[puntoMX]

Thank you.

Vista will work directly with AHCI out of the box .

[nitroshift]

That's interesting, Punto... I had Vista installed on my previous rig (HDD set up as IDE) and when I upgraded the pc I didn't want to format and reinstall Vista so I set up the new BIOS to see the SATA HDD as an IDE device. Then I thought I might take advantage of the AHCI features and changed it in BIOS. Boot the machine ---> BSOD. Reverting to IDE gets rid of the BSOD. Any idea how I can enable AHCI without reinstalling? All the specs are in my signature and I am using Vista Ultimate x86. Thanks for any / all input.

[puntoMX]

I didn’t test it on Vista, but it should work (almost) the same way.

Step 3 could be a problem, but you could check if the keys are in the same place with Vista...

EDIT: on the other hand, it’s not giving you much performance as you can see in the benchmarks I posted above .

Scratch that, read on...

[Zxian]

puntoMX, on Dec 24 2007, 12:34 AM, said:

EDIT: on the other hand, it’s not giving you much performance as you can see in the benchmarks I posted above .

Those artificial benchmarks don't really give the whole story of performance. I don't think that the advantages of features like NCQ are properly represented in HD Tune. As memnoch pointed out earlier, I think that all you've succeeded in doing is loading the ACHI driver under XP, but not actually enabling the ACHI features.

[puntoMX]

Then you tell me how to test NCQ?

BIOS has been installed and drivers are loaded indeed, benchmarks show a smoother image and Advanced Power Management feature IS enabled.

It would be nice if some one who has an ICH9R with the same drive and run the same benchmark (HD Tune default) under XP to see what shows up...

EDIT: My PC:
- Without AHCI enabled takes 24.6 sec. to get to the desktop of Windows XP ^{1) 2)}
- With AHCI enabled takes 19.2 sec. to get to the desktop of Windows XP <sup>1) 2)

1)</sup> From start of use harddisk. ²⁾ Average has been taken from 2x 10 startups.

[Zxian]

The second test would likely be a better test of NCQ, since there are multiple requests going on during bootup.

[eisbaer]

Well that didn't work for me. After setting SATA at AHCI in the bios, windows xp pro doesn't start up anymore. It asks if I want to boot in safemode what doesn't work either. Xp only boots with SATA set to IDE. Not sure where the problems lies.

Asus p5k
Samsung S203D drive (sata)
WD HDD (IDE and bootdevice)
Samsung spinpoint (sata) send for repair so not installed at the moment
2GB
Windows XP Pro

[puntoMX]

eisbaer, on Dec 25 2007, 03:05 PM, said:

Well that didn't work for me. After setting SATA at AHCI in the bios, windows xp pro doesn't start up anymore. It asks if I want to boot in safemode what doesn't work either. Xp only boots with SATA set to IDE. Not sure where the problems lies.

I PMed you a few days ago, still no response . Let’s work it out together...

[eisbaer]

Thanks for you offer to help. I got it installed in the mean time though, via.

1.Download floppy version of intel matrix.
2.Extract the drivers to a floppy then to a map on your disc.
3.Update the IDE/SATA driver to Intel 82801GR/GH SATA AHCI from the extracted floppy.
4.Reboot and enter BIOS and set the IDE to AHCI.Save and exit.Now windows will boot and find a new hardware and will reboot again.
5.Install Intel Matrix Storage Manager latest (CD version) and reboot.

I'll have to wait for my sata hdd returing from rma to do some benchmarking.

[osku]

eisbaer, on Dec 30 2007, 08:24 PM, said:

Thanks for you offer to help. I got it installed in the mean time though, via.

1.Download floppy version of intel matrix.
2.Extract the drivers to a floppy then to a map on your disc.
3.Update the IDE/SATA driver to Intel 82801GR/GH SATA AHCI from the extracted floppy.
4.Reboot and enter BIOS and set the IDE to AHCI.Save and exit.Now windows will boot and find a new hardware and will reboot again.
5.Install Intel Matrix Storage Manager latest (CD version) and reboot.

I'll have to wait for my sata hdd returing from rma to do some benchmarking.

The OP forgot to inform when he thinks the drivers should be installed etc..., but I did also about the same as you did, I had earlier a few days ago allready created the floppy and just modified it with Notepad. Installed the modified driver, then the .reg file and rebooted and changed the ACHI setting. Boots ok, but I am unable to install the Intel Matrix Storage Manager as it says "This computer does not meet the minumum requirements for installing this software". How did you fix that? Trying to install a 7.8.0.1012 over XP Pro SP3 (English). One curiosity was that the driver I installed before restarting had to be intalled again since it was gone after restart. I am now wondering should I have had Intel drivers installed before the whole procedure (just installed this system today).

