XP to Win7 Migration – Loss of RAID1 and AHCI BIOS Modes

[baumgrenze]

It should be obvious to an experienced reader that I am trying to learn terms and technology but that my understanding of what is going on with my system is still quite simple. Please don’t hesitate to provide whatever details you think are appropriate for that level of understanding.

In my struggle to migrate from XP/Pro/x32 to Win7/Pro/x64 I have switched from a pair of WD Raptors (OS/Program Files) to a pair of Crucial M550 SSDs several times by selecting which cables/drives are attached to the MOBO of my Gigabyte GA-EP35-DS3P (Ver 2.1) system. The data files are stored on a pair of WD Caviars. In the process the RAID1 failed, first on the data drives and more recently on the OS/Program drives. For the past two days I can only boot if I set the “Integrated Peripherals” SATA RAID/AHCI Mode to ‘disabled’ or PATA mode. If I select RAID the boot process runs until it encounters ‘verifying DMI pool data’ and hangs on a blinking cursor. If I select AHCI I encounter a 0x7B blue screen during the boot. Do I have to deliberately reconfigure the system in RAID setup to use AHCI?

In March 2008 GamePC of Palo Alto, CA, delivered the system to me with Ver. 7.6.0.1011 of the Intel Rapid Storage Technology (IRST) software. In May 2010 I added a second data disk and configured it for RAID1. I experienced RAID issues and GamePC upgraded the BIOS to F6 and the IRST to Ver. 9.6.0.1014. It is dated

It served me very well until I started to install Windows 7.

Today, using Device Manager, I established that my IRST (IAStorDataMgrSvc.exe) is Ver 9.6.1014. It is set to run automatically and runs every few seconds as reported by “What’s My Computer Doing.” On 4/17/14, before I started the Win 7 install I documented many of my drivers using Device Manager. I found that the IRST driver (Intel(R)ICH8R/ICH9R/ICH10R/DO/5 Series/3400 Series SATA RAID Controller) matched Ver 9.6.1014. I found it by expanding SCSI and RAID controllers. Today that entry is no longer there.

Today, when I expand System Devices (I think I ran out of time or patience on 4/17/14) I find an entry for Intel(R) ICH9R LPC Interface Controller - 2916 and it is Ver 8.3.0.1014 (the version recommended on the Gigabyte download website for my MOBO.) I probed a bit further and made these notes:

Expand System Devices in Device Manager and scroll to

Intel(R)ICH9R LPC Interface Controller - 2916
Driver Provider: Intel
Driver Date: 5/3/2007
Digital Signer: Microsoft Windows Hardware Compatibility Publisher

Driver Details reads:

C\WINDOWS\system32\DRIVERS\isapnp.sys
Provider: Microsoft Corporation
File version: 5.1.2600.5512 (xpsp 080413-2111)
Copyright: Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved
Digital Signer: Microsoft Windows Component Publisher

I expected to find iaStor.sys as the driver. I find 2 versions on my System drive, one dated 3/10/10 which I believe is associated with Ver 9.6.1014 and one dated 7/12/07 which I believe is associated with Ver. 7.6.0.1011. The latter are only in C\WINDOWS\OemDir and C\WINDOWS\system32\ReinstallBackups\0018\DriverFiles. The former are in C\Downloads\STOR_all32_f6flpy_9.6.0.1014_PV,[FONT=&quot] CWINDOWS\system32\drivers, and C\WINDOWS\system32\DRVSTORE\iaStor_F0D323E75949991DDA629F3141D66B0F35E5DC13. I don’t find iaStor.sys files with dates appropriate for [/FONT]8.3.0.1014 which I believe should be somewhere in between. I've asked Gigabyte if they can provide a date.


Why does the provider change from Intel to MS in going to the details?

If I need an entry in Device Manager under SCSI and RAID controllers for (Intel(R)ICH8R/ICH9R/ICH10R/DO/5 Series/3400 Series SATA RAID Controller to reestablish access to RAID mode, how do I recreate it.

Thanks,

baumgrenze


Board: Gigabyte Technology Co., Ltd. GA-EP35-DS3P
BIOS: Award Software International, Inc. F6 06/18/2009
Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 (2.4 GHz) Quad Core
Intel P-35 ICH9R Controller 82801IR with AHCI and RAID Support

 

[tcsenter]

The LPC interface controller is not related to the ICH9R integrated SATA storage controller. It's the interface used for BIOS, firmware, legacy I/O, and other low bandwidth/throughput devices (note the driver being used is named isapnp.sys, which hints at it's nature/purpose).

