PCI Express SSD card not recognized on 2010 Mac Pro

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Level 1

4 points

PCI Express SSD card not recognized on 2010 Mac Pro

I had an OWC Mercury Accelsior PCI Express SSD for over a year. After the Mac froze twice, it didn't recognize the SSD after restarting. OWC replaced the SSD, but my Mac doesn't recognize the replacement. The card has two eSATA expansion ports, and those work. Disk Utility doesn't show the SSD, and the PCI section of System Report doesn't show the card. I tried switching PCI slots, zapping the PRAM, cleaning the PCI card contacts and booting into recovery mode. Tech support didn't have any other ideas. I'm currently booting from a clean install of Yosemite with nothing else added.

Mac Pro (Mid 2010)

OS X 10.10.4

Mac Pro, OS X Yosemite (10.10.4)

Posted on Aug 4, 2015 3:43 PM

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Answer 1

Aug 4, 2015 3:46 PM in response to timcL

Any drive that cannot tell disk Utility both its make&model and a reasonable, non-zero size/capacity cannot be repaired by any means. If it is cabled and powered correctly, it has failed.

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Answer 2

timcL Author

Level 1

4 points

Aug 4, 2015 4:03 PM in response to Grant Bennet-Alder

OWC said that my original card passed all tests, so there's something wrong on my end.

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Answer 3

Aug 4, 2015 5:41 PM in response to timcL

OWC is usually really good about taking back things you cannot get working (or making certain you CAN get it working.)

I would call them again and try NOT to get the same person again -- it sounds like they were not very helpful, which is not typical for those guys.

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Answer 4

timcL Author

Level 1

4 points

Aug 5, 2015 1:08 AM in response to timcL

Nothing that I tried yesterday worked. This morning I started up my Mac and was greeted with a message that I'd inserted an unrecognizable disk. My PCI Express card was listed in Disk Utility, so I formatted it and started the Yosemite installation. During the installation the PCI Express card disappeared again. I've restarted a number of time without it reappearing.

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Answer 5

lllaass

Level 10

210,411 points

Aug 5, 2015 1:29 AM in response to timcL

Sure sounds like an intermittent hardware problem. Maybe heating causes the problem. Could be the card, the connection between the cad and PCle slot or maybe between the SSD blade and the card, or the logic board

For a problem between the card and SSD blade you still should be able to see the card in system report.

If the crd works fine for extended periods of time in another Mac then that would point to a problem with your Mac

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