Ahci Controller Question...

[clwalter]

On my last XP installation with my new Maxtor Diamondmax 10 300GB HDD I think I goofed on something. I didn't load any drivers at the F6 prompt because at the time I didn't think I needed to (plus I didn't have a FDD installed). The drive was recognized and I was able to install XP Pro without a problem.

However when I go into the BIOS on my ASUS P5AD2 Premium and select the AHCI SATA controller the drive isn't recognized on restart. I have to use the IDE-Enhanced SATA controller.

I tested the performance of the drive with HD Tach and it appears that I am getting the read/write speed I should be for this drive. I know that the NCQ feature will not work unless the HDD is on the AHCI controller, but I am not clear if there are any other performance increases I would see if the drive was on the AHCI controller.

It does bug me that the hard drive might not be functioning at its maximum potential. Do I have any other options to get that drive on the AHCI controller without reformatting the drive and loading drivers at F6 prompt? Keep in mind I didn't buy a FDD for this system.

Advice? Suggestions?

Thanks,

-Clayton

[LiquidSage]

sata ahci supports Hot Plug and Native Command Queuing. so yes, you would see an increase in speed using ahci though you will probably need to do an OS reinstall to use AHCI since AHCI is detected like a RAID setup.

Maxtor isn't very truthful about their silent drives. They adjust the drive's speed settings changable through a utility that you can download (Maxtor’s Acoustic Management Utility). They have not really advanced in making the drive produce less noise at full speed.

From the factory they are set in the middle area of performance for Acoustic Management, so as to seem quiet to the general consumer, plus since the drive doesn't work as hard as it could, it can prolong the life of the drive. I personally disable it through the utility and go full speed.

[clwalter]

I just realized that I posted this in the wrong forum. Probably should have been in the hardware sections.