Gigabyte 965P S3 problems with SATA Hard Drive - help wanted

[jimrainfordson]

Using Gigabyte 965P S3 motherboard with F5 bios
Everything is fine and stable using EIDE hard drives, but I'm having
trouble installing an SATA hard drive: Western Digital's SE16 320GB
SATA (WD3200KS)

With the SATA drive, it just doesn't work. Everything is slow. System
regularly locks up. Processes lock up and "end process" doesn't work.

I'm not sure if this is a Motherboard issue or one with the Hard Drive
(here after just HD). There are just too many variables so I'm hoping
someone can point me in the right direction. Here's some more
information on how I got here.

--- I formated the HD using XP's windows managment sofware. I've used
this before with IDE drives with no issues whatsoever. I formated a
simple drive with a primary partition and a few other partions on the
logical drive.

--- I used True Image to restore an image to the SATA primary (active)
partition. This image was created from an IDE HD.

--- No SATA drivers were available for download from Gigabyte's website
except the RAID ones. I'm not running raid on SATA.

--- Regarding BIOS option "SATA Port0-3 Native Mode", I have tried it
with this option Enabled and Disabled, but with no noticable
difference.

--- Looking at the Device Manager, I'm showing some problems. I don't
think the SATA drive is getting recongized correctly and it's coming up
with a generic driver. Not sure where to get the drivers from.
Western Digital didn't seem to offer any, nor did Gigabyte.

--- I downloaded and ran Western Digitals Lifeguard Diagnostics Tools
(11.2) and the drive checked out as error free.

--- The S3 offers a three different SATA inferfaces. I tried all three
but I didn't notice a difference.

My next step is to use Western Digitals Formating tools which I'm
hoping I can run from my IDE to format the SATA. I've read WD's
tutorial for this sofware, but I can't see how this will be any
different from XPs format tools. I'm guessing that XP isn't recognzing
the drive correctly probably because the image I restored to the SATA
was created from the active partition when it was on an IDE drive. I
really don't want to install XP from scratch, but everytime I try to
uninstall the hard drive drivers from the device manager, the computer
hangs forcing a reboot.

While experimenting, the SATA drive eventually corrupts itself and I
have to reformat. This is a lengthly process and so troubleshooting is
very slow and time consuming. Any help is extremely apprecaited.

Thank you!

 

[Anna]

Using Gigabyte 965P S3 motherboard with F5 bios
Everything is fine and stable using EIDE hard drives, but I'm having
trouble installing an SATA hard drive: Western Digital's SE16 320GB
SATA (WD3200KS)

With the SATA drive, it just doesn't work. Everything is slow. System
regularly locks up. Processes lock up and "end process" doesn't work.

I'm not sure if this is a Motherboard issue or one with the Hard Drive
(here after just HD). There are just too many variables so I'm hoping
someone can point me in the right direction. Here's some more
information on how I got here.

--- I formated the HD using XP's windows managment sofware. I've used
this before with IDE drives with no issues whatsoever. I formated a
simple drive with a primary partition and a few other partions on the
logical drive.

--- I used True Image to restore an image to the SATA primary (active)
partition. This image was created from an IDE HD.

--- No SATA drivers were available for download from Gigabyte's website
except the RAID ones. I'm not running raid on SATA.

--- Regarding BIOS option "SATA Port0-3 Native Mode", I have tried it
with this option Enabled and Disabled, but with no noticable
difference.

--- Looking at the Device Manager, I'm showing some problems. I don't
think the SATA drive is getting recongized correctly and it's coming up
with a generic driver. Not sure where to get the drivers from.
Western Digital didn't seem to offer any, nor did Gigabyte.

--- I downloaded and ran Western Digitals Lifeguard Diagnostics Tools
(11.2) and the drive checked out as error free.

--- The S3 offers a three different SATA inferfaces. I tried all three
but I didn't notice a difference.

My next step is to use Western Digitals Formating tools which I'm
hoping I can run from my IDE to format the SATA. I've read WD's
tutorial for this sofware, but I can't see how this will be any
different from XPs format tools. I'm guessing that XP isn't recognzing
the drive correctly probably because the image I restored to the SATA
was created from the active partition when it was on an IDE drive. I
really don't want to install XP from scratch, but everytime I try to
uninstall the hard drive drivers from the device manager, the computer
hangs forcing a reboot.

While experimenting, the SATA drive eventually corrupts itself and I
have to reformat. This is a lengthly process and so troubleshooting is
very slow and time consuming. Any help is extremely apprecaited.

Thank you!

jimrainfordson:
1. First of all, I don't think whatever problems you're experiencing is due
to a formatting issue. The Disk Management utility does the job just fine
and there's no need to use a third-party formatting tool, even if it's
provided by the manufacturer of your HDD.

