Follow Up: A New Method to Enable Intel ICH RAID after Installing Windows (Plus Updates to the Original)
I have three pieces of information to share with those of you looking to enable RAID on your Windows PC after having installed Windows without RAID enabled in your BIOS settings. Now that you have rebooted past a handful of blue screens and searched Google to find some help, I am here to tell you that you have come to the right place.
I have written on this topic twice before, once when I first figured out how to fix this problem, and again when the drivers had been updated by Intel. Once again there are driver updates, so I wanted to provide you the appropriate registry file as well as the steps required to enable RAID on your system.
But first, I wanted to mention an extremely easy and fast solution. After studying the problem for some time, I have put together an application named RAIDFix which installs the proper registry keys and drivers to get your Intel RAID up and running in seconds. As I pointed out in the large link above, fix your RAID issues immediately by clicking here.
If you prefer to fix the problem manually, read on.
Method #1 – The Long, but Tried and True Process
- Download the Intel Matrix Storage Manager v8.9.0.1023 installer (Dated 7/17/2009) from Intel.
- Open a command prompt on your machine and navigate to the folder where you saved the IMSM software in step 1.
- Type “iata89enu.exe -a -p c:\iastor” and press Enter – this will load the installer and extract all of the driver files to C:\Iastor folder. Close the command prompt.
- Copy the appropriate iastor.sys file from the C:\Iastor\winall folder to your C:Windows\System32\drivers\ directory
- Click here to download the registry file, or copy the text below and save it as “Intel.reg”
- Double-click on the .reg file and click yes when asked if you want to merge the data into your registry.
- Reboot the computer and change the SATA configuration in your BIOS to RAID – Windows should load without any issue.
- Install the Intel Matrix Storage Manager software to complete the driver installation/configuration.
- Celebrate the fact that you have now enabled RAID without having to reinstall Windows.
- With RAID disabled, boot into Windows and start Regedit.exe
- Navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\iaStorV
- In the right-hand column, you should see a value named Start. Double-click this entry and change the data from 1 to 0.
- Reboot with RAID enabled – Windows should load just fine. Now install the Intel Matrix Storage Manager as you usually would. This time around, it should detect your hardware and install without any issues.
Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\CriticalDeviceDatabase\PCI#VEN_8086&DEV_2822&CC_0104]
"ClassGUID"="{4d36e97b-e325-11ce-bfc1-08002be10318}"
"Security"=hex:01,00,04,90,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,14,00,00,00,02,\
00,4c,00,03,00,00,00,00,00,14,00,ff,01,1f,00,01,01,00,00,00,00,00,05,12,00,\
00,00,00,00,18,00,ff,01,1f,00,01,02,00,00,00,00,00,05,20,00,00,00,20,02,00,\
00,00,00,18,00,9f,01,12,00,01,02,00,00,00,00,00,05,20,00,00,00,21,02,00,00
"Service"="iaStor"
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Class\{4D36E97B-E325-11CE-BFC1-08002BE10318}\0001]
"InfPath"="oem39.inf"
"InfSection"="iaStor_Inst_RAID"
"ProviderName"="Intel"
"DriverDateData"=hex:00,c0,44,67,a7,e4,c9,01
"DriverDate"="6-4-2009"
"DriverVersion"="8.9.0.1023"
"MatchingDeviceId"="pci\\ven_8086&dev_2822&cc_0104"
"DriverDesc"="Intel(R) ICH8R/ICH9R/ICH10R/DO/PCH SATA RAID Controller"
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\iaStor]
"Type"=dword:00000001
"Start"=dword:00000000
"ErrorControl"=dword:00000001
"Tag"=dword:00000019
"ImagePath"=hex(2):73,00,79,00,73,00,74,00,65,00,6d,00,33,00,32,00,5c,00,44,00,\
52,00,49,00,56,00,45,00,52,00,53,00,5c,00,69,00,61,00,53,00,74,00,6f,00,72,\
00,2e,00,73,00,79,00,73,00,00,00
"DisplayName"="Intel RAID Controller"
"Group"="SCSI Miniport"
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\iaStor\Parameters]
"queuePriorityEnable"=dword:00000000
"BusType"=dword:00000008
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\iaStor\Parameters\Port0]
"AN"=dword:00000000
"LPM"=dword:00000000
"LPMSTATE"=dword:00000000
"LPMDSTATE"=dword:00000001
"GTF"=dword:00000000
"DIPM"=dword:00000000
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\iaStor\Parameters\Port1]
"AN"=dword:00000000
"LPM"=dword:00000000
"LPMSTATE"=dword:00000000
"LPMDSTATE"=dword:00000001
"GTF"=dword:00000000
"DIPM"=dword:00000000
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\iaStor\Parameters\Port2]
"AN"=dword:00000000
"LPM"=dword:00000000
"LPMSTATE"=dword:00000000
"LPMDSTATE"=dword:00000001
