AHCI but NOT RAID

[scaryfast]

I'm putting a new computer together and will not be using RAID.

I belive that AHCI helps disks run faster, so I want to use that. So, should I do an F6 for installing drivers, or can I just let the defaults handle it ?

Thank You.

 

[tcsenter]

What OS? For Vista, it is not required to provide an F6 driver. Using an install disc already patched to SP1 is highly recommended.

For XP, providing an F6 driver is required, whether by floppy or integrating the driver into the install disc. Install disc patched to SP3 is recommended for any improvements that might be relevant, but won't change the F6 driver requirement.

 

[Nothinman]

Whether you're using RAID or not is irrelevant, the reason you have to do the F6+feed it a driver thing is because the install disc doesn't support the controller. Since XP is so old the likely hood of it supporting that chipset is virtually 0 so you'll have to give it a driver almost no matter what. With Vista you may want to do that but it's probably not necessary. With Linux it'll probably just work without you having to do anything.

 

[ati666]

ahci enables some features that are native to a sata2 hdd.

 

[tcsenter]

Originally posted by: ati666
ahci enables some features that are native to a sata2 hdd.

SATA2 doesn't exist. There are no SATA features exclusive to either 1.5Gbps or 3.0Gbps drives.

 

[pvrbulls]

Originally posted by: tcsenter
What OS? For Vista, it is not required to provide an F6 driver. Using an install disc already patched to SP1 is highly recommended.

For XP, providing an F6 driver is required, whether by floppy or integrating the driver into the install disc. Install disc patched to SP3 is recommended for any improvements that might be relevant, but won't change the F6 driver requirement.

Okay, so what does one do to install Vista that isn't already patched to SP1? I have not tried to install Vista yet, but I have set Configure SATA as [AHCI] in my Asus P5Q deluxe bios; is that going to present a problem? And what is an F6 driver?

I am afraid that I know just enough about what I am doing to be dangerous!

Thanks.....

pvrbulls

 

[secretanchitman]

hmm, i did ahci the cheap/alternate way for my p5q deluxe. i set my hd to ide emulation, installed xp pro sp3, and then after i installed all the drivers and stuff, i followed someones guide to enabled ahci in windows xp (ICH10 of course), and it worked!

i can put the guide on here if you want.

 

[Old Hippie]

but I have set Configure SATA as [AHCI] in my Asus P5Q deluxe bios; is that going to present a problem?

It will be just fine. The drivers are already included.

Tcsenter was recommending the latest updates be installed from the get-go.

I don't use Vista and am not familiar with the improvements included in the SP1 update, but the AHCI drivers are included in the base version.

Go for it.

 

[pvrbulls]

It seems that you are correct. Vista installed just fine...........I think!

 

[supremelaw]

Good on you, pvrbulls.

For the record, you asked this question above:

> And what is an F6 driver?


With all ASUS motherboards that come from the factory,
there is a "Support CD" which contains important device drivers
that should be installed as soon as Windows XP is fully installed.

The one exception is any device driver that is needed
BEFORE Windows Setup starts writing to a disk subsystem, e.g.
loading XP directly onto a RAID array formatted as the C: partition.

During Windows Setup, you will see a prompt notifying
you to enter "F6" -- i.e. the F6 function key on your keyboard --
which tells Windows Setup to expect, and look for, a device driver
that is already written to a floppy disk.

So, the way to do this F6 thing smoothly, is to insert the
Support CD for your motherboard into another PC that
is already running Windows XP. Then, if you're not already
familiar with these Support CDs, go to the very end of the
motherboard's User Manual, and there you should find written
instructions describing how to prepare a "driver diskette".

After you enter F6 to notify Windows Setup that you have a
custom device driver to load, you will be prompted with
further instructions by the Windows Setup logic.

Just follow those instructions.

In a word, Windows Setup expects that device driver
to be on a floppy diskette, because that's where Windows Setup
will search for it, after you invoke the F6 function key.


I don't have any experience with Vista, so what I wrote above
probably does not apply to Vista.

Perhaps someone else could cover that topic for us here.

I hope this helps.



Sincerely yours,
/s/ Paul Andrew Mitchell, Inventor and
Webmaster, Supreme Law Library

All Rights Reserved without Prejudice

 

[supremelaw]

Also, "SATA-II" caused some confusion in the IT industry,
because various HDD manufacturers could not agree on a
uniform set of features that constituted SATA-II.

At one point, Intel even proposed a SATA-2.5 standard, for a while.

Some of those features that were supported, or not supported,
in HDDs sold as "SATA-II" were:

* 300 MB/second interface, by default or by jumper setting

* staggered spin-up (usually controller-dependent)

* full native command queuing abbreviated NCQ

* hot-swap support for backplanes and eSATA ports

* and a few esoteric features (not relevant here)


In general, if you want to use one or more of these features
and if they are NOT supported by your SATA controller
when it is running in "native mode" aka "Standard IDE",
you need to enable AHCI -- Advanced Host Controller Interface
(another Intel acronym) -- in your BIOS.

Thus, your choices typically boiled down to these three:

(1) Standard IDE, no special features, probably defaulting to 150MB/second

(2) AHCI with some special features, but no RAID support

(3) RAID implemented as a superset of (2) above.


I hope this helps.



Sincerely yours,
/s/ Paul Andrew Mitchell, Inventor and
Webmaster, Supreme Law Library

All Rights Reserved without Prejudice