Sager 8170 & OCZ Vertex 3 SSD - AHCI issue

I'm having problem with OCZ Vertex 3 in my Sager 8170.
I posted a thread at OCZ forum too.
Setting Question Sager 8170 & Vertex 3 - Unable to run in AHCI
Support Question Can't Set Vertex 3 to AHCI mode on DELL XPS L702X

The Vertex 3 is not able to run Win7 in AHCI mode.
BSOD during the installation of Win7.

Refer to below URLs, there are people having problem with Vertex3 in AHCI mode too.
ASUSTeK Computer Inc.-Forum- Vertex 3 SSD not found in AHCI mode in DOS
ASUSTeK Computer Inc.-Forum- Weird AHCI Issue?
forum.thinkpads.com • View topic - ocz vertex 3 with t520 quad core fails with BSOD - help!
H67N-USB3-B3 and Vertex 3 AHCI Issue BSOD, Please Help !!
GA-P67A-UD7-B3 and Vertex 3 - Bios problem?
Here's my OCZ Vertex 3 issue! - Overclock.net - Overclocking.net
Help with installing windows 7 64 bit on Vertex 3 - Overclock.net - Overclocking.net
http://forum.notebookreview.com/dell-xps-studio-xps/567938-dell-xps-17-l702x-vertex-3-ssd.html
forum.thinkpads.com • View topic - Intel Generation 3 SSDs (320 model)
http://forum.notebookreview.com/sony/572549-vertex-3-ssd-issues-vpcz11.html
Support Question ***** OCZ Vertex 3 Problems, Help Needed ASAP *****

Is there any Sager 8170 owner who has Vertex 3 SSD?
Do you encounter any BSOD issue with Vertex 3?

 

Man, this is why I stay away from OCZ.

It might be a firmware issue. That's my only guess.

 

I have a Vertex 3 and don't seem to have any issues. I assume my drive is in AHCI mode, but I haven't actually checked my bios settings.

 

Hi,

You might find this thread in the Alienware forum of interest:

http://forum.notebookreview.com/alienware-m17x/572337-any-r3-owners-have-vertex-3-stories-share.html

 

Many thanks.
Can you confirm whether you're running in ACHI mode or not?
You can check in bios, IDE, AHCI or RAID.

If you are indeed running in AHCI mode, may I know your bios & KB/EC version?

 

Many thanks.
I'll try this.

 

Yep I'm in AHCI, haven't changed it so I've been AHCI since I installed the drive. It's in SATA Port 0.

My BIOS is 2.10.2108.

Not sure what KB/EC stands for.

 

Assuming Malibal Satori P170HM and Sager 8170 have the same bios and specs, please press F2 to enter bios.

You can see the bios version & KBC/EC firmware version in the main page of bios.

 

MB Series: P170HMx
BIOS Revision: 1.01.04fNS1
KBC/EC firmware Revision: 1.00.03

 

I think you need to try install Windows 7 right now in IDE mode. Can you tell us where you get new BIOS Revision 1.01.04fNS1 for P170HM ?

 

I was actually curious about this, and followed the OP's progress. It seems he solved his issue by using the intel F6 drivers manually loaded during W7 setup: Support Question Can't Set Vertex 3 to AHCI mode on DELL XPS L702X - Page 2

However, having seen this, I have decided to go with the Intel 510 SSD. Compatibility and reliability come first for me (not to mention, the Intel is neck-to-neck with the Vertex 3 in real life usage, according to Anandtech's review of the drive, despite lackluster benchmark performance).

 

Good choice on the Intel. This is why I'm even sticking with the Intel G2 because of reliability and compatibility. Until the new gen (even the new Intel's) SSD's get some history, I'd be leery of the hefty SSD investment.

 

I installed Win7 fine in AHCI -- haven't touched that setting since I installed my Vertex 3, and the first thing I did was install Win7. That was the BIOS revision that it came with from Malibal. AFAIK they didn't do any custom updating.

 

I got it from Sager.

I received another bios from Sager.
The latest bios for 8170 is Bios 1.01.05NS1 / KBC-EC 1.00.02c

P/S Many thanks to Sager for the technical support.

 

This driver might help: intel drivers pour Raid/Sata/Ata/Ahci

 

Yes, I got it solved.
"F6" or "load driver" manually is the way.

P/S Sager recommended Intel SSD too. Sager told me Intel SSDs are working fine with all Sager notebooks.

 

How Encouraging! I'm sitting on a Vertex 3 240Gb drive waiting to install ins an np8150-s1. I can't wait :-(

 

I found it!

Do F6 driver on Win-7 clean install
Choose the driver in accordance with your Win7 version, either 32-bit or 64-bit.
64-bit driver, http://downloadcenter.intel.com/Deta...ivers&lang=eng
32-bit driver, http://downloadcenter.intel.com/Deta...ivers&lang=eng

 

I am also suffering with this issue.

The problem I am having is it is intermittent. I tracked the issue down to having the secondary drive used.

I purchased the OCZ Vertex3 drive and put it in the primary. I then moved the SATA drive to the secondary. The only way I could get Win7 installed was by putting the bios on IDE mode. Once I got it installed I was able to switch it back to AHCI and had windows detect the new controller.

It will work for a few days then I get stop 7b's when trying to boot. If I remove the secondary drive it boots no problem. If I switch it back to IDE I boot no problem. After one boot I can switch it back to AHCI.

I would just run without the secondary but I only got the 120gb drive from OCZ and it's not quite enough to use by itself. I also tried another drive for the secondary and the same issue.

Have there been any BIOS updates that address these issues? I'm obviously not the only one with this problem.

 

I don't think it's bios related. You need to do a clean win7 installation under AHCI using the correct driver (see previous link and press F6 during installation).

If you install win7 under IDE and then load undef AHCI, it cause BSOD

 

This is correct. You should not change between IDE and AHCI after installing windows- you must choose one option and leave it that way. However, it is possible to get around it if you're comfortable changing some registry settings as per the linked Microsoft KB article

Error message when you start a Windows 7 or Windows Vista-based computer after you change the SATA mode of the boot drive: "STOP 0x0000007B INACCESSABLE_BOOT_DEVICE"

This should let you stay on AHCI mode after having changed it.