ACHI on SATA drive?

shahpor

shahpor

shahpor

Associate
Joined
13 Mar 2007
Posts
832
Hello all.

I am in need of your expertise again.

Basically, I want to know if my Samsung F3's should be running in AHCI mode or IDE?

The reason I ask is that up until now they have been running IDE fine, but I got a Coolermaster CM-690 II today and the manual says that if I want the top SATA slot to be hot swappable, I need to have it in AHCI mode?

Any advice?

Thanks.
 
Last edited:
1) Are you planning on using the external SATA port?
2) Are you planning on connecting the external port to the same SATA controller as your existing HDDs?
 
Well, I would like to have the option to use the top slot sata connector on the case if possible.

And yes, same controller as my existing hard drives (in other words, all connected to the motherboard).

I know I need to turn it on for the hot swap capability, but what I want to know is whether there is a downside to my existing hard drives if I do?
 
Last edited:
OK, do you know if your existing motherboard has more than one SATA controller? If it does then it would make life easier to use a different controller for the external port, that way you can enable AHCI on it without messing with your existing OS install.

If you've only got the one SATA controller then all is not lost, it's possible to change the controller mode to AHCI but it means you need to do a bit of monkeying to get the right drivers installed so that Windows will still boot after you've flipped the setting in the BIOS. If you have a search on here you should be able to find a step by step guide, failing that there are plenty on the wider web if you have a quick search.
 
Well, that didn't go well :(

I did as the guides I found on various website told me; namely, create a new reg entry and copy the iastor.sys file to the drivers folder, but when i switched the ACHI after rebooting windows would blue screen on startup and keep restarting.
 
Your motherboard has two SATA controllers, an Intel one built into the chipset which you're most likely using for your existing HDDs and a Marvell one on a separate chip.

The easiest option is going to be to leave the Intel controller in IDE mode for your existing disks and connect the external port to the Marvell controller. Your BIOS probably only has a disable/enable option for the Marvell controller but that's OK, the Marvell drivers let you pick which channels on the controller are hot swappable.
 
Ok, I have investigated and am now confused :(

Can some kind soul please take pity on me and help? :)

On the board itself, I have 6 red connectors, 1 orange and 1 white.

According to the manual, the orange and white connectors are Silicon Image connectors for the Drive Xpert function.

In the BIOS, I do have an 'Marvell IDE' which I have set to Enabled. The only other option is 'Marvell IDE Boot ROM' which is disabled.

I can't find/see any other options and the manual also states that the Silicon Image connectors are not hot swappable.

Can anyone shed some light on this please?
 
Thanks for that.

Have already tried adding the reg data and copying the iastor.sys file to the drivers directory in system32.

When I rebooted and changed my BIOS setting from IDE to ACHI, my windows would crash at the splash screen and reboot. :(
 
theres no need to copy any thing. if you follow my steps exactly, it should work. Also which OS are you using? The method only works with vista and Windows 7
 
Thanks for that.

Tried what it said and it was still no good :(

One thing I have noticed though is that the reg edits change depending on what controller you have? Some don't say, but I have not come across one that is specifically for my ICH10R controller.

You think this might make a difference?
 
Sorted :)

Seems it was my reg edit file all along. I did find an ICH10R one, but it still didn't work.

Quick bit of checking turned out one error in the file.

The original says:

"[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\ControlSet001\Control\CriticalDeviceDatabase\pci#ven_8086&dev_3A22&cc_0106]"

Well, after a bit of investigating, it turns out that my Registry doesn't have a ControlSet001. :)

Changed it to 'CurrentControlSet' and I am now running on AHCI controlled hard drives.

Hot Swap SATA, here I come. :)

Thanks very much everyone in this thread for your guidance.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom