Z77X-UP7 Marvell controller doesn't "see" DVD

[Firefly]

I recently acquired this board and encountered this strange situation.

My setup:
GA-Z77X-UP7 running F5 bios
i7 3770k
2x 2GB Geil DDR3 1600 CL8 (This is only temporary, gonna get me 16GB when the price is right)
Gigabyte GTX Titan
OCZ Vertex 2 160GB SSD
2x Hitachi 2TB HDD
some LG internal DVD writer

This is what I did with the 10 SATA ports I had at my disposal:
SATA3_0 - SSD
SATA3_1 - HDD
SATA2_2 through SATA2_5 - empty
SATA3_6 - HDD
SATA3_7 - DVD
SATA3_8 - empty
SATA3_9 - casing eSATA
In case anyone is not familiar, SATA3_0 through SATA2_5 are controlled by the Z77 chipset, while the remainder are controlled by the 2 Marvells.

Now before we continue, yes I know I can probably shift the SSD and DVD to the SATA2 ports with no performance loss, but I just want my SSD to be listed first during POST, followed by my 2 HDDs and lastly the DVD.

So after plugging everything in, I powered up the board and entered the bios. Surprisingly, my DVD went "missing" from the bios. Only my 2TB HDD was shown connected to the Marvell controller. At first I suspected a faulty port, so I switched the connections between my HDD and DVD. Same result. Then, I disconnected the HDD altogether and the DVD popped up in the bios. For the sake of science, I replaced the DVD connection with the other 2TB HDD. Both appeared in the bios just fine.

I brought the board back to the local distributor and they were equally baffled by what I found. Here comes the tricky part. With their test rig (1 HDD running OS on SATA3_0, 1 HDD on SATA3_6, 1 DVD on SATA3_7), we booted into Windows 7 and installed the driver for the Marvell controllers. To our surprise, both the HDD and DVD appeared and were fully accessible, even though the DVD did not show up in the bios.

Does anyone have any ideas why this is happening? Is it a "bug" of the Marvell controllers or the bios?

[Firefly]

Nobody has any idea?

[ysw]

SATA3_6 & 7 should have one kind of device.  HDD either ODD.
SATA3_8 & 9 should have one kind of device.  HDD either ODD.
it's marvell chip limitation.
you may have your ODD on SATA3_6 &7.
put your HDD and esata HDD on SATA3_8 & 9.

[Firefly]

For a supposedly high end board, this kind of limitation is very odd. Furthermore, I do not see any other motherboards with the same issue.

If it is a marvell chip limitation, why am I able to see both HDD and ODD after driver is installed in Windows?

[dmdilks]

There are 2 different controllers for the sata connection. Intel & Marvell. Everything that you connect to that board will show up in the bios.

You just have to look for it. The UEFI is a lot different from the old legacy bios. You shouldn't connect you DVD to the Marvell ports.

Ok lets get started:

The white ports are Intel 6 gbs. Any thing that is 6 gbs can be connected to these ports. Like SSD & HD's

The Black ports are  Intel 3 gbs Any thing that is 3 gbs like DVD, DVD/Rw, & HD's

The Gray ports are Marvell 6 gbs. Any thing that is 6 gbs can be connected to these ports. Like SSD & HD's

The white Intel 6 gbs ports are really faster than the gray Marvell 6gbs ports. But there is pro's & con's about these ports.

Yes you can connect any thing to any port but connecting you DVD & DVD/rw is a waste of time. To the Marvell ports.

That is why they are still Intel 3 gb ports on the board for them. So connect you slower drives to these ports.

There is nothing wrong with the board it is how you have everything connected to the board.

How I Have my drives connected:

The SSD is connected to the 6gb Intel ports - White

The DVD, DVD/rw & the Blueray/rw are connected the 3gb Intel ports. - Black

The two 10,000 rpm raptors 6gb are connected to the Marvell ports. - Gray

[Firefly]

I know that there are 2 different controllers. Technically speaking there are 3 - 1 Intel and 2 Marvell, but that's besides the point.

I also know that the UEFI bios shows devices differently compared to the older bioses. I've checked the device listing under the Marvell controllers and my DVD doesn't show up there, only my HDD, despite the fact that I have both connected to the same Marvell controller.

And finally, I know that connecting the DVD to a SATA 6Gbps port is a waste of resources. But that's not the point here. Regardless of the brand of the controller, if you plug in 2 devices, you expect to see 2 devices show up in the bios. Right now I'm only seeing one. What further complicates the matter is that after installing the Marvell driver in Windows I can see both devices in Windows, even though in the bios I can only see the HDD.

[dmdilks]

I have been doing some reading and the Marvell controller should see it with it set to IDE for the DVD.

[Firefly]

Setting the DVD port to IDE is not an optimal solution either, since the DVD is obviously native SATA. Also, the marvell controller sees the DVD just fine if I remove the HDD. It's when I plug in both the HDD and the DVD, then the marvell controller decides that the DVD drive doesn't "exist", but lets it show up again in Windows after the drivers are installed.

I know I sound quite obstinate wanting a good explanation for this, but this is not a cheap motherboard after all and I expect everything to work properly. If it is indeed a limitation of the marvell controller, at least there should be some official documentation on it. Otherwise, I'm inclined to think that it is a bios issue.

[dmdilks]

I just tried it on mine x79 boards and it did the same thing. You have to set one of gsata to IDE.

It will still run at the same speed. DVD CD & DVD\rw yes are native sata. 

But to have it so you can see it in the bios you have to it set to IDE. I'm sorry but that is how it works.

If you feel that I'm wrong and there is a problem with controller email or call support and they will most likely tell you the same thing.

Like I said that my two x79 boards are doing the same thing as your  board is doing.