Sabrent Rocket 2TB Nvme M.2 2280 not recognized by Mac pro 5,1 using Sonnet’s M.2 4x4 PCIe

[Raymuro]

Hi everyone, I have a Mac Pro 5,1 with Mojave 10.14.6, Boot ROM 144.0.0.0.0. I changed the video card with a Macvidcards AMD RX480 Reference. I Installed in the 2nd slot a Sonnet’s M.2 4x4 and I was trying to install another coppy of Mojave in a Sabrent 2tb Rocket Nvme M.2 2280 but the disk utility does not recognize the SSD, and does not list using the terminal. I need some help please.

 

[joevt]

Boot Windows and try the Rocket software there to check the drives?
#3

Try a cheap/simple single M.2 to PCIe adapter to see if the problem might be with the Sonnet?
https://www.startech.com/HDD/Adapters/pci-express-m2-pcie-ssd-adapter~PEX4M2E1

 

[joevt]

4K sector size is preferred for macOS since 10.12 but 512 works for macOS 10.13 and later. You are using 10.14 so it shouldn't be a problem either way.

Check the ioregistry to see if the PCIe NVMe device appears?

 

[Raymuro]

Thanks for your responses. I will try them ASAP. I just realized that Sonnet card only accepts single sided blades. I removed the SSD and now I’m expecting a single sided 2Tb 970 Evo Plus this week to try it also.

 

[joevt]

I just realized that Sonnet card only accepts single sided blades.

If it fits then it shouldn't be a problem.

Is that Startech PCIe card Mac compatible?

It's just an adapter - it would be kind of hard to make it not compatible and still work with PCs.

 

[collin_]

Hi Raymuro,

Did you figure this out? I can't get my Mac to recognize the exact same SSD. Everything seemed to be going fine, then the next time I plugged it in disk utility names it "Media" and says it is uninitialized and has a capacity of 97.86 terabytes.

 

[Raymuro]

Hello joevt,

I was lucky to find a High Point SSD7101A-1 NVMe RAID Controller very cheap on eBay ($256). I installed a Sabrent Rocket NVME M.2 2280 2TB and a Samsung 970 EVO Plus NVMe M.2 2TB.

I’ve made a partition on Sabrent Rocket to install Mojave and used the second partition for sound libraries. I used the EVO Plus only for sound libraries also. So far everything is working fine.

I have another Mac Pro that I upgraded its firmware from 4,1 to 5,1 and I’m going to use it to install the Sonnet card this weekend. The idea is to use only 970 EVO Plus drives 2 X 2TB because the manufacturer recommend to use only single blades on the card.

So far It is better deal to buy the Hight Point card for me. It accept double blades like Sabrent blades that are cheaper and have similar speeds.

I’ll post later if I found any problem with the Sonnet card to send it back for warranty or sell it.

Thank you all for the the help. And yes, Sonnet card it’s too big.