Hi,

 

Thank you for your post and giving us an opportunity to assist you.

 

I understand that the internal SATA drives show in the notification area when you go to remove an external drive safely.

 

What is the make and model of the computer?

 

You can try these methods to check if the issue gets resolved.

Method 1: Update BIOS.

Please contact the system manufacturer to update the BIOS.

Note:Modifying BIOS/ complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) settings incorrectly can cause serious problems that may prevent your computer from booting properly. Microsoft cannot guarantee that any problems resulting from the configuring of BIOS/CMOS settings can be solved. Modifications of the settings are at your own risk.

 

Method 2: Update chipset drivers.

Please visit the system manufacturers website and download and install the latest chipset drivers for Windows 8.

 

Feel free to use the forum for any other Windows questions you may have.

Hi,

Thanks for the reply.

Yes, the internal SATA drives show all the time in the notification area to remove an external drive safely.

The computer is own built: motherboard Asus P5q Deluxe, cpu Intel Q9650, gpu GTX 470, ram G Skill 8Gb ddr2, hard drives, Intel 520 120Gb, Samsung 160Gb and Samsumg 320Gb.

I am using the latest BIOS update:

Brand    American Megatrends Inc.
Version    2301
Date    07/10/2009

As for chipset drivers, the latest offered by Asus are for Windows 7 64bit dated 2009. I tried to install these, but it said unsupported operating system. I also tried installing Intel Rapid Storage Technology, but this caused the system to hang on reboot.

So, I assume there is no solution to this problem in Windows 8?

We need a fix for this problem from someone who knows the Windows 8 registry.

In Windows 7 it is possible to set the SATA channels to "Treat as Internal Port".

Surely this can be done in Windows 8 also?

Microsoft needs to add an interface option to disable hot-plug per drive (someone log this request up the chain please).

 

Up until recently, installing Intel RST drivers made internal SATA hard drives register as fixed drives. Problem solved.

 

However, Intel have dropped support for older SATA controllers for Windows 8.1, which means that installing Intel RST may not be an option for many users (especially those with P5Q motherboards which have a controller that is no longer supported as of the latest driver pack). Apparently, Intel thinks the 8.0/8.1 transition is the ideal time to hit users for a motherboard upgrade, even though Microsoft intends it as a minor update!

 

Although Windows runs OK without the Intel drivers, there are problems:

 

• Internal hard drives can only be protected with BitLocker to Go and cannot be automatically unlocked when the system boots. This is a big problem!
  
• Windows Media Player displays some (smaller?) internal hard drives as portable music players for syncing. This can be disabled in Device Manager, so no problem.
  
• It is all too easy to accidentally disable an internal hard drive while ejecting a USB thumb drive or similar. Irritating, but probably not fatal for most systems.

luceberg I do not know why your system could not take the Intel RST. Did you install the latest Intel Chipset INF pack first? It's a pre-requisite. Download them from Intel directly to get the latest version of the INF pack and the second latest version of RST (check the readme file to make sure your controller is covered).

 

At this time, I do not know if Intel's driver policy stands in the way of a successful upgrade to Windows 8.1. The actual controller driver for P5Q (in the Intel INF pack) is Windows 8.1 certified, but the RST package is not. It may still work, for all we know.

Hi,

 

Actually, this is normal if your Bios is set for AHCI Mode for the SATA Drives and not IDE....

 

When in AHCI Mode, the drives are Hot-Swappable, and this makes it possible to "EJECT" them.

 

My machine is like this regardless as to whether I have Win 7 or 8 loaded....

 

The Reg Fix you mentioned is for an entirely different issue I think...

This has nothing to do with sata being confused with esata....

It is intentional for the purpose of hot-swapping drives...

 

It took me awhile to get used to it also....

Just Customize your Taskbar so that the icon isn't visible all of the time...

It is by design, but the "design" has issues in terms of practical use and bad consequences. Hiding the taskbar icon solves none of the problems mentioned above.

Thank you very much, Paul.  I had not installed the correct Intel RST. Now I have done so, only removeable drives show up in "safely remove hardware".  Thanks again.

• Windows Media Player displays some (smaller?) internal hard drives as portable music players for syncing. This can be disabled in Device Manager, so no problem.

There is no 'msahci' in Windows 8 so solution you mentioned wont work,  but there is another way, go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\storahci\Parameters\Device look for value 'IgnoreHotPlug' open it and add hardware id for hard drive, for example: