Do I need to find drivers for my Intel x-25v 40gig ssd in my new build?

[idata]

I built a HTPC, my BIOS finds the Intel ssd, but Windows 7 (64 bit) can't find any drives on which to load the OS. Gigabyte (my mobo) says I should get drivers from Intel. During the OS installation, I have the option to look for drivers.

I would think that the Win 7 disc would have all the necessary drivers but I am trying anything now. Here's my setup:

CPU - Intel i3 540

Mobo - Gigabyte GA H55M USB 3 REV 2.0

hhd - Intel x-25v 40 gig ssd

I put the ssd is on the SATA2_0 port; I have the optical on the gSATA2_5 port. There are no other drives in the system. If it matters, there is no graphics card as I'm using the i3 for graphics.

SATA is set to AHCI in the BIOS. As it boots, I see a quick screen identifying the ssd and the dvd. I can boot into the Win 7 disc and it starts installation but when it gets to the screen where I'm to select a drive, there aren't any displayed. I get a box stating "no drives were found". It says I should install a cd, dvd, or usb drive to load drivers.

I have changed ports, changed SATA cables, removed the ssd and formatted it on another computer - I'm pretty sure that the problem is not the port, cable, or the ssd. I have changed the port to IDE and back again to AHCI but nothing works - it can never find a drive.

I find it hard to believe that the Win 7 disc doesn't have the drivers. But short of anything else, are there 'special' ssd drivers I should be using? Any other suggestions (other than I should have selected an Intel board)?

thank you,

Alan

[idata]

Nothing to lose so I installed the Intel iastor driver. I thought it might work as when installing the Win 7 OS and I reached the screen that allowed me to load drivers, it found the Intel drivers on the usb stick onto which I had downloaded RST. It installed the driver, but when it returned to the box where it is asking which drive to load the OS to, no change - there were no drives showing.

I hit 'refresh' but nothing.

Regarding the Intel SSD, I may be able to get to the techs at Microcenter Monday morning.

thanks again,

Alan

[idata]

Remove any USB or HDD drives whilst you install Windows 7 on your SSD. After Win 7 has installed you can then install any other drives you want to use. This is not a peculiarity with SSD, it is a peculiarity with Windows 7.

[idata]

Ya know, now that I think about it, that is exactly what I have done every time I installed Win 7 on an SSD. I had no knowledge of what redux stated, but I just felt it would be the safe thing to do, one drive - no confusion or possibility the installation will choose the "wrong" drive.

redux, do you know if this peculiarity is documented?

[idata]

I've experienced the "no drive found" when I've had either bootable USB sticks attached or external USB drives plugged in. I think Windows just gets confused sometimes if it thinks you are trying to install on a portable drive. The easiest option is to just remove them until the installation is complete.

The "no drive found" scenario comes up a lot with a Google search with Win 7 installations, but most solutions point to drives for the controller as being the problem. That however should not be the problem from what the OP has described.

Assuming the drive is detected in the BIOS there is no reason it should not be detected during installation, so it would be worth a shot by the OP.

[idata]

The Intel ssd is the only drive I have installed - other than the dvd.

I only had the usb drive connected in order to load Intel's RST. However, there was no change when loading the OS. Here's a quick summary of the changes I made, all without effect, when trying to load the Win 7 OS:

1. moved the ssd to SATA2_0 to SATA2_1, it is back on SATA2_0
2. changed SATA cable
3. set BIOS to IDE and to AHCI, it is now on AHCI
4. BIOS v7 to BIOS v10 provided by Gigabyte
5. unformatted ssd and now a formatted ssd
6. msahci and Intel's iastor drivers
7. with and without a usb stick

The only confidence I have that I built this thing correctly, is that when I substituted a conventional hdd for the ssd, the drive appeared in the dialog box during the OS installation. It's this same box that shows no drives when the ssd is connected.

Weird, huh? Nonetheless, I still have hope, knida, that I just have a stupid error some place.

Thanks,

Alan