Recommended AHCI/RAID and NVMe Drivers

@techami Thins has a technical background, did you notice that the version number ist the same as the one from the OS? It is in this way that Windows priorities the inbox drivers as the lowest.

can someone have a win7 image with already integrated drivers (fixes)?

@Kolyamba Yes, here you are, nothing new:
ftp://fudi.internet-box.ch/NT%206.1/SP2.9/
User: nutzer
Password: 132
The ISOs are in german.

Fernando,

All I can say is “thank you very much” for posting the Samsung NVMe Drivers. If it had not been for you, I am not sure that I would have been able to copy a system image to a new Samsung 970 Evo Plus 2Tb drive for my laptop running W7 - all attempts at cloning failed miserably even after installing Samsung’s own .exe offering.


thank you very much!

@Kolyamba You are welcome.

@Rangdaa :
Welcome to the Win-RAID Forum and thanks for your feedback!
Enjoy the performance of your Samsung NVMe SSD with a fresh installed Win7 onto it!
Regards
Dieter (alias Fernando)

Greetings, and as always, thank you all for the informative posts. I have a few comments:

- If anyone is using the Kingston A2000 SSD, it is reportedly using the Silicon Motion SM2263EN controller, which is also used in the Intel 665p. Therefore the Intel v4.4.0.1003 drivers, which specifically list support for the 665p, may be a good match (sources: Intel 665p review / Kingston A2000 review @ Tom’s), especially if few options are available (ex: Win7 on an AMD B450 motherboard). I have not done any benchmarking, but I have not encountered any problems so far.

- @Fernando it appears there may be a typo in a version number in the first post, see red highlight in spoiler below.

@mushbert :
Thanks for the info regarding the wrong version number within the start post. It was not a typo, I simply had forgotten to change the version number within the "Notes", when I replaced the Intel NVMe drivers v4.2.0.1002 by the v4.4.0.1003 ones.
Meanwhile the mistake has been corrected by me.

Hi @Fernando !
I am now assembling my set of drivers. I integrate them in the boot.wim.
On one of the computers, your repack called bluescreen. Moreover, there are NO NVMe-devices on this computer!
Screenshot
32bit Intel NVMe Drivers v4.4.0.1003 mod+signed by Fernando.rar - bluescreen
32bit Intel NVMe Drivers v4.3.0.1006 mod+signed by Fernando.rar - work fine!
32bit Intel NVMe Driver v4.4.0.1003 WHQL for Win7-10.rar - work fine!

SCSI\DiskSamsung_SSD_____________RVT0
SCSI\DiskSamsung_SSD_____________
SCSI\DiskSamsung_
SCSI\Samsung_SSD_____________R
Samsung_SSD_____________R
GenDisk
SCSI\DiskWDC_____WD10EZEX-08WN4A001.0
SCSI\DiskWDC_____WD10EZEX-08WN4A0
SCSI\DiskWDC_____
SCSI\WDC_____WD10EZEX-08WN4A00
WDC_____WD10EZEX-08WN4A00
GenDisk

@m0nkrus :
Welcome to the Win-RAID Forum!
Here is my comment:

  1. It doesn’t make sense to integrate any not WHQL certified driver into the boot.wim image. Such drivers will not be accepted by the Setup of modern Windows Operating Systems (at this early stage of the OS installation the trustworthiness of the digital signature cannot be verified by the Setup and the integrated Certificate cannot be read).
  2. You should never integrate more than 1 version of a specific driver.
  3. The HardwareIDs of the Disk Devices don’t matter, because the storage drivers do not manage the disks themselves, but just the Storage Controllers, which may either be on-board of the mainboard or within the chip of the in-use SSD.
    Only the MS in-box drivers are responsable for the Disk Management. You cannot replace them by any third party AHCI/RAID/NVMe driver.

Regards
Dieter (alias Fernando)

@Fernando :
Digital signatures are not verified with drivers on a 32-bit version of Windows 7. And they are not verified even with a 64-bit version in boot.wim!
The fact is that your mod of the previous version works correctly. The unmodified driver of the latest version works correctly. The problem with v4.4.0.1003 mod only.

P.S. Tomorrow I will test the 64-bit version too.

@m0nkrus :
Thanks for your reply.
Since the INF files of the Intel NVMe drivers v4.3.0.1006 and v4.4.0.1003 have been modified by me the same way and the related *.SYS files haven’t been touched at all, I cannot really imagine, that there is something wrong with my mod+signed 32bit Intel NVMe driver v4.4.0.1003.
So lets wait for the tests of the 64bit drivers.
By the way: Which NVMe SSD (manufacturer, model) with which NVMe Controller (HardwareIDs) did you run during your tests?

@Fernando :

Maybe v4.4.0.1003 does not support "Intel(R) SSD 665p Series" for Windows 7?

No NVMe SSD on the computer where the bluescreen was!

OK

Can i ask you? If some record is deleted from the inf file, does the electronic signature for the driver become invalid?

@m0nkrus :
As long as no NVMe SSD is connected, the BSOD cannot be caused by a "wrong" or not matching NVMe driver.

Yes, each tiny alteration of the INF file’s content breaks the signature of the complete driver package (*.SYS + *.INF + *.CAT files + Co-Installers, if present). That is why the complete driverpack (with all mentioned files) have to be freshly digitally signed, if the INF file has been edited by anyone.

@Fernando

I myself am surprised. But it is so.

Thanks for the information. You have confirmed my fears.

Tomorrow I’ll write about testing of x64.

@Fernando
I finished testing the 64-bit version of v4.4.0.1003 mod on a failed computer. The result is the same - bluescreen. The previous v4.3.0.1006 mod works fine.
Here are some screenshots of the configuration: Screenshot 1, Screenshot 2.

@m0nkrus :
Thanks for your updated report.
Here are my questions:
1. Which Intel NVMe drivers (exact names and version numbers) did you integrate into the Win7 ISO file while doing your tests?
2. When resp. at which situation did you get the BSOD?
3. Which sort was the BSOD and which error code did it show?
4. Has any Intel NVMe SSD been connected to the PC, which gave you the BSOD? If yes, which one?
5. Why did you attach a screenshot with the MS driver details for the management of a Samsung SSD SCSI Device?
Note: Only the drivers and HardwareIDs of the listed "Storage Controllers" are important for this topic, not the drivers and HardwareIDs of the listed [b]"Disks"/b].

@Fernando :

1. For x86: Micron 2.1.5.0, OSZ-Toshiba 1.2.126.843, Samsung 1.4.7.6 (PCI\VEN_144D&DEV_A802 disabled), Samsung 3.2.0.1910, Samsung-Plextor 1.4.0.0. Updates Windows6.1-KB2550978-x86.msu, Windows6.1-KB2990941-v3-x86.msu, Windows6.1-KB3087873-v2-x86.msu.
2. After “Starting Windows” at the beginning of system installation.
3. Screenshot
4. No one.
5. This computer is not mine. This is the computer of one of the testers. All the materials that he sent me, I posted here.
Note: Do you see storage controllers somewhere in the first screenshot from my last post, except for the AFD6CNQI IDE Controller? I don’t see that.

@m0nkrus :
Thanks for your quick answers.
to point 1: I asked you for the details regarding the integrated Intel NVMe drivers. Since you didn’t list anyone, why do you think, that the BSOD has been caused my any of my mod+signed Intel NVMe drivers?
to point 6: If no HDDs/SSDs are connected, which are running in RAID mode or with the NVMe protocol, there are usually no “Storage Controllers” listed. It was the right hand part of >this< screenshot, which irritated me.