ICH10R/P45 - changing from IDE to ACHI?

Associate
Joined
29 Sep 2004
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688
hey guys, is it possible to change from IDE to ACHI without re-installing etc?, whenever I change it in the bios it BSODs on windows logo.. I assumed this was because I hadnt installed the intel matrix drivers/software but I cant find one that will install they all say "your system does not meet requirements", is that because im on windows 7 64bit b7077?

thanks
 
Associate
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18 Feb 2009
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PorthEmmet, Cornwall
Hi iCe!

Have found this which looks like just the job for you. Should work for changing from IDE mode to either RAID or AHCI mode.

It'd be worth taking an image first just in case tho I guess.

Hope it helps!
Si

edit: Hmm it's not allowing the linky... I'll have to copy & paste it instead.
 
Associate
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PorthEmmet, Cornwall
Here you are (and thanks to the original poster elsewhere):



Re: How to enable AHCI/RAID mode without reinstalling windows (P35/ICH9/ICH9R)

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

After reading through this thread, I began to think that enabling ICH10R RAID on an IDE installed OS would have been a nightmare, considering this would be for Windows 7 Beta. Oh the sheer simplicity, of it.

Here's some specs,

i7 965 EE
Asus Rampage II Extreme - bios 1001 - ICH10R
12Gb Corsair TR3X6G1600C8D @ 1600Mhz
2x EVGA GTX 295
1x WD3000HLFS 300Gb
OS - Windows 7 6.1.7000

This has been running for the most part stable and was setup using IDE enhanced in the BIOS under Sata Configured To

The addition is to be 4x WD1001FALS (4x 1Tb) to be run in RAID 5.

On adding the drives to the system and booting Windows without changing anything they are visible as 4 normal independant drives. Thats a start.

Going back to the BIOS and changing Sata Configured To to RAID, adding the 4 new drives to a RAID 5 array via the ROM option and booting resulted in the system rebooting during OS Startup (safe mode, normal, repair). hmmmm

The SOLUTION.

Changed the BIOS back to IDE Enhanced so Windows could boot.

In the Windows\System32\Drivers folder is a file called iaStorV.sys installed by OS by default.

Into the registry we go.

Navigate to:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\iaStorV

Change REG_DWORD "Start" from 3 to 0

Reboot

Go into the BIOS and change Sata Configured To to RAID

Windows should boot as normal, no lockups or BSOD's and you should see it installing Device Drivers followed by Device Installed Successfully.

I tested it prior to installing the Intel Storage Matrix v8.7.0.1007 (current as @ 18/2/09) and it worked fine.

I installed the Intel Storage Matrix software anyway to gain access to the Storage Console component and on reboot it worked just as good.

Long story short, ICH10R with Windows 7 required the modification of a single digit to enable RAID functionality right out of the box. No reg. keys, no copy/pastes, no prayers.

Anyway I think that wraps it up, try at your own risk and always backup first.
 
Associate
OP
Joined
29 Sep 2004
Posts
688
sorted this ended up resorting to re-alligning the drive since I wanted to change offset then reinstalling windows 7 when the drives were set to achi mode :)

so sorry didnt see the replies but thanks for them guys! <3
 
Man of Honour
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17 Feb 2003
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Chelmsford
To be honest, there is little benefit to switching ACHI. ACHI takes advantage of NCQ which is useful for multi user software, such as severs. For desktop PCs, this can be detrimental to performance. NCQ penalty differs per make and model of a hard drive.

I'd leave well alone.
 
Associate
OP
Joined
29 Sep 2004
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688
well maybe it was just the allignment that changed it then but I am getting much better benching on my vertex now, before I was getting around 50-65% of what I should have been getting

do u think "raid" would be better?....
 
Last edited:
Soldato
Joined
25 Dec 2008
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Sheffield/Norwich
I use ACHI because it lets me hotplug and unplug HDDs when I feel the urge. I've never had an unexpected reboot since all my HDDs use SATA power cables, before then it was always a risk though!
 
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