Hi Fernando! 
Based on my system specs, which AHCI drivers would you recommend for me to install, I currently use latest available Intel RST(e) drivers v12.9.4.1000 WHQL dated 04/24/2014, also Iāam not sure which are better, the original Intel or modded ones.
Specs:
Gigabyte P55A-UD4 rev. 2.0 F15 mod2 BIOS from TweakTown forum <link>
Core i7 875K 4.16Ghz CPU
2x4GB RAM Kngston
Samsung 840 EVO SSD 120GB, RAPID mode on
Thanks in advance!
@ Deyo238:
Welcome at Win-RAID Forum!
You are already using the latest and probably "best" Intel AHCI driver, which natively does support your on-board Intel 5-Series SATA AHCI Controller.
Although there is absolutely no difference between an original and a modded driver regarding their function, I would always prefer to install the WHQL certified driver, if it natively supports the on-board Controller.
Regards
Fernando
Hello guys, I have a motherboard with 6 Series (H61). Which is the best driver AHCI for my SSD M4 Crucial? Now I have AHCI Generic Microsoft driver. I use Windows 8.1 Update 1.
Edit:
Intel RST drivers v11.2.0.1006 WHQL dated 05/30/20122 or Intel RST(e) drivers v12.9.4.1000 WHQL dated 04/24/2014?
Regards!
@ Thvle:
Welcome at Win-RAID Forum!
Since you are running your SSD in AHCI mode, I recommend to install the RST(e) driver v12.9.4.1000. The RST driver v11.2.0.1006 would be the best choice, if you would run 2 or more SSDs as members of a RAID0 array.
Regards
Fernando
Hi
Gigabyte motherboard with B75 chipset.
In have 5HDDs and 5 backup HDDs. Need to āhotswapā to do my backups. Installed the AHCI driver from the motherboard CD. Intel 7 Series/C216 driver.
Now I canāt use āSafely eject hardware.ā 
But at least, unlike the native Windows driver, it is aware when I eject and then plug in a new HDD.
Is there a way to configure this driver, or a different suitable driver that fulfills my needs - āSafely ejectā and auto āScan for hardware changes.ā
@ macnab:
Welcome at Win-RAID Forum!
You cannot configure the driver, but maybe the Intel SATA AHCI Controller via Device Manager.
Which Intel AHCI driver version are you running now? I recommend to try the Intel AHCI driver v12.9.4.1000 WHQL and to look, if it helps.
Regards
Fernando
It is version 11.1.0.1006 of 01/02/2012. If I try Update Driver it says I have the latest.
Installed the suggested driver. Canāt quickly see a difference, but with the newer version I cannot run the āapplicationā.
But still no eject function.
So I have 2 options:
Use Windows driver - after each backup-and-eject use Device Manager to scan for hardware changes orā¦
Use Intel driver
a) Use caches but either wait a bit after backup to make sure all writes are done or use Task Manager to check disk activity
b) Donāt use caches so that I know writes are done.
I think the Windows driver is the better option foir my needs.
Thanks anyway.
Hi Fernando.I just joined the site.I would like to ask you what AHCI drivers would you recommend for my Sabertooth Z77 board.I have 2 samsung ssd drives a 840 pro and a 840 evo not in raid.Also,what Intel MEI driver would you suggest.
@NIK1 :
Welcome at WinRAID Forum!
For Z77 systems I recommend to install the following Intel drivers:
1. AHCI: Intel RST(e) v13.1.0.1058 WHQL
2. MEI: Intel MEI drivers v10.0.30.1054 WHQL
Enjoy the Forum and the drivers!
Fernando
Hello
I have laptop clevo W740SU (HM87) with one SSD and i have no idea if i should download from clevo website RST (12.9.0.1001) and MEI (9.5.24.1790)
Which would you recommend ?
Thanks in advance!
@ ijence:
Welcome at Win-RAID Forum!
You can install the drivers, which are offered by the manufacturer of your system, but they are not the latest available ones and probably not the best for your Intel 8-Series Chipset.
If I were you, I would install the Intel AHCI driver v13.2.4.1000 WHQL or v13.5.0.1056 WHQL and the Intel ME driver v10.0.30.1054 WHQL.
Happy New Year!
Fernando
Hello again
Temporarily set the bios to uefi and sata to raid, rebooted pressed control i nothing seemed to happen all though it said the bios settings were preventing media from booting and brought me into bios where there was an extra few screens, one was an intel raid setup with : āIntel RST 11.5.0.1582 Sata Driverā. Is this the orom version ?
Assuming im in the 11 family you have two recommendations for drivers 11.2 or 11.7. Will be installing windows 8 on 2 ssdās in raid0 (asus p8z77-ws), which driver should i use ?
Just before the os install i can load the raid drivers, when the os is done and ive updated to 3.5 .NET framework, should i reinstall the drivers with the software set ?
It is the EFI variant of it and will be used by the system instead of an Intel RAID ROM, if you are booting in UEFI mode.
The best combination would be Intel RST RAID ROM/SataDriver v11.2.0.1527 with the Intel RST RAID driver v11.2.0.1006, but this would require a "downgrade" of the related Intel RAID BIOS module from v11.5.0.1582 to v11.2.0.1527.
