Updating the system from one SSD boot device to a single HDD boot device...
Updating the system from one SSD boot device to a single HDD boot device...
I face a challenge I haven't found details about regarding my elderly system. It's a solid, dust-free P9X79E-WS board with five storage devices: two SSDs using SATA6 and three HDDs also SATA6. The SSDs link to two grey SATA ports while the HDDs connect to blue SATA ports—though I'm not sure why that matters yet. My goal was to move the operating system to an HDD, set up an SSD RAID0 in BIOS, boot from the new OS, and then transfer the OS back to the newly formed RAID volume using AOMEI Partition Assistant (version 8.6).
During the process I encountered several problems:
1) The HDD doesn't auto-join the boot sequence—I have to pick it manually.
2) When I switch to RAID0 and set SATA mode to ACHI, then boot from the HDD, the system stops with an invalid boot code.
3) After creating the RAID volume, changing SATA mode to ACHI and selecting the HDD as boot source works, but I'm unsure if it actually functions as a proper RAID volume even when ACHI is enabled.
4) Migrating back to the RAID0 volume seems problematic—I see the OS part listed as "INTEL OS" in the boot menu, but I'm worried about its functionality.
Could anyone offer advice on restoring the OS to the RAID0 volume in BIOS? I appreciate your help, DK Martin Moesby.
1) Standard procedure 2) Directly changing AHCI to RAID isn't possible in Windows, causing driver issues. Use a safe mode boot method to force Windows to load the right drivers: https://blog.workinghardinit.work/2018/1...i-to-raid/ Follow these steps: enter safe mode, switch from AHCI to RAID in BIOS, exit safely and restart normally. After this, your RAID setup will work correctly.
I’m not sure what you mean by flying blind, but it seems your problem likely comes from the bootloader configuration. On a single drive, the bootloader is placed on the drive itself. If the MBR is used, it’s stored in the first 512KB, which is reserved for the boot sector. With a GPT setup, it resides in a larger 100MB FAT32 partition at the start of the drive. I think a dual-partition RAID might be causing confusion, making Windows think it should use multiple partitions instead of one. If Windows is installed in UEFI mode on a GPT volume, you can clear the existing boot entries and rebuild it to fit your current setup. I highly advise disconnecting all other drives except the ones you’re working with before adjusting bootrec. Just be aware that even after fixing this, missing RAID drivers could still cause problems. My experience with RAIDs is limited, so don’t expect me to have all the answers—your caution is wise.
I’m not sure about the board, but your note about the port color caught my attention. I checked the manual and saw the port layout you described. It looks like your board (ROG Maximus VII Gene) has several ports for data drives only, not for running the operating system. The manual lists the connections as follows: top two grey ports for SATA6G_1 and SATA6G_2, four blue ports on the X79 chipset, and four more grey ports using a Marvell SATS chip. Based on the naming of 'INTEL OS,' it seems those are likely the data ports.
Review the steps carefully.
Consider the registry as an alternative but skip it.
Avoid changing RAID0 to AHCI if using SATA controller in RAID mode.
Be aware of the bug where switching back causes RAID failure.
Remember to switch to RAID before first boot if CMOS is cleared.