Sata configured at IDE can't change to AHCI. Normal?

I came across this setting in the bios under info about my sata HDD connection. It says it is configured as IDE. Although when I select it there is no other option.

Should there not be an option to use AHCI. Isn't AHCI superior to IDE on SATA II interface?

 

SATA & AHCI are better than IDE but if you installed on one you cant change over with the flick of a switch.

The only way I know is to do a backup of your install, do the change, and then restore your image.

 

You should be able to freely choose either AHCI or IDE in the bios. Maybe an update will resolve that, but if the option isn't there, it isn't there. The only problem is that a Windows installation can only function under the operating mode it was installed under. So if your bios allowed you to select AHCI, there would be an error given on Windows startup and it would not load.

 

This is simply not true.

Just do a forced (manual) install of the AHCI driver, reboot and change to AHCI mode and the computer will boot.

After it has properly finished installing all the devices under the AHCI driver, it will ask for another reboot and Viola!

You're done.

 

+1. It's the same install process software-wise as installing a new CPU. It'll boot, install a driver, and then ask to restart once more.

 

You can also enable AHCI through the registry. Windows will have it hidden, you need to change the atrib on the AHCI driver. Tons of articles on how to do it in Windows. Also necessary for OS X.

 

Changes to drivers/registry to accomodate AHCI are only relevant if your bios allows you to set AHCI or "Native SATA" mode. Without such an option you are stuck running IDE mode, missing out on AHCI's NCQ mode allowing parallel read/writes, accelerating SSD and HDD performance.

It is possible to force AHCI after bios boot but only works with Linux. See here.

 

Guess I was wrong. I maybe was thinking of something else.

or I guess it was just due to having that knowledge from the XP days when the drivers were not there natively unless you did an install with it enabled.

 

I am pretty sure the C90P does support AHCI. It is afterall based on the P35 chipset. In fact checked the data sheet and P35, ICH9 supports ACHI.

How do I do a forced manual install of the AHCI driver? Where to find it?

 

edit: I went into regedit and followed the instructions to change value to 0 on ahci driver however it was already set at 0
Looks like the only way to get AHCI is to do a pretty fiddly mess about with the intel matrix storage manager download. I looked at instructions but it is too complicated for me to understand. So I guess until I re-install Windows I will have to live with IDE.

However if someone can post a good guide on how to change from IDE enhanced to AHCI I would be eternally grateful!

 

You do not need to do anything fancy or fiddily with the IRST drivers.

Download from here.

See:
Station-Drivers: le site de drivers, bios, firmwares avec un forum d'aide


Run the file you just downloaded.

This will create two folders, an 'x32' and an 'x64' folder in addition to creating an 'intel_rst_10.0.0.1046(www.station-drivers.com).exe' file.

Ignore the exe file that is created (until later...).

If you have an x64 bit version of windows, use the x64 folder, otherwise use the x32 folder in the following steps.

Go to device manager and right click on your IDE ATA/ATAPI controller and select update driver software.

Select Browse my computer for driver software, point it to the appropriate x32 or x64 folder we just created above.

Click okay/finish.

Reboot the computer and change the mode to AHCI.

When the computer reboots into Windows, let if detect all drives detected and it should ask for a reboot when it properly installs the new drivers.

At this point you are in AHCI mode with the proper drivers. However, I recommend that you install these same drivers again with the 'exe' file the download created above.

As a side note, I'm not sure why your BIOS isn't showing any options other than IDE - are you sure you're scrolling/selecting it properly to show the other options? Try hitting Enter when on that field and see if it doesn't show AHCI or Enhanced or some other setting other than IDE (almost any other setting will most certainly be AHCI, just not labeled as such).

Good luck.

 

Some manufactures have restricted the BIOS and only have IDE, that might be what he's run in to. Without there being an option set in the BIOS, there's no way to enable AHCI operation of the SATA controllers. Also, it's required if you want to use the advanced features of SATA - transfer speeds higher than ATA-100, command queuing, etc - all require AHCI mode be.

 

I run in IDE mode and higher than ATA-100.

 

can't find any information on that, but in IDE/PATA emulation mode - Intel's chips only ever officially supported ATA/100, VIA came up with ATA/133 - when actually using IDE emulation on SATA controllers it causes the OS to use IDE drivers and they will operate according to how that technology works and what it supports (transfer speeds/etc). From what I can tell, you're probably running in AHCI mode and the program you're using to get that information isn't reporting it correctly. They also came up with their own term to describe it, "ATA/512" which from what I know, doesn't really exist.

