Jump to content

Bios slow in Ahci mode


Recommended Posts

Hello everybody!

I have a Ga-ep45-ud3r mobo with ich10r host and Bios version F4. If Sata disk access is set in Bios to P-Ata compatibility mode, then W2k-Xp bootup is slow (35s) for still unclear reasons. And if Sata disk access is set in Bios to Ahci, then OS bootup gets very fast (OS disk is an X25-E, W2k boots in 15s and Xp in 9s, including nVidia video driver).

But then, in Ahci mode, the Bios gets very slow. The video card displays its data for a few seconds, and then the Bios takes 17s before giving control the the OS boot sequence, which is far too long.

From what's displayed, it seems that Gigabyte's Bios calls a routine supplied by Microsoft, as soon as the ich10r is set to Ahci or Raid, and this routine takes about 15s. Right?

By the way, this mobo has also a JMicron 363 P-Ata+Sata host on board, which also slows down the Bios pretty much the same way when in Ahci mode.

So:

- Can I improve this time through some settings?

- Does your mobo's Bios run faster than 17s in Ahci mode? What's your model then?

- Does an Intel mobo, with an Intel Bios, run faster than 17s in Ahci mode? Observed figures?

- Or do nVidia chipsets manage it better?

Thanks!

Link to comment
Share on other sites


So:

- Can I improve this time through some settings?

- Does your mobo's Bios run faster than 17s in Ahci mode? What's your model then?

- Does an Intel mobo, with an Intel Bios, run faster than 17s in Ahci mode? Observed figures?

- Or do nVidia chipsets manage it better?

just a few answers on that but lets see what others will say too:

- You can't improve the ACHI init time.

- Mine would do some 10 second or so with to init ACHI on a 1TB Hitachi drive on a -UD3P.

- Can't tell, but I don't believe that, that BIOS part is written by Intel any way.

- Other chipsets do a faster ACHI init (but can't say if it's "better"), even on AMD based systems with a SB700/710/750.

I hope that helps. Seems that your NAND drive is just slow with the init. Why would you use ACHI any way on a NAND drive?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I use Ahci with the X25-E because this drops boot time from 35s to 9s. The reason is very unclear to me; once Windows runs, I get full throughput and response time in P-Ata compatibility mode; only Ncq performance differs. I don't believe Ncq alone does this improvement in boot time. Rather, the P-Ata compatibility mode must run at Pio4 or Mdma2 at the beginning of Windows' boot.

The long Ahci part of Bios setup doesn't depend on the connected drives, from my experiments.

It is supplied by Intel, but from answers I got from a German forum, versions 1.20 and newer are fast (<1s) and Gigabyte hasn't included them in the Mobo's Bios. I still have to process the heavy information there, solutions would imply replacing the Intel part of the Mobo's Bios by a less old version.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I see, but an init of 17 seconds is a long time and I never have seen that on any of the Gigabyte motherboards with just a SATA drive. It's interesting to know that there is a new ACHI BIOS out there, strange part is indeed that Gigabyte didn't implement it in their BIOS updates.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Meanwhile I've downloaded Bios F4 F5 F9 F11 from Gigabyte, detailed them by Cbrom v2.20 and observed the embedded Ahci subroutine provided by Intel.

F4 F5 F9 include Ahci v1.07, only the F11 (from 31st of August, 2009!) has Ahci v1.20...

Which means that I can hope a classical upgrade to F11 will bring a faster Ahci part of Bios start.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Found some threads on diverse forums that observe the same effect, and their analysis and results are quite clear:

http://www.insanelymac.com/forum/lofiversi...hp/t168690.html

http://62.109.81.232/cgi-bin/sbb/sbb.cgi?&...1&show=9789

It was really Intel's embedded Ahci that slows down Gigabyte's Bios, and Gigabyte took some time to include Intel's faster v1.20E Ahci.

So for my Ud3r, official Gigabyte F11 Bios should be the answer. And of course, I'll tell you the result.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

And it worked.

I just used Gigabyte's regular QFlash to update the mobo's Bios from F4 to F11.

This brought the embedded Ahci part by Intel from 1.07 to 1.20E, which now takes 3s instead of 17s.

So I didn't have to modify a Bios, which I was reluctant to do.

Two other parts of the computer start have gotten each 3s slower: before the Bios gets the screen, and during Xp bootup. But the net sum is clearly positive, and at 4000MHz, I get a working Xp 25s after switching the power.

Still a little bit disappointing. On my PIII, the Bios passes control to Windows boot process some 8s after I switch the power on. Are there P45 mobos with a faster Bios than my Ga-ep45-ud3r?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 months later...
But then, in Ahci mode, the Bios gets very slow. The video card displays its data for a few seconds, and then the Bios takes 17s before giving control the the OS boot sequence, which is far too long.

O_O, that sounds like my Adaptec 29160 SCSI card and Plextor SCSI CD drives.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...