If you donāt want or should not been able to change the Intel RAID module of the BIOS (due to the missing USB BIOS Flashback feature), I recommend to choose the Intel RST(e) RAID driver v11.7.4.1001 WHQL.
Yes, because the Intel RST Console is required, if you want to enable the Write-Back Caching feature (will boost the WRITE performance).
Cool thanx.
"(due to the missing USB BIOS Flashback feature)"
Is this only available in legacy mode ?
Was briefly investigating the oromās and the ubu tool, based on how difficult it was to update the mei firmware and how horrible i am with command prompt/dos, it would take a considerable amount of time reading and re-reading the tutorials and instructional posts that i wouldānt do it unless i had to 
Havent really used the bios flashing features much, going to keep looking into that and try and get a copy of my bios for backup at least, in case i decide to mess with it in the future.
Zitat von JollyGreenJoint im Beitrag #134
Is this only available in legacy mode ?
No, this is an official ASUS method to flash a modded BIOS into your mainboard BIOS chip and works with LEGACY and UEFI mode booting options.
I just have checked the features of the ASUS P8Z77 WS and found out, that your motherboard supports the USB Flashback method. This makes it very safe to get a modded BIOS flashed.
So you can easily replace the Intel RAID ROM and EFI SataDriver modules of your BIOS by another version and flash this updated BIOS.
Thanks for a fascinating thread. Thereās certainly a lot to take in, and Iām afraid that it raises more questions than answers for this old timer! 
I have been using an Asus P8Z77-V (ICH10R) for the last couple of years. Iām currently on BIOS 2104 (09/2013), and the Intel SATA BIOS shows as 11.0.0.1339. My Windows 7 Boot/System drive is an SSD, and I have 2 data drives: one a single drive, and one a RAID5 set.
I have been blindly upgrading RST with every new version until I hit 13.2, when installation problems caused me to revert to 13.1. One website I found suggested that 13.2 wasnāt even designed for Series 7 chipsets, which was news to me. This brings me here.
After reading the thread opener and warning, I decided to stick to an RST(e) driver, and downgraded to 11.7āto suit the 11.0.0.1339 oROM.
After reading more of this thread, I have become confused about the best advice: is RST 11.7 best for my setup?
I am also confused about references to flashing the oROM. I didnāt even know this was possible, or even advisable (how would it affect an existing RAID5 array?). I canāt see anything about this on the Asus support/drivers page. Should I be doing this too? How?
@ Bunzer:
Welcome at Win-RAID Forum!
I have the exactly same mainboard model. It has an Intel 7-Series Southbridge and no ICH10R one.
Not really. The Intel RAID ROM v11.0.0.1339 belongs to the "classical" Intel RST development branch, which work best with a "classical" Intel RST driver named iaStor.sys. The latest (and best) "classical" Intel RST driver is v11.2.0.1006 and the best matching Intel RAID ROM would be v11.2.0.1527.
Since I have done it very often with my ASUS P8Z77-V mainboard, I can confirm: It is no problem to update the Intel RAID ROM module of the BIOS and to flash the "modded" BIOS into the BIOS chip of your mainboard, because it has the "USB Flashback" option. Please look into your mainboard manual and read the first post of >this< thread.
I am pretty sure, that your already existing RAID5 array will be automaticly detected by an updated Intel RAID ROM module and not been degraded.
A problem may occur, when you are going to "downgrade" the in-use Intel RAID driver from v11.7.x.xxxx to v11.2.0.1006 from within a running Win7, because the SCSI filter driver named iaStorF.sys may still be active in the background and drop your system performance (look into the chapter "Switching from RST to RST(e) drivers and vice versa" within the start post of >this< thread).
If I were you, I would update the Intel RST RAID ROM of your mainboard BIOS to v11.2.0.1527 and then doing a fresh install of your Windows OS using the Intel RST driver v11.2.0.1006. According to my experience this would be the best option for your RAID system.
An alternative option would be to update the Intel RAID ROM to v12.9.0.2006 and the in-use Intel RAID driver to v12.9.4.1000 WHQL. This way you would avoid a fresh OS installation, because the already running SCSI filter driver named iaStorF.sys will stay active.
Regards
Fernando
Not ICH10R? That must have been my last motherboard. I am easily confused!
I am keen to stay v11, but I am discouraged by your warnings about RST(e)->RST. I certainly do not want to reinstall, as this takes far too long to get to a nice customised system.
I seem to remember switching from AHCI/RAID to IDE in the past. Certainly, I leave the IDE drivers intact (ATA Channel 0/1 hidden devices), in case I ever need them. I might change the BIOS SATA mode to see what happens. Maybe this would make the transition easier? What about Safe Mode? Is there an authoritative āhow to downgrade to RSTā article anywhere?
Hi i have a motherboard asrock z87 pro4 (intel 8 series c220 ) and OS:Windows 8.1 x64 , my hard disk run slow, what driver version i need for my ahci sata ? the fastest version,thankiu
@ geoweb35:
Welcome at Win-RAID Forum!
Since there are no remarkable performance differences between the different Intel AHCI driver versions (look >here<), I recommend to take one of the latest (v13.2.4.1000 or v13.5.0.1056) for 8- and 9-series Chipset systems like yours.
Regards
Fernando