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Repeated Drive Failure on GA-X79-UD3

Repeated Drive Failure on GA-X79-UD3
« on: April 29, 2012, 08:57:50 pm »
Hi All,
I'm working on a new build.
GA-X79-UD3 Rev1 Mobo updated with latest F10 Firmware
Intel i7-3939K CPU @3.2 Ghz (Not Overclocked)
16 GB Corsair Vengeance in 4 -4GB sticks
Corsair Hydro H100 CPU Cooler
Maxtor M3940 Quad video card  (fine for me as I need 4 displays, but not for gaming)
OCX 1000W PSU
Hitachi 500GB SATA Boot drive connected to Marvell controller. (AHDI)
Two Hitachi BluRay R/W drives on Marvel controller (AHDI)
RAID 5 array on Intel SATA controller connected as follows:
Port 0 thru 3 - Seagate ST31000340AS 1TB SATA drive
Port 4 - Westrn Digital WDC-WD10EADS 1TB SATA drive
Port 5 - N/C

Windows 7 64 bit Service Pack 1
The board is stable and has been running for a few weeks without any issues  - except for a few listed below

Problem 1
A few hours after installing the RAID 5 array and formatting the set, the drive in slot 1 failed.
The array is now degraded, with the drive in slot 1 not recognized by the BIOS or by windows. Running the Intel RSTe 3.0.0.1112 utility shows the drive on that port as “missing”.
OK, I thought. I had a drive fail. It happens. This is why they invented RAIDs in the first place.
2 weeks later (PC running the whole time with Array in degraded mode, but essentially empty)
New drive arrived and replaced with an identical unit (same model and size, but different firmware and date code), set it up to do a repair.
When the repair was at 92%, the repair process stopped, and the array returned to “degraded”. Looking further, I was shocked to see that the new drive (same port as before) had also failed. Same scenario. Can’t be seen by windows or BIOS.
Well, before I connect any more drives to that port, or start swapping cables, etc – I wanted to see if anyone has seen this before.
FWIW, the case is well ventilated, and all of the drives are arranged in hot swap trays with good airflow.

Problem 2
After resuming from sleep, the RAID array is gone. A reboot is required to get it back.
Found a Windows 7 64 bit hotfix from like 2010 that allowed more time for a large array to come online after sleeping, but running it did no good. It comes back and says that the hotfix isn’t applicable to this computer and quits.
Anyone see this problem before and know of a fix?

Problem 3
This is more of a gripe, as I think it’s a board limitation more than a problem.
I wanted to have two RAIDS in this build. A set of 500 GB OS boot drives (RAID 1) plus a 5-disk 3.4 TB RAID 5 array for data.
Well after trying various arrangements, I came to the conclusion that the board would not support booting from the Marvell controller as long as the Intel controller was set to RAID.
I can’t connect 5 drives to the Marvell controller and call it one array, so I have to use the Intel controller for that, which means booting from the Marvell.
So I was just wondering if anyone knows of a fix for this. Has anyone been able to have two RAID Arrays, one bootable RAID 1 for OS, and a RAID 5 for data successfully on this mobo?
Thanks in advance.

-CL