AHCI driver installation on new Crucial ssd/win7 install

[blackrain]

I am going to be installing my new CT128M4SSD2 and would love to avoid any issues. I keep reading some issues about installation problems involving the AHCI driver. But I can't seem to really understand how the issue occurs. I have seen some complain that they can't install the AHCI driver from CD on the F6 custom driver option. Is there a default Microsoft AHCI driver so I don't need to install anything on F6? I have also seen some complain about not being able to install from CD because AHCI is enabled in the BIOS (something about AHCI preventing booting from a SATA CD drive) as described below.

http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/332531-31-ahci-pains

I would like to be able to select AHCI in the BIOS, boot from the win7 CD, and install windows 7 with the default windows AHCI drivers.

My setup:
MSI 785GT-E63 (MSI 880G-E45 as an alternative)
AMD X2 555 BE (unlocked)
2GB memory
Liteon iHAS-124 CDrom

 

[exdeath]

Just put the BIOS in AHCI mode before you start. Windows 7 setup will take care of the rest.

 

[KingFatty]

My work around was to install Win 7 from a USB stick instead of a DVD.

Microsoft has a nice tool they provide for this specific purpose. So you set the BIOS to AHCI, and don't have to worry about whether you can boot from the optical drive because you instead boot from USB device.

 

[blackrain]

My work around was to install Win 7 from a USB stick instead of a DVD.

Microsoft has a nice tool they provide for this specific purpose. So you set the BIOS to AHCI, and don't have to worry about whether you can boot from the optical drive because you instead boot from USB device.

I downloaded and installed the tool, but the first step is to open an iso, which I think requires a downloaded version of windows 7.

 

[KingFatty]

I downloaded and installed the tool, but the first step is to open an iso, which I think requires a downloaded version of windows 7.

Yes, there is another thread somewhere that links to all the ISO downloads for various versions of Windows 7. You can get the one corresponding to your version, and your key should activate it because apparently your key shouldn't care whether you are installing from a DVD or an ISO download. The ISOs are linked to the official online store that Microsoft uses to sell their software, called DigitalRiver. Sorry I don't have the thread name handy.

 

[exdeath]

My work around was to install Win 7 from a USB stick instead of a DVD.

Microsoft has a nice tool they provide for this specific purpose. So you set the BIOS to AHCI, and don't have to worry about whether you can boot from the optical drive because you instead boot from USB device.

This! So much this!

Nobody should be using optical drives anymore. < 5 minute COMPLETE Windows 7 x64 installs from a fast USB thumb drive to internal SSD are pure WIN!

 

[exdeath]

I downloaded and installed the tool, but the first step is to open an iso, which I think requires a downloaded version of windows 7.

Use DTools Lite or any freeware to mount or extract files from the ISO. All you need to do is diskpart your USB drive with a ntfs partition and make it active, copy the contents of the ISO to your USB drive we'll call E, then run E:BOOT\BOOTSECT.EXE /NT60 E:

That's it, enjoy your < 5 minute Windows 7 install from USB boot to first desktop load.

You can use any legit original install media to copy the Windows 7 install data, all that matters is that it's the version your product key is for.

 

[blackrain]

Use DTools Lite or any freeware to mount or extract files from the ISO. All you need to do is diskpart your USB drive with a ntfs partition and make it active, copy the contents of the ISO to your USB drive we'll call E, then run E:BOOT\BOOTSECT.EXE /NT60 E:

That's it, enjoy your < 5 minute Windows 7 install from USB boot to first desktop load.

You can use any legit original install media to copy the Windows 7 install data, all that matters is that it's the version your product key is for.

I have windows 7 home premium upgrade. Would the iso versions take the same key as my upgrade key? I need to find that thread that links to the windows 7 iso versions.

Edit: Found links at http://www.mydigitallife.info/official-windows-7-sp1-iso-from-digital-river/

 

[KingFatty]

I have windows 7 home premium upgrade. Would the iso versions take the same key as my upgrade key? I need to find that thread that links to the windows 7 iso versions.

Edit: Found links at http://www.mydigitallife.info/official-windows-7-sp1-iso-from-digital-river/

Please let me know if you can get this to work.

My key is an upgrade key for Windows 7 x64 professional. When I bought the key, it was provided with an ISO before Service pack 1 was available. I couldn't find any "upgrade"-specific ISOs on digital river. So I downloaded and tried installing the ISO for Windows 7 x64 professional with SP1 already included. However, that installation did not accept my key, even when installing with the computer disconnected from the internet (the key check failed during install, before any check with windows servers). So I had to use my old pre-SP1 ISO and install SP1 afterwards.

So please give it a try, see if you can get it to work or if you can find a digital river ISO that includes SP1 and that is upgrade specific or otherwise able to accept your upgrade key.

 

[exdeath]

I have windows 7 home premium upgrade. Would the iso versions take the same key as my upgrade key? I need to find that thread that links to the windows 7 iso versions.

Edit: Found links at http://www.mydigitallife.info/official-windows-7-sp1-iso-from-digital-river/

You would need an upgrade version ISO and old OS media that qualifies for upgrade. I'm not sure if there is a separate upgrade ISO or not, I believe Windows 7 just has universal installers that will act based on the key you provide: eg put in an upgrade key and it will prompt you to insert qualifying upgrade media, then continue to install full Windows 7. Just guessing here, never concerned myself with that process.