[Ted L. Nancy]

My hardware setup:

Two of these: http://www.cooldrives.com/harasaiipomu.html

...connected to my Mac Pro via one of these: http://cooldrives.com/4expcmaca.html

Everything works, except that when I turn on one of the enclosure (each are currently configured under JBOD) and the drives startup and begin to mount, I get the standard "Disk Insertion" message that says: "The disk you inserted was not readable by this computer." It then has the three buttons asking me to Initialize, Ignore, or Eject.

I am almost certain the message is referring to a disk called "Config Disk Media," which apparently is a controller for the SiI4726 chip used in the RAID enclosures. The manual for the enclosure is very clear not to attempt to initialize, format, partition, etc. this Config Disk Media file.

This is really annoying and frustrating since it pops up every time I restart, log in, or mount the disks in the enclosures. Is there a way I can get OS X to automatically ignore these "disks"?????

Btw, this did NOT always occur. I recently decided to change the RAID configuration of each enclosure, which is done through the SiI4726 management utility (available at Silicon Image's website). I had always had the utility installed on my computer, but I did not have the proper RAID controller driver installed, and therefore I wasn't able to do anything in the 4726 management utility (although the disks were still working at this point without the "Disk Insertion" message popping up). So, I went all over Silicon Image's website downloading all sort of OS X drivers (since I couldn't figure out what I needed). One of them worked (and unfortunately I am not sure which one), but after I installed it that's when I started getting the message.

I don't know how to uninstall these drivers (but I think that would be a good start). Anyone know where they might be located?

Sorry for the long post-- wanted to be as detailed as possible. The cooldrives people I bought the drive from were basically no help. (All they said was "We are no Mac experts. Check the Apple Discussion Forums.") Also, unfortunately, Silicon Image offers no help to end-users, so any thought would be greatly appreciated!

[mduell]

Yea, the extra "configuration drive" is a hack the SiI 4726 uses for the management of the unit. Don't try to initialize or partition or format it. I think there's a way to make it not pop up every time, but I forget what it is at the moment; it may be in this manual.

Next time, don't go crazy installing drivers; all you need is one for the 3124/3132 or whatever chipset your eSATA card is based on.

I'm surprised cooldrives doesn't really give you any support given how expensive those enclosures are; SiL4726 boxes usually go for half of that.

[Ted L. Nancy]

mduell-- You're awesome. I've noticed that whenever there is a storage question on these forums, you're Johnny-on-the-spot with an answer.

Originally Posted by mduell 

Yea, the extra "configuration drive" is a hack the SiI 4726 uses for the management of the unit. Don't try to initialize or partition or format it. I think there's a way to make it not pop up every time, but I forget what it is at the moment; it may be in this manual.

I read through that whole manual. Couldn't find a solution in it, but on "Page 9" there is actually an explanation of the Disk Insertion warning. The manual makes it sound like there is no work around and that it is supposed to happen. What a bummer.

Although, like I said before, this didn't always happen. Hmmmm. There must/should be a way to make it not do this.

If the solution comes to you, let me know. It would be sooo appreciative.

Originally Posted by mduell 

Next time, don't go crazy installing drivers; all you need is one for the 3124/3132 or whatever chipset your eSATA card is based on.

Yeah, I knew I shouldn't have done this when I was doing it. It was late last night and I was getting really punchy trying to get this to work. Oh well, won't happen again. Now I know I only need two things (repeating this for my own sake):

1. 4726 management utility (for the enclosures)
2. 3124 driver (for the PCI-Express card, since the card's sales page says: "The controller is based on SiI3124 SATA II chip....").

Originally Posted by mduell 

I'm surprised cooldrives doesn't really give you any support given how expensive those enclosures are; SiL4726 boxes usually go for half of that.

Yeah, I won't buy from them again. I've had to contact them before (when I first got the enclosures) and had the same rude, unhelpful treatment. Real shady return policy. When I was buying the drives, I knew what I was looking for, but not really-- ya know? I realized about a week after the purchase that I had gotten ripped off. Oh well, that was over a year ago, so I'm over it now.

[mduell]

Since, IIRC, the management "device" is enumerated last one solution is to use a non port multiplier aware controller, like the extra SATA ports on the Mac Pro logic board with a $4 bracket. Set the array up the way you want it as a single volume (RAID0, RAID10, JBOD spanning, whatever) with the 3124, then plug the array into the bracket and all it will be able to see is the storage device.

[Ted L. Nancy]

Originally Posted by mduell 

Since, IIRC, the management "device" is enumerated last one solution is to use a non port multiplier aware controller, like the extra SATA ports on the Mac Pro logic board with a $4 bracket. Set the array up the way you want it as a single volume (RAID0, RAID10, JBOD spanning, whatever) with the 3124, then plug the array into the bracket and all it will be able to see is the storage device.

Sorry, that was waaay above my expertise. I really have no idea what you mean or what the result would be. Could you give me a more rudimentary walk thru? Thanks.

Edit: Actually, I think I get it.. just bypassing the 3124 so it would only be used for setup/configuration purposes, right? What sort of bracket did you have in mind?

[mduell]

With the enclosures plugged into the 3124-based eSATA card, use the management utility to set up each enclosure as a single volume (either RAID0, RAID10, or spanning). Turn off your Mac and the enclosures, then plug the enclosures into one of these (shipping is more than the item, a good excuse to buy some other stuff while you're at it [USB key, DVI cable, whatever]) which is connected to the extra SATA ports on your Mac Pro logic board. When you turn everything on the Mac Pro should only see the giant data "drive" and not the management "drive".

[Ted L. Nancy]

Ok, cool.. I'll order and let you know how it goes. Thanks!

[Ted L. Nancy]

Got the card today from Newegg. I'm having difficulty.

I installed the new card and plugged the enclosures into it. I turned on both of my enclosure boxes (each is still configured as JBOD). Turned on the Mac Pro. The computer sees none of the drives in either enclosure.

I am pretty certain all of my connections are tight. I must be missing something. Any ideas?

Also, since I had to remove the front fan assembly in order to plug the card into the logic board's two SATA ports, I noticed that I am missing a one of the two screws that holds the fan assembly in place (the lower one to be precise). Anyway, since I bought my computer as a refurb from Apple, this is understandable, but I still want the screw! Should I just call Apple and tell them that I need it?

Update: After a couple of restarts, the problem almost fixed itself-- sortof. I can now see one drive from each enclosure. (Only the uppermost drive appears.) How do I get it to see all the drives in each enclosure? Thanks.

[mduell]

*cough* *cough*

Originally Posted by mduell 

With the enclosures plugged into the 3124-based eSATA card, use the management utility to set up each enclosure as a single volume (either RAID0, RAID10, or spanning).

Note that this will destroy all the data on all the drives.

[Ted L. Nancy]

I misunderstood and thought that separate, non-spanned disks would be o.k.

Due to the way I conduct backups on these disks, I do not think a RAID0, RAID10, or spanning setup would be apposite or feasible for me. I like to be able to identify each disk individually and separately, so as to match it to the appropriate backup disk (which I keep out of an enclosure and on a shelf, only to use hot-swappable when needed). Also, since not all of my drives are the same make and model, I do not think a RAID setup would be possible.

Nonetheless, I am glad I purchased the SATA->eSATA card, as it gives me more storage expandability in my Mac Pro.

I think my only solution to removing the error message at this point is to delete the drivers for the 3124 (wherever they may be located ).

[reader50]

Here is a possible hack. Copy the name of the mystery volume, which I assume is 'Config Disk Media'. Copy it into a word processor, you want to preserve the exact volume name.

With the drive array unmounted, create a folder in /Volumes/ and give it the name of your mystery drive. ie:

/Macintosh HD/Volumes/Config Disk Media/

This is the mount point where the system will try to attach that volume. If there is already a dummy folder there, then the volume can't be attached - perhaps that will kill your error message.

notes: /Volumes/ is normally invisible, you can use Tinkertool (or other prefs utility) to make everything visible. You will need to be the root user in order to create anything in /Volumes/. That, or boot from another partition.