Downloading, Preparing and Loading SATA Drivers

Creating up to Date Windows 7 Installation Media

This guide is focused mainly on Windows 7 which is only supported on up to 6th Generation Intel Hardware. It is recommended to slipstream drivers and updates for up to 6th Generation Intel Hardware.

What are Storage Controller Drivers?

Storage Controller drivers are required for Windows to recognise the storage controller and hence write to the SSD or HDD during Windows Installation.

These drivers are labelled F6FLPY SATA drivers for historical reasons as they could only be loaded from a floppy disk by pressing F6 during the Windows XP setup.

To install Windows you will need to prepare and load F6FLPY SATA drivers otherwise Windows won’t see the drive

i.e. you may get a screen like this:

test4

This screen may also show however be careful as this screen also shows when the Windows Installation Media is corrupt, usually due to an incomplete download or badly burn DVD/USB:

In a few other cases, the drive will be seen during installation however Windows will fail to configure at the last stage.

How Up to Date is my Windows Installation Media?

Windows installation media contains an assortment of preinstallation drivers so they do not need to be loaded separately in many cases. As a rule of thumb; if you systems hardware is significantly newer than the Windows installation media or you are using an advanced configuration such as a Solid State Drive as a Cache Drive or an Advanced Format Hard Drive on an older system, you may need to load SATA drivers. If your hardware is older than the Windows Installation media then the Windows Installation Media more than likely obtains the SATA drivers.

This guide will hence focus primarily on Windows 7.

  • Windows 7 "Skylake" – 2016 Media Refresh At End of Life
    • Windows 7 SP1 – 2011 Media Refresh At End of Life
    • Windows 7 SP0 – 2009 At End of Life

A completely Obsolete Version of Windows not worth mentioning in this day and age:

  • Windows Vista SP2 – 2009 At End of Life
    • Windows Vista SP1 – 2008 At End of Life
    • Windows Vista SP0 – 2007 At End of Life

As Windows XP is at End of Life I do not recommend installing Windows XP at all especially in a non-virtual environment… For Windows XP the procedure to load preinstallation drivers on physical hardware required a floppy drive and you had to press F6 at the start of the setup hence the name F6-FLPY. Slipstreaming with nLite was easier and didn't require a floppy drive, see here for details.

  • Windows XP SP3 – 2008 At End of Life
    • Windows XP SP2 – 2006 At End of Life
    • Windows XP SP1 – 2002 At End of Life

Checking your Device Manager

If you cannot access the old Operating System and are in start of your installation then ignore this step and try the 5 drivers I list from Intel (one by one newest to oldest). If you can still access the old Operating System then left click the start button, then right click computer and select properties:

dm7

On this screen you will be told whether your version of Windows is 64 Bit or 32 Bit and whether your processor is Intel or AMD. If your processor is Intel (most Dell Systems) you have an Intel Storage Controller and if your processor is AMD you have an AMD storage controller.

To the left select Device Manager:

dm7a

The Device Manger will open, expand IDE ATA/ATAPI Controllers and select the Devices listed. In this case "Standard SATA AHCI Controller":

Right click it and select Properties:

Select Details:

Then change the Property from Device Description to Hardware IDs:

VEN_8086 means Intel &DEV_xxxx is your specific Device.

Press [Ctrl] and [ f ] on this page and search for your Hardware ID on this page.

In my case PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_1c02 shows 12.9.0.1001.

Downloading the Latest Driver from Intel

All Windows 7 Drivers have been removed by Intel as Windows 7 has reached end of life.

