Can only boot in IDE mode after installing Windows 8 in AHCI mode

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thatguy77

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Jan 18, 2013
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Hey guys. Really weird issue here and can't find anyone with the same problem, hoping somebody can point me in the right direction.

Hardware info you probably need:

MOBO: Gigabyte GA-EX58-UD3R
Crucial M4 SSD in main SATA port
WD Black HD in secondary SATA port
DVD drive in a third SATA port

I had Windows 7 installed on my SSD, wanted to make the leap to Windows 8 (don't ask why). Windows 7 was installed on AHCI mode and running on AHCI mode just fine. Mobo was set to AHCI mode, hasn't been in IDE mode in nearly a year.

I installed Windows 8 from a USB drive (while mobo was set to AHCI mode). It detected all my drives. I deleted the old partitions and formatted a new one. After it installed, it wouldn't get past mobo AHCI controller screen and it said: Controller Bus #00 etc etc. It hanged there with a blinking cursor:

29N7C.jpg


I tried restarting and getting back into BIOS but it wouldn't let me. BIOS always comes after that screen usually and it wouldn't get past that screen. THE ONLY WAY I could fix this was to reset my CMOS (and the only way to do that on my board is taking out the battery as far as I know, no jumper switch anywhere I can spot).

After resetting CMOS I was able to boot into BIOS no problem, and with IDE set by default, my SSD booted just fine and Windows 8 loaded for the first time. After finishing the Windows 8 setup and installing some drivers I tried setting it back to AHCI with no luck, same problem.

Anyone have any ideas? Really frustrated here, especially since every failed attempt means taking out my graphics card so I can reach my CMOS battery and then taking out my CMOS battery.

Please keep in mind, this is different than the many people that want to switch to AHCI mode after installing in IDE. I installed this in AHCI mode. But I even tried the registry tweak to make Windows 8 support AHCI mode and it didn't solve anything.

Thanks for all your help!
 
It doesn't seem that this is Windows-related since your system can't get past POST.

Can you try unplugging all SATA devices and see if you can make it to the BIOS?
 
jwcalla said:
It doesn't seem that this is Windows-related since your system can't get past POST.

Can you try unplugging all SATA devices and see if you can make it to the BIOS?
Click to expand...

It posts (I see the logo screen that tells me to press DEL if I want to enter BIOS) but even if I press DEL the BIOS would normally come after the AHCI controller screen (I believe) and I just can't make it past that screen right now.

I thought posting meant seeing the post screen? Maybe I am wrong.

But I CAN make it into BIOS if I am set in IDE mode. Do you think it's worth testing to see if I can make it in BIOS in AHCI mode if all my SATA devices are unplugged? And if I do, then what?
 
Just to make sure, do you have the absolute newest BIOS version for your motherboard? Try disconnecting the 2nd HDD & the ODD to see if the others are halting the process. Some ODDs don't always agree with the AHCI standard (newer models support this though).
 
CrimsonKnight13 said:
Just to make sure, do you have the absolute newest BIOS version for your motherboard? Try disconnecting the 2nd HDD & the ODD to see if the others are halting the process. Some ODDs don't always agree with the AHCI standard (newer models support this though).
Click to expand...

Pretty sure I do have the latest. Even if I don't, the one I upgraded to so I could use AHCI on my SSD with Windows 7 worked great. And my other HD and ODD were working fine with Windows 7 on AHCI.
 
thatguy77 said:
It posts (I see the logo screen that tells me to press DEL if I want to enter BIOS) but even if I press DEL the BIOS would normally come after the AHCI controller screen (I believe) and I just can't make it past that screen right now.

I thought posting meant seeing the post screen? Maybe I am wrong.

But I CAN make it into BIOS if I am set in IDE mode. Do you think it's worth testing to see if I can make it in BIOS in AHCI mode if all my SATA devices are unplugged? And if I do, then what?
Click to expand...

Well Power-On Self-Test ensures that all devices are brought up successfully. Generally you can't get into the BIOS configuration until at least some devices have gone through the POST... and it looks like you're not making it through the SATA AHCI controller devices. POST ends when the BIOS hands off the boot sequence to the OS.

Looking at the screencap here, it doesn't look like it's even getting to the point where it's trying to boot Windows. It almost seems like a BIOS firmware bug. However it's not obvious if there is something Windows 8 related on the disk that is causing the controller to puke out.
 
Somebody else reported this problem:

http://forums.tweaktown.com/gigabyte/37535-ga-ex58-ud5-ahci-problem.html

(Not that *anybody* in that thread was of any help.)