If you do not find any entry for Intel Series SATA, RAID, or AHCI Controller in Device Manager, that is a problem. Since you've been messing around with the storage controller mode in BIOS, you could have disabled it. If you change the controller mode from RAID or AHCI to SATA or legacy, then it will not read AHCI or RAID controller in Device Manager, it will just read SATA (or Serial ATA) controller. It may be that some component on the board is dying, so that's why it isn't reported in Device Manager and you were having these problems.

Keep in mind this board also provides 2 x SATA ports (purple connectors) via secondary non-Intel controller (e.g. JMicron chip). I would avoid using this for your system/OS/boot array, as it is not the integrated ICH9R controller. An array created on the JMicron controller won't work under the Intel controller, and vice versa.

 

[baumgrenze]

Thank you tcsenter for confirming some steps I have taken and for suggesting others.

At the start of this process I learned about the GSATA ports and their limitations and moved my Sony Optiarc DVD RW AD-7241S to one of them, freeing up all 6 of the SATA ports on the MOBO.

Please confirm this. If I am running with the ICH9R Southbridge set at 'disabled' I should not expect to see an entry in Device Manager under SCSI and RAID controllers for (Intel(R)ICH8R/ICH9R/ICH10R/DO/5 Series/3400 Series SATA RAID Controller.

Yesterday I went to

https://downloadcenter.intel.com/detail_desc.aspx?agr=Y&DwnldID=15251

and downloaded and ran this file

STOR_allOS_9.6.0.1014_PV.exe

Installs the Intel® Rapid Storage Technology (RAID) driver version 9.6.0.1014 for Intel® Desktop Boards.

Download the driver (STOR_allOS_9.6.0.1014_PV.exe) and one of the following F6 Driver Diskettes (depending on your operating system):

When I tried to run it, believing I would be reinstalling the IRST Ver, 9.6.0.1014 it failed to run to completion, citing, if I recall correctly, hardware incompatibility.

I don't see a way to attach a Word document to my post. Did I miss the feature? I have a log file that describes in full detail the installation of 9.6.0.1014 in 2010 (and also my attempt to restore it yesterday) if it would help someone understand why it worked in 2010 but did not yesterday. It appears there were errors encountered but their complexity stops my understanding.

You said:

"It may be that some component on the board is dying, so that's why it isn't reported in Device Manager and you were having these problems."

Is there any way of confirming this hypothesis? Would it make sense to suspect the RAID controller?

I see I failed to complete a sentence describing Ver 9.6.0.1014. The driver date (from Device Manager) is 3/3/10.

I've also established that 8.3.0.1014 is dated 05/03/2007 and that for 7.6.0.1011 the date is 07/12/2007.

Thanks,

baumgrenze

 

[vailr]

Not sure how much benefit raided SSD's would provide vs. a non-raided drive setup.
Upgrading the CPU/motherboard to a current generation Haswell based system would be of more usefulness.
If not upgrading the motherboard, then maybe inquire at this forum for possibly getting someone to provide a modded bios containing an updated Intel RST firmware:
http://forums.tweaktown.com/gigabyte/48085-gigabyte-modified-bios.html
If not using the JMicron SATA ports, they can be disabled in bios settings.
Note: trim support for raided SSD's is only available with a newer Intel RST version than what the official Gigabyte motherboard bios provides. Something like RST firmware version 11.7 or newer is where trim support for raid is made available.

 

[vailr]

The optical drive should be attached to the highest numbered Intel SATA port, which would be port #5. That leaves room for another 5 hard drives/SSD's attached to Intel SATA ports #0->#4.

 

[tcsenter]

At the start of this process I learned about the GSATA ports and their limitations and moved my Sony Optiarc DVD RW AD-7241S to one of them, freeing up all 6 of the SATA ports on the MOBO.

I don't think this is a good idea if you want to boot from the optical drive (e.g. to install Windows). Reason being, the blue screen you are getting *might* be related to a lacking driver for the JMicron controller. This is only a suspicion based on real prior cases because many third-party controllers are not always supported by the drivers included with Windows install bits, particularly if they are configured for RAID or AHCI mode rather than (legacy) PATA compatible mode. If you are installing from a DVD, I would recommend creating a bootable USB installation flash drive using a utility such as Rufus or following some tutorials on creating one manually from the Win7 install DVD.

