MP 7,1 SSD detection puzzle

[cobra521]

I don't know if this is a 7,1 question or a macOS question, but here goes anyway.

I have a Mac Pro 7,1 and use macOS Catalina 10.15.7

Today I installed a Sonnet M.2 4x4 PCIe Card Silent and four HP EX950 2TB SSDs.

Finder could only see three of the four SSDs. Disk Utility could only find three of the SSDs.

So I took the whole durn thing apart - again - thinking I'd need to send the card back, or maybe try to isolate which SSD wasn't found and see if I could warranty it.

On an impulse I got out a Windows 10 laptop and put each SSD in turn into a USB adapter (an SSK Aluminum M.2 NVME SSD Enclosure Adapter). Using the Windows Disk Manager I found that three of the SSDs had an EFI volume and a large formatted volume. The fourth showed as one volume but no other specs that I can recall.

On a whim I formatted the fourth SSD using Disk Manager in Windows and then put all the SSDs back on the card and back into the 7,1.

macOS was happy to read all four SSDs! Formatting the "previously undetectable" SSD allowed macOS and Disk Utility to recognize that SSD.

All I can conclude so far is that Windows has some smarter disk formatting tools than macOS.

Can anyone explain whether I might have done something else on the Mac to enable it to find the SSD and correct its format?

Or would I need to download/buy some disk management software that is smarter than macOS's Finder and Disk Utility?

Tom

 

[LeonPro]

Any chance you might not have seated the fourth stick properly on the Sonnet and your action of removing and reinstalling fixed it?

I don't think both disk management is better or worse.

I too just received and installed yesterday the Sonnet M.2 4x4 Silent with 4 x 2TB Samsung 970 Evo Plus where all four sticks were recognized as unformatted in Disk Utility with zero partition. Selected GUID partition and all mounted and ready for individual use or RAID set up.

 

[cobra521]

Leon,

I have the Samsung 970 Evo Plus in the other Sonnet card. They were the same as yours in regard to detection and formatting within Disk Utility. No problem.

I'm beginning to think my troubles lie with the HP EX950 2TB SSDs. I booted the Mac this morning and one of the HP EX950 SSDs has disappeared again. I can't tell if it is the same one that went away yesterday.

Now I get the wonderful experience of taking the thing apart yet again to try to diagnose...

I may try them again with the PC just to see - while I have them out - if Windows is better than macOS for doing the formatting.

Or I may find I need to RMA that one. Again. Once I figure out which one is the problem.

Eventually this may stop being fun.

Tom

 

[LeonPro]

Tom,

Where you the one that had issues with the HP EX950 sticks awhile back on an OWC card? Because I remember reading someone having issues with this memory stick and having to send the OWC card back.

Either way, you may be right - this particular stick may not be reliable or compatible with Mac? The same way the Samsung stick had issues with the Mac prior to the latest firmware update after which it appears to perform with no issues.

 

[cobra521]

Leon,

I confess, it was me!

The problem with the OWC card is different in my mind: three of the HP EX950 SSDs died completely. Even Windows could not see them.

The SSDs I have now consist of the one surviving original SSD plus three RMA'd ones which look to be new.

So far, three out of four seem OK.

You have inspired me to check their firmware (if they have it!) and see if there's any update available.

Tom

 

[LeonPro]

Keep us updated. I'd like to see how this can be resolved.

And yes it was that thread with you advising against the OWC card and experience that led me to purchasing the Sonnet version instead. Apart from your woes, thanks for your experience as it did help others like myself go into a better direction.

 

[LeonPro]

Here's an interesting read from your fellow users. As with any firmware updates on any electronic, proceed with your own risk as this may brick the cards.

https://www.reddit.com/r/NewMaxx/comments/g5rkzz

 

[cobra521]

Leon,

Found the same link. I hope to try it later today - extracting the SSDs is a real pain with the 7,2 so it may or may not happen today.

Then I need to fire up a Windows 10 laptop to try it because it doesn't work with VMware; at least I could not get any result that way.

Ain't progress wonderful

Tom

UPDATE: I turned off the Mac last night. When I started it this morning, lo and behold there was the missing drive! Since it was empty, I ran Disk Utility's first aid and then copied some files onto it apparently successfully.

Then I looked at the links which talked about updating the firmware and got royally confused.

If I go to Multipointe.com (the warranty site for HP EX950 SSDs) it says very firmly there is no update for the EX950: "There will not be a self-update firmware available for the foreseeable future."

There is an update for the EX920 only called "2262-b16-update-tools-for-ex920-temperature.zip"

On the other hand by following the techpowerup link, I get this file "2262EN_2TB-Update__FW.rar" which looks like a firmware update for the EX950 2TB SSD. Probably. Wonder where it came from?

So maybe later I'll follow up with trying to update the firmware on the EX950 2TB SSDs.

What I'd really like is to figure out how to determine the firmware version of each SSD while the things are still installed in the Mac!

