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  • BIOS, storage configuration

    Hi all, my first post.
    A new build, Extreme6/i7 4790K. No OS installed.
    OS drive is a Samsung EVO 250GB, storage is one 1TB HDD, scratch/cache disc is two 1TB HDDs in RAID 0.

    Problem.
    Under BIOS storage,I need to have RAID selected, but from research on the web, Samsung Magician Software has issues recognizing/playing nice, unless the controller is set AHCI. It appears I can't set to AHCI, install the OS, then change to RAID, otherwise windows breaks, nor can SATA ports be individually controlled. I can't find a definitive answer, even on the Samsung site.

    Has anyone installed Windows on a Samsung SSD and been able to use/control it using the Magician software?

    Any feedback would be most appreciated.

    Thanks.

  • #2
    Re: BIOS, storage configuration

    Originally posted by iammytkyl View Post
    Hi all, my first post.
    A new build, Extreme6/i7 4790K. No OS installed.
    OS drive is a Samsung EVO 250GB, storage is one 1TB HDD, scratch/cache disc is two 1TB HDDs in RAID 0.

    Problem.
    Under BIOS storage,I need to have RAID selected, but from research on the web, Samsung Magician Software has issues recognizing/playing nice, unless the controller is set AHCI. It appears I can't set to AHCI, install the OS, then change to RAID, otherwise windows breaks, nor can SATA ports be individually controlled. I can't find a definitive answer, even on the Samsung site.

    Has anyone installed Windows on a Samsung SSD and been able to use/control it using the Magician software?

    Any feedback would be most appreciated.

    Thanks.
    Your question, which is clear to me but just in case, is actually, "Has anyone installed Windows on a Samsung SSD and been able to use/control it using the Magician software while using RAID mode?"

    Bottom line first, if your Samsung SSDs are not part of a RAID array, and they don't seem to be, then the Magician software features should work fine on those SSDs. I have used the current and earlier versions of the Magician software in RAID mode, with Samsung SSDs used in RAID arrays and normally, at the same time, so I know this is true. I'm sure others can verify this.

    When using RAID mode, you'll see a message on the main Magician screen that states you are not in AHCI mode. While that is true, RAID mode has all the features that AHCI mode provides, so you aren't loosing anything using RAID. The message seems to indicate a problem, but that is only for Samsung SSDs that are part of a RAID array.

    The problem with RAID mode and the Magician software (and most other software like it) is the way RAID works interferes with the communication between the software and the individual drives in a RAID array, in varying ways and degrees. Drives that are not part of RAID arrays are not affected and should appear as they do in AHCI mode to any software, and I have found that to be true.

    You are basically correct about installing Windows in AHCI mode and then changing to RAID, although that can be done with a registry edit and RAID driver installation in the correct sequence. But that would not change anything with the Magician software when the SATA mode is RAID.

    IMO, Samsung does not document this because of the many different SATA interfaces, RAID implementations, and separate RAID cards. Detecting all of them is difficult if not impossible, and RAID software/drivers can change over time. Attempting to explain each individual situation is difficult, and would be a huge task. What I have said above about the Magician software applies to your Intel SATA interface board when used in RAID mode, and all Intel based boards.

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