Moving Hard drives into AHCI configured system - Any issue ?

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spacejunk

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Hey,


I just finished my new system, which has only one SSD system drive using AHCI. Will adding non-AHCI configured HDD's (some of which have XP installed on them) on the same controller cause any issues ?

Note: They will only be used for storage drives, and/or mass data transfer then format for storage.


New system has native AHCI support - Win-7 pro 64bit.
 
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spacejunk

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In the meantime, i've been looking in the bios to see how i can configure one of the other controllers, but the weird thing is, only the dual marvell-6gb/s controllers are showing up.

But i also have another 4 port Sata-2 (Z77) controller and another 2 port sata-3 (Z77) controller.

How can i configure the Sata-2 controller to use normal ATA or JBOD for the drives i want to install ?
 
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Hawkeye22

Hawkeye22

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XP will not work. you would need to reinstall it and use F6 during setup to load the AHCI drivers. Normally ACHI needs set before installing an OS, but there is a registry hack for win 7 and I think it works in vista also.

1. Startup "Regedit
2. Open HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE / SYSTEM / CurrentControlset / Services
3. Open msahci
4. In the right field left click on "start" and go to Modify
5. In the value Data field enter "0" and click "ok"
6. exit "Regedit"
7. Reboot Rig and enter BIOS

In your BIOS select "Integrated Peripherals" and OnChip PATA/SATA Devices. Now change SATA Mode to AHCI from IDE.
 
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spacejunk

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Hey Hawkeye,


As stated above, i don't intend to boot the XP installations. They will be just used for storage and/or formatted. I just wanted to know if there was a risk of loosing data or corrupting the drives.


Also, there doesn't seem to be any other configurable ATA controller in the bios, bar the Marvell. The only options for the chipset controllers are to enable/disable them.


There is only one universal SATA mode option, which is set to AHCI. I was looking to change modes independently for each controller, but there is no option for this.

Z77) 6GB/S - 2 port (0/1) - System SSD
Z77)3GB/S - 4 port (2/3/4/5 - (This is the controller i will be using for the old drives)
Marvell 6gb/s - 2 port (6/7 -
Marvell 6gb/s - 2 port (8/9 -


I have already hooked up all the non-OS HDD's to the Z77-3gb/s controller, which are working fine, though i have two more OS drives with data i must transfer.
 
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spacejunk

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Yeah, that's what i thought, but after going through the bios and the manual, all i can set is the Marvel controllers. The universal SATA option doesn't even specify a controller, so both of the chipset controllers are dependent on this option.


 
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Hawkeye22

Hawkeye22

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Well, you haven't listed your motherboard. You will probably get more help if you list your board. A link to it could also be useful. This way any forum members that are familiar with the board can respond and those of us that aren't familiar with it can at least downlaod and view the manual.
 
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Hawkeye22

Hawkeye22

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Just a quick glimpse through the manual.

chapter 2-4: ATA Port Information
This section provides information on the device connected to each SATA port controlled by Intel Z77 Chipset.
You can enable/disable each SATA port or enable/disable the hot plug capability.

Page 56:
SATA Controller(s) (Intel Z77 Chipset)
Enables or disables the integrated SATA controllers. (Default: Enabled)
&& SATA Mode Selection (Intel Z77 Chipset)
Enables or disables RAID for the SATA controllers integrated in the Intel Z77 Chipset or configures theSATA controllers to AHCI mode.
IDE Configures the SATA controller to IDE mode.
RAID Enables RAID for the SATA controller.
AHCI Configures the SATA controllers to AHCI mode. Advanced Host Controller Interface
(AHCI) is an interface specification that allows the storage driver to enable advanced
Serial ATA features such as Native Command Queuing and hot plug. (Default

Page 58 for both marvell controllers:
GSATA Controller (Marvell 88SE9172 Chip, GSATA3 6 and GSATA3 7 connectors)
Enables or disables RAID for the SATA controllers integrated in the Marvell 88SE9172 chip or configures the SATA controllers to AHCI mode. The area below displays the current status of the two SATA ports.
IDE Mode Disables RAID for the SATA controllers and configures the SATA controllers to IDE
mode.
AHCI Mode Configures the SATA controllers to AHCI mode. Advanced Host Controller Interface
(AHCI) is an interface specification that allows the storage driver to enable advanced
Serial ATA features such as Native Command Queuing and hot plug. (Default)
RAID Mode Enables RAID for the SATA controllers.
Disabled Disables this function.


GSATA Controller (Marvell 88SE9172 Chip, GSATA3 8 and GSATA3 9 connectors)
Enables or disables RAID for the SATA controllers integrated in the Marvell 88SE9172 chip or configures the SATA controllers to AHCI mode. The area below displays the current status of the two SATA ports.
IDE Mode Disables RAID for the SATA controllers and configures the SATA controllers to IDE mode.
AHCI Mode Configures the SATA controllers to AHCI mode. Advanced Host Controller Interface
(AHCI) is an interface specification that allows the storage driver to enable advanced
Serial ATA features such as Native Command Queuing and hot plug. (Default)
RAID Mode Enables RAID for the SATA controllers.
Disabled Disables this function.

 
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spacejunk

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Yeah, sadly this doesn't tell me anything i don't already know. Both chipset controllers are dependent on the ATA mode option.

Would be good if i could set them individually.

0/1 - AHCI
2/3/4/5 - IDE/RAID for compatibility


One more thing. Why are you trying to set you controllers up differently? Even with AHCI on, if you are running win 7 (which you are), you should be able to see all drives, even those formatted under XP.
Click to expand...

That's the answer to my original question, that is all i needed to know. Since we never concluded until now, that running non-AHCI OS drives on an AHCI configured controller would cause data loss or corruption.


Also, after installing the old drives, this morning when i awoke my PC it gave a BSOD. Seems they are not enjoying being on the AHCI controller. Either that or there is a driver issue going on. Only seems to happen after my PC wakes up.

Could be a number of things i know, but since the system has been fine until now, and the old drives never caused any issue on the machine i took them out of suggests it's not a HDD fault. I'll figure it out though.

Thanks for you help on that mate. :)
 
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Hawkeye22

Hawkeye22

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This makes it appears as they are customized per controller. Sorry I didn't read your original post correctly. Like I said, they should all run fine under AHCI.

Make sure all chipset drivers are installed. Also check for Intel's newest RST driver.

http://www.intel.com/p/en_US/support/highlights/chpsts/imsm

 
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