Dell XPS 17 L702x and the Vertex 3 SSD

Hi,



i received yesterday my XP17 and the Vertex 3 240GB, i quickly replaced the first HDD with the SSD.

Ran the Win7 with SP1 install, but after the first reboot: Bang bluescreen and a reboot. it never went any further.



Then i noticed another post on the internet about setting the SATA mode to ATA instead of AHCI and that did help! Now the installer just went on.



The thing is that i did read that AHCI should be the one to have.. But it seems even after a full install i can't change it (then it will not startup again with the constant rebooting)



And i did read that you can't really change the sata mode from ATA to AHCI and back after a windows install..?



I will try to install the latest intel AHCI drivers to see if that helps and i can then start windows in AHCI mode? Or maybe use that driver already when installing?



Anybody has some idea's what would be best? Or just leave it in ATA mode?

Reply 1 : Dell XPS 17 L702x and the Vertex 3 SSD

Quote:

Originally Posted by joco Hi, i received yesterday my XP17 and the Vertex 3 240GB, i quickly replaced the first HDD with the SSD. Ran the Win7 with SP1 install, but after the first reboot: Bang bluescreen and a reboot. it never went any further. Then i noticed another post on the internet about setting the SATA mode to ATA instead of AHCI and that did help! Now the installer just went on. The thing is that i did read that AHCI should be the one to have.. But it seems even after a full install i can't change it (then it will not startup again with the constant rebooting) And i did read that you can't really change the sata mode from ATA to AHCI and back after a windows install..? I will try to install the latest intel AHCI drivers to see if that helps and i can then start windows in AHCI mode? Or maybe use that driver already when installing? Anybody has some idea's what would be best? Or just leave it in ATA mode?

You actually can change it after installation. The trick is, if I remember correctly from doing this with Windows XP, is to uninstall the ATA controller driver, force it to install the AHCI (Serial ATA) controller driver, and only then reboot and change the BIOS switch.

Reply 2 : Dell XPS 17 L702x and the Vertex 3 SSD

the problem is i guess i need intel AHCI drivers for that. But how to get just the driver, i cant find that one currently.

Reply 3 : Dell XPS 17 L702x and the Vertex 3 SSD

Quote:

Originally Posted by joco the problem is i guess i need intel AHCI drivers for that. But how to get just the driver, i cant find that one currently.

Dell conveninently stuck all the drivers in C:Drivers, so C:DriversChipset_IRST 6flpy-x64iaAHCI.inf is the one you want.



And I'm remembering the right way to force it: The item under Device Manager>IDE ATA/ATAPI controllers probably says it is an ATA controller (mine says "SATA AHCI Controller). What you need to do is force this device to install the AHCI driver. So:



Update Driver Software, Browse my computer for driver software, Let me pick, Have Disk..., and find the iaahci.inf driver file. You may need to uncheck "show compatible hardware" and install the one called "Intel(R) Mobile Express Chipset SATA AHCI Controller".

Reply 4 : Dell XPS 17 L702x and the Vertex 3 SSD

forcing the ahci driver didn't really work, i did try to install them so maybe it did help a bit, but this link really makes it work:



GUIDE - Enabling AHCI mode AFTER Windows 7 Installation - Guru3D.com Forums



now i get good benchmark transfer speeds with my vertex 3, CrystalDiskMark reads and writes over de 400MB/s (with ATA i only got just over 300) and with the QD32 4K reads (10 times!) and writes (2 times) so i guess thats NCQ at work..



also the windows (WEI) own bench mark system went from 7.1 to 7.8 on the data transfer rate



Don't know if i really will notice that in real life but at least the benchmarks are good

Reply 5 : Dell XPS 17 L702x and the Vertex 3 SSD

So how long does it take for startup?

Reply 6 : Dell XPS 17 L702x and the Vertex 3 SSD

yeah it will be interesting to know...

My system takes 18 seconds from pressing power button to desktop...

(windows 7 SP1 x64 fully loaded with softwares and all)

Reply 7 : Dell XPS 17 L702x and the Vertex 3 SSD

Quote:

Originally Posted by gull_s_777 yeah it will be interesting to know... My system takes 18 seconds from pressing power button to desktop... (windows 7 SP1 x64 fully loaded with softwares and all)

This question can be kinda misleading as some people have user account passwords that take more time inputing the info in before the desktop comes up. I would imagine running a test where no password is needed would be the most accurate across all users. Stating which version of Windows 7 and if you have SP1 could also have an impact. Maybe we should start a thread comparing real world results instead of reading about lab tested secure erased drives at their peak performance for all the new SATA III SSD's.

Reply 8 : Dell XPS 17 L702x and the Vertex 3 SSD

Quote:

Originally Posted by NoSlow5oh This question can be kinda misleading as some people have user account passwords that take more time inputing the info in before the desktop comes up. I would imagine running a test where no password is needed would be the most accurate across all users. Stating which version of Windows 7 and if you have SP1 could also have an impact. Maybe we should start a thread comparing real world results instead of reading about lab tested secure erased drives at their peak performance for all the new SATA III SSD's.

yeah strongly agree.... enough of these synthetic benchmarks already

Reply 9 : Dell XPS 17 L702x and the Vertex 3 SSD

Quote:

Originally Posted by joco forcing the ahci driver didn't really work, i did try to install them so maybe it did help a bit, but this link really makes it work: GUIDE - Enabling AHCI mode AFTER Windows 7 Installation - Guru3D.com Forums now i get good benchmark transfer speeds with my vertex 3, CrystalDiskMark reads and writes over de 400MB/s (with ATA i only got just over 300) and with the QD32 4K reads (10 times!) and writes (2 times) so i guess thats NCQ at work.. also the windows (WEI) own bench mark system went from 7.1 to 7.8 on the data transfer rate Don't know if i really will notice that in real life but at least the benchmarks are good

My system doesn't have that value there despite being in AHCI mode. (It's set to 3, which is manual). But I'm glad you got it working!