Solved Enabling ACHI still not working even after msachi registry edit

[Dlgwarner]

I recently upgraded my system to a Gigabyte GA-Z68XP-UD4 with an i7-2600k, Corsair ForceGT 120 GB SSD as my system drive (running Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit). my files are on a 1TB WD Caviar Black. My problem is that my system will still not boot even after making the registry edit explained in the tutorial.

A little background on how I got where I am now might help in figuring things out. My original system was configured as Raid 1 on an Intel DP35DP mobo. My c: partition was for OS and programs. I had separate partitions for photos, music, files, etc.

I first built the system with just my HDDs, but the RAID was lost. There was an IADStor error that I didn't bother messing with because I knew I was going to install the SSD as my new system drive. I never set the BIOS to AcHI and it must have defaulted to IDE and windows switched the drivers.

I transferred my system partition by taking one of my HDDs and using Partition Wizard to delete all but my c: partition. I used ATI2012 to clone my c: drive onto my SSD. Prior to cloning onto the SSD, I used an elevated command prompt to align the drive to 1024k per the tutorial.

I made sure the system booted and all my programs were included and then rebooted with my other HDD from the RAiD that still had my file partitions. Everything worked fine, though my Windows experience score only changed from 5.5-6.5. So the last thing to do was enable ACHI.

After creating a complete system backup, I edited my registry to change the MSAchi start value to 0, restarted and entered the BIOS and switched the PCI to ACHI,
But the OS won't load.

I switched back to IDE and booted. I subsequently tried the Fix It script on Windows Support and I tried using the EZSmart Storage utility from Gigabyte. That doesn't even seem to run.

So I'm flummoxed. I really don't want to have to start all over with a fresh install. I have so many apps and plugins... Well, you know.

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

 

[dsk04]

msahci is a generic driver for ahci devices, you can try to get the driver for your device from the manufactures web site, how ever if it does not boot with the msahci it would be hard to install the correct driver

 

[essenbe]

Is your SSD connected to the Intel or Marvell port? It should be set to the Intel sata Port 3_0. Do you have the Intel Rapid storage tech. Installed? It contains IaStor which is Intel's AHCI driver. Your board has 2 sata controllers, Intel and Marvell. The IRST will not work on the Marvell controllers. You can check by going to Device manager (right click computer, select manage, select device manager from the left column) In Device manager, expand IDE ATA/ATAPI Controllers. At the bottom see if you see either the Windows MSAHCI or Intel desktop/family workstation express chipset SATA AHCI controller. If you see one of those, I would assume you have the AHCI drivers installed. That would mean that you should be able to change the sata controller in BIOS to AHCI and boot into Windows. As a last resort before a complete reinstall I would install the IRST drivers from Gigabyte's website, after installation it should ask you to reboot. On reboot change bios to ahci mode and see if that works.
If you need your Manual, it can be downloaded here page 86 has the info of how to change the sata controller, but it sounds like you did it the correct way.

 

[Dlgwarner]

Everything was configured as you indicated, but IRST would not load. I kept getting an error message saying my system was not capable, which I knew was incorrect. I finally came across this post http://www.sevenforums.com/installation-setup/179989-ssd-ahci-headache.html and tried it. I made sure the msachi and iastorv drivers mere actually in my system32 drivers folder. I set boot for safe mode in msconfig and opened BIOS on restart and set the system drive to ACHI. It booted right into windows and loaded the drivers. I restarted in safe mode again and installed IRST again and it worked this time. I turned off safe mode and restarted in ACHI and everything worked fine.

Now my problem is that my startup programs and services has gotten so clogged that my startup is slower than before I installed the SSD. time to try to clean that out, safely.

 

[essenbe]

I' glad it worked for you. Hold the windows ke down (the one with the flags on it ) and press R and you will get the run box. Tupe msconfig, provide admin permissions and go to the startup tab. Uncheck everything except your AV. Save and exit reboot a few times to see if it is better. Then do the same thind with msconfig and see if anything has written itself back into startup. If needed do the same to get the run boz and type services.msc, find the program that keep writing itself back in, right clicl on it and select properties, In the middle box, change it to Automatic (dekayed) and if that does not work change it to manual. See if that helps. With an SSD, you don't want a lot of programs in startup. They open instantly anyway. I have nothing in startup except the windows OS and ny AV.

 

[Dlgwarner]

Thanks! You were a big help.