2. I also don't think there's a driver issue here. Since this is a non-RAID
configuration I'm virtually certain the SATA controller driver is, in
effect, built-in to the BIOS. Check your User Manual for information on this
and if it's unclear, check with Gigabyte.

3. I take it that SATA HDD is intended to be a boot drive since you say you
used the Acronis program to restore a disk image from your (I assume)
booting PATA HDD. Is it possible something went awry with that recovery
process and it's that that is causing your problems?

4. Would it not be sensible to simply make a fresh install of the XP OS onto
your SATA HDD to determine whether any problem exists under those
circumstances?

5. Have you tried different SATA connectors on the motherboard? And of
course you're satisfied that the signal/data cable connection is secure on
both ends, right?
Anna

 

[DL]

It doesnt matter whether you are using raid or not, you need to install sata
raid drivers from floppy useing the F6 option during the install/repair of
win.
See pages 27.7/8 and page 74.4 on, of your manual

 

[Barry Watzman]

I have the same drive (320GB WD KS series) on a GA-965P-DS3, which I
believe is the same motherboard except for the capacitors in the Vcore
power supply.

There are six SATA ports on the motherboard. Four of them have orange
sockets and are connected to the Intel ICH8 chipset. Two of them have
purple sockets and are connected to the Gigabyte SATA/IDE controller
(which is actually a JMicron device). This device (the JMicron part)
contains both the IDE port and two SATA ports which can be used in
either RAID or non-RAID configurations. However, for EITHER type of
use, you must install the driver in Windows to use these ports. No
driver installation is required for the IDE ports, which are fully
supported in the BIOS and the 965 chipset software.

For maximum performance, install the driver for the JMicron controller
(Gigabyte calls it a Gigabyte controller) and connect the SATA drive to
one of the purple ports. These ports are at least potentially faster
than the ICH8 SATA ports (orange connectors), because the support AHCI
and NCQ. This device must also be properly configured in the BIOS,
where there are several items related to it.

For minimum hassle and maximum reliability, connect the SATA drive(s) to
the Intel ICH8 ports (orange connectors). These are supported in the
bios and by the chipset software, so no additional drivers are required.
But RAID, AHCI and NCQ are not supported by ICH8.

There is a single Windows driver for both SATA and non-SATA use of the
Gigabyte (JMicron) controller. It is both on the CD and on the Gigabyte
web site. In additon to the Windows driver, you might want to download
the DOS driver for this controller as well. This is on the web site but
not on the CD (huge oversight, in my view). This is installed via
config.sys and allows DOS access to SATA drives on the Gigabyte
(JMicron) controller should you boot from DOS for system maintanence
purposes.

Since the Gigabyte/JMicron device is present on the motherboard in all
cases (whether it's used or not), I would recommend installing it's
driver even if it's not currently being used. At the very least, this
identifies, classifies and properly configures/initializes the device so
that you don't have an "junk" in device manager.

 

[jimrainfordson]

Hi Anna, thanks for the post...

1. First of all, I don't think whatever problems you're experiencing is due
to a formatting issue. The Disk Management utility does the job just fine
and there's no need to use a third-party formatting tool, even if it's
provided by the manufacturer of your HDD.

I agree.

2. I also don't think there's a driver issue here. Since this is a non-RAID
configuration I'm virtually certain the SATA controller driver is, in
effect, built-in to the BIOS. Check your User Manual for information on this
and if it's unclear, check with Gigabyte.

Others address this more in detail. I think you're essentially right
and it's enabled in the bios, but this still could be a problem area.

3. I take it that SATA HDD is intended to be a boot drive since you say you
used the Acronis program to restore a disk image from your (I assume)
booting PATA HDD. Is it possible something went awry with that recovery
process and it's that that is causing your problems?

Yes, the SATA is intended to be the boot HDD. I might still use the
IDE drive for storage but right now it's my only working boot HDD. I'm
pretty sure the recovery process is fine and I've tried it more than
once.

4. Would it not be sensible to simply make a fresh install of the XP OS onto
your SATA HDD to determine whether any problem exists under those
circumstances?

I'd be willing to do it as a test but I really don't want to have to
start all over with my OS. The image I have created is very clean yet
has all my options and prefrences set up just they way I like them and
all the apps I like are installed as well.

5. Have you tried different SATA connectors on the motherboard? And of
course you're satisfied that the signal/data cable connection is secure on
both ends, right?
Anna

Cables are secured and as DL explains there are 6 inferfaces. I've
tried each type but not all six. Good idea. I'm thinking that it might
be a driver issue afterall as DL and others suggest.

 

[jimrainfordson]

It doesnt matter whether you are using raid or not, you need to install sata
raid drivers from floppy useing the F6 option during the install/repair of
win.

