<
vjp2.at@at.BioStrategist.dot.dot.com> wrote:
Works fine on ATA settings but when I move back to AHCI it blows up.
Is there a driver?
Specific to Intel7 on Vostro 3560
For pre-builts, especially those that are not user serviceable (other
than drives or memory in slots behind access panels), those are often
designed to an OS version range, and you can't get drivers that outside
that range. Sometimes drivers for a prior OS version will work in a
later OS version on the pre-built hardware, but don't count on it. The
Vostro is about 12+ years old, so that was back in the WinXP era. After
an online search on "vostro 3560 motherboard drivers", I found:
https://www.dell.com/support/home/en-us/product-support/product/vostro-3560/drivers
When I clicked on "Manually find" (and wait for a couple minutes for the spinning circle to disappear), and looked at what Windows versions were
listed, XP wasn't one of them. The farthest I could go back, and match bitwidth with XP (which is 32-bit as the 64-bit version is rare and a frankenjob of Windows 2003 Server crippled to a workstation edition with
the XP GUI slapped atop). I did not see a chipset driver package
listed.
There is a BIOS update, but be sure they offer to copy the current BIOS
code to storage media, so if the new BIOS code is faulty you can restore
to the prior old BIOS version. However, I've seen where burning in new
BIOS code makes it impossible to boot the computer, even when using
other media, like floppies or optical.
You might try their auto-update checker to see if it detects you are
using Windows XP, and show a chipset/BIOS update set for that old OS.
The Dell Vostro 3560 was introduced back in August 2012. AHCI was
introduced in 2004, but that doesn't mean whatever AHCI version was
coded into the BIOS was defect-free. The mobo may not support AHCI, or
its support is flaky hence the need for a BIOS update. The latest AHCI
version 1.3.1 was released in Nov 2011, just 9 months before the Vostro
was released.
In addition, AHCI support was support out of the box with Windows Vista,
not with earlier versions of Windows, like XP. Also, Windows Vista to
Windows 10 do not configure themselves to load the AHCI driver on boot
if AHCI was not enabled at the time the OS got installed. You need to
install the OS with AHCI already enabled on the BIOS; else, you had to reinstall the OS after changing the BIOS to specify AHCI mode for the
onboard SATA controllers (their might be workarounds to allow switching
from [P]ATA (aka IDE) at time of OS install to later use AHCI by the OS,
but I'll let you hunt down those online articles, if they exist). I
remember not changing the BIOS to specify AHCI, installed the OS, found
I could not enable AHCI in the BIOS (way too long ago to remember the
problem that arose), and had to change the BIOS to AHCI to then
reinstall the OS from scratch.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advanced_Host_Controller_Interface#System_drive_boot_issues
Does the mobo not work in ATA mode for the SATA drives you installed?
So you have SATA spinners, or are you back on PATA aka [E]IDE for the
HDDs? If the drive is swappable, you can open a back cover plate to
look at the HDD, and perhaps get specs on it to determine if it is an
IDE/ATA or SATA drive.
https://www.diffen.com/difference/AHCI_vs_IDE
From specs I found at:
https://www.notebookcheck.net/Dell-Vostro-3560.76665.0.html
that laptop uses a spinner (aka HDD) that spins at 7200, unless you've
changed out the HDD since then. The old Hitachi HDD is SATA II, so the
drive is connected to a SATA controller, but which likely the one built
into the chipset on the mobo which means you need to get a chipset
driver package that support AHCI (or fixes problems with the AHCI
support that was defective in the laptop that was released less than a
year after AHCI)
AHCI is often faster than IDE, but obviously your mobo's BIOS has to
support AHCI, and you have to install the OS with the BIOS already
configured for which mode you want to use in the OS thereafter.
If you expect the mobo's BIOS and the mobo's SATA controller to be
properly functional for AHCI support, looks like you'll have to switch
the BIOS to AHCI mode (sounds like you already did that), and do a fresh install of the OS which will detect on install which Windows-supplied
drivers to use for AHCI support.
There are online articles about a registry edit you can try to switch
the OS from using ATA to AHCI, like:
https://www.prime-expert.com/articles/a11/change-from-ide-to-ahci-without-reinstalling-windows-xp/
Well, be sure all your data is backed up, and you have the installation
media an license to install Windows XP and all the software again in
case you're stuck with having to do a fresh install of the OS (and apps)
after switching the BIOS from ATA to AHCI mode.
Note the first article mentions getting the chipset driver package for
your mobo. I didn't see Dell list one for Windows XP for the Vostro
3560. The second article has links to "universal AHCI drivers" (you
need the match OS bitwidth to driver bitwidth). Up to you to risk using 3rd-party drivers, but looks like Dell isn't going to supply them.
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