Hope I'm posting this in the right area.
I need some serious help setting up AHCI on my newly nuked HD/PC. I built my rig a while back for use with graphic-visual design (Adobe Suites) & some gaming (Crysis). As it was my first build, I had never heard of AHCI & the benefits (NQC & hot-swapping, mainly) you receive from incorporating it. Once I realized what I was missing, I planned on starting all over & have done enough research to make my eyes bleed. Over this past weekend I went ahead & nuked the HD. After doing everything I'm suppose to (will get to that in a moment), I still can't enable AHCI in my system.
Timeline:
Using the latest builds of both the F6 Floppy (F6FLPY3289 Ver8.9.0.1023 7-17-09, with files: iaahci, iaAHCI, iastor, iaStor, IaStor, license & TXTSETUP.OEM) on a good ol' floppy disk & the Intel Matrix Storage Manager file (IATA89ENU) on a USB thumb drive (which I transfered over to the HD), I went ahead & installed a fresh copy of Windows XP HE + SP3 32-bit.
Following the steps in several online tutorials, When all was said & done, I restarted, went into BIOS to enable AHCI. The result? BSOD & an infinite restart loop. Fun!
I've tried several times to install IMSM immediately after Windows completes its' install. As far as I know, that's the first time you can install *anything* after XP has been setup (am I wrong there?) Next comes the error prompt "This computer does not meet the minimum requirements for installing the software. Setup will exit" comes up & that's that.
Does IMSM need to be installed BEFORE Windows is installed?? How can that be done, exactly?
Slip-streaming is an option, but seems a bit too complicated for me, @ least right now. If there's no other way, I'll go for it. Has anyone done that out there? Slip-streaming F6 Floppy & Intel Matrix Storage Manager with Windows XP + Service Packs onto a bootable disc? Does it work?
I even tried a method to enable AHCI *after* Windows installation, found here (LINK: http://forums.pcper.com/showthread.php?t=444831).
No dice. What step am I doing wrong?? I'm nearly @ my wits end.
I have a 10K RPM Raptor X drive & it's being wasted if every ounce of juice it can muster isn't being utilized. All my components (as far as I know through research) are compatible with enabling AHCI.
The only possibility I can think of that's hindering things is my Gigabyte GA-P35-DS3L Rev2.0 motherboard (all the detailed specs of it & every component of my build can be found @ the end here) does NOT support RAID. If your mobo doesn't support RAID, it means no AHCI, too?? Please say it ain't so.
Another thing, What I can't find online & no one seems to spell out CLEARLY, is HOW EXACTLY & @ WHAT POINT OF THE INSTALLATION do you install the Intel Matrix Storage Manager??? I'm talking a how-to that spells it out like you're talking to a small child. Everything I come across says over & over again "so yeah, you install IMSM..." Aaaaaaaargh!!! How!?!? When!?!?
It's too big for a floppy (6.77MB). I see AHCI under my BIOS setup. It's there, just calling my name. All but 1 of my components are using a SATA cable/connection.
I guess another good question is "Am I truly missing out on things by not having AHCI enabled or are the benefits negligible?"
Any help would be GREATLY appreciated! Thanks in advance.
***DETAILED SPECS OF MY PC***
Cooler Master® Stacker 830 SE Full Tower Case (Model #RC-830-KKR3-GP) with...
Real Power Pro 1000 Watt PSU
GIGABYTE® GA-P35-DS3L Rev.2.0 LGA 775 Intel P35 ATX Motherboard
Intel Quad Core Q6600 CPU Kentsfield Socket 775 LGA 65nm @ 2.40GHz (Stepping B, Revision G0)
OCZ® (Model #OCZ2VU8004GK) DDR2 PC-6400 800MHz Vista Upgrade Edition RAM (2 x 2GB)
Western Digital® Raptor X® 10,000 RPM 150GB HD (Model #WD1500AHFDRTL)
EVGA® GeForce® 9800 GT 512MB GDDR3 PCI-E x16 (rev. A2) (Model #512-P3-N975-AR)
SAMSUNG® SATA Black DVD Burner with LightScribe© (Model #SH-S203N Version SB02)
MITSUMI® Black 1.44MB 3.5" Internal Digital Card Reader + Floppy Drive
2 x Scythe DFS123812-3000 "ULTRA KAZE" 120 x 38 mm Case Fan
4 x APEVIA CF12SL-UGN 120mm Green LED Case Fan (Side Panel)
(8 TOTAL Case Fans)
Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition + SP3 32-bit
19" Samsung SyncMaster 906BW Wide Screen LCD Monitor
17" Gateway EV730 CRT Monitor
I need some serious help setting up AHCI on my newly nuked HD/PC. I built my rig a while back for use with graphic-visual design (Adobe Suites) & some gaming (Crysis). As it was my first build, I had never heard of AHCI & the benefits (NQC & hot-swapping, mainly) you receive from incorporating it. Once I realized what I was missing, I planned on starting all over & have done enough research to make my eyes bleed. Over this past weekend I went ahead & nuked the HD. After doing everything I'm suppose to (will get to that in a moment), I still can't enable AHCI in my system.