It's correct that I'm not using RAID. As I've said elsewhere I very
much want to avoid installing XP from scratch because I put a lot of
time into creating a nice clean image with all the bells and whistles I
like. Do you know of a way in which I could install these drivers
without having to completely start the install all over? Perhaps the
"repair" function from windows would all this?

See pages 27.7/8 and page 74.4 on, of your manual

Ah, yes, RTFM. Sorry I missed that. My MB manual doesn't show much on
page 27, but 74 shows me what you're talking about, page 65 being the
start of it. I did have SATA enabled in IDE mode but I'm still missing
the proper win drivers.

 

[jimrainfordson]

Thanks for the reply Barry,

I have the same drive (320GB WD KS series) on a GA-965P-DS3, which I
believe is the same motherboard except for the capacitors in the Vcore
power supply.

Yes, while you have the better built board I believe everyting else is
identical although my bios versions are one step behind yours in name
only. (i.e. F5 version for me is F6 for you but otherwise the same).

There are six SATA ports on the motherboard. Four of them have orange
sockets and are connected to the Intel ICH8 chipset. Two of them have
purple sockets and are connected to the Gigabyte SATA/IDE controller
(which is actually a JMicron device). This device (the JMicron part)
contains both the IDE port and two SATA ports which can be used in
either RAID or non-RAID configurations. However, for EITHER type of
use, you must install the driver in Windows to use these ports. No
driver installation is required for the IDE ports, which are fully
supported in the BIOS and the 965 chipset software.

Thanks for clearing this up. Besides chosing between ICH8 and the
Gigabyte/JMicron (purple), does it matter which slot I put it in? (i.e.
0,1,3,4, etc?)

For maximum performance, install the driver for the JMicron controller
(Gigabyte calls it a Gigabyte controller) and connect the SATA drive to
one of the purple ports. These ports are at least potentially faster
than the ICH8 SATA ports (orange connectors), because the support AHCI
and NCQ. This device must also be properly configured in the BIOS,
where there are several items related to it.

For minimum hassle and maximum reliability, connect the SATA drive(s) to
the Intel ICH8 ports (orange connectors). These are supported in the
bios and by the chipset software, so no additional drivers are required.
But RAID, AHCI and NCQ are not supported by ICH8.

Okay, I'm starting with minmum "hassle & max reliability" so it's
orange ICH8 for now. And to repeat, no raid intended. I just want a
boot HDD with a few extra partitions.

As for the bios options, I've "enabled" SATA and I've chosen "IDE" (as
opposed to AHCI) because it seemed to be the safest choice for now.
There's another option for SATA Port0-3 Native Mode which I currently
have disabled, but I could ENABLE it if necessary. I'm not sure at
this time what this does or what it should be set at. Beyond that, I
don't see any other bios options related to SATA, so please let me know
if I've missed any.

There is a single Windows driver for both SATA and non-SATA use of the
Gigabyte (JMicron) controller. It is both on the CD and on the Gigabyte
web site. In additon to the Windows driver, you might want to download
the DOS driver for this controller as well. This is on the web site but
not on the CD (huge oversight, in my view). This is installed via
config.sys and allows DOS access to SATA drives on the Gigabyte
(JMicron) controller should you boot from DOS for system maintanence
purposes.

Okay, to be clear, you're saying I shouldn't need this driver so long
as I used the ICH8 interface along with the correctly enabled bios
options, right?

As mentioned elsewhere, a major goal of mine is to be able to use the
image I created and NOT have to install XP from scratch.

Assuming I need the SATA drivers, let me see if I understand.... I've
downloaded all the SATA drivers from Gigabyte, including the DOS. (I
have the CD if needed, but didn't use it). Do you think I can use the
DOS driver in order to avoid having to install the OS from scratch? To
my thinking I could use my current HDD to restore an image to the SATA
drive, then boot into dos and somehow install the driver before the
SATA drive launches for even the first time. Does that seem practical?

Since the Gigabyte/JMicron device is present on the motherboard in all
cases (whether it's used or not), I would recommend installing it's
driver even if it's not currently being used. At the very least, this
identifies, classifies and properly configures/initializes the device so
that you don't have an "junk" in device manager.

That sounds like a good idea, but right now I just want to get things
stable.

Here's a little update... I previously got the image boot to run with
problems. I didn't have to change any bios options, but I did switch
to the orange interface and it did launch. Hardware Device manager
didn't show any question marks and things appeared to run smoothlly.
However, it did hang when I shut down. I pushed my luck and
reinstalled the image again (for fear I had corrupted it earlier) but
this time no boot. Hangs while loading windows. Again, the only real
thing I've done is change from purple to orange. I'll do some more
experimenting and check back.

Boy I really appreciate the help. You guys are lifesavers.