 

LOL. I went to a lot off trouble to turn of AHCI.

Perhaps because the SATA interface still operates at full speed while using IDE mode, which for me is 3Gb/s, that "high" numbers appear to better describe it. idk but speeds in excess of 100MB/s are totally possible.

 

Then you went to a lot of trouble to essentially cripple your system in one aspect or another.

 

Yeah Tiller I am very sure I cannot choose AHCI. Only Ide and then can choose whether I want enhanced, compatible or disabled. Enhanced is default.

I will see if your trick unlocks the AHCI. Could be that the bios only locks it out if it detects no drivers for it. Not unheard of as the chipset supports AHCI.

Why did you go to a lot of trouble to switch AHCI off Dufus? What downsides did you experience?

 

Since the bus interface works at the same speed in IDE mode as it does in AHCI the transfer speed is the same which also bears out in bench testing. The only things I can think of that are missing are NCQ which on a system that isn't overly fragmented seems to make no difference and the other is hot swapping which I can get around. Since I run some older OS's that don't work with AHCI then IDE is the proper choice in my case.

Please go ahead and explain why you believe my system is crippled.

 

Dufus,

you stated yourself how the system is crippled (NCQ/hotswapping) and also by not being able to take advantage of IRST 1046 WHQL (a noticeable improvement in both HDD and SSD based systems).

However, in your case it needs to be set that way because of your reliance on older O/S's.

Can you not use Win7's XP mode to ease your reliance on past tech?

 

Can't update my drivers Tiller. Windows blocks the installation(believes it has the latest and greatest already). Any ideas as to what I should do next?

 

It is possible that your system doesn't support the newest IRST driver.

Try the same thing with the 9.6 IRST driver from Intel, or even the IMSM 8.9 version.

See:
http://downloadcenter.intel.com/SearchResult.aspx?lang=eng&ProductFamily=Chipsets&ProductLine=Chipset+Software&ProductProduct=Intel%c2%ae+Rapid+Storage+Technology+(Intel%c2%ae+RST)


If I recall correctly, when you try to run the drivers above, it will create an Intel folder on the root of C:. Simply point your 'update drivers' dialogue there and see if it works with one of the older versions first. So, leave the install running (otherwise it cleans up after itself and deletes the temporary folder we need with the extracted files) and go and do a manual install.

If you have any screen shots of your device driver setup showing the ATA storage tab expanded it may help too.

Good luck.

 

Sure here are two screenshots. One of the expanded tab and one of what happens when I try to update the driver:

http://img826.imageshack.us/img826/1139/capturedkc.png
http://img180.imageshack.us/img180/8995/capture2h.png

I am sure there is a way to get around this. Certainly don't intend to give up if there is even a remote chance that I am drivers limited.

 

KoI,

You are trying to update the wrong drivers...

Try updating the Intel ICH9 2 Port controller instead.

BTW, you are in AHCI mode (as far as I can tell from that pic).

 

No, I said NCQ didn't make any difference (from testing between the AHCI and IDE on my system) and that I could work around the hot-swap. Maybe if I wanted to hot swap every 5 minutes it would be much better but I seldom use the external eSata.

I did this change ~2 years ago, long before W7 was available. Probably with the next laptop I get I'll run the oldies in a VM such as VirtualBox. I'm not familiar with W7's XP-mode, does it allow other OS's to be virtualized such as QNX, OS/2 or only XP? XP can support AHCI with a bit of work BTW. Also there are some old bootable disk utilities that will not work with AHCI. I'm all for new technology but having things not work or having to spend many dollars upgrading older software where possible just for NCQ and hot swapping which bring very little in the way of improvement on my system seems to me a bit silly.

I only see the ICH9 in IDE mode. Where do you see AHCI?

King, until you get your BIOS to select AHCI no amount of updating drivers is going help. Once you are able to get BIOS to post with AHCI then you can start worrying about drivers as you'll need some sort of AHCI driver active to be able to boot Windows in AHCI.

 

Dufus,

XP Mode is XP only (I'm pretty sure). You'll need a VM that supports your other O/S's instead.

I am guessing it is in AHCI mode because King of Interns said his BIOS is on Enhanced and the Intel ICH9 port 1 and 2 are identified as SATA, not IDE ports.

See:
http://go.notebookreview.com/?id=52...de-cant-change-ahci-normal-3.html#post6838980



Now, I don't know your system, nor your usage patterns, but I have never considered a new system or upgraded software 'little improvement'.

