This is a very old error, it’s a small problem that can turn into a big one in some cases and as such, Microsoft has had to confirm what they’ve been seeing for years, almost a decade if your PC hasn’t been updated. or have you changed the hardware directly. And it is that in Windows 11 an error occurs with hard drives in SSD and SATA format, which may not be more than an anecdote, but which, at the same time, could end up with the data they contain.
It’s a complex issue that’s been around no less since Windows 7, and has gone through all Microsoft versions up until the current Windows 11. The solution may not please, but it is better than exposing ourselves to losing all the data on our storage units. But before looking at it, better explain the problem already formulated.
Windows 11 takes on its predecessors’ problems with SSDs and SATA HDDs
And is that it only affects storage units with Serial Advanced Technology Attachment, also known as Serial ATA or SATA. Both SSD and HDD come into play here, it’s unclear, and apparently, the error occurs only in certain motherboard configurations plus storage units.
what is the error specifically? OK, that’s easy. This is an error when the PC will recognize the SATA SSD or HDD as a removable media drive in Windows 11. We will see an icon next to the time on the taskbar, as if it were a flash drive that we had inserted, where if we click we will see that it is recognized as a unit, if we want it. The problem is that it is removable, in principle, to nothing.
Since Microsoft has been dragging this bug out for years, although it has tried to fix it in every version of Windows, it really is something that escapes Redmond.
Explanation and solution of this problem
Microsoft provides an explanation and a workaround, which we’ll detail later. The problem states it like this:
“Whether a device is considered removable or not is determined by your system BIOS and how it marks the various SATA ports on the motherboard. The inbox driver directly observes the SATA ports and connects devices connected to those marked ports.” Treats devices as ‘external’, i.e. removable. Not all storage controllers do, which can be a possible cause of corruption or data loss.”
That being said, Microsoft offers a solution to the problem it cites in a specific and specific document in the following way:
first step
First, check for and install any available BIOS updates from your PC manufacturer. If none are available, you can follow these steps to override the way the inbox driver displays devices on certain ports:
For Windows 7:
reg.exe agree -> “HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\msahci\Controller0\Channelx\” /f /v TreatAsInternalPort /t REG_DWORD /d 0x00000001
where x refers to the bus number that you noted down in step 4.
For Windows 8 and later:
reg.exe agree -> “HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\storahci\Parameters\Device” /f /v TreatAsInternalPort /t REG_MULTI_SZ /dx
where x refers to the bus number you noted in step 4.
With these we will solve this problem of Windows 11, 10, 8 and 7 with SATA error. But before doing that, we recommend something quick and simple to look into your BIOS, and it’s nothing more than actively ejecting your SATA drives.
Many BIOS/UEFI have this option activated by default and that’s why Windows recognizes them as such. Disabling it makes it disappear the next restart and you shouldn’t do everything Microsoft said, at least on a large portion of the devices. If it doesn’t work, then yes we are security bound to carry out the steps described.
