MP 7,1 Boot Camp Assistant and HighPoint 7101A-1

[The Other One]

I'd like to install Windows via Boot Camp on my (2019) Mac Pro on the internal drive. It's 2TB, and I'm only using about 25% of it, so there's plenty of room. However, I also have a HighPoint 7101A-1 in a RAID 0 configuration with another 8 TB of storage (which I am NOT trying to use for the Windows install, just to be clear).

However, when I try to start the Boot Camp Assistant, I get a message saying "External storage device attached" and a directive to remove it before continuing. Aside from the fact that I wouldn't exactly call an internal RAID card "external storage," I've tried ejecting it... but I still get the same message in Boot Camp Assistant, and I'm unable to proceed.

Is there a way around this that doesn't require physically removing the RAID card? Because that seems utterly asinine.

 

[Quackers]

Isn't the raid card internal to the external drive? Therefore it is an external storage device.
Or am I wrong?
Have you tried quitting Bootcamp assistant then ejecting the drive then starting Bootcamp Assistant again?

 

[s66]

Storage on PCIe cards is considered "external" when it comes to macOS regardless of it being on the inside or outside in the physical world. The software can't really know if the card has an internal or external connector to attach the storage to.

 

[IA64]

I'd like to install Windows via Boot Camp on my (2019) Mac Pro on the internal drive. It's 2TB, and I'm only using about 25% of it, so there's plenty of room. However, I also have a HighPoint 7101A-1 in a RAID 0 configuration with another 8 TB of storage (which I am NOT trying to use for the Windows install, just to be clear).

However, when I try to start the Boot Camp Assistant, I get a message saying "External storage device attached" and a directive to remove it before continuing. Aside from the fact that I wouldn't exactly call an internal RAID card "external storage," I've tried ejecting it... but I still get the same message in Boot Camp Assistant, and I'm unable to proceed.

Is there a way around this that doesn't require physically removing the RAID card? Because that seems utterly asinine.

As far as I know Big Sur will consider it as internal drive. Can you confirm?

 

[The Other One]

As far as I know Big Sur will consider it as internal drive. Can you confirm?

Apparently not. I'm using Big Sur, but it appears in Disk Utility as a "RAID Set" rather than under the "Internal" category. And under About This Mac > Storage as "External 8.19 TB Solid State PCI-Express Drive."

But that's kind of beside the point. The crux of my question is more... is there a way to install Windows via Boot Camp Assistant on internal storage without having to physically remove the PCI-E card?

I mean, I get that Boot Camp Assistant won't allow the installation of Windows ON a drive that macOS considers external — but I'm not trying to do. I want to install it on the internal drive, but I can't even get that far because of the absurd requirement that "external drives" be disconnected. I can't fathom why it would be necessary for me to open the case and physically remove a PCI-E card, when the installation I'm trying to perform has absolutely nothing to do with it.

 

[Quackers]

It's a strange one. It seems unreasonable.
I wonder what would happen if you disconnected/took out the PCIe card then tried to install everything in Bootcamp then re-connected the card.
It's a pain but might be worth a try.

 

[IA64]

Apparently not. I'm using Big Sur, but it appears in Disk Utility as a "RAID Set" rather than under the "Internal" category. And under About This Mac > Storage as "External 8.19 TB Solid State PCI-Express Drive."

But that's kind of beside the point. The crux of my question is more... is there a way to install Windows via Boot Camp Assistant on internal storage without having to physically remove the PCI-E card?

I mean, I get that Boot Camp Assistant won't allow the installation of Windows ON a drive that macOS considers external — but I'm not trying to do. I want to install it on the internal drive, but I can't even get that far because of the absurd requirement that "external drives" be disconnected. I can't fathom why it would be necessary for me to open the case and physically remove a PCI-E card, when the installation I'm trying to perform has absolutely nothing to do with it.


View attachment 1695891

View attachment 1695892

I usually don't install windows from Bootcamp assistant.

I have rEFIt boot manager installed. I boot from USB and pickup which disk to install but that's usually for other disks. Not sure if you already have an NTFS partition on your internal disk.

 

[s66]

Was there not a piece of software to mark a drive internal ? Can't remember the name, also not sure it would help here.

 

[startergo]

But that's kind of beside the point. The crux of my question is more... is there a way to install Windows via Boot Camp Assistant on internal storage without having to physically remove the PCI-E card?

Yes I have done it on my MacBookPro15,1. I had an external thunderbolt pcie NVME attached and Bootcamp refused to install. I used OpenCore and made the NVME drive appearing as internal through device properties injection. Here is an example:
Internal Drives shown as external (OpenCore, AMD, Catalina 10.15.3) : hackintosh (reddit.com)

 

[s66]

Was there not a piece of software to mark a drive internal ? Can't remember the name, also not sure it would help here.

Found it: innie

Discussed in here:

Innie: A fix for PCI drives seen as external

It is well known that macOS sees PCI drives in a cMP as external. In the past, there have been several attempts to fix this annoyance, typically through codeless kexts and driver patches. However, these approaches are far from perfect. Codeless kexts affect the properties of all (even non-PCI)...

forums.macrumors.com

Use at your own risk.

 

[startergo]

Found it: innie

Discussed in here:

Innie: A fix for PCI drives seen as external

It is well known that macOS sees PCI drives in a cMP as external. In the past, there have been several attempts to fix this annoyance, typically through codeless kexts and driver patches. However, these approaches are far from perfect. Codeless kexts affect the properties of all (even non-PCI)...

forums.macrumors.com

Use at your own risk.

Not working in Big Sur. Better not use it.