Can't defragment drives because Windows detects HDD as SSD

J

Jarv0

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I have a RAID 0 array consisting of 4x WD Black. Windows lists the array as an SSD in the optimize/defragmenter UI. Both 'Analyze' and 'Optimize' are greyed out and therefore I cannot defragment the array. How do I fix this?

For the record I have the latest BIOS for my motherboard (which is an Asus Rampage IV Extreme), latest Intel RST and Windows 8.1 fully updated.​
 
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I don't know how to fix it. But I would try one of the 3rd party free defraggers that support raid. At least until you can figure out why Windows sees it that way.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.0 x64
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Toshiba Satelite C55D-A Laptop
    CPU
    AMD EI 1200
    Memory
    4 gb DDR3
    Graphics Card(s)
    Raedon 340 MB dedicated Ram
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Built in
    Screen Resolution
    1366 x 768
    Hard Drives
    640 GB (spinner) Sata II
    Keyboard
    Built in
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    Touch pad

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    windows 8.1 Update 1 Pro 64bit
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Pavillion H8-1202
    CPU
    I7-2600 @ 3.4 GHz
    Motherboard
    PEGATRON
    Memory
    8 GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    NIVDIA GeForce GT 520
    Sound Card
    Realtek ALC656GR CODEC
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Samsung SyncMaster S22B350
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    Samsung 850 EVO SSD 500GB
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    Razer Blackwidow Ultimate 2013
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    Logitech M510
Thanks for the input. What is discussed on the Intel link doesn't really apply the other way around as an HDD should always be detected as HDD be it in RAID mode or AHCI.

By the way I do have two different RAID arrays in my system. One is 2x SSDs in RAID 0 and the other is as I mentioned 4x HDDs in RAID 0. They're all listed as SSDs in the defragmenter UI. Only my external HDD is listed as an HDD.​
 
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I know you are not using AHCI but RAID, but can you check if Trim is enabled ?
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Pro
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Home made
    CPU
    AMD Ryzen7 2700x
    Motherboard
    Asus Prime x470 Pro
    Memory
    16GB Kingston 3600
    Graphics Card(s)
    Asus strix 570 OC 4gb
    Hard Drives
    Samsung 960 evo 250GB
    Silicon Power V70 240GB SSD
    WD 1 TB Blue
    WD 2 TB Blue
    Bunch of backup HDDs.
    PSU
    Sharkoon, Silent Storm 660W
    Case
    Raidmax
    Cooling
    CCM Nepton 140xl
    Internet Speed
    40/2 Mbps
    Browser
    Firefox
    Antivirus
    WD
I know you are not using AHCI but RAID, but can you check if Trim is enabled ?

Yes, I have my storage controler set to RAID. TRIM is enabled. I'm on a X79 system and I have the EFI version of Intel RST 12.7 in the motherboard BIOS (Asus Rampage IV Extreme). In Windows I have Intel RST 13.1 installed. And Windows 8.1 is installed in UEFI mode.​
 
Last edited by a moderator:

My Computer

I know you are not using AHCI but RAID, but can you check if Trim is enabled ?

Yes, I have my storage controler set to RAID. TRIM is enabled. I'm on a X79 system and I have the EFI version of Intel RST 12.7 in the motherboard BIOS (Asus Rampage IV Extreme). In Windows I have Intel RST 13.1 installed. And Windows 8.1 is installed in UEFI mode.
That may be is confusing Windows in thinking those are SSDs, I'm not sure if HDDs in RAID (I suppose it's RAID0) need Trim at all.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Pro
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Home made
    CPU
    AMD Ryzen7 2700x
    Motherboard
    Asus Prime x470 Pro
    Memory
    16GB Kingston 3600
    Graphics Card(s)
    Asus strix 570 OC 4gb
    Hard Drives
    Samsung 960 evo 250GB
    Silicon Power V70 240GB SSD
    WD 1 TB Blue
    WD 2 TB Blue
    Bunch of backup HDDs.
    PSU
    Sharkoon, Silent Storm 660W
    Case
    Raidmax
    Cooling
    CCM Nepton 140xl
    Internet Speed
    40/2 Mbps
    Browser
    Firefox
    Antivirus
    WD
I know you are not using AHCI but RAID, but can you check if Trim is enabled ?

