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SATA in "safely remove hardware"

Discussion in 'Windows XP' started by johnsdp, 2007/12/30.

  1. 2007/12/30
    johnsdp

    johnsdp Well-Known Member Thread Starter

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    I know this is not really a problem but it still bugs me.
    I put together 2 machines using foxconn MB and seagate sata HDs.
    The first time I used a flash drive the "safely remove hardware" icon showed up in the task bar as expected. However it also has listed the SA3954 Drive C:/ as a removable device, which it is as it is a "hot swap" device.
    Actually XP will not let me remove it if I try.
    I found a thread on another site that said this was the solution:
    If you have a Nforce4 Based Motherboard and your sata drives are showing up in Safely Remove Hardware, this registry hack will allow you to fix it.

    1. Click Start -> Run
    2. Execute regedit
    3. Navigate to

    HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\nvata

    4. Click Edit
    5. Select New > DWORD value
    6. Name this DWORD: DisableRemovable
    7. Double click this new DWORD and set its value to one (1).
    8. Close Regedit and reboot

    If you guys think this will remove the HD from the "safely remove" list I will try it.
    The foxconn MB specs are:

    Intel® Coreâ„¢2 Quad, Coreâ„¢2 Extreme, Coreâ„¢2 Duo, Pentium® D, Pentium® 4, Celeron® D processors, Socket T (LGA775)
    - FSB 1066 / 800 / 533 MHz
    - DDR2 667/533/400 x 2 DIMMs, Max 4GB
    - 1 x PCIe x16, 1 x PCIe x1, 2 x PCI
    - ATA x2, SATA x2 with RAID 0, 1, JBOD
    - 7.1 channel Audio, HDA (Realtek)
    - 10/100M LAN (Realtek)
    I am guessing that I would need to replace "nvata" in the HKEY entry in my key search but to what?
    Also is there really a reason to use "safely remove" for anything other than an external hard drive? I could just always hide the icon I suppose.
    Thanks in advance,
    Dan
     
    johnsdp,
    #1
  2. 2007/12/30
    PeteC

    PeteC SuperGeek Staff

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    Dan

    SATA drives are generally hot unpluggable and will show up in Safely Remove Hardware. I have 3x SATA drives on my desktop (Nforce4) and all show up in SRH - no problem:) And - no- Windows will not allow you to disconnect the drive on which it is loaded no more that it will allow it to be formatted from within Windows :)

    Personally I would live with it and leave the Registry alone. Removing the drive(s) from SRH is hardly a 'biggie' IMHO.
    Yes, if you consider a CF card to be a drive - which it is. If you remove while read/write operations are in progress data may be lost or corrupted. The other potential problem is the creation of phantom drives .....

    Here is the full story courtesy of Fred Langa and Windows Secrets with the full monty from MS ....
     
    PeteC,
    #2


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  4. 2007/12/30
    Christer

    Christer Geek Member Staff

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    A while ago, for a friend, I built and installed a system based on a Gigabyte motherboard. A month or so ago, the user had problems and while investigating I used Ghost to roll further and further back. Finally, I was restoring the first Image of Windows XP clean, nothing else. When I installed the motherboard drivers, nVidia threw a warning popup that their IDE drivers, under normal circumstances, are not needed. I thought for a second and went ahead with the installation. After that, the SATA drives were listed as removable, with the icon in the Notification Area and all. After restoring the first Image once again ... :rolleyes: ... and avoiding being smart, there was no removable SATA's in the lower left corner ... :cool: ... and nVidia were right, the IDE drivers were not needed!

    Christer
     
    Christer,
    #3
  5. 2007/12/30
    mattman

    mattman Inactive Alumni

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    If you go to Device Manager, find the listing for the Hard Disk Drive, right-click on the drive and select Properties, on the Policies tab, you will find some options related to Safe Removal. I cannot test it with my configuration, but there are options for "quick removal ", but my fixed disks are set to "Optimize for performance" (and the box for "Enable write caching on the disk" is checked). Pete might know more about it.

    Matt
     
    mattman,
    #4
  6. 2007/12/31
    PeteC

    PeteC SuperGeek Staff

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    The Options I have differ a little from Matt's....

    For any 'fixed' drive, I have 3x SATA drives installed with 17 partitions in all and for removable drives - USB pen drives of various makes/sizes and for card readers with an SD of CF card installed - the options are Optimise for Performance and Optimise for Quick Removal.

    By default the fixed drives are set to the Performance option which enables write caching and the removable drives to quick removal. I have no other check box for write caching, neither are any options greyed out. I suspect this behaviour is a feature of the IDE ATA/ATAPI controllers - mine are nForce4.

    With the Safely Remove Hardware icon permanently in the Notification area I have no idea if it would appear when a removable drive is plugged into USB although it is added to the existing list.

    Out of habit I always Safely Remove. An interesting point - my monitor calibration device - GretaMacbeth Eye-One Display 2 appears in the Safely Remove list although it is a spectrometer and not a drive.

    Christer

    You need IDE drivers for the optical drives unless, of course they are SATA. If my memory serves me well declining to install the nVidia drivers leaves the Windows IDE drivers in place without overwriting them. I think the nVidia IDE drivers are an enhancement of the Windows drivers - vaguely remember the message says something along the lines of increased performance.
     
    PeteC,
    #5
  7. 2007/12/31
    Christer

    Christer Geek Member Staff

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    Pete,
    I don't remember the exact words but the message was that the Windows IDE drivers work well in most cases and to not install the nVidia IDE drivers unless something doesn't work. "Something" could be a SATA connected via USB (my interpretation).

    Christer
     
    Christer,
    #6
  8. 2007/12/31
    PeteC

    PeteC SuperGeek Staff

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    Yes - it was something like that :)
     
    PeteC,
    #7
  9. 2008/01/01
    johnsdp

    johnsdp Well-Known Member Thread Starter

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    OK, thanks for the replies, I can live with the hard drive listed but....
    The other odd thing is that I installed a card reader in the front case and it is plugged into a port (9 pin usb) that is the same color and configuration as the front USB ports.
    I left this unit unplugged until XP was installed so my DVD would become D:/.
    After connecting this card reader into the MB the drives E:/ through H:/ were assigned and they too show up in the safely remove icon even if there are no cards plugged in. It seems to be recognized at boot because when a put an SD card in and look at the pictures then click on the "USB mass storage device" (that is what windows is calling this reader), it says safe to remove. I then pull the card and the "USB mass storage device" disappears from the safe to remove list until the next restart when it shows up again with all 4 lettered drives.
    I remove power from all components (monitor, speaker amp and PC) using the switch on my power strip after windows shuts off my PC.
    I notice however that when I restore power, a led lights up on the card reader before I even power up the PC.
    I have the start sequence in the BIOS to check other devices after C:/ and D:/. There is no floppy drive.
    Do you think if I uncheck "other devices" in the boot sequence it will not list the card reader until I put in a card? Apparently the USB ports are hot when power is interrupted.
    You guys always have the answers and have helped save a couple old machines I had. So I mean it when I say Thanks,
    Dan

    PS: I will be looking for reasons why my other kid's machine has started to do very slow boots on the other threads in XP
     
    johnsdp,
    #8
  10. 2008/01/03
    PeteC

    PeteC SuperGeek Staff

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    Dan

    All I can say is that what you see is pretty much par for the course - I see the same on mine and others computers with card readers. I don't have a permanently wired in card reader, but if I plug in an empty reader the light on it flashes as Windows recognises it and it is shown in Device Manager and Safely Remove Hardware. That's the way it is :)
     
    PeteC,
    #9

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