Sata ATA Controller...

garethdaine

New Member
Hi,

I have quite a major problem that is restricting my workflow. I hope someone can help.

My system specifications are as follows: -

1 x ASUS M2N32 WS Professional Mainboard
1 x AMD Athlon 64 X2 AM2 Dual Core 5600+
2 x 1GB Corsair TwinX XMS2 Dominator DDR2 800MHz
1 x MSI GeForce 8800GTX HD (768MB)
1 x 250GB Seagate Barracuda 7200 SATA300 HDD
1 x Windows Vista Ultimate 64

I am unable to install drivers for the Serial ATA Controller that is displayed within the Device Manager and my HDD show up as an ST325062 0AS SCSI Disk Device. Even when I install the recommended driver for the Srial ATA Controller from the Windows Update website it still remains driverless. Now whether the following issues are related to this problem or not I am not sure, but I will state them here anyway.

After a certain period of time my entire system will freeze and I will have to reset my PC, although when I do it does not reset but powers down. This is continues if I use the restart command from the Windows Start Menu or automatically restart after the installation of a software package. This is extremely annoying. Having shelled out for the latest hardware in order to be compatible with Windows Vista 64 and then for this to happen is quite sickening. Can anyone help at all.

Thanks and Kind Regards

Gareth
 

My Computer

My Computer

System One

  • CPU
    T7600G Core2Duo 2.66 Ghz
    Motherboard
    Intel 945PM + ICH7 Chipset
    Memory
    4GB DDR2 PC2-5300 667MHz
    Graphics Card(s)
    Mobility Radeon x1900 256MB
    Sound Card
    Realtek HD
    Monitor(s) Displays
    WUXGA 17"
    Screen Resolution
    1920X1200
    Hard Drives
    640GB 7200RPM SATA/RAID 0 (2x320GB)
    and 320GB 7200RPM External
    Mouse
    Wireless Microsoft 3000
    Internet Speed
    10 mbps/2 mbps
    Other Info
    Optical Drive:
    Panasonic UJ-220 DL BD-RE (Blu-Ray)
I'm also using the ASUS M2N32 WS Professional motherboard with Vista (Ultimate 32bit). One thing I've noted is that this particular motherboard is NOT on any lists of Vista-compatible motherboards that I've been able to find. Probably most important, it's not on ASUS's own list of its own products that are compatible with Vista (ASUSTeK Computer Inc.). The specs for the M2N32 WS Pro does list Vista as a compatible O/S, but the ASUS nVidia RAID drivers for Vista are forever in beta, and there is apparently no development that I can see of a Vista driver for the Marvell SATA controller. It remains hopelessly in the Vista Device Manager as an unknown device until you disable it in the BIOS.

If anyone is looking for a high-end motherboard to use with Windows Vista, I'd suggest picking one that's made the various lists of Vista certified motherboards. It's down at the moment, but this is the address of Microsoft's: Windows Quality Online Services: Windows Vista Hardware Compatibility List. And if you are a die-hard ASUS fan, then by all means, just pick from their list. The M2N32 WS Professional is on their list of motherboards compatible with Linux and Windows XP, not Vista.

Jacob
 

My Computer

Just a quick follow-up. The M2N32 WS Professional is on *some* of ASUS's lists of its own motherboards compatible with Windows Vista. What list you get seems to depend on how you navigate to it on their website. But this motherboard is definitely not on Microsoft's list of motherboards certified for Windows Vista. In fact, I think it is *only* on Microsoft's list of motherboards designed for Windows XP x64, not even x86, and not any version of Vista.

So based on these circumstances alone, I'd suggest that this board is best suited to be used in a Windows XP 64-bit workstation, and shouldn't be used with Windows Vista. My own experience has been telling (http://www.vistax64.com/vista-gener...y-have-actually-destroyed-my-motherboard.html).

Jacob
 

My Computer

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