15.5.0.1051 (6-7th generation)
Intel® 200 Series Chipset Family SATA AHCI/RAID Controller (PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_A282)
7th Generation Intel® Core™ Processor Family Platform I/O SATA AHCI/RAID Controller (PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_A102)
Intel® 100 Series/C230 Series Chipset Family SATA AHCI/RAID Controller (PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_A103)
6th Generation Intel® Core™ Processor Family Platform I/O SATA AHCI/RAID Controller (PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_9D03)

14.8.1.1061 (4th-5th generation)
Intel(R) 9 Series Chipset Family SATA AHCI Controller (PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_8D02)
Intel(R) 9 Series Chipset Family SATA AHCI Controller (PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_9C83)
Intel(R) 9 Series Chipset Family SATA AHCI Controller (PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_9C82)
Intel(R) 9 Series Chipset Family SATA AHCI Controller (PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_8C83)
Intel(R) 9 Series Chipset Family SATA AHCI Controller (PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_8C82)
Intel(R) 8 Series Chipset Family SATA AHCI Controller (PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_9C03)
Intel(R) 8 Series/C220 Chipset Family SATA AHCI Controller (PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_9C02)
Intel(R) 8 Series Chipset Family SATA AHCI Controller (PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_8C03)
Intel(R) 8 Series/C220 Chipset Family SATA AHCI Controller (PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_8C02)

13.1.0.1058 (3rd generation)
Intel(R) C600 Series Chipset SATA AHCI Controller (PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_1D02)
Intel(R) 7 Series/C216 Chipset Family SATA AHCI Controller (PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_1E02)

12.9.0.1001 (1st-3rd generation)
Intel(R) 7 Series Chipset Family SATA AHCI Controller (PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_1E03)
Intel(R) Mobile Express Chipset SATA AHCI Controller (PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_1C03)
Intel(R) Desktop/Workstation/Server Express Chipset SATA AHCI Controller (PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_1C02)
Intel(R) 5 Series 4 Port SATA AHCI Controller (PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_3B29)
Intel(R) 5 Series 6 Port SATA AHCI Controller (PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_3B2F)
Intel(R) 5 Series/3400 Series SATA AHCI Controller (PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_3B22)

11.7.0.1013 (1st-2nd Generation)
Intel(R) ICH10R SATA AHCI Controller (PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_3A22)
Intel(R) ICH10D/DO SATA AHCI Controller (PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_3A02)
Intel(R) ICH9M-E/M SATA AHCI Controller (PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_2929)
Intel(R) C600 Series Chipset SATA AHCI Controller (PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_1D02)

On Intel's website select Show More:

Scroll until you find your correct version:

Select the 64 Bit f6-flpy-x64.zip for Windows 7 64 Bit and f6-flpy-x86.zip for Windows 7 32 Bit. The .exe Application cannot be used during the Windows Setup: 

Accept the License Agreement:

Once the download is complete. Extract the folder by right clicking it and selecting Extract All…

I advise renaming the extracted folder by the driver version. In particular if you do not what is the correct version for your model and are downloading multiple versions:

The Storage Controllers should look like this:

 Copy the folder to your Bootable USB:

Downloading the Latest Driver from AMD

AMD's latest drivers may be found here. Storage Controllers may be found under Chipset:

I am not familiar with AMD's hardware and cannot advise on the means of finding the latest driver from their website.

Downloading the Driver from Dell

For Dell systems check the Dell FTP Website:

Select your system type and model number. Alternatively press [Ctrl] and [ f ] and search for your model number. In the case an XPS 8300.

Dell sometimes package the SATA drivers as .exes however they cannot be loaded by Windows in this form. You will need to launch the Dell .exe to extract the driver, double click it:

sata1a

  Select continue.

sata2a

Right click the location the .exe is going to extract the files to and select copy then select ok

sata3b

Then select yes

sata4a

Then select ok once its informed you all the files have unzipped.

sata6

If any additional setup Windows begin, cancel the installation.

Open up Windows explorer, right click the search bar and select paste.

sata8

If there is an x86 (32 Bit) and x64 (64 Bit) folder open the correct one depending on your architecture.

sata9

The SATA drivers should be present as a security catalog and security information files.

sata9b

Loading SATA Drivers

When you get stuck on this screen select load driver.

win7-4

You will be prompted to Browse for the Driver:

satabrowse

I have made the entire SATA