Who tried 5 or 6 HD in a Mac Pro 09 Nehalem ?

[kasimodem]

Hi all,

I'm about to buy a Mac Pro 2009 model, I'd like to have a few precisions.
The Mac Pro 2009 doesn't have PATA anymore, its superdrive has been replaced by a SATA model and a second connector is ready for a second SATA superdrive. Those two superdrives are connected to two supplemental SATA ports on the motherboard, they're called ODD-SATA (for Optical Disk Drive).

You can put a 5th SATA HD in the second optical bay, it's just a standard SATA port and it will be recognized as a new disk by OS X (I've tried this in a MP08 and it works).

Has someone tried this in a 2009 model ? If it still works (it should), is this new disk Bootcamp compatible and Windows bootable as I want to keep the 4 standard SATA drives for Mac volumes.

Thanks for help.

 

[schweinsteiger]

it works

I installed four 1TB HDs in bays 1-4 in a RAID0 array and put the original 640 HD in the optical bay#2. All you need is a fine screwdriver. It takes 15 mins to do the whole thing and works flawlessly. I boot either from the backup system on the 640GB HD or from the RAID0.

I don't use Bootcamp or Windows, so I don't know for sure if supports it. But I don't see a reason why not.

There's a helpful instructional video on the OWC site.

 

[beaker7]

I installed four 1TB HDs in bays 1-4 in a RAID0 array and put the original 640 HD in the optical bay#2. All you need is a fine screwdriver. It takes 15 mins to do the whole thing and works flawlessly. I boot either from the backup system on the 640GB HD or from the RAID0.

I don't use Bootcamp or Windows, so I don't know for sure if supports it. But I don't see a reason why not.

There's a helpful instructional video on the OWC site.

+1. same setup here.

 

[kasimodem]

I don't use Bootcamp or Windows, so I don't know for sure if supports it. But I don't see a reason why not.

That's all the question here, the reason is that on MP08 model, the two ODD-SATA ports where hidden to Windows, so what about 09 model ?

If it's still hidden, what I don't understand is how the superdrive can then be seen by Windows if it's connected to one of these ports.

Maybe one of you could try a simple experience without risk. Take a Windows CD, boot on it and go througt installation till the destination drive step, and then look if it list this 5th HD as a possible destination drive for installation. Then stop here, reboot your machine and come back to normal OS X activity. No risk, no intrusive or destructive process, just see if it's detected by Windows setup.

Thanks if you can help

 

[nanofrog]

That's all the question here, the reason is that on MP08 model, the two ODD-SATA ports where hidden to Windows, so what about 09 model ?

If it's still hidden, what I don't understand is how the superdrive can then be seen by Windows if it's connected to one of these ports.

Maybe one of you could try a simple experience without risk. Take a Windows CD, boot on it and go througt installation till the destination drive step, and then look if it list this 5th HD as a possible destination drive for installation. Then stop here, reboot your machine and come back to normal OS X activity. No risk, no intrusive or destructive process, just see if it's detected by Windows setup.

Thanks if you can help

They weren't actually hidden. AHCI drivers were needed. Another member posted a link to them some time in 2008. So if need be, a search of MR and a little time would locate it.

Hope this helps.