removing "press any key to continue"?

Good morning ptbg. Thanks for the updates/screenshots.

Yeah, the flash utility was my fault, I forgot to give you the full command line. The readme.txt for the flash does tell you NOT to flash from floppy and then goes into great detail how to flash from floppy. for what it's worth, the first page tells you how to flash from your HDD using a floppy boot disk.
Don't worry about that now, your BIOS is only one level back and should suffice for the next steps.

BTW, I struck some text about BIOS from a previous post after Duzzy corrected my interpretation of the CPU Support page - we'll just leave BIOS at v 1.10 for now.

Give me a few minutes to digest the new info - thanks.

Ok...
Award BIOS: v 1.10 with date 070507
JMicron BIOS: v 1.06.62

I guess JMicron got updated through MLU as well. Is this correct?

And when you say "setting IDE-RAID to RAID" did you mean you were changing the BIOS config? It makes it hard to determine what changes unless you explicitly say "I also changed the BIOS setting from IDE to RAID". I end up thinking that an update presented the change. It's cool to try a different setting, just include that info in your post or better yet, try it report the results, set it back and report the status as it is.

as always, Thanks..... back to research. I'm leaning toward the MSI forum post I referenced in post # 106 (AHCI w/o re-install). I'm not sure if you followed those instructions when I posted them, but wait on that. I have the instructions and the reg file all-in-one. I need to follow that thread to see if there are any useful updates or dire warnings.

-->edit: I forgot to ask..... with the jumpers and cable positions as you reported, what devices are seen. I know you have the BIOS screens posted, but what does Windows see?

-->edit 2: I'm not sure if you saw this question so I'll ask it here again. Did you apply the Intel Rapid Storage Tech (iRST) update from post #118? (perhaps MLU did - is there a log you can look at)

Hmmm, looking inside the MSI download for the JMicron Raid update tells me that the version in the zip file is: JMB36X_WHQL_R1.17.59.00 - your screenshot shows v 1.06.62... I guess we're back to finding out what MLU actually updated.

--> edit: Hold off on the JMicron RAID update. There are a few things I need to chase down.
1) Fairly simple to test - the setup.ini file has custom settings for the RAID screen at boot. Changing this might solve the problem without any other changes. I don't have JMicron in my system, so I'll ask around here for some help. We'll have to figure out if you can make a simple change and restart, or if you have to re-install the JM RAID update to take effect. I'm thinking a value of 2 might simply hide the prompt completely. However, this modification does nothing to make both IDE drives visible.

RaidAPShowStateAtSysBoot=1 <-- default
; RaidAPShowStateAtSysBoot value:
; ...... bit 0 -> customize this feature with setup.ini
; ...... bit 1 -> Show RAID AP window when system boot
; RaidAPShowStateAtSysBoot = 0 -> (00) ignore/disable this feature, customize it with option ROM
; RaidAPShowStateAtSysBoot = 1 -> (01) Show RAID AP window when system boot
; RaidAPShowStateAtSysBoot = 2 -> (10) customize this feature with setup.ini and DO NOT show RAID AP window when system boot
; RaidAPShowStateAtSysBoot = 3 -> (11) customize this feature with setup.ini and show RAID AP window when system boot

2) The jmRaid.inf file has a reference to SCSI - it is commented out by default.
In a post on the MSI forum, I saw a reference to the inf and txtsetup.oem file, but I can't locate now. Still looking.
-->

[JM_Service_Inst]
ServiceType = 1 ; SERVICE_KERNEL_DRIVER
StartType = 0 ; SERVICE_BOOT_START
ErrorControl = 1 ; SERVICE_ERROR_NORMAL
;LoadOrderGroup = SCSI Miniport
LoadOrderGroup = System Bus Extender
ServiceBinary = %12%\jraid.sys
AddReg = pnp_pci_addreg

So you now have AHCI as an option in Award BIOS (previous options: IDE, RAID, Disable) and you enabled AHCI - correct? That's a good thing. Could you elaborate on "fiddled" - it will help me understand how you accomplished AHCI - thanks.

Your "i must correct this setup" confuses me a bit. It looks as though the cable positions and shunts are the same as you posted in #130 - the difference I see is that in post 130, the JM controller did not detect any devices and in post 134 the JM controller does detect the WD HDD. Windows Explorer also recognizes the WD HDD, I guess you're still missing the NEC OD. If this is the setup you need to correct - I am in complete agreement with you. I'm trying to determine the best course to resolve the IDE issue (only one device recognized).

I might be mistaken on the JM Raid update as I noted in post 133. More research is needed before applying that update. I think you agree "Am i ignoring your suggestion:" - good. Give me and other eyes a chance to work through the setup files so you don't have to update JM, change the setup and re-update JM.
Of course there's no guarantee that you won't have to update JM with the modified setup files, test, and re-update JM with the standard setup files

Do you still have MSI Live Update(MLU) on your system? If so, please check if there are options to scan only (do not automatically update) - run a scan to see see what MLU offers for JMicron and iRST, but don't update. I'm curious if MLU thinks JM and Intel need to be updated. The MSI download page does offer manual updates for for both controllers.

