Miniport Driver Is Trying to Use More Than 8 SCSI Buses Message
What am I seeing?
Microsoft* released an update that generates a System Event Log message on systems running Microsoft Windows 7*, Windows Server 2008 R2*, or earlier operating systems.
This new System Event Log entry only displays on systems running the following components:
- Windows 7*/Server 2008 R2* or earlier OS
- Platforms based on the Intel® C600 Series Chipset (formerly Patsburg) platforms:
- Intel® C606 Chipset
- Intel® C608 Chipset
- Intel® C602 Chipset with upgrade ROMs 5, 6, or 9
- Intel® Rapid Storage Technology enterprise (Intel® RSTe) driver
- The update referred to in this document.
| Note | The Intel® RSTe driver is no longer available. See more details in Intel® Virtual RAID on CPU (Intel® VROC) and Intel® Rapid Storage Technology Enterprise (Intel® RSTe) Consolidation. |
Why am I seeing this System Event Log message?
This Storport* miniport driver is trying to use more than 8 SCSI buses. This number of buses exceeds the supported maximum on this operating system. Contact your storage controller manufacturer to determine whether this device and driver are designed to work on this operating system.
| Note | For Intel® Rapid Storage Technology enterprise (Intel® RSTe), buses are the number of SAS ports on the host, whether they are connected or not. One extra bus is allocated for the RAID function, which results in nine, generating the System Event Log message. |
What actions should I take for this message?
This Microsoft* update is not a result of new Intel® RSTe features or changed functionality. The update is a result of something recently realized by Microsoft that has been in the Intel® RSTe driver architecture since its inception.
There have been no critical errors and only one non-critical error encountered as a result of how the Intel® RSTe driver is architected. See the answer to the What is the reported issue? question below.
All Intel® RSTe drivers are fully validated and have successfully completed Microsoft’s WHQL* testing requirements prior to release.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Click on the topic for details:
I've never seen this warning message before, what is it?
A device driver in the system is reporting that it supports more SCSI buses than the Microsoft StorPort* driver is designed to support (8 buses).
Why did Microsoft add this warning?
Device drivers that support more than 8 SCSI buses can be loaded and operated even though the OS has an 8 SCSI buses limitation. Microsoft* was concerned that there might be negative effects other than the one Intel reported, so they added this warning (in Windows REL13-08).
What is the reported issue?
The number of SCSI buses supported causes a failure. A user application that uses IOCTL_SCSI_GET_INQUIRY_DATA fails when the command is handed off to the OS (Windows 7*/Server 2008 R2*, or an earlier OS). The request gets terminated before it is passed down to the Intel® RSTe driver. The same application, when run on Windows 8* based operating systems, functions properly. The issue is seen when attempting to update the firmware on an expander that is connected to the Storage Controller Unit (SCU).
How does this issue affect the use of Intel® RSTe?
Neither Intel nor Microsoft* found any other issues regarding the support of more than 8 SCSI buses.
Will this issue cause data loss or corruption?
The application is stopped before any data/information is passed to the expander. The expander cannot be updated. No other known issues cause data loss or corruption.
| Note | Regarding expander use, it is the only condition that Intel has seen with reference to the >8 buses. You do not need an expander to have an issue it just happens that an expander was involved in the one known issue. |
Can I turn this message off, or stop it from recurring?
Yes. You can stop the message by removing the update.
What is the workaround to this issue?
No workaround exists, but you can upgrade the OS to Windows 8*/Server 2012* or newer, to resolve this issue.
How does Intel characterize the impact or risk?
The risk is low. Neither Intel nor Microsoft* has found any other issues regarding the support of more than 8 SCSI buses. Intel has successfully passed the required WHQL tests for all released Intel® Rapid Storage Technology enterprise (Intel® RSTe) drivers.