 

[DL]

There no need to clean install, repair install and use the F6 option, early
in the process to install sata/raid drivers from floppy

 

[Barry Watzman]

Reinstalling the driver is fairly easy. Find the device in device
manager (Note that if the driver is not installed, it may be under other
or unknown devices). Right click, properties, Driver, update driver.
Or something like that (it's slightly different if the device is
"unknown", which it will be if no driver is currently installed).

 

[Barry Watzman]

Right, go with the orange sockets. I'd go with SATA0, that's where it
expects the first drive.

My understanding is that in that configuration, the driver is not
needed, however I'd install it anyway. Not critical, however, at this time.

I would restore the image while the drive is connected to the new port.
If it hangs at boot, you may need to do a repair install. I have a
feeling that a new install would fix all your problems, but I understand
the reasons for not wanting to do that.

I am also unclear on some of the BIOS settings.

 

[jimrainfordson]

There no need to clean install, repair install and use the F6 option, early
in the process to install sata/raid drivers from floppy

Great! I'll try that but I recently realized my little used FDD is
broken so I'll be looking to burn a CD-ROM. I've never actually done a
repair install. I assume I'll need to go through the entire process
rather than stop when the drivers are installed. I've been very
careful to keep my image as clean as possible so I hope the repair
installs aren't problematic creating problems that don't pop up until a
later time.

I'll try this as soon as I can. Thank you.

 

[jimrainfordson]

Reinstalling the driver is fairly easy. Find the device in device
manager (Note that if the driver is not installed, it may be under other
or unknown devices). Right click, properties, Driver, update driver.
Or something like that (it's slightly different if the device is
"unknown", which it will be if no driver is currently installed).

To repeat myself a bit... after booting and running the OS from my old
IDE HDD, I was able to format the SATA HDD with it attached as slave
(or whatever the SATA equivilant of slave is). I used XP's Computer
Managment to format and then I installed the image to the SATA while
booted via the IDE. I restarted, changed the boot to the SATA HDD in
the bios and went from there. I did all this witout the proper SATA
drviers installed which is natural considering I was running from the
IDE drive. Is there any reason to fear corruption on the logical
drives of the SATA that were created by the IDE?

As for the Device Manager, I'm going to have to play with it. Upon
first installing the image to the SATA and booting from the SATA HDD,
things are running badly without the drivers with a good change of
things hanging up. I've managed to access the device manager but it
hangs when I try to change or uninstall the drivers. Even if I somehow
got it to work I'd be worried there was some corruption to the primary
partition data during the time when I was troubleshooting it. I'm
guessing this is one of the reasons the user is instructed to install
the drivers during the OS install.

Wow. Whatta hassle. I was perfectly happy with IDE.

Well, I'm off to start tyring out some of these suggestions. Thanks
for you help.

 

[Anna]

To repeat myself a bit... after booting and running the OS from my old
IDE HDD, I was able to format the SATA HDD with it attached as slave
(or whatever the SATA equivilant of slave is). I used XP's Computer
Managment to format and then I installed the image to the SATA while
booted via the IDE. I restarted, changed the boot to the SATA HDD in
the bios and went from there. I did all this witout the proper SATA
drviers installed which is natural considering I was running from the
IDE drive. Is there any reason to fear corruption on the logical
drives of the SATA that were created by the IDE?

As for the Device Manager, I'm going to have to play with it. Upon
first installing the image to the SATA and booting from the SATA HDD,
things are running badly without the drivers with a good change of
things hanging up. I've managed to access the device manager but it
hangs when I try to change or uninstall the drivers. Even if I somehow
got it to work I'd be worried there was some corruption to the primary
partition data during the time when I was troubleshooting it. I'm
guessing this is one of the reasons the user is instructed to install
the drivers during the OS install.

Wow. Whatta hassle. I was perfectly happy with IDE.

Well, I'm off to start tyring out some of these suggestions. Thanks
for you help.

Jim:
As I previously indicated, I really do not think that the problem you're
experiencing is due to a SATA controller driver issue. Since this is a
non-RAID configuration there is no need that I'm aware of re this
motherboard to install a separate SATA controller driver. Naturally I'm
assuming that when you installed the motherboard you installed the Intel
chipset drivers from your Gigabyte installation CD (or later download, if
applicable).

I have the suspicion that something went awry in the disk imaging/recovery
process you undertook and that is at the root of the problem you're
experiencing. So why don't you try this...

Assuming that your source disk, your PATA HDD, boots without incident and
functions without any problems - rather than performing the disk
imaging/recovery process - perform a direct disk-to-disk cloning operation
using your Acronis program. Naturally, if there's any data on your SATA HDD
that you need, copy same before you undertake the disk cloning operation.

And assuming the disk cloning process proceeds without incident, check your
BIOS upon bootup to ensure the settings (options) are correct insofar as
they apply to a non-RAID SATA HDD installation.
Anna