[madderose]

Hi there I cant seem to get this to work

I have a Asus p5k-e on bios revision 1.06 ive gone through the guide twice and checked and tried rebboting with all variations raid, ahci and the only thing that works is ide

[-AP&page=1[/url]
any help would be appreciated

specs

"SiSoftware Sandra


Processor
Model : Intel® Core™2 Duo CPU E6850 @ 3.00GHz
Speed : 3.00GHz
Cores per Processor : 2 Unit(s)
Threads per Core : 1 Unit(s)
Type : Dual-Core
Internal Data Cache : 2x 32kB, Synchronous, Write-Thru, 8-way set, 64 byte line size
L2 On-board Cache : 1x 4MB, ECC, Synchronous, ATC, 16-way set, 64 byte line size, 2 threads sharing

System
System : System manufacturer P5K-E
Mainboard : ASUSTeK Computer INC. P5K-E
Bus(es) : ISA PCI PCIe IMB USB i2c/SMBus
Multi-Processor (MP) Support : 1 Processor(s)
Multi-Processor Advanced PIC (APIC) : Yes
System BIOS : American Megatrends Inc. 8.12
Total Memory : 2GB DDR2-SDRAM

Chipset 1
Model : ASUSTeK Computer Inc (Bearlake) Processor to I/O Controller
Front Side Bus Speed : 4x 333MHz (1332MHz data rate)
Total Memory : 11GB DDR2-SDRAM

Video System
Desktop Monitors/Panels : 2
Monitor/Panel : Default Monitor
Monitor/Panel : Plug and Play Monitor
Monitor/Panel : Plug and Play Monitor
Adapter : Radeon X1950 Pro
Adapter : Radeon X1950 Pro
Adapter : Radeon X1950 Pro Secondary
Adapter : Radeon X1950 Pro Secondary
Imaging Device : Logitech QuickCam Pro 4000

Physical Storage Devices
WDC WD740GD-00FLA0 (ATA) : 69GB (C:)
Maxtor 6L300S0 (ATA) : 279GB (J:)
MAXTOR STM3320820AS (ATA) : 298GB (H:)
MAXTOR STM3500630AS (ATA) : 466GB (M:)
Hitachi HDS721010KLA (SCSI) : 932GB (N:)
Maxtor 6B300S0 (SCSI) : 279GB (I:)
EPSON Stylus Storage (USB) : N/A (K:)
PLEXTOR DVDR PX-810SA (ATAPI) : N/A (O:)
TS5231S FUD046M (SCSI) : N/A (L:)

Logical Storage Devices
TeRaYByte (N:) : 932GB (773GB, 83% Free Space) (NTFS) @ Hitachi HDS721010KLA (SCSI)
300 drive 1 (I:) : 279GB (108GB, 38% Free Space) (NTFS) @ Maxtor 6B300S0 (SCSI)
BlackRaptor (C:) : 69GB (25GB, 36% Free Space) (NTFS) @ WDC WD740GD-00FLA0 (ATA)
new (J:) : 279GB (12GB, 4% Free Space) (NTFS) @ Maxtor 6L300S0 (ATA)
download (H:) : 298GB (13GB, 4% Free Space) (NTFS) @ MAXTOR STM3320820AS (ATA)
backup (M:) : 466GB (74GB, 16% Free Space) (NTFS) @ MAXTOR STM3500630AS (ATA)
CD-ROM/DVD (O:) : N/A @ PLEXTOR DVDR PX-810SA (ATAPI)
CD-ROM/DVD (L:) : N/A @ TS5231S FUD046M (SCSI)
3.5" 1.44MB (A:) : N/A
Removable Drive (K:) : N/A @ EPSON Stylus Storage (USB)

Peripherals
USB Controller/Hub : Intel® ICH9 Family USB Universal Host Controller - 2934
USB Controller/Hub : Intel® ICH9 Family USB Universal Host Controller - 2935
USB Controller/Hub : Intel® ICH9 Family USB Universal Host Controller - 2936
USB Controller/Hub : Intel® ICH9 Family USB Universal Host Controller - 2937
USB Controller/Hub : Intel® ICH9 Family USB Universal Host Controller - 2938
USB Controller/Hub : Intel® ICH9 Family USB Universal Host Controller - 2939
USB Controller/Hub : Intel® ICH9 Family USB2 Enhanced Host Controller - 293A
USB Controller/Hub : Intel® ICH9 Family USB2 Enhanced Host Controller - 293C
USB Controller/Hub : USB Root Hub
USB Controller/Hub : USB Root Hub
USB Controller/Hub : USB Root Hub
USB Controller/Hub : USB Root Hub
USB Controller/Hub : USB Root Hub
USB Controller/Hub : USB Root Hub
USB Controller/Hub : USB Root Hub
USB Controller/Hub : USB Root Hub
USB Controller/Hub : USB Composite Device
USB Controller/Hub : USB Composite Device
USB Controller/Hub : USB Mass Storage Device
USB Controller/Hub : USB Printing Support
Keyboard : Standard 101/102-Key or Microsoft Natural PS/2 Keyboard
Mouse : HID-compliant Cordless Mouse
Human Interface : Logitech Cordless USB Mouse

MultiMedia Device(s)
Device : M-Audio Revolution

Printers and Faxes
Model : Send To OneNote 2007
Model : Microsoft Office Document Image Writer
Model : EPSON Stylus Photo R340 Series
Model : Acrobat Distiller

Power Management
Mains (AC) Line Status : On-Line

Operating System(s)
Windows System : Microsoft Windows XP (2002) Professional 5.01.2600 (Service Pack 2)
Platform Compliance : Win32 x86

Network Services
Adapter : Marvell Yukon 88E8056 PCI-E Gigabit Ethernet Controller

This post has been edited by madderose: 01 January 2008 - 03:31 PM

[nitroshift]

Just to confirm that it works in Vista on the configuration in my signature. However, since Vista has the drivers built in, you only need to run the .reg file and restart. That's what I did and after 2 restarts I now have AHCI enabled with all its features and benefits. And yes, running with AHCI enabled has sped up the copy times (tested in Total Commander, average 32MB/s without AHCI, ~55MB/s with AHCI enabled). Once again, nice work guys!