In fact, it would have been silly for me to save the thousands of dollars 'just in case it didn't work'.

Of course, I tested properly with a single system thoroughly - I spent some time and money, but I learned, advanced and recouped far beyond what effort I exerted - in the long run.

And the benefits are far beyond what NCQ enabled systems offer or the advantages of being able to hot swap HD's.

In over a decade with 6 major system upgrades (on desktop/mobile platforms) I can safely say that I'm easily twice as productive, doing better work and with much bigger files (images) and don't forget I'm older too (slowed down, I have!).

Yes, tech has been very good for me. But only because I pursue it constantly.

 

tilleroftheearth you didn't know my system but still went ahead and posted...

It would have come across better if you had said why it might be crippled instead of just being presumptuous. I guess that's just the way you are, no problem.

As for the screen shot by King if you look at the controller device numbers 2921 & 2926 it's easy enough to look up the devices and check what they are. Once AHCI is enabled there should only be one controller device for the South Bridge instead of 2. What about your own controller device tilleroftheearth, is it not described with "AHCI"?

 

Dufus,

Sorry for being presumptuous. Just wanted to prompt you to respond and hopefully rectify any setup/configuration mistakes. But it seems like you do know what you are doing!

Also, you're right again - my ATA/ATAPI controller does say AHCI.

Could it be that King of Interns' is showing like that because he doesn't have the right driver installed? Or, does it go deeper and he can't install the driver because his BIOS and/or MB doesn't support the IMSM or IRST drivers somehow?

Is there anywhere/anyhow to download/install the Win7 default AHCI drivers on his system (if the RAID Intel drivers won't install...)?

Hope he had luck updating the proper controller with one of the IMSM or the IRST drivers in the meantime.

(And, if I recall correctly, if the BIOS was set to Compatible instead of Enhanced, the Device Manager would be showing those ports as IDE, instead of SATA - right? - guess I just confused that with it being in AHCI mode by default - needs the AHCI drivers for that... AHCI=Hardware+Software support needed).

 

Nope the bios is set to Enhanced. Also you say do a "forced" manual install. Well I have two choices when I install: either browse manually or let windows search for new driver by itself. I chose the first option so I don't know what other forced manual install there is. I haven't tried any other method and will wait till I hear more from you guys.
Thanks

 

Your BIOS should have settings for AHCI.

Under "Main" do you see "SATA Configuration" and if you do, try changing the SATA Configuration to AHCI. Maybe once your out of IDE you'll see an "AHCI Configuration" menu appear under Main. If still no luck try "loading defaults" under the exit menu but make sure to keep note of your current settings in case you want to change some of the defaults back. If you feel you've done something wrong you should be able to discard the changes without saving them. Apologies if you already know all this.

 

King,

I believe Dufus is correct, there is another setting in your BIOS that is keeping you in IDE mode. Keep looking... even in the most unlikely places: (I have seen some BIOS's that needed to be set in RAID for AHCI to be used).

But, if you are selecting the proper ICH9 controller, you should be able to install any driver you want by choosing 'browse' and 'Let me pick from a list..." and then selecting the 'Have disk' option.

Did you give that a try?

 

I will have another look however the bios like many laptops has a very limited bios. Don't think I would have missed it!

I will try your have disk method when I have time Tiller. CHeers.

 

Looking at the C90P BIOS 0604 (only seems to be the one, no updates) do you not see the attached?

 

Nope my bios is a newer version than that 0803. I can't go back to 0604 as I would lose support of quads. Although the older QX9650 works which I intend to get soon so may flash down to that bios version. However I would need to make sure there is a back up of my current bios as there is no official 0803 bios in existence lol


Either way I don't have those options in my current bios. I have a feeling once a proper driver is installed the bios will unlock the necessary..

 

Well I tried looking for 0803 but couldn't find it readily available except one site requiring registration and coinage so I'll give it a miss. Most of the googled sites are Chinese and reading the poor translations hints at AHCI being broken not only in 0803 but 0704 too.

 

This is good to know Dufus! I will certainly give 0603 a try some time. Right while I am still using standard HDD's I can live with IDE however an SSD upgrade down the line with TRIM support AHCI is a must for me. Wierd how AHCI support was present only in the original bios!

 

I'm running my Intel 80GB G2 SSD in IDE mode on my desktop because of an old motherboard. Doesn't seem to hinder performance on a day to day so far that I can tell.