Please confirm this. If I am running with the ICH9R Southbridge set at 'disabled' I should not expect to see an entry in Device Manager under SCSI and RAID controllers for (Intel(R)ICH8R/ICH9R/ICH10R/DO/5 Series/3400 Series SATA RAID Controller.

Correct, if it is actually disabled in BIOS.

When I tried to run it, believing I would be reinstalling the IRST Ver, 9.6.0.1014 it failed to run to completion, citing, if I recall correctly, hardware incompatibility.

The Intel Rapid Storage driver is only for supported controllers operating in RAID or AHCI mode. If you had the controller mode set in BIOS to 'Native SATA' or legacy PATA mode, the driver is not required and will report unsupported hardware. The driver supplied by Microsoft (included in Windows install bits) is the correct driver in this case.

Windows 7 install bits (especially with SP1) already support Intel AHCI up to ICH10R. You can install the latest Intel AHCI/RST driver after Windows is installed but its not required during install. Only RAID requires extraneous drivers that are not included in Windows 7 install bits.

 

[baumgrenze]

Thank you tcsenter and vailr for your helpful and informative answers.

I have decided that RAID1 is no longer worth the effort it takes to maintain it. I want to get back to other things I want to do. I want to get Win 7 installed.

I just went through the digital photos of my monitor as I worked before writing this forum post. I am troubled because during the post process, as the ports are detected, hard disks that have been part of a RAID1 array are seen as RAID disks, but once the post is complete, in My Computer it is clear that they are separate disks. It is also clear that when I save any documents, the saved item is only on one of the two data disks. The same must be true for the information in my SeaMonkey profile on the OS/Program disk, the place where email is stored, etc.

I noticed as I was adjusting my BIOS mode that if I didn’t use ‘delete’ soon enough or often enough I ended up in RAID setup. I am also offered an opportunity to enter RAID setup by selecting “CTRL-I” during the post.

Should I use RAID setup to formally break the two RAID arrays I have been using? I certainly cannot access them now. Might this allow me to boot in ACHI mode? Am I correct that ACHI mode for SATA is more efficient that ‘disabled’ or PATA mode? There are times, like in My Computer, when I have a very hard time controlling my mouse cursor. Am I correct in concluding that this is a result of being in PATA mode?

What is the best boot priority to set in my BIOS? I’ve seen CD first or HD first, with the other set as second.

My new SSDs are full of a failed attempt at installing Win 7. Do I need to do anything to clean or reformat them before I try installing again?

I will move the optical drive to port 5 as suggested before I try again to install Win 7.

I downloaded a Win 7 ISO from Digital Rive that includes SP1. I believe it makes sense to use it to install. I think I unpacked the image file correctly. What should I see when I view it in My Computer?

Thanks,

baumgrenze

 

[vailr]

My new SSDs are full of a failed attempt at installing Win 7. Do I need to do anything to clean or reformat them before I try installing again?

Boot from the Windows installer DVD/USB key, and look carefully for the option to delete all existing partitions on the target disc. Then re-create a new partition, and format it using the default NTFS setting, and then go on to install Windows.
Note: only the single target hard drive/SSD connected when installing Windows.

 

[baumgrenze]

Hello tcsenter and vailr and anyone else who wants to chime in.

I opened my ISO image CD in TreeSizeFree and it appears to me to be 'complex enough' to be a "proper installation disk."

I have switched my optical drive back to port 5, the last of the SATA ports on my motherboard.

I checked and it is clear to me that I deleted/destroyed the RAID1 I created from the two Crucial SSDs. Would it be smart for me to do the same with my current OS/Program drives and my Data drives? I can't run them in RAID1 because I can't boot with RAID as my BIOS choice. The fact that they show as being RAID disks during the post but inaccessible as RAID while operating seems like a contradiction that might lead to problems.

I have a bunch of weekend obligations so it may be Monday or later before I can try installing Win 7 again. I did try at least once each with the ISO image disk and with the 'official' upgrade disk from MS. I did not notice any opportunity to create a new partition. I've seen something about using F6 during installations, I believe to insert drivers. Is this like using Del to enter the BIOS setup. Do I need to keep entering F6 while the DVD is starting its install routine?