Recap and confirm: The original issue persists! Prompt at boot "Any key to continue"

Hardware

1. Firmware
   
   • Award BIOS: v 1.10
   • JMicron BIOS: v 1.06
   
   
2. JMicron IDE: WD HDD & NEC OD
   IDE Cable: WD HDD (end), NEC OD (mid)
   Shunts: WD HDD 5/6 (master), NEC OD 3/4 (slave)
3. Intel SATA: HITahci HDD connector 7
4. WD & HIT drives are recognized
5. NEC OD is NOT recognized

What has been accomplished

1. MSI Live Update (MLU) utiltiy installed
   - Award BIOS updated to v1.10 thorugh (MLU)
   - CMOS cleared (JBAT1)
   - AHCI enabled misunderstanding (no AHCI at this point)
2. Corrected mis-configuration of HDD
   - WD HDD: made inActive and removed Pagefile
   - HIT HDD: made System partition Active
   - Disk 0 was WD - is now HIT
   - Disk 1 was HIT - is now WD

What has been affected:

1. Only one IDE device is accessible when two devices are cabled
   - either device is accessible if cabled alone on the end connector
2. HIT HDD not recognized on JMicron SATA connector (SATA 1)
   HIT HDD recognized on a SATA connector
   - moved HIT HDD to Intel SATA connector 7

Slarty Notes:

1. The second device on the IDE cable MUST be shunted as SLAVE (MSI Manual pg 2-12)
2. JMicron install files, jm_jraid_f.inf and setup.ini, have boot display options and commented out references to SCSI
   - MSI download has an update for JMicron RAID v 1.17.59.
   - Asked for assistance from Anak to determine inf, ini, and registry values (should they be changed prior to updating JMicron?)
3. MSI download has an update for iRST
   - MSI forum references AHCI w/o reinstall, The issue seems to be on the JMicron IDE controller side (JMB361), not the Intel SATA side (ICH8).
   -----ptbg fiddled - AHCI option is available in BIOS - then enabled.
4. DEL at boot -> BIOS
   - exit BIOS, CTRL-J for JMicron controller settings
   - ??? exit BIOS, CTRL-I for Intel controller settings ????? I'm reading many references and it's murky memory sometimes, so I'm not sure about this note.

That's all this old man can recall right now.

@ptbg: If there's something that I missed or has changed, please let me know. As I mentioned in the Notes section above, I'm waiting on feedback from someone else who has JMicron in their system. If Anak sheds some light on the JMicron configuration of his machine, we can conclude some things, but every system is different. From here on out, I think it's going to be trial and error, the forum is a good place to record settings and changes. For instance

orig AW BIOS xyz setting: 0
chgd AW BIOS xyz setting: 3
No change, new issue=no IDE device detected
rest AW BIOS xyz setting: 0

It's tedious, but it keeps everyone informed and provides you with a complete change log in case you ever have to go through this again.

Thinking Out Loud! Don not try this at home, yet.

I wonder if the simple solution is to uninstall the JMicron HW, disconnect the IDE drives and restart. Windows will boot off the HIT drive, find the JMicron HW and perhaps prompt for drivers or use Windows drivers. Somewhere I read this is the point to stop Windows driver install, and execute the vendor's install to complete the HW driver. I'm not sure if I read this on the Intel site (iRST), the JMicron site or manual, in the MSI manual, or elsewhere.

I think I personally need a memory upgrade!

My luck of terminology is misleading you terribly.It was not AHCI but IOAPIC function that left me single core and no detected drives at all in post 130.The options are still IDE-RAID-Disabled,am on IDE.If on RAID,had no ctrl-j option before,have that option now.
I will try to confirm
Award BIOS: v 1.10
JMicron BIOS: v 1.06
IDE Cable: WD HDD (end), NEC OD (mid)
WD HDD 5/6 (master), NEC OD 3/4 (slave)
CMOS cleared (JBAT1)
Award BIOS updated to v1.10 through (MLU)Attachment 216259
WD HDD: made inActive and removed Pagefile
i was never connected to JMicron SATA1 port,am now at SATA7
Detection of drives at start up is visible now("detecting drives" on screen) and takes about 10 secs at every boot,followed by detection of WDC only,followed by "press any key" prompt.
This one is goin to knock you down!Shouldnt have been thinking out THAT loud!
Uninstalled/re-installed JMicron B36 and have both IDE drives detected,found and shown in Windows.
LETS KILL THAT PROMPT,NOW!

What!!!!!!! It was that simple? You're right, I do think too loud.
Children never listen to papa though - I also said "Don't try this at home, yet"

I believe that your system is configured better now - all the steps you took to solve the original issue actually improved your system. It didn't solve the problem you came here to solve yet, but....

Now I'm ready to kick some prompt. I am, and have been, working on the theory that the prompt is part of the install. Finding the best "correct" path is what I'm working on now.

Take a few days off and let me chew on this a bit. You can live with the any key prompt a little longer, right?

I'm very glad things are in in order and thanks for the work on your side.