Is my hard drive IDE, ICHI, or RAID?

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Hockeystar

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Oct 2, 2013
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I had a HP p6210y motherboard fry out unexpectedly. I'm trying to to put the hard drive onto a new motherboard but I'm having problems with getting the right drivers. My question is this:

How can I tell what type of configuration the hard drive is in: IDE, ICHI, or RAID? Is there a way to tell through the BIOS? Is there a way to tell by booting up a recovery disk or just based on the fact my previous computer was an HP p6210y? Note that I cannot currently boot windows.

Computer Specs:

640GB SATA Hard Drive
WIndows 7 64 bit
 
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RealBeast
It was with IDE or AHCI, most likely AHCI, but unless you have the same motherboard as a replacement you may not be able to activate the OEM install -- I would expect that using phone activation and explaining...
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wdmfiber

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Dec 7, 2012
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You likely won't be able to access it that way.
You should install it in a PC as a 2nd HDD and get all the data off it.

Your new MB is only going to like a format of the drive and a clean Windows install. And you don't want to do that.
 
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Sakkura

Sakkura

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Aug 22, 2011
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The drive will be set to IDE, AHCI, or RAID mode in BIOS. But since the Windows install is tailored to the previous motherboard, chances are you'll have to make a clean install for it to boot with your new motherboard. If there's data you need on the drive, you should first put the drive in another computer and transfer off the necessary data.
 
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RealBeast

RealBeast

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It was with IDE or AHCI, most likely AHCI, but unless you have the same motherboard as a replacement you may not be able to activate the OEM install -- I would expect that using phone activation and explaining that you had to replace the faulty motherboard will get you activated.

What you need to do is to download a full install image of the same version of Windows 7 x64 from HERE, burn it to a DVD, install, load drivers and windows updates and then phone activate -- have your key handy.

And attach your HDD to another machine to save your documents first as needed.

 
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H

Hockeystar

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Oct 2, 2013
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RealBeast, I've installed the drivers (Chipset + RAID) for the new mobo using DISM from a repair disk and tried changing the BIOS IDE, ACHI, and RAID settings. Unfortunately, Windows will never boot from the hard drive. Thanks for the replies, I guess I have to do a fresh install. So which method is easier:

1. Copying the data to an external disk and then recopying back to the hard drive
2. Use 2 hard drives with the new motherboard

I have saved all important personal files(my documents), I just really don't want to re-install all programs (MATLAB, Office, steam, etc...).
 
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RealBeast

RealBeast

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I would use a second internal drive, as they are far more reliable than those on a USB connection. You have no choice but to reinstall programs, but you can save a lot of time with STEAM games -- just read THIS for instructions.

 
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wdmfiber

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You'll just have to take a morning or afternoon and spend several hours. It sucks, but we all do it on new builds. And a new MB, should be considered a new build. Set your boot drive to AHCI in the bios/UEFI, as after Wndows is installed; you can't change it.
 
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RealBeast

RealBeast

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Best to select AHCI on install, but you can change it pretty easily on Windows 7 like THIS depending on which you are switching between, it is basically a few registry keys.

 
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Hockeystar

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Oct 2, 2013
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Thanks everyone for the help. I have one last question, I promise. For the fresh install, everywhere I read recommends AHCI and you also recommend AHCI. In the BIOS, I'm a bit overwhelmed by all the settings. Any guidance on what the following settings should be:

IDE Function Setup (defualt=enabled)
Serial-ATA configuration (defualt=enabled)
Jmicron RAID controller (defualt=IDE)
SATA Extendeded IDE drive (default=auto)
SATA access mode (defaul=auto)

 
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RealBeast

RealBeast

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That is an old board. Your board does not support AHCI, except for the one J Micron port labeled SATA_RAID1. I would not use the J Micron port, in fact I would shut off the J Micron controller to speed boot time. Otherwise leave all the settings on Enabled or Auto.

With a HDD you won't notice any difference in IDE mode. If you ever get an SSD, it will be time to upgrade or experiment with the J Micron controller.
 
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