Timeline:
Using the latest builds of both the F6 Floppy (F6FLPY3289 Ver8.9.0.1023 7-17-09, with files: iaahci, iaAHCI, iastor, iaStor, IaStor, license & TXTSETUP.OEM) on a good ol' floppy disk & the Intel Matrix Storage Manager file (IATA89ENU) on a USB thumb drive (which I transfered over to the HD), I went ahead & installed a fresh copy of Windows XP HE + SP3 32-bit.
Following the steps in several online tutorials, When all was said & done, I restarted, went into BIOS to enable AHCI. The result? BSOD & an infinite restart loop. Fun!
I've tried several times to install IMSM immediately after Windows completes its' install. As far as I know, that's the first time you can install *anything* after XP has been setup (am I wrong there?) Next comes the error prompt "This computer does not meet the minimum requirements for installing the software. Setup will exit" comes up & that's that.
Does IMSM need to be installed BEFORE Windows is installed?? How can that be done, exactly?
Slip-streaming is an option, but seems a bit too complicated for me, @ least right now. If there's no other way, I'll go for it. Has anyone done that out there? Slip-streaming F6 Floppy & Intel Matrix Storage Manager with Windows XP + Service Packs onto a bootable disc? Does it work?
I even tried a method to enable AHCI *after* Windows installation, found here (LINK: http://forums.pcper.com/showthread.php?t=444831).
No dice. What step am I doing wrong?? I'm nearly @ my wits end.
I have a 10K RPM Raptor X drive & it's being wasted if every ounce of juice it can muster isn't being utilized. All my components (as far as I know through research) are compatible with enabling AHCI.
The only possibility I can think of that's hindering things is my Gigabyte GA-P35-DS3L Rev2.0 motherboard (all the detailed specs of it & every component of my build can be found @ the end here) does NOT support RAID. If your mobo doesn't support RAID, it means no AHCI, too?? Please say it ain't so.
Another thing, What I can't find online & no one seems to spell out CLEARLY, is HOW EXACTLY & @ WHAT POINT OF THE INSTALLATION do you install the Intel Matrix Storage Manager??? I'm talking a how-to that spells it out like you're talking to a small child. Everything I come across says over & over again "so yeah, you install IMSM..." Aaaaaaaargh!!! How!?!? When!?!?
It's too big for a floppy (6.77MB). I see AHCI under my BIOS setup. It's there, just calling my name. All but 1 of my components are using a SATA cable/connection.
I guess another good question is "Am I truly missing out on things by not having AHCI enabled or are the benefits negligible?"
Any help would be GREATLY appreciated! Thanks in advance.
***DETAILED SPECS OF MY PC***
Cooler Master® Stacker 830 SE Full Tower Case (Model #RC-830-KKR3-GP) with...
Real Power Pro 1000 Watt PSU
GIGABYTE® GA-P35-DS3L Rev.2.0 LGA 775 Intel P35 ATX Motherboard
Intel Quad Core Q6600 CPU Kentsfield Socket 775 LGA 65nm @ 2.40GHz (Stepping B, Revision G0)
OCZ® (Model #OCZ2VU8004GK) DDR2 PC-6400 800MHz Vista Upgrade Edition RAM (2 x 2GB)
Western Digital® Raptor X® 10,000 RPM 150GB HD (Model #WD1500AHFDRTL)
EVGA® GeForce® 9800 GT 512MB GDDR3 PCI-E x16 (rev. A2) (Model #512-P3-N975-AR)
SAMSUNG® SATA Black DVD Burner with LightScribe© (Model #SH-S203N Version SB02)
MITSUMI® Black 1.44MB 3.5" Internal Digital Card Reader + Floppy Drive
2 x Scythe DFS123812-3000 "ULTRA KAZE" 120 x 38 mm Case Fan
4 x APEVIA CF12SL-UGN 120mm Green LED Case Fan (Side Panel)
(8 TOTAL Case Fans)
Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition + SP3 32-bit
19" Samsung SyncMaster 906BW Wide Screen LCD Monitor
17" Gateway EV730 CRT Monitor