3 SSD Limit

Hi All

I am having problems with my PC and it looks like I will have to do a complete reinstall again.

I don't know why I am having issues, though, but one thing that may be a problem is that I am using 4 SSDs. I have an Asus Z97-P motherboard and in the manual it says I can only use 3 SSD. It doesn't say why and I have scoured the internet looking for an answer to that and found nothing at all.

With my old set up, I had 3 evo 850 SSD and it worked well. I then added the 4th, which is an M2 style that slots into the motherboard, rather than a SATA slot - a Crucial stick. All working fine together.

If having 4 SSD is what is causing problems, it's easy to fix - but I don't know the reason for the maximum of 3. Do they simply mean that any more than 3 won't perform optimally? I really can't see how having more would be a problem otherwise.

I could just carry on and ignore those issues and hope for the best - but I have a nasty feeling that one day in the near future it will come back and bite me. So I'm thinking a complete clean out and reinstall is the way to go.

But I keep coming back to that 3 SSD limit thing. Anyone got any idea why it's there? And what the consequences of more SSD are?

I'm reinstalling anyway - all deactivated/backed-up etc and I'll wait for 2.5 before reactivating anything again.

Still keen to hear any info on why it's a max of 3 SSD though.

i read your manual, it doesnt mention the usual limitation as with more recent chipsets, for example my z270 + z370 boards can have 6 sata + 1 nvme____or___ 4 sata + 2 nvme.

it should work !

if, than make sure you use sata 1 + 2 + 3 + nvme.....not 1 + 2or3 + 4 + nvme, maybe they just forgot to mention that. leave #4 free and check.

also, is the m2 a sata or nvme ? sata will share conns with one of the 4 standard sata, nvme may run alone but kill a pci slot, or two of them

sadly, the spec page at asus for your board is blank, very strange

Thanks for the reply - yes, I am using 1,2 & 3 for my evo 850 SSDs and I have just reinstalled and so far no issues - so fingers crossed, it should be okay.

The M2 socket 3 SSD I am using as the Windows drive - it should be okay for this mobo, as it was the recommended option that I bought (using Crucial's own tool) - it's a type 2242 - apparently this is only supported by Rev.2 and up. All it seems to say about this SSD in the manual is that it can be used with a device in the PCIe slot for RAID.

I see the part about this slot being PCIe connected - so as you say, it probably disables one slot (though there is no info on that).

I have just had another look through the manual and the online info and I can't find the 3 SSD limit info - I know I did a lot of research before I bought the SSDs and again when I bought the socket 3 stick, because I don't have money to waste on stuff I can't use, and this definitely came up. I was going to simply take out my smallest evo 850 if there was a problem.

Anyway, thanks for looking - I'll keep an eye out and see if I come across that limit info again.

You should be able to use as many ssds as there are sata ports in your motherboard. I am currently using 5 sata drives without issues.

I am using 3 ssd's and 3 hdd's no space on the mobo for an optical drive though:music_whistling:

Brix I have an expansion card for PCi in my old build that worked excellently for adding drives and giving 6Gb/s speeds (x58 has 3Gb/s sata1) They are remarkably cheap for a PC component and well worth the cost if your stuck

You should be able to use as many ssds as there are sata ports in your motherboard. I am currently using 5 sata drives without issues.

Most M.2 slot-equipped motherboards disable certain SATA ports when the M.2 slots are used.

Brix I have an expansion card for PCi in my old build that worked excellently for adding drives and giving 6Gb/s speeds (x58 has 3Gb/s sata1) They are remarkably cheap for a PC component and well worth the cost if your stuck

Yeah, I was looking at those in case I couldn't use the 4 - but as it worked, I bought a 2TB SATA drive for the 4th SATA connector and now have more space than I can fill. SSD space is at a premium, though - I have a 120, two 240's and a 525GB SSD and it still isn't enough! :helpsmilie:

I just finished installing Win 10 again and so far so good - though there are still strange things happening, such as programs refusing to run that I never had issues with in the past (like Oculus Tray Tool is the latest)

Most M.2 slot-equipped motherboards disable certain SATA ports when the M.2 slots are used.

all recent z170, z270 z370 x370 b350 b250 at least do, if their sata is fully built on board.

too few pcie lanes

Most M.2 slot-equipped motherboards disable certain SATA ports when the M.2 slots are used.

Yup, for my EVGA Z370 Classified, if the 2nd M.2 (for NVMe) is used, SATA 1 gets disabled.

