Hot swap bay problem

glosrfc · 22 Jan 2013 at 15:39

Hope I've put this in the right subforum.

I'm unable to connect a drive to the hot swap bay in a new Xigmatek Midgard II case. I'm pretty sure I've done everything right but any pointers would be most helpful:

1. I have a 120Gb SSD on Sata3 port 0 mapped to drive C: - the OS is installed on this drive.
2. I have a secondary drive on Sata3 port 1 mapped to drive E:
3. The hot swap bay is connected to Sata2 port 2.
4. In the Gigabyte BIOS, the Sata mode is set to AHCI.
5. In the ATA port section of the BIOS, I have enabled 'hot pluggable' for port 2.

The HDD is a DiamondMax 21 250Gb which is supposed to be hot-swappable. But if I insert it into the bay, nothing happens and it's not detected by Intel's RST version 11.1.0.1006

Things I've tried:
a) checked that the bay is connected to a power supply
b) connected the Sata cable to a different port
c) installed the HotSwap! utility but that fails to detect the drive
d) booted with the drive installed in the bay, and it's still not recognised
e) set all ports to 'hot pluggable' in the BIOS

The drive works fine if I connect it directly to any of the free Sata ports so there's no problem with it, or the Gigabyte z77-D3H motherboard. Basically, I'm baffled as to why it won't work via the hot swap bay.

The only other thing which seems a tad strange to me is that the AHCI controller is shown as an Intel 7 series/C216 chipset which, according to the Intel site is compatible with Xeon processors, and this PC has a 3570k fitted. I've been told there's little difference but should I be using the Z77 chipset? From the Intel site there are slight differences between the chipsets, in particular the C216 makes no mention of USB3 or multiple monitor support.

Any help would be most appreciated.

supergluechris · 22 Jan 2013 at 16:13

after installing the HDD into the hotswap and restarting the PC does it detect?

glosrfc · 22 Jan 2013 at 16:45

No, it still isn't detected.

chippy08 · 22 Jan 2013 at 16:51

Does the hotswop drive bay need power if so have you plugged it in to psu

glosrfc · 22 Jan 2013 at 16:52

Checked that...point a) above

wazza300 · 22 Jan 2013 at 17:03

using latest motherboard bios?

try this version of rst drivers

http://downloadmirror.intel.com/22194/eng/iata_enu.exe Intel® Rapid Storage Technology Driver 11.7.0.1013 WHQL

Ripshod · 22 Jan 2013 at 17:09

Assuming Windows7:

Right click 'Computer' select manage. In the left column select 'Disk Management'. Does the drive appear in the bottom section. If it does you'll just need to partition it and format, job done.

Post back, let us know

glosrfc · 22 Jan 2013 at 17:20

BIOS version is F14
Thanks for the link, I'll give the RST update a try

The drive isn't shown in Disk Management - it only shows Disk 0 (System Reserved and C: ), Disk 1 (E: ) and the DVD:ROM.

I don't really want to format it just yet, as I was hoping the hot swap bay would make it easier to retrieve all my old data.

glosrfc · 22 Jan 2013 at 18:15

Updated to version 11.7.0.1013 of Intel's RST, drive still not recognised no matter how many rescans I try. Also tried scanning for hardware changes in Device Manager, without any joy.

glosrfc · 23 Jan 2013 at 23:15

chippy08 said:
Does the hotswop drive bay need power if so have you plugged it in to psu

I had originally checked that it was inserted into a molex connector but I've just unplugged it and inserted it into another of the connectors and it works fine now.

Thanks for all the help, folks.

JIM_BOB7813 · 24 Jan 2013 at 10:53

Is this a good case? It looks like it has really good access to the front fan, filters and top-mounted buttons. Does the open top let out a lot of noise?

glosrfc · 7 Feb 2013 at 04:32

The case is perfect for my needs. Access is great and it's noiseless really, although I only have the front and rear fans that were supplied with the case, plus the one on the Xigmatek Loki cooler. There's just the faintest of low level hum but it's barely noticable.
The front fan must be pretty effective as I notice that it's sucking a fair amount of dust up, so that's something I'll have to keep an eye on.

One thing to note is that you'll need enough clearance to be able to use the hot swap bay. My case currently sits beneath a printer stand and there's *just* enough room to insert a slimline HDD at an angle, right it, and then slot it into place. For older drives, I have to slide the case out first. If you're interested, the gap between the top of the case and the printer stand is 130mm, whereas the HDD is 145mm in length. So if you're planning to leave your PC under a desk, or stand, you'll need at least 13cm clearance for slimline drives, and around 16cm for older drives.

The top mounted access is great as it saves you fiddling around at the front of the case, especially when it comes to popping USB devices in and out. Of course, that's when the PC is placed on, or near, the floor...you might feel differently if the case is on a desk and you have to keep standing to insert anything.

The on light is a very bright blue led but that doesn't really concern mee to much as it's out of sight beneath the stand most of the time. And the entire top of the case pops off really easily. That's another thing to watch if you purchase one as there are two finger holes at the back of the case which you use to remove the top...don't be fooled into thinking that you can use these to lift the case, as I found out within minutes of unpacking it.

On the whole, it's a good case for the price you're likely to pay for it. It's quite well-built with only a couple of downsides. The side panels are quite flimsy compared to the more solid desktops I've had in the past, and it can be a little tricky lining them up correctly when you try to reattach them. Also you do have to make sure you get them aligned correctly otherwise you'll end up having to insert the thumbscrews at an angle. The other downside is that the quick-release mechanisms for the external 5.25" bays are a tad flimsy. While they'll hold the device securely in place, there's a heck of a lot of sideways movement. For example, my DVD drive had 1/4" play from side-to-side. Each time I inserted a disk, the mere act of it spinning up caused the drive to clunk loudly as it lurched against the side of the bay. However, the usual screw-holes are available and, once I'd screwed the drive into place, it's now rock-solid. On the plus side, the internal tool-free bays hold the HDD and SSD securely and they're a doddle to swap around.

On the whole, I'd recommend it if you're looking for a budget case that's reasonably well constructed, has great cooling flexibility, some thought has gone into the overall design, and which has loads of space between the motherboard tray and side panel for all those cables you want to hide away. The addition of a removable internal drive cage (3 of the 6 bays) plus the built-in hot swap bay are a pleasant bonus.

Hope that helps.

JIM_BOB7813 · 10 Feb 2013 at 17:25

Thanks, its really helpful. I have my pc on the floor so top-mounted usb is really ideal compared to the bottom-mounted I currently have. The front of the case can be removed completely, right? And you can clean the front grill easily? Does it have solid thumb screws or normal screws in jackets?

glosrfc · 16 Feb 2013 at 10:25

Yes, there's a recess at the bottom of the front cover that you can use to tug it off completely. Once done, you have easy access to the filter. The thumbscrews for the panels are solid.