880GMH/U3S3, New OCZ ARC 100 SSD, Win 7 reinstall problem

[garria10]

ASRock 880GMH/U3S3 Mobo
OCZ ARC 100 SSD

I'm having a problem getting my new ARC 100 SSD to format so I can do a clean reinstall of Win 7 HP 64bit. I've unplugged my old SSD and other HDD, plugged the new SSD into a SATA3 port and boot from Win 7 installation DVD. When I reach the point of telling the installer where to put the OS it comes up asking for drivers. I've not had this before so I don't know which drivers it's looking for?

I've tried to format the SDD using Disk Manager - it fails after the point where it asks for the size of the partition - initializing the Disk at this point also fails. The Disk space remains Unallocated...

I also tried to use DISKPART -

Diskpart
List disk
Select disk 0
Clean
Create partition primary

success up to this point but next step (format) fails - (from memory) "unable to find partition"
Format fs=ntfs quick
Active
Exit

My current thinking is that my Mobo needs SATA 3 drivers (which is perhaps what the installation DVD doesn't have)?
I have downloaded SATA3 drivers from Asmedia for my Mobo, is it best to install these from my old Win 7 installation beforehand or try when asked during the new Win 7 installation? Also the 'readme.txt' with the drivers doesn't mention Win 7 in the 'pre-installation using f6 method' section, could I use the method decribed for Vista?

My other thought is perhaps the SSD is faulty....

[parsec]

Re: 880GMH/U3S3, New OCZ ARC 100 SSD, Win 7 reinstall problem

If you're using the ASMedia SATA III ports, then you must load the basic driver during the OS installation, as you have said.

As you also said, the ASMedia driver Readme instructions only go as far as Vista. The Vista instructions are the same as needed for Windows 7, the same files must be copied to the USB flash drive, but use the three files in the Win7\x64 folder, in the ASMedia driver download.

Prepare the USB flash drive before you start the Windows 7 installation, connect it to a USB 2.0 port, and leave the flash drive in the PC during the entire Windows 7 installation. You must choose the Custom installation, and choose the Load Driver option to first load the driver. Then choose New to format the SSD.

You should be able to proceed with the Windows 7 installation after these steps.

[garria10]

Re: 880GMH/U3S3, New OCZ ARC 100 SSD, Win 7 reinstall problem

Thanks Parsec, that's pretty much exactly what I did, although I changed my mind about a clean re-install and cloned the existing OS onto the new SSD using the free Paragon Utility. I now have a faster PC with space for a proper page file etc and I can move the extra programs I'd installed on an HDD back to the faster SSD. A 64GB SSD just isn't enough, hopefully the new 240GB (OCZ ARC100) will last a while now. Many thanks

Just a thought for possible upgrading - do Windows 8 installation discs have drivers for SATA 3 ports, or is this a Mobo thing anyway?

[parsec]

Re: 880GMH/U3S3, New OCZ ARC 100 SSD, Win 7 reinstall problem

Glad you got it running.

No, it is not a mother board specific situation.

Windows 7 and Windows 8 have SATA drivers, many different kinds, I was surprised by how many there are the first time I saw a listing. SATA drivers are normally specific to a chipset/hardware platform, generic SATA drivers are rare. The problem is of all the SATA drivers Windows has, they don't include one for the ASMedia SATA chipset, or Marvell SATA chipset. Those two are the most common add-on SATA chips used on mother boards, and have been for years. Why their basic drivers are not included in Windows, I don't know.

Windows 7 and 8 has SATA drivers for AMD and Intel chips, LSI SAS and SCSI hardware RAID, HP RAID cards, PMC and Adaptec SAS and RAID, and even Nvidia nForce, VIA, and Promise SATA chipsets that are no longer made or supported by Nvidia, etc. But nothing for ASMedia or Marvell SATA chips, might be an interesting story about that...

[garria10]

Re: 880GMH/U3S3, New OCZ ARC 100 SSD, Win 7 reinstall problem

Glad you got it running.

No, it is not a mother board specific situation.

Windows 7 and Windows 8 have SATA drivers, many different kinds, I was surprised by how many there are the first time I saw a listing. SATA drivers are normally specific to a chipset/hardware platform, generic SATA drivers are rare. The problem is of all the SATA drivers Windows has, they don't include one for the ASMedia SATA chipset, or Marvell SATA chipset.

So, it IS a Motherboard specific thing if the motherboard is made by Asmedia with Asmedia SATA chipset? Well anyway thanks for sharing - I've always assumed that the generic drivers that come with Windows installation disks are enough to get you started! I must've installed my first SSD on this Motherboard using the SATA2 port because I don't recall any such problem of missing drivers...and if I did that does it mean even when plugged into the SATA3 port was the SSD running at SATA2 speeds?

[parsec]

Re: 880GMH/U3S3, New OCZ ARC 100 SSD, Win 7 reinstall problem

So, it IS a Motherboard specific thing if the motherboard is made by Asmedia with Asmedia SATA chipset? Well anyway thanks for sharing - I've always assumed that the generic drivers that come with Windows installation disks are enough to get you started! I must've installed my first SSD on this Motherboard using the SATA2 port because I don't recall any such problem of missing drivers...and if I did that does it mean even when plugged into the SATA3 port was the SSD running at SATA2
speeds?

IF ASMedia made mother boards, and also made the chipsets like your board's AMD 880G and SB710, then you might call it mother board specific.

Your board uses an AMD processor, and has the main AMD 880G chipset that provides many functions for a board not provided by the CPU. The AMD SB710 chip provides the five AMD SATA II ports, the blue SATA jacks on your board. The ASMedia SATA III chipset (not fully SATA III BTW) is an add on, secondary SATA chip that is commonly added to a board, besides the main SATA interface provided by the main AMD or Intel (on Intel CPU boards) chipsets.

You must have used the AMD SATA II ports when you installed Windows previously, or you would have had the same problem then that you have now. The SATA driver does not cause the interface to be either SATA II or SATA III, that is determined at the hardware level of the chip. A SATA driver can "downshift" the SATA interface speed under some circumstances, but that did not happen in your case.

You can't see it clearly with the way AMD and ASMedia is packaging their SATA drivers, but there are actually two SATA drivers. The ones provided by Windows, or called the "F6 Floppy" driver when provided separately, are the very basic SATA drivers used by a Windows installation. There is another, full version of the SATA driver that is installed once Windows has been installed.

[Younisace]

Re: 880GMH/U3S3, New OCZ ARC 100 SSD, Win 7 reinstall problem

Hi, I had a similar problem when I started building computers. Now before a build I will always check the chipset of the board before I purchase anything. The days of struggling for sata drivers are over my friend but glad you could sort out the problem.

[garria10]

Re: 880GMH/U3S3, New OCZ ARC 100 SSD, Win 7 reinstall problem

Ah, I think I get it - the Mobo is not an integrated 'clean-sheet' solution more of a bodge together of off-the-shelf add-on bits. They will tell you in huge flashing neon what it WILL do but what it won't do is hidden away in the smal print or just not mentioned....

I am grateful for the help and hope it steers others in the right direction!

[Younisace]

Re: 880GMH/U3S3, New OCZ ARC 100 SSD, Win 7 reinstall problem

They do that to entice you but they do make cheap boards with lots of options albeit a few snags here and there, nonetheless good cheap boards are hard to find and they fill the gap.