Dennis HilkLinux diagnosticsDE

Storage controllers

NVIDIA MCP55 SATA function (037f)

This older NVIDIA chipset SATA function uses sata_nv. NVIDIA’s presence in the PCI vendor field does not make this a graphics device or justify a GPU-driver installation.

Editorial source review: Share public profileOpen in the identification tool
On this page
  1. Overview & identity
  2. Driver & binding
  3. Firmware
  4. Read-only diagnostics
  5. Limitations & related issues
  6. References

Overview & identity

The PCI constant names 037f as NFORCE_MCP55_SATA2; 037e is the separate adjacent SATA function. The exact pair identifies a chipset function, not the attached drive.

Curated identifiers
pci 10de:037f

A numeric match establishes a candidate family within the reviewed evidence. Marketing names, board variants, subsystem conditions and successful operation remain separate questions.

Driver & binding

The sata_nv table maps the MCP55 SATA2 constant to the MCP5x implementation. Runtime binding and BIOS exposure determine the actual path used by the running machine.

  • sata_nv — kernel driver/module candidate

Detected, bound, operational: learn the difference

Firmware

Device/revision dependent

Controller firmware, option ROM and drive firmware can be separate. The reviewed sources do not establish a host-loaded filename for this profile; firmware revision and update policy require the actual controller and OEM identity.

Inspect firmware packaging on your distribution

Read-only diagnostics

Run one displayed command at a time. Replace uppercase placeholders with the affected device, interface or module from your own output. Commands are never executed here. Read-only output can still contain private identifiers.

Check the PCI function and bound driver

lspci -nnk -s BDF

Replace BDF with the domain:bus:device.function address. Look for [10de:037f] and Kernel driver in use. sata_nv in Kernel modules is only a candidate, not proof of binding.

Inspect visible block-device identities

lsblk -d -o NAME,MODEL,TRAN,HCTL

MODEL describes a block device or a controller-presented logical volume; it is not a PCI-controller identity. HCTL helps distinguish SCSI targets. TRAN can be absent, and this list does not establish the complete physical disk topology.

Read controller and transport messages

sudo journalctl -k -b --no-pager

Elevated access may be needed. Root reads the current boot kernel journal. Associate sata_nv messages, port/host identifiers and timeout/reset timestamps with the actual controller. A reset message alone does not prove a bad disk or a firmware defect.

Limitations & related issues

Firmware storage modes and legacy RAID metadata can change what the operating system sees. This profile offers read-only identification and is not evidence that changing a boot-critical mode is safe.

These guides are linked for relevant observations, not as known defects of every device in this family.

Choose a hardware diagnostic workflow · Inspect a log excerpt in Fix Lab

References

Source review records a checked implementation or document, not a reproduced hardware test. Version-specific tables do not establish a minimum kernel or guaranteed operation.