Says he can boot AHCI only if his M4 is plugged into one the JMicron SATA ports. Intel ports w/ AHCI don't work for him. Maybe you can contact him to see if he ever fixed it.

It seems like either a bug with the BIOS firmware or the SSD firmware, but I have no explanation for why it worked w/ Windows 7 but not since doing a reinstall.

Are you plugged into the white or blue ports? Maybe try swapping to the other ports?

Have you tried waiting an inordinately long time on that screen (srsly, like 5 mins)?

There could also be a SATA-related BIOS setting that's incorrect, such as "SATA RAID/AHCI" or something crazy like that.
 
jwcalla said:
Somebody else reported this problem:

http://forums.tweaktown.com/gigabyte/37535-ga-ex58-ud5-ahci-problem.html

(Not that *anybody* in that thread was of any help.)

Says he can boot AHCI only if his M4 is plugged into one the JMicron SATA ports. Intel ports w/ AHCI don't work for him. Maybe you can contact him to see if he ever fixed it.

It seems like either a bug with the BIOS firmware or the SSD firmware, but I have no explanation for why it worked w/ Windows 7 but not since doing a reinstall.

Are you plugged into the white or blue ports? Maybe try swapping to the other ports?

Have you tried waiting an inordinately long time on that screen (srsly, like 5 mins)?

There could also be a SATA-related BIOS setting that's incorrect, such as "SATA RAID/AHCI" or something crazy like that.
Click to expand...
Looks like a very similar problem indeed, but the weird difference is what you pointed out, that his is Windows 7 and my Windows 7 worked fine.

I haven't been able to update the SSD firmware. It always freezes when I try and update, but the guy in the thread you linked said updating the SSD firmware didn't help. Also, I don't want to use the JMICRON controller it's supposed to be buggy on that board. And I have waited 5+ minutes to no avail.

My BIOS setting is AHCI not RAID AHCI (although I've seen that option) and I'm using the main Intel ports not the JMICRON ones (not sure which color are which because I'm at work).
 
See if you can contact this guy:

http://hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1464845

You can try powering down and removing all SATA devices (i.e., power and data connections) and plugging them back in, but that's a long shot.

Otherwise I'd recommend just going with IDE mode. The performance difference is negligible... unless you need hot plug support?
 
I just noticed your screencap is cut off a bit. What number does it report in the upper-right corner when it hangs?
 
That guy seemed to have a very different issue, how come it's so important to contact him?

Even if there is barely a performance difference it's going to drive me crazy knowing it's not in the most optimal setting. I need to get this working or I will go insane.
 
It only hangs when the M4 is plugged into the SATA2 (non-jmicron) port when in AHCI mode. Was able to get past that screen when the drive is unplugged. Next step is to plug it in after booting into Windows 8 install and install the SATA2 pre-install driver first.
 
Okay so I was able to boot to my flash drive into Windows 8 setup with all my drives unplugged, hot-plug in the M4 and have setup detect it. From there, I deleted my old partition, formatted a new one, and installed the SATA2 pre-install drivers. Then, it wouldn't let me make a new partition it gave me an error saying it couldn't find a partition or create a new one.

So I restarted and the good news is that now my AHCI controller detects my M4 and doesn't hang. So I can get right back into BIOS.

LiyuH1m.jpg


Tried the installer again, this time just clicking next and not messing with partitions or pre-install drivers and it installed just fine. And I rebooted and it booted just fine!

I think I might be golden now but I will post if anything goes wrong.

EDIT: Crap, I installed the 32 bit version this time. Going to have to go through this again wish me luck. Downloading 64 bit now.
 
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I recommend that you have flashed the newest BIOS & SSD FW. Keeping bugs to as much of a minimum goes a long way for stability. This is my typical habit for keeping my PC running smooth even while being OCed.

Congrats by the way :)
 
Everything is good. Yes I have the latest non-beta firmware of my BIOS and latest SSD firmware. Not quite sure how I feel about Windows 8 yet. Under the hood it's supposed to be better. I got Pokki to bypass metro and give me a start menu and it's okay.

Not sure at all why they got rid of Aero Glass...it was an amazing theme.
 
Okay having tons of problems with Windows 8. All the sudden when I boot up my desktop has no icons, my cursor isn't available, and CTRL + ALT + DEL results in a black screen. System restore from recovery didn't work.

Thinking this was a curse and probably just going back to Windows 7.
 
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