"GTF"=dword:00000000
"DIPM"=dword:00000000
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\iaStor\Parameters\Port3]
"AN"=dword:00000000
"LPM"=dword:00000000
"LPMSTATE"=dword:00000000
"LPMDSTATE"=dword:00000001
"GTF"=dword:00000000
"DIPM"=dword:00000000
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\iaStor\Parameters\Port4]
"AN"=dword:00000000
"LPM"=dword:00000000
"LPMSTATE"=dword:00000000
"LPMDSTATE"=dword:00000001
"GTF"=dword:00000000
"DIPM"=dword:00000000
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\iaStor\Parameters\Port5]
"AN"=dword:00000000
"LPM"=dword:00000000
"LPMSTATE"=dword:00000000
"LPMDSTATE"=dword:00000001
"GTF"=dword:00000000
"DIPM"=dword:00000000
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\iaStor\Parameters\oromVersion]
"MajorVersion"=dword:00000007
"MinorVersion"=dword:00000005
"HotfixNumber"=dword:00000000
"BuildNumber"=dword:000003f9
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\iaStor\Enum]
"0"="PCI\\VEN_8086&DEV_2822&SUBSYS_82771043&REV_02\\3&11583659&0&FA"
"Count"=dword:00000001
"NextInstance"=dword:00000001
Good luck with your RAID install! Feel free to ask questions here if you need help.
Method #2 – Peregrinus’ Hack
A reader named Peregrinus discovered that there might be an even easier method to get your computer up and running again. Instead of expanding drivers and manually adding registry information to your computer, you can fix the problem with one small registry tweak.
I do have to add the disclaimer that I have not tried this method, so your mileage may vary. Peregrinus stated that this worked for him, so I am publishing this information on his recommendation.
How to Enable Intel ICH RAID After Installing Windows Vista
On-board RAID controllers are becoming increasingly common, even among bargain-priced PCs. With that, many people are opting to install RAID-0 and RAID-1 configurations on their home PCs.
One thing that you need to keep an eye out for is making sure to enable the RAID or AHCI settings in the computer’s BIOS before you install Windows. Failing to do so can possibly cause a ton of headaches if you try to enable RAID after you have already completed your Windows installation.
I encountered these headaches while working on a new Dell XPS Core i7 box this weekend. The SATA chipset in the BIOS was set to IDE mode, and I failed to check it before letting the Windows preinstall do its thing. After configuring everything aside from the RAID-1 array my client wanted, I pulled the trigger in the BIOS. On the next boot, the 64-bit Vista installation gave me a BSOD upon restart. I tried rebooting the computer and came up with the same error each time Windows tried to load. I decided to switch the SATA configuration back to IDE mode, and the computer booted into Windows just fine. Clearly, the RAID configuration was the issue.
After Googling for a few minutes, I found a bunch of posts in forums and such asking about how to enable RAID after installing Windows. Most responses boiled down to, “Reinstall Windows.” There was no way I was about to repeat all of the work I just did, so I dug deeper.
The easiest solution that came to mind was to simply install the Intel Matrix Storage Manager software and then give RAID another try. For those of you not familiar, Intel does not offer a driver-only installation package for their ICH family of SATA controllers. Instead, you need to install the Matrix Storage Manager software in order to make things go. Any time I tried installing the software, I received an error stating that my hardware was not supported. That made plenty of sense as the RAID option was not yet enabled in the BIOS, but it left me with a chicken/egg problem: “How can I install the RAID software that requires a RAID controller when enabling the RAID controller causes Windows to crash every time?”
I decided to give the install a try in safe mode to no avail. Each time I booted in safe mode, the computer crashed when loading crcdisk.sys. I searched a bit more and found that this file was not actually the problem, but that the lack of a proper RAID driver in Windows was causing the issue. Back to square 1.
After a ton of research and forum scouring, I found an answer that seemed like it could work. I hoped it was the fix I was looking for as I did not want to reinstall Windows.
I think that the solution to this problem originated on experts-exchange.com, but I found it on another site. It goes as follows:
- Download the Intel Matrix Storage Manager software.
- Open a command prompt and type “iata89enu.exe -a -p c:\iastor” then press Enter – this will load the installer and extract all of the driver files to C:\iastor folder. Close the command prompt.
