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Is an F6 install for AHCI SATA HDD needed under Win 7?

W

wgoldfarb

Senior member

Hi everyone

I have a SATA HDD in AHCI mode (My MoBo uses Intel's ACH8R controller). When I installed XP on this machine (it was a new build back then) I had to do an F6 install of Win XP and provide the AHCI SATA drivers for the ICH8R controller via a floppy drive.

I am now running Win 7 RC on the same drive, but when the final release version of Win 7 comes out I plan to do a clean install on a new SDD drive connected to this controller in SATA AHCI mode. I understand that an F6 install is not *required* because Win 7 has native generic SATA AHCI drivers. Is this correct?

Also, even if the F6 install is not required, would it be a good idea to do it anyway, so that I can provide Intel's own drivers, instead of using the generic ones native to Windows 7? Or should I do this after the Win 7 install is completed?

Thanks in advance for any help!

 
Originally posted by: wgoldfarb

I am now running Win 7 RC on the same drive, but when the final release version of Win 7 comes out I plan to do a clean install on a new SDD drive connected to this controller in SATA AHCI mode. I understand that an F6 install is not *required* because Win 7 has native generic SATA AHCI drivers. Is this correct?
Click to expand...
Correct. Install the OS using the native Windows AHCI drivers (with AHCI mode enabled in BIOS), then install the latest Intel Matrix Storage Manager drivers at any time after OS install is complete.
 
What benefits does intel's driver provide? I never installed the matrix storage stuff after installing Win7 RC. Things seem to run just fine.
 
Windows 7 (and Windows Vista) will generally auto-detect and have generic drivers to work with most SATA/AHCI chipsets. That Intel based chipset definitely works (as I have installed Windows 7 RC onto machines with that chipset). the F6 storage driver install is mainly for specialty adapter cards (like Fibre Channel and such) and to future proof. Trying to install Windows XP (since it came long before the idea of SATA) onto a modern machine is a chore because of that issue. Not an issue under Windows 7.
Just use the generic drivers for the install and then update to the exact drivers (latest if possible) once the system is up and running. Most of are available right through th Windows Update feature, but if not you can get it off the manufacturer website. You will get a few more features and better performance usually from the proper exact driver.

 
I wish they could get the native raid drivers to work during install without trying to load them over and over again, only to get 'no new device found' when the files are clearly there and identified.
 
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