Here's something really weird - I'm struggling to run some progs, as I mentioned - but one of them keeps crashing and showing the error:

I have 16GB of 2133MHz DDR3 and have repeatedly tested it and it shows no issues at all.

The virtual memory was set on C: - so on the M2 Socket 3 SSD

I disabled the virtual memory but the same error comes up. I read that modern Windows uses the hard drive to swap files if no virtual memory is set, and that some older or older achitecture progs rely on virtual memory even if it isn't actually needed.

I had been convinced the issues were due to something missing from Windows that would probably eventually turn up through either updates or installing other progs, but now I'm thinking there is indeed an error somewhere - and the M2 is looking like the prime suspect. At the end of the day it's like this: Using evo 850 SSD for O/S = no issues at all. Using M2 socket 3 SSD for O/S (twice now) = banging head on the wall all day, every day!

Strange thing is that apart from a handful of utilities, everything else is working just great.

UPDATE: Set 4GB virtual memory on one of the evo 850 SSDs and still got the protected memory write error. This is a relatively old program, though - about 10 years old, so I'm not 100% convinced that the error statement is correct.

I set my Vmem to a fixed size, 16GB or 8GB, just some and dont take too little.

I have had them on SSD, HDD, both, now they are on my 2 HDD only and it also works, no issues.

YOu can check if you actually have all relevant .net installed by checkings ms downlaod page.

download them all that apply for 10-64 and reinstall each one. SOmetimes that helps, no garanty tho.

Here's something really weird - I'm struggling to run some progs, as I mentioned - but one of them keeps crashing and showing the error:

 

 

I have 16GB of 2133MHz DDR3 and have repeatedly tested it and it shows no issues at all.

 

The virtual memory was set on C: - so on the M2 Socket 3 SSD

 

I disabled the virtual memory but the same error comes up. I read that modern Windows uses the hard drive to swap files if no virtual memory is set, and that some older or older achitecture progs rely on virtual memory even if it isn't actually needed.

 

I had been convinced the issues were due to something missing from Windows that would probably eventually turn up through either updates or installing other progs, but now I'm thinking there is indeed an error somewhere - and the M2 is looking like the prime suspect. At the end of the day it's like this: Using evo 850 SSD for O/S = no issues at all. Using M2 socket 3 SSD for O/S (twice now) = banging head on the wall all day, every day!

 

Strange thing is that apart from a handful of utilities, everything else is working just great.

 

UPDATE: Set 4GB virtual memory on one of the evo 850 SSDs and still got the protected memory write error. This is a relatively old program, though - about 10 years old, so I'm not 100% convinced that the error statement is correct.

Could be something wrong with your .Net install. You can always uninstall and reinstall.

Control Panel, Uninstall a Program, On the left select "Turn Windows features on or off", then you should se .Net Framework 3.5.. Uninstall that and reinstall.

I used a little utility to install/reinstall all the .Net frameworks - it's a great little ute, with links to the download sites as well.

Anyway, I have reinstalled Windows on the smaller evo 850 SSD and all is working perfectly now. I still have the M2 installed as well - though I only connected the evo during Windows installation, then plugged everything else in after.

Still a mystery why those problems arose with the M2 socket 3 SSD - after all, it's supposed to be the best place to put the O/S.

I did read some interesting stuff on the 'net about them and this particular mobo - apparently it isn't the quickest and has "only" 2 PCIe lanes. People have been compplaining about it (example on Overclockers forum and toms hardware).

btw - as soon as I installed Oculus Home, it installed all the .Net frameworks, saying they were necessary for the VR apps - so why not last time? Questions, questions and no answers. I will die in ignorance! :)

It could be the utility program that you used to install .Net. Maybe it had a hiccup?

No mate - it doesn't install .Net - it gives the links to download the MS installer.

Edit: It's actually a good little ute:

http://www.asoft.be/prod_netver.html

I found the root cause of all this hassle - and unbelievably, it was simply a recording prog that I have running when windows starts.

Close it from the tray and bingo - everything works as it should.

Why that would cause utilities to stop from either installing or working is a real mystery to me, but I'm hoping the dev of one or other will shine some light on it for me.

:doh: shit happens !

I once had a non booting Dell Inspiron, freaked out, pulled the DVD, installed Vista to run into same issue again, 2h later...ehhhhhhh turned out it was my iPod plugged into USB, that was all...haha. DANG

No mate - it doesn't install .Net - it gives the links to download the MS installer.

 

Edit: It's actually a good little ute:

 

http://www.asoft.be/prod_netver.html

Ah, I see. I'll check it out. Thnx