intel c220 chipset SATA AHCI controller without RAID support?

BIOS/UEFI Modding BIOS Modding Guides and Problems
1

Hi all,
I’ve a new Asus computer with a intel 8 Series/c220 chipset SATA AHCI controller.
In BIOS advanced SATA configuration I can only find IDE and AHCI mode.
Doesn’t my BIOS/chipset support RAID mode? Is it possible to enable it and how?

Thank you all in advance for your time and answers!

2

@ MaxRaid:
Welcome at Win-RAID Forum!

Please let us know the model name of your ASUS computer resp. ASUS mainboard.

If there is no option within the "SATA Configuration" tab of the UEFI BIOS to set the Intel SATA Controller to "RAID" mode, you will not be able to create an Intel RAID array.
By the way: Why do you want to use the "RAID" mode? Is the "AHCI" mode not performant enough?

Regards
Dieter (alias Fernando)

3

Hi Fernando!
Thank-you very much for your very-quick answer!!

My computer has a traditional primary hard drive and a additional 32GB SSD drive.
The vendor told me that the SSD disk is for chaching, but i found it is not configured to operate as SSD caching: effectively BIOS SATA mode is AHCI and Intel(R) Rapid Storage Technology (Windows user interface) doesn’t visualize the “Accelerate” button (it needs raid mode) .

So I should suppose it is not possible to use my SSD drive for caching, but if this is true the vendor cheated me…

4

@ MaxRaid:
What you mean is the “Intel(R) Smart Response Technology” (ISRT). Yes, it is necessary to create an Intel RAID0 array for being able to use this feature. For details you may look >here<.
By the way: You didn’t answer my question regarding the model of your ASUS computer.

5

@ Fernando:

My computer configuration is the following:

ASUS Desktop PC M32AD - MAIN BOARD: K30AD_M31AD_M51AD_M32AD - CPU: Intel Core I7 4790 3.60 GHz - Disks: 1TB WDC WD10EZEX-22BN5A0+ 32GB KINGSTON SC151S3732GD SSD, SATA mode: AHCI - Graphics: AMD Radeon R7 240 2GB - RAM: 8GB DDR3 SDRAM - OS: Win8.1 x64 - IDE ATA/ATAPI: Intel(R) 8 Series/C220 Chipset Family SATA AHCI Controller

So what do you think? They sold me a SSD for caching but with a controller that doesn’t support this as it doesn’t support SATA RAID mode?

Thank you also for the link.

6

Yes, this is correct.
Your ASUS computer has an Intel H81 Chipset, which is the budget variant of the Intel 8-Series Chipsets. It neither supports RAID nor the "Intel(R) Smart Response Technology".
For details please look into >this< discussion.

7

Fernando, thank you very much for your support and congratulations for your really beautiful forum!!



P.S.: …I’ll call the vendor for a complaint.

8

News about SSD caching: Asus Tech Support told me that on my computer SSD caching does not depend on RAID configuration. They say: “the SSD works independently and it is used to quickly restart the PC from standby mode”.
I asked EXACTLY HOW, but they only replied: “it is an Asus feature”.

So now I’m trying to find out how they get that functionality … if anyone knows anything more, please let me know … thanks!

9

If it is an ASUS feature, the ASUS Tech Support should let you know how you can get it working with your ASUS system.

10

I’m investigating further … I’ll let you know …