I've seen references to using a USB stick to install. Bear in mind that my system is limited to USB2, is this still a better alternative than using the optical drive, SATA 3Gb? I will try it, but I want to be sure that I'm not digging a deeper hole for myself.

thanks,

baumgrenze

 

[tcsenter]

Check PM

 

[baumgrenze]

Thank you, tscenter.

I tried to reply and ran into this message.

"Sorry, you can only send messages to the Administrators group until you have 25 posts."

I probably have a way to go before I reach 25.

I can be reached at baumgrenze atsign yahoo dotsign com if you are comfortable trying that approach.

Tomorrow morning I hope to find enough time to try creating a bootable thumb drive. Unfortunately some writers seem to use ISO and ISO image almost interchangeably. I have copies of the DigitalRiver ISO I downloaded both in the original format and as the 'expanded' ISO Image on separate DVDs. Am I correct that it is the ISO Image version that Rufus wants to see?

Thanks,

baumgrenze

 

[baumgrenze]

Thank you tscenter and vailr!

This afternoon I managed to get the ISO from Digital River onto a thumb drive with the help of Rufus. For the record, it worked just fine with the optical drive in one of the GSATA ports.

With the thumb drive ready I worked my way through its use to install Win 7 x 64. I missed the message that I needed to strike a key for a USB boot a few times and I found my way to a menu where I could change the boot order. I didn't get as many digital photos as I thought. Sometimes things go by so fast, or my mind focused on the task at hand and not on documentation.

I managed to install SeaMonkey and Avast, to switch my mouse buttons (I like it on the left since it is used mostly for right brained activity, and to increase the screen font size for my aging eyes.

Now I'm back in XP mode to report in and to sort things out. I have software to install, the integration of my old SeaMonkey profile with the new install and hardware to shift around before everything is comfortably in hand.

Once I'm fully ready to run under Win 7, should I go back to the BIOS setup and select AHCI? At this point the drives boot as IDE drives. Am I correct that AHCI would result in an improvement in performance?

I'll probably be back with more questions but I wanted to report the level success I've achieved.

Thanks for all the support. You guys rock.

baumgreze

 

[vailr]

Once I'm fully ready to run under Win 7, should I go back to the BIOS setup and select ACHI? At this point the drives boot as IDE drives. Am I correct that ACHI would result in an improvement in performance?

Sorry: you'll need to re-install Windows with AHCI (not: ACHI) mode selected in bios prior to doing that. Newer motherboards default to the AHCI setting, but older boards such as the one you're using default to the slower IDE mode.

 

[baumgrenze]

Thank you vailr.

Sometime in the last month or so I found I could no longer boot XP/Pro in any mode by 'disabled' or PATA.

Please reconfirm that this is what you meant above.

If I reset the BIOS to AHCI before I boot with the USB stick, should the Windows installation files provide a proper driver for AHCI or do I need to be ready to provide the driver? The Gigabyte website has drivers, but all the downloads are *.exe files. Correct me if I'm wrong, but don't these need to be executed once the operating system is running? Somewhere in this process I tried running one of these under XP to see if it would unpack the driver and I recall that the software told me that it could not install as it was incompatible with my system.

http://www.gigabyte.us/products/product-page.aspx?pid=2742&dl=1#driver

In any case, I'll try again later this week whenever I can schedule enough time.

It looks like there may be a good explanation of the benefits of AHCI here:

http://forum.crucial.com/t5/Solid-S...D-Drive-Guide-Here-Crucial-AHCI-vs/td-p/57078

I will see what I can understand as I attempt to read through it.

Thanks for the heads-up.

baumgrenze

 

[baumgrenze]

When I corrected the spelling of AHCI in my contributions to this thread I tried to correct the original posting title. I could not figure out how to gain access to it. Does such a correction require the intervention of a moderator? If so, it seems a significant correction to make, doesn't it?

Thanks

baumgrenze

 

[vailr]

Does such a correction require the intervention of a moderator?

No: Edit/Go Advanced

 

[vailr]

If I reset the BIOS to AHCI before I boot with the USB stick, should the Windows installation files provide a proper driver for AHCI or do I need to be ready to provide the driver?

Windows 7: a Microsoft driver for Intel AHCI is included. For "Gigabyte" (JMicron) AHCI: a driver would be needed. I recommend disabling (in bios setup) those 2 JMicron SATA ports, if not really needed.
XP: driver needed for any AHCI installation.
The Microsoft driver for AHCI can/should later be updated (after Windows installation is complete) with the Intel AHCI driver listed on Gigabyte's support site.

