tonight i will try out jacquith way as it was more convicing and straight forward . will post the result of fail or flying . below is the way i going to try -
The 'Test' if Intel RSTE drivers are installed properly - BIOS change Intel SATA -> RAID and boot; the resulting BSOD is a tell tale sign you installed Windows 7 improperly and the very old basic (slower) Windows default AHCI driver is installed. Fix = Re-install the OS.
* Other X79's, My experiences with RAID + X79 are on ASUS, and looking at your download page - http://www.gigabyte.com/products/product-page.aspx?pid=... you have a similar F6 driver set; Windows 7 SP1 lacks the X79 chipset RAID driver package.
* ASUS only, if you plan on using SSD Caching then Intel SATA -> AHCI and both the boot HDD and SSD Cache drive must be on 'NON Intel SATA ports' e.g. Marvell, ASMedia, etc; then install Windows normally none of the following pertains to you.
The fix is a PITA, you'll have to back-up all of your data and start from scratch including reformatting your drives to avoid MBR or GPT corruption, and if you have an SSD then it's best to Secure Erase it before installing the OS to insure optimal performance i.e. 'Factory State.' There is to my knowledge no other way.
There are (2) choices: MBR which is more compatible but if any of the HDD's are 2TB or larger then use GPT.
IMO I strongly advise you to create a custom MBR or GPT Flash Drive installer and in addition add the Intel RST driver "SATA RAID Driver (For system to read from floppy diskette during Windows installation)" uncompressed (unzipped) to the Flash Drive in a Folder called 'RAID' in the top directory. Problems have occurred using the DVD + Flash drive. Next, when requested by the Windows installer for the RAID driver open the folder 'RAID' and select the appropriate, I assume, 64-bit drivers and you'll be using the iaStorA.inf.
Intel Rapid Storage Technology enterprise drivers:
* Options, if your OEM doesn't offer the latest Intel RSTE drivers:
Download "Intel SATA Preinstall driver (For AHCI / RAID Mode)" F6 Driver -> http://www.gigabyte.com/products/product-page.aspx?pid=... and unzip folder.
You should able to use the latest Intel RST Enterprise drivers (Window and F6) driver package:
Intel RST Enterprise - http://downloadcenter.intel.com/Detail_Desc.aspx?agr=Y&...
/ASUS and X79's uses Intel RST Enterprise.
** Safest option, especially if your OEM does offer the latest Intel RSTE drivers:
ASUS & perhaps others - as of the (edit date) ASUS seems to have updated their Intel Rapid Storage Technology enterprise driver software V3.0.0.xxxx (e.g. 3011) package so use ASUS drivers rather than accidentally using the wrong drivers.
Important note: I strongly recommend setting SATA -> RAID even if you plan to change to AHCI later. This completely avoids Windows from injecting wrong drivers during OS installations and that the procedure is followed properly.
Important note: I strongly recommend not loading the drivers from (2) different sources this is a KNOWN issue (e.g. Windows DVD + Flash Drive for drivers only). The problem 'might' be fixed if you reinsert the USB back where it was during the install, but to me this is a very bad way to correct a problem creating a dependency.
REVIEW FIRST - MBR/GPT/Windows 7 Install Guides -> http://www.overclock.net/t/1156654/seans-windows-7-inst...
Requirements:
* Windows 7 ; all my installs have been using SP1 but I see no reason the original Windows 7 wouldn't work
* Flash Drive 4GB or larger, I recommend an 8GB+
Preparation MBR:
* Backup data and any registered Apps deauthorize if possible
* Use the latest BIOS and you must use a minimum BIOS version which supports your components.
* Create Bootable Flash Drive MBR USB installer
** Flash Drive ->
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZcSVVPbzIno
* Create a folder on Flash Drive e.g. 'RAID' containing extracted Intel F6 RST drivers
Preparation GPT:
* Backup data and any registered Apps deauthorize if possible
* Use the latest BIOS and you must use a minimum BIOS version which supports your components i.e. 2TB+ HDD(s).
* Create Bootable Flash Drive GPT USB installer
** Flash Drive ->
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZcSVVPbzIno
** Windows Installer for GPT ->
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sDm8rWr3dV8
* Create a folder on Flash Drive e.g. 'RAID' containing extracted Intel F6 RST drivers
Important note: I strongly recommend before installing any OS that you run Memtest86+: Minimum of 2 passes and 4 passes is preferred. The X79 has a lot of DIMM slots and the risk of errors are effectively double, and I've seen several installations that were corrupted from RAM related issues. Create a bootable CD/DVD/USB of Memtest, use the latest version found here ->
http://www.memtest.org/#downiso
FIX:
1. BOOT/BIOS:
A. Ctrl + I -> Deleted RAID
B. Boot using either Windows Installer or other Formatting boot utility and delete any partitions, and reformat ; non-boot drives
C. BIOS, change Intel SATA -> RAID ; options may include Hot-swap (fine for data, never boot drives)
D. Ctrl + I -> Setup RAID; before OS if boot drive
E. Save and Exit = Yes
2. Before Re-Installing:
A. Shutdown and physically unplug ALL SATA cables to any non-boot drives
B. SSD ONLY (optional but recommended) - SSD Secure Erase -
http://blog.ocztechnology.com/?p=367 ; your SSD may have it's own tools e.g. Samsung offers 'Magician'.
3. Installing: Press F8 and Boot from USB, select 'Install now ->'
A. Select Custom (Advanced)
B. Click on Load Driver, Browse RAID drivers from 'RAID' folder; examples:
'Flash Drive':\...RSTe_V300xxxx_XPWin7\RSTe_V300xxxx_XPWin 7\Driver\Disk\64bit\iaStorA.inf
'Flash Drive':\...RSTe_3.0.0.xxxx_F6-Drivers\RSTe_f6_iaStorA_64\iaStorA.inf
C. Delete any partitions, and reformat
D. Install Windows
E. Finish Windows installation
F. Once in Windows: Install Chipset, Intel RST software/Drivers, and the remainder drivers.
TIP: drivers - use the latest per MOBO's website not the included drivers on the CD/DVD. Copy to primary drive and install.
TIP: drivers - place latest unzipped drivers on Flash Drive in a folder e.g. 'DRIVER PKG', at minimum the Chipset and NIC drivers.
4. Shutdown and reattach all SATA drives
5. BIOS:
A. Ctrl + I -> Setup RAID; if data drives
6. Windows:
A. Registry {note Start values must = 0}:
Either manually verify and change the following registry values or run 'Fix It' -
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/922976
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\Msahci
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\IastorV
B. Management, Disk Management -- add drives and format; if data drives