X25-M + ICH9R + AHCI = No Post

[idata]

I have an Asus x38 Maximus Formula mboard, flashed to the latest bios (1403). With the X25-M plugged in, if I set it to AHCI in the BIOS, it hangs while detecting the SATA port. If I set it to RAID, it doesn't even POST. If I unplug it and then POST and set it to IDE, plug it back in, then works just fine (Win7 x64).

I'd love to have it in AHCI mode so I can hot-plug my external SATA drive for backups.

Is this a drive/firmware issue or a mboard BIOS (ie Intel controller ROM)?

Are other people seeing this?

Connected to the SATA ports:

1 X25-M 80GB

1 150GB Raptor

1 WD 1TB Green

1 DVD burner

1 internal SATA drive cage for backups (normally unplugged)

1 eSATA for external usage (OCZ Throttle, etc)

So, I have a cable plugged into every slot, although only 4 are powered up at all times.

[idata]

In the hope that this will help folks who encounter this problem I can confirm that racyb's solution may work.

1) Reset BIOS to IDE and boot into the Win 7 installation disk.

2) Deleted all partitions, resulting in an unallocated partition of 150GB.

3) Quit the installer.

4) Changed the BIOS to AHCI and boot the Win 7 installation disk.

5) Install succesful!

Step 2 is very very important. Only delete the partions, do not format!

If you see a couple 0 size partitions you are doing it wrong.

Step 3 Exit the installer by clicking the close buttons on the upper right. Red with a white X. If I remember correctly you need to do this twice to cleanly exit the install. Do not just hit the reset button.

Possible Cause:

I believe what caused this problem was that when I reinstalled I simply deleted existing partions and selected install.

I did not create any partitions, I assumed the windows 7 install would do so. I believe, in my case, this caused the problem. IMHO you should always create the install partition manually and format it.

To Reiterate: When I reinstalled after completing the above steps I created the partition manually, no 0 size partitions showed up and I formatted the install partition.

Good luck folks, after a month using the SSD I can't imagine going without. As Anand of AnandTech says, its the best real world performance upgrade you can get.

[idata]

Thanks! This solved my issue! I have a Samsung 830 SSD. The issue was caused when installing Windows 8.

[idata]

I have an asus x39 maximus http://methoo.com

[idata]

Hi

I'm having the same problem on an Asus P5QL Pro (P43 latest bios) + 80GB G2 (latest firmware). Installed Windows 7 64 IDE-mode, which worked fine the first time. After deleting all partitions and reformating I set Bios to AHCI. Now it hangs at auto-detecting. Tried to delete and reformat using IDE mode, which works fine for IDE, but as soon as I switch to AHCI it does not auto-detect and hangs. My retailer only says that my mainboard is old and is likely the reason for the problem. To get a new SSD will take weeks - what if it happens again? I am really disappointed and hope Intel will come up with a solution.

[RGiff]

Refer tp microsoft article # 922976 and it decribes how to switch from IDE to AHCI after OS is installed , You can not just go in BIOS and change it without doing this first or you will get Blue screen.