Advanced Host Controller Interface (AHCI)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AHCI

Boot issues

Some operating systems, notably Windows Vista and Windows 7, do not configure themselves to load the AHCI driver upon boot if the SATA-drive controller was not in AHCI mode at the time of installation. This can cause failure to boot, with an error message, if the SATA controller is later switched to AHCI mode. For this reason, Intel recommends changing the drive controller to AHCI or RAID before installing an operating system.

 

[baumgrenze]

Thank you, vailr,

I just edited the thread title.

Last night I found and glanced at the AHCI wiki. I clearly missed the explanation why under XP I now get the 0x7B blue screen if I try to boot with BIOS set to AHCI. Somehow the Intel driver got lost or the OS 'forgot' where to find it. This is a non-issue as I fully intend to leave XP behind as soon as I practically can.

As I skimmed through the Crucial forum I linked, I saw reference to the Registry fix mentioned in the Wiki. The remainder of the "Boot Issues" section of the wiki that you quote is confusing. I guess it is an attempt at providing 'all the options' without making any 'value judgements' or 'practical comments.'

How valuable is 'certified driver enforcement?' Does it help prevent the installation of malware or is it like the "do you really want to run this 'setup.exe' that has not provided evidence of the source? I encountered this when I installed SeaMonkey yesterday. I know, I'm supposed to keep track of what I'm doing, step by step, but isn't it also socially responsible to 'own a *.exe' you are providing? Perhaps it is seen as just providing a false sense of security.

Is there a good discussion somewhere regarding software and driver certification? Has its time come and gone? Is it way too easy to falsify in the same way that false email paths or false ULR links are used to send spam and spread malware?

Thanks,

baumgrenze

 

[tcsenter]

You still need help? I'm in Stockton until next week. Tip: configure Intel chipset SATA controller for AHCI in BIOS and just install Win7 SP1 from the USB drive - NO extraneous driver required (only for RAID). Then after Win7 is completely installed, download the latest Rapid Storage Technology AHCI driver from Intel's website (support and drivers) and install it, or just check Windows Update for a newer driver.

You might also want to check for the latest firmware update for your Crucial SSD drives, better to update this firmware before installing the OS than after.

 

[baumgrenze]

Thanks tscenter,

I remain overwhelmed by your willingness to help.

On Wednesday I finally sorted this out. I remembered that I'd seen a zip download on the Intel website for the 8.9.0.1023 version of the driver Gigabyte said I needed. Gigabyte's download page had only exe download files and 7-Zip got stuck one layer down at an exe that it could not unpack.

It took some 'experimentation' but I now have Win7 installed and running in AHCI mode. It is really difficult to update the Crucial firmware? I've begun the process of downloading and installing programs and I'm not excited about starting over yet another time.

I will compare my Crucial version with the latest next time I boot to Win7. Until I sort out downloading and installing XP Mode there are some things that I can do much more efficiently by using my old OS drive and booting to XP, even though I'm restricted to PATA mode through the apparent loss of my AHCI driver for XP.

In my case, I found I could not install without the driver. I used the appropriate ISO with SP1 from DigitalRiver and put it on a USB stick.

I’m trying to get up-to-speed on the SSD Trim concept. I think there’s a good discussion on sevenforums.

http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/70822-ssd-tweaks-optimizations-windows-7-a.html

Have you looked at it? I don’t want to mess up my install with an inappropriate Intel driver. This wiki article suggests I consider the 10.0.8 series.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intel_Matrix_RAID

It should be dated 11/11. Apparently it is the last one to support ICH9. I trust that means it will work for ICH9R, too.

Thanks again,

baumgrenze

 

[tcsenter]

I don't know anything about trim support on Intel RAID. Here are the drivers for your motherboard (all later/newer than from Gigabyte):

Intel Chipset Inf Software v9.1.2.1008 (9/29/2010)

Intel Rapid Storage Technology AHCI/RAID 10.8.0.1003 (10/17/2011)

Realtek HD Audio Driver (click on High Definition Audio Codecs)

Realtek LAN (PCI Express based chip)

You may need NET Framework 3.5 or 4.0 to install the complete Intel Rapid Storage driver package (.exe).

The JMicron download FTP server appears to be down or not responding, so I can't link to the latest JMB36x driver (rebranded Gigabyte RAID). Hopefully JMicron did not decide to restrict public access to it's drivers.