Intel Rapid Start Technology would not install

What is your Windows version?

I'd install all drivers manually. Most of the automatic utilities from all of the motherboard oems leave much to be desired. You can find all the necessary drivers for your board here:

http://www.asus.com/us/Motherboards/SABERTOOTH_Z97_MARK_2/HelpDesk_Download/

32 or 64 bit?

That link would be the correct versions for both 32 and 64 bit Win 7 then.

I mean, don't use the utility to automatically install drivers. Download each individual driver from the page I linked to above and unzip and install without using the ASUS utility. I never use the OEM utilities for just this reason.

You probably need to have AHCI enabled in the UEFI BIOS when the OS was installed. If it was installed in Legacy mode or Compatibility service module, it probably won't need or use the feature. Most Windows 7 installations use a Master boot record on a Legacy install, due to the hardware limitations that is typical of most Windows 7 machines.

If you have UEFI compatible hardware and BIOS, it's possible to do the install on Windows 7 in UEFI mode with AHCI enabled, and is the standard method for Windows 8 machines, but it must be done at the time of installation. There are some work around methods for changing it after installation, but for the most part it's a tedious process and often doesn't result in a successful transition.


UEFI booting

Unlike BIOS, UEFI does not rely on a boot sector; instead, it defines the boot manager as part of UEFI firmwares. When a computer is powered on, the boot manager checks the boot configuration, and according to it loads and executes the specified operating system loader (or operating system kernel). The boot configuration is a set of global NVRAM variables, including the boot variables that indicate the paths to operating system loaders. As a class of UEFI applications, operating system loaders are stored as files on the firmware-accessible EFI System partition (ESP).

Boot loaders can also be automatically detected by UEFI firmwares, what enables easy booting from removable devices. This automated detection relies on a standardized file path to the operating system loader, and it depends on the actual computer architecture. Format of the file path is defined as <EFI_SYSTEM_PARTITION>/BOOT/BOOT<MACHINE_TYPE_SHORT_NAME>.EFI; for example, on x86-64 the path is /efi/BOOT/BOOTX64.EFI.[20]

Booting UEFI systems from GPT disks is commonly called UEFI-GPT booting. Additionally, it is common for UEFI firmwares to include a user interface to the boot manager, which allows the user to select and load the desired operating system (or system utility) from the list of available boot options.

CSM booting

For backwards compatibility, most of the UEFI firmware implementations on PC-class machines also support booting in legacy BIOS mode from MBR-partitioned disks, through the Compatibility Support Module (CSM) which provides legacy BIOS compatibility. In that scenario, booting is performed in the same way as on legacy BIOS-based systems, by ignoring the partition table and relying on the content of a boot sector.[32]

BIOS booting from MBR-partitioned disks is commonly called BIOS-MBR, regardless of it being performed on UEFI or legacy BIOS-based systems. As a side note, booting legacy BIOS-based systems from GPT disks is also possible, and it is commonly called BIOS-GPT.

Despite the fact MBR partition tables are required to be fully supported within the UEFI specification,[20] some UEFI firmwares immediately switch to the BIOS-based CSM booting depending on the type of boot disk's partition table, thus preventing UEFI booting to be performed from EFI System partitions on MBR-partitioned disks.[32] Such a scheme is commonly called UEFI-MBR.

You don't mention having an SSD.