Tom

 

[cobra521]

OK. Circled around and found "System Information."

Looked under NVMExpress and found the "Revision:"

My current SSDs all have Revision 42A0S63C.

The downloaded Revision is 42A7T36A.

So the question now is, which is newer? Is 42A7 >> 42A0? I'm tempted to think so...

Anyone know the answer to this?

Tom

 

[IA64]

OK. Circled around and found "System Information."

Looked under NVMExpress and found the "Revision:"

My current SSDs all have Revision 42A0S63C.

The downloaded Revision is 42A7T36A.

So the question now is, which is newer? Is 42A7 >> 42A0? I'm tempted to think so...

Anyone know the answer to this?

Tom

Logically yes 42A7 is newer. Why dont you attempt the upgrade anyway. If you're on the latest revision, nothing is going to happen. Win-Win situation afterall...

 

[cobra521]

On to the next "learning experience." This term comes from a one-panel cartoon of a programmer on his knees in the praying position in front of his computer desk, with the caption saying "Please, God, not another learning experience."

I'd like to find a way to update the HP EX950 SD'S firmware from the Mac 7,1.

The problem is the update software is windows, not mac.

I have VMWare installed but so far haven't been able to see the SSDs from the VMWare Windows 10 virtual machine. Is there a way to do this?

 

[LeonPro]

Not a solution, but even booting in Boot Camp with my Mac Pro I can't see all my Mac hard drives. Just the Boot Camp hard drive.

I think there's no easy solve but to use a Windows computer to update it without further breaking the drives.

 

[cobra521]

The saga continues...

I took the four 2TB HP EX950s out of the 7,1 and fed them one at a time to a Win10 laptop. I was able to get the first three updated to firmware 42A7T36A without too much sweat or drama.

Then (wouldn't you have known it?) the 4th one balked when I tried the previously successful process. I retried the process yet again from the beginning, and that time it reported success. So I put the SSDs back in the 7,1 and fired it up.

Now I have three good SSDs (seems like deja vu all over again) and one that won't show up. I can identify the three "good" ones by serial number on the Mac using the System Information app. I plan to remove the balky one and see if it will revive as before using Win10's formatting software.

Then I'll retry it in the Mac. If it works I'll see if it stays working. If not I'll fire up the RMA process yet again.

I'll report once more after this seems resolved.

I am beginning to suspect the HP EX 950 SSDs have some real problems, or maybe I'm just dense?

 

[LeonPro]

Maybe you got a faulty batch from the get go. Weren’t you able to RMA 3 out of 4 previously? And that last remaining stick is still lingering with the issue?

If that’s the case regardless if it works or not, I’d RMA that to ensure you get a different manufacturing date by now.

Whether a Mac or Windows OS, you did experience hiccups. So I’d say it’s those batch of sticks.

 

[s66]

Logically:
- that one remaining one of your original set might be faulty (hard to tell from the info you have)
- do not underestimate the problems a intermittently faulty contact between card and SSD module can cause, worse: these contacts are not manufactured to withstand tons of reconnects, be careful.

Add to that that intermittent hardware problems are very hard to bring down to one specific component unless you have plenty of spare parts laying around (and even then it can be tricky). Not jumping to conclusions is critically important. Give it time and go slow in making changes. Simplify the setup as much as possible.

 

[cobra521]

Leon,

You might be right. I have removed the recalcitrant SSD and got it packaged for RMA tomorrow.

Interestingly the serial number of the non-op SSD is only 3 different (in a 4-digit number) from two of the others that do work (69 bad, 72 & 73 good). The 4th one is 900+ numbers away. Who knows?

s66,

I was able to obtain the serial numbers from the functional 3 SSDs using the Mac's System Information app. By elimination (and the fact that the serial numbers are also helpfully on the paper tags atop each SSD) I ID'd the offender. It has been approved for RMA, packaged and ready to put in the mail tomorrow.

Tom

 

[cobra521]

Followup: Multipointe HP SSD is on my "good guys" list still. Each time I've had an HP EX950 2TB SSD failure they have replaced it. I follow their requirements for serial number and failure description and send the SSD back at my expense. So far, I have received a new SSD each time. It takes a few weeks for the process to unfold but I find that tolerable.

I have just received the 5th replacement (of my original 4, one failed twice!) It has now had its firmware updated to 42A7T36A and all 4 now seem OK at the moment. I'm using them as JBOD so there's 8TB available.

I'll report back in a couple of months as to how well they've held up using them in the Sonnet card. I still believe the OWC card had some responsibility in the deaths of the first 4 at least.

We'll see...

 

[LeonPro]

Let's hope this is the end of your issue on the SSD.

 

[cobra521]

Another update after another 4-1/2 months: so far, so good! The four replaced/updated HP EX950 2TB SSDs continue to function well on the 4 SSD Sonnet card. They're fast and haven't given any trouble.

Tom