- Copy iastor.sys to your C:Windows\System32\drivers\ directory
- Copy the following text, paste it into notepad and save it as a .reg file, or download it directly:
Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00 [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Control\CriticalDeviceDatabase\PCI#VEN_8086&DEV_2822&CC_0104] "ClassGUID"="{4d36e97b-e325-11ce-bfc1-08002be10318}" "Security"=hex:01,00,04,90,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,14,00,00,00,02,\ 00,4c,00,03,00,00,00,00,00,14,00,ff,01,1f,00,01,01,00,00,00,00,00,05,12,00,\ 00,00,00,00,18,00,ff,01,1f,00,01,02,00,00,00,00,00,05,20,00,00,00,20,02,00,\ 00,00,00,18,00,9f,01,12,00,01,02,00,00,00,00,00,05,20,00,00,00,21,02,00,00 "Service"="iaStor" [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Control\Class\{4D36E97B-E325-11CE-BFC1-08002BE10318}\0001] "InfPath"="oem3.inf" "InfSection"="iaStor_Inst_RAID" "ProviderName"="Intel" "DriverDateData"=hex:00,00,cd,7f,6a,14,c9,01 "DriverDate"="9-12-2008" "DriverVersion"="8.6.0.1007" "MatchingDeviceId"="pci\\ven_8086&dev_2822&cc_0104" "DriverDesc"="Intel(R) ICH8R/ICH9R/ICH10R/DO SATA RAID Controller" [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\iaStor] "Type"=dword:00000001 "Start"=dword:00000000 "ErrorControl"=dword:00000001 "Tag"=dword:00000019 "ImagePath"=hex(2):73,00,79,00,73,00,74,00,65,00,6d,00,33,00,32,00,5c,00,44,00,\ 52,00,49,00,56,00,45,00,52,00,53,00,5c,00,69,00,61,00,53,00,74,00,6f,00,72,\ 00,2e,00,73,00,79,00,73,00,00,00 "DisplayName"="Intel RAID Controller" "Group"="SCSI Miniport" [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\iaStor\Parameters] "queuePriorityEnable"=dword:00000000 "BusType"=dword:00000008 [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\iaStor\Parameters\Port0] "AN"=dword:00000000 "LPM"=dword:00000000 "LPMSTATE"=dword:00000000 "LPMDSTATE"=dword:00000001 "GTF"=dword:00000000 "DIPM"=dword:00000000 [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\iaStor\Parameters\Port1] "AN"=dword:00000000 "LPM"=dword:00000000 "LPMSTATE"=dword:00000000 "LPMDSTATE"=dword:00000001 "GTF"=dword:00000000 "DIPM"=dword:00000000 [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\iaStor\Parameters\Port2] "AN"=dword:00000000 "LPM"=dword:00000000 "LPMSTATE"=dword:00000000 "LPMDSTATE"=dword:00000001 "GTF"=dword:00000000 "DIPM"=dword:00000000 [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\iaStor\Parameters\Port3] "AN"=dword:00000000 "LPM"=dword:00000000 "LPMSTATE"=dword:00000000 "LPMDSTATE"=dword:00000001 "GTF"=dword:00000000 "DIPM"=dword:00000000 [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\iaStor\Parameters\Port4] "AN"=dword:00000000 "LPM"=dword:00000000 "LPMSTATE"=dword:00000000 "LPMDSTATE"=dword:00000001 "GTF"=dword:00000000 "DIPM"=dword:00000000 [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\iaStor\Parameters\Port5] "AN"=dword:00000000 "LPM"=dword:00000000 "LPMSTATE"=dword:00000000 "LPMDSTATE"=dword:00000001 "GTF"=dword:00000000 "DIPM"=dword:00000000 - Double-click on the .reg file and click yes when asked if you want to merge the data into your registry.
- Reboot the computer and change the SATA configuration in your BIOS to RAID – Windows should load without any issue.
- Install the Intel Matrix Storage Manager software to complete the driver installation/configuration.
- Celebrate the fact that you have now enabled RAID without having to reinstall Windows.
This process, as you might imagine, is exclusive to Intel ICH RAID controllers. The registry file seems to indicate that it will support ICH8R, ICH9R, and ICH10R chipsets. It worked fine for my ICH10R controller – I cannot say if it will work for future or older chipsets – your mileage may vary.
For other RAID chipsets, odds are you will be able to install the RAID drivers without a RAID controller present. For some reason Intel does not allow the drivers to be installed without the RAID controller present, hence the issues I was running into.
Hopefully this info will help someone else out there – I know that I was extremely grateful to have found a solution to the BSOD issue.
Posted in Tutorials | Tags: Blue Screen RAID, ICH10, Matrix Storage Manager, RAID BSOD | 
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