EDIT:
I forgot to mention that the structure of the reg file works ok in Vista and the keys are correctly located in the registry.

This post has been edited by nitroshift: 03 January 2008 - 04:04 AM

[alina120280]

I have a ASUS P5K Premium with Western WD5000AAKS with NCQ (verified myself).
I made an upgrade from IDE to AHCI ICH9 on XP Pro and worked 2 weeks.
After severals errors and after upgrading everything posible (BIOS, Intel driver) in a morning my PC stopped booting in the middle (even in save mode).
So I've been forced to install fresh and for my surprise since than I have no errors anymore, so my conclusion is than it might work an upgrade, but 100% sure is only a fresh system install.
The performance is amazing with NCQ.
All works instantly without 1-2 seconds waiting like allways without NCQ.
I recommend NCQ but only on a fresh install.

This post has been edited by alina120280: 03 January 2008 - 07:33 AM

[nitroshift]

alina120280, on Jan 3 2008, 03:30 PM, said:

I have a ASUS P5K Premium with Western WD5000AAKS with NCQ (verified myself).
I made an upgrade from IDE to AHCI ICH9 on XP Pro and worked 2 weeks.
After severals errors and after upgrading everything posible (BIOS, Intel driver) in a morning my PC stopped booting in the middle (even in save mode).
So I've been forced to install fresh and for my surprise since than I have no errors anymore, so my conclusion is than it might work an upgrade, but 100% sure is only a fresh system install.
The performance is amazing with NCQ.
All works instantly without 1-2 seconds waiting like allways without NCQ.
I recommend NCQ but only on a fresh install.

First off, welcome to THE forum! Second, the issue you are describing is definitely NOT produced by installing the AHCI drivers. What is the configuration of the pc that crapped out and what errors were you getting? Can you remember any codes?

EDIT:
At this moment the only thing that pops in my mind regarding your boot issues is devious start-up services / applications.

This post has been edited by nitroshift: 03 January 2008 - 07:50 AM

[alina120280]

All I can say that this is my conclusion and no, I can't remember any error codes.
The resets appeard at the beginnig rare and in days more frequent until no start posible (and this with any changes before or after the first reset, except BIOS and Intel AHCI driver with the newest version).
The effect was, that in a HD read request the LED remaind ON and after 15 seconds (I suppose of "innactivity") followed a "blue screen" and reset and this in different situations.
In this time I didn't change any drivers or software installation (my PC was perfect).
After the fresh install with the same software on it ,all works perfect and no more troubles (tested in very hard situations).
I don't want to say that the AHCI drivers caused the "death" of my PC, but XP makes the things different and better in a fresh installation as in a simple driver upgrade.

ASUS P5K Premium/Wifi
IC2 Q6600 2400
2GB DDR2 800MHZ
ASUS N8800 ULTRA
WD5000AAKS SATA
ASUS DRW 1814BLT SATA
CORSAIR CMPSU-520HX

This post has been edited by alina120280: 03 January 2008 - 03:25 PM

[nitroshift]

I wish you posted this while you were getting the bluescreens... There is a thread here that explains how to create a full memory dump that we could read and pinpoint the culprit...

[szlajo2]

Hi all i cant to get this to work:
I have asus p5k/deluxe/wi-fi and sata seagate st3320620as & sata dvd sh-s183ą & ide dvd-rom
Bios revison is 0705.
When Windows has started i got the bluescreens,reset and bios mast be set to sata:ide to get to work
xp.I am unable to install the Intel Matrix Storage Manager as it says "This computer does not meet the minumum requirements for installing this software". My os :win xp pro with sp3 , maybe problem is service pack 3?
Sorry for bed english

[nitroshift]

What build of SP3 is that?

[puntoMX]

szlajo2, on Jan 4 2008, 07:17 AM, said:

I am unable to install the Intel Matrix Storage Manager as it says "This computer does not meet the minumum requirements for installing this software".

The problem I have is that I can’t test it my self on an ASUS board , but it should work the same for ASUS as it did for the Gigabyte boards.

I think I have to clear things up a bit; you can’t install the Intel Matrix Storage Manager, as your board doesn’t have RAID. On the net people talk about a modified version that should install, but it’s useless when you don’t have RAID.

[seeker333]

Will this procedure work for a Win 2000 Prof SP4 install?

Thanks for your work on XP, puntoMX.