ASUS P8Z68 - Will only boot with bios set to RAID

[sep]

So back in the day I setup my 120GB SSD as a Cache Drive (20GB) and OS (100GB). This required the BIOS setup as RAID obviously. Since then I've given up on the caching and now have an Intel 240GB SSD Drive where I restored my OS. I want to change the bios to AHCI, but when I do this I can't boot. I've tried just about everything.

a. Removed Intel Drivers (can't remove them entirely or It won't boot)
b. Change bios setting to enable AHCI
c. Updated Registry to enable AHCI driver at startup
d. NOTHING WORKS!!!

Has anyone successfully done this successfully without re installing?

[sep]

Updated bios to the latest. When it restarted I got "boot error" and found the bios changed to AHCI after the update. When I switched it back to RAID I booted fine. So, nope latest bios is not an issue. : (

[bankster55]

In registry
HKey local Machine\system\current control set\services
Under the start key for each of these entries what D Word value for the following categories:
>atapi
>iaStor
>iastorV
>intelide
>msahci
>pcide
(you may also have iastorF or iastorA)
D Word value is either 3 or 0 for ea

[sep]

>atapi = 3
>iaStor = 3
>iaStorA = 0
>iaStorF = 0
>iaStorV = 0
>intelide = 3
>msahci = 3
>pcide = 0

[Jovec]

Same thing. Boot SSD, mechanical HDD, Cache SSD. Computer will only boot with the Sata mode set to RAID regardless if I'm caching or not. NEver bothered to "fix" it.

Do you still have Intel RST installed? Maybe uninstall that, do the necessary reboots to let windows change the drivers and find your "new" drives, then try switching to AHCI mode in the BIOS.

[sep]

I have uninstalled IRST however the driver will not uninstall. If I do remove this, system won't boot.

[bankster55]

You boot to Win 7 change registry settings, boot to bios and change to AHCI, boot to Win 7
Set a restore point before you do anything - one that saves system settings and previous vers of files

AHCI:
atapi 3
iastor 0
iastorV 0
Intelide 3
msahci 0
pciide 3
iastor A 0
iastor F 0

FWIW Intel RST Win 7 install AHCI F6 folder is RAID and AHCI
(No more separate RAID/AHCI)
You should be running RST 11.2 or higher
What version is showing in Dev manager now?

Also when setting up RAID, you create metadata at extreme beginning of drive. When you "restored" the O/S to new SSD, you may have taken metadata with it (you didnt say how exactly you did that). If so, the only answer is a reinstall after a secure erase of new SSD.

You have complicated a simple changeover with your "RAIDed caching config"

[sep]

I restored from whs 2011 server.

Okay I will give this a try tomorrow. Thanks

[sep]

Update....

I got it working. I set all these to 0 in registry, rebooted and changed bios to reflect AHCI. it booted, installed drivers and required a reboot.

Thanks all. -JC

[BonzaiDuck]

Originally Posted by bankster55

You have complicated a simple changeover with your "RAIDed caching config"

Actually, I don't think the caching figures into it. There had always been trouble converting a boot drive from IDE to AHCI, or from RAID to AHCI. You can unhinge the SSD-caching (and the SSD cache drive) anytime you want to through the IRST software, and the HDD would continue to boot normally -- albeit slower for being "unaccelerated."

It's the BIOS setting that causes this difficulty, and converting one boot disk in one configuration to another with a different configuration.

Otherwise, I'm just being nitpicky . .