Intel DP965LT AHCI Problem

ZXSpectrum · 30 Aug 2006 at 14:35

Well maybe someone may be able to help as Intel are USELESS!

Right in the BIOS i set it to AHCI and install the OS. It gets to where the HDD should be detected and doesnt detect one. But go to the BIOS and set it to IDE and it detects and installs fine. There is no driver for AHCI on the DP965LT motherboard, the drivers for 975 or other 965 boards do not work either.

I have been on to intel and they are clueless. They say that the AHCI function is native to the board and doesnt need the driver and the bit in the BIOS where you can set it to AHCI is a mistake... :rolleyes:

Any ideas???

Pizzaboy2003 · 30 Aug 2006 at 16:44

on the gigabyte DS3/DS4 board wich i have you have to install drivers doing windows install as else the hdd will not show up (AHCI chosen in bios)
So you should have something !
Have you not got the driver on the cd wich came with your board?

ZXSpectrum · 31 Aug 2006 at 09:01

There is no driver on the cd and there is no driver on the intel website. The ppl that work at the call center just aint got a clue.

Oh and the Desktop utilites inthe CD doesnt even work as it doesnt seem to support the chipset something to do with the SM Bus driver.

Just like intel. :rolleyes:

stoofa · 31 Aug 2006 at 14:02

Yes there is a driver available from the Intel website.
The trick is knowing what it is that you actually need.
With any kind of luck this link will work for you.

Item number 8 on the list is what you are looking for.

ZXSpectrum · 1 Sep 2006 at 10:29

No matey that doesnt work. The DP965LT has the ICH8 and not ICH8R so the driver doesnt work. When AHCI is enabled prior to the post screen you get a little (VERY FAST) screen that is like a raid bios that finds the hdd but when you install the os it doesnt recognise the drive. But if i install the drive set as IDE it works no problems and judging by the HDTach tests its running approximately 30% faster than the relevent SATA150 drives. But cant tell if the other features like NCQ are working...

wizardmaxx · 1 Sep 2006 at 10:42

I dont quite undestand your problem, but ive also got 965 motherboard with ich8 and i cant get any of the ich8 sata ports to work at all. bios is also limited in settings. i can only gat the jmicron sata to work. weird

ZXSpectrum · 2 Sep 2006 at 09:14

The boards i have are the Intel DP965LTCK. They only have 4 S-ATA Slots that can be used in 1 of 2 ways S-ATA Emulated as IDE or S-ATA2 also know and AHCI.

On the board i have i am using S-ATA port 1. I go into the BIOS and set the S-ATA MODE to AHCI so i get all the extra functionality and speed increase of S-ATA2 but when i install the O/S it doesnt recognise that there is a drive installed. There are NO F6 drivers on the CD for the AHCI or on the Intel website. I have also tried a variety of other drivers from other boards. Its obvious that the integrated driver for the AHCI in Windows XP does not recognise the ICH8 controller.

When i set the S-ATA MODE to IDE (Which should just emulate the S-ATA Drive as a ATA/IDE drive) it recognises the drive when i install the O/S. The concern is that I am not getting the full speed or functionality of the drive/controller.

The drives i have use are Seagate 160Gb ones but i have also tried a couple of other brands/sizes.

knucklebones · 22 Sep 2006 at 15:42

If you still have the problem, you need the intel Matrix Storage drivers (F6) and select the AHCI