Yes, I have my storage controler set to RAID. TRIM is enabled. I'm on a X79 system and I have the EFI version of Intel RST 12.7 in the motherboard BIOS (Asus Rampage IV Extreme). In Windows I have Intel RST 13.1 installed. And Windows 8.1 is installed in UEFI mode.
That may be is confusing Windows in thinking those are SSDs, I'm not sure if HDDs in RAID (I suppose it's RAID0) need Trim at all.
Yes, but the problem is that my HDDs are wrongly identified as SSDs and I cannot defragment them. AHCI or RAID doesn't matter, a HDD array should not be identified as an SSD because then Windows will not defrag the array.

My SSD array is working fine because it's correctly identified as an SSD array.​
 
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My Computer

The Trim, I was thinking that windows is wrongly identifying drive array as SSD because of Trim being on.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Pro
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Home made
    CPU
    AMD Ryzen7 2700x
    Motherboard
    Asus Prime x470 Pro
    Memory
    16GB Kingston 3600
    Graphics Card(s)
    Asus strix 570 OC 4gb
    Hard Drives
    Samsung 960 evo 250GB
    Silicon Power V70 240GB SSD
    WD 1 TB Blue
    WD 2 TB Blue
    Bunch of backup HDDs.
    PSU
    Sharkoon, Silent Storm 660W
    Case
    Raidmax
    Cooling
    CCM Nepton 140xl
    Internet Speed
    40/2 Mbps
    Browser
    Firefox
    Antivirus
    WD
The Trim, I was thinking that windows is wrongly identifying drive array as SSD because of Trim being on.
Gotcha. But I don't think it's possible to turn off Trim because as far as I know Windows does it automatically when there is an SSD detected?​
 
Last edited by a moderator:

My Computer

The Trim, I was thinking that windows is wrongly identifying drive array as SSD because of Trim being on.
Gotcha. But I don't think it's possible to turn off Trim because as far as I know Windows does it automatically when there is an SSD detected?
Yes they do when installed with AHCI drivers but not needed if not. To disable SSD TRIM support in Windows: "fsutil behavior set DisableDeleteNotify 1" to enable it again set to 0
.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Pro
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Home made
    CPU
    AMD Ryzen7 2700x
    Motherboard
    Asus Prime x470 Pro
    Memory
    16GB Kingston 3600
    Graphics Card(s)
    Asus strix 570 OC 4gb
    Hard Drives
    Samsung 960 evo 250GB
    Silicon Power V70 240GB SSD
    WD 1 TB Blue
    WD 2 TB Blue
    Bunch of backup HDDs.
    PSU
    Sharkoon, Silent Storm 660W
    Case
    Raidmax
    Cooling
    CCM Nepton 140xl
    Internet Speed
    40/2 Mbps
    Browser
    Firefox
    Antivirus
    WD
I have the same problem: Partitions on an HDD RAID5 array show up as "Solid state drives" in Optimizer, so cannot be defragmented.
Windows 8.1, Intel RST 13.2.4.1000. RST shows the members of the array as "SATA hard disk", so that's OK. A RAID0 array of SSDs connected to the Intel SATA ports shows up as "Solid state drive" and can be optimized, but another pair of SSDs connected to the Marvell SATA ports shows up as "Hard disk drive" and Optimizer wants to defragment that volume.
I was wondering if Jarv0 ever found a solution?
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1
"Found this way to make Windows reassess & check what hardware really exists. See if that works for you on RAID. It worked on my HDD.

WinSAT formal"



That command worked for me on a Win 10 machine with the same issue, much appreciated :)
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 10
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