USB-issue has been explored.

I have already started a new topic thread here:  SATA HDD Ports, BIOS, and POST Info Mismatch

I'm in no hurry as far as getting the exploration of the issue done--so you shouldn't feel compelled to do so either.  I will have to open the case and trace all the SATA communication cables (I thought I had recorded that--but can not find it--buried in some obscure, forgotten notepad somewhere I'm sure!).

I'm also waiting for an *eSATA* to SATA hookup cable that I've ordered, so I can attach one of my spare SATA HDDs through the eSATA ports on the back I/O panel to see where those show up in the BIOS and POST listing of HDDs.

So, it will be a while before I continue with additional post to that thread.

The last 1 Posts were moved here from PC Hardware + Software (except Cloning programs) by NightOwl.

@ Christer


Christer wrote on Mar 6^th, 2013 at 1:57am:

My model is the GA-870A-UD3 (rev. 2.1) which was built in late 2010.

I remember now....you decided to stay with an AMD based motherboard--I thought you had sworn off AMD after we discovered the performance lose when booted to DOS and using Ghost for backups on your old system :) !  Well, it is a more economical choice!  And, probably that issue of almost 10 years ago probably no longer exists....


Christer wrote on Mar 6^th, 2013 at 1:57am:

Isn't that the middle connector on the IDE-cable?

Made me go back and look at my notes--and the possible 12 devices that I counted included the 2 possible PATA master/slave positions on the one PATA IDE channel that is available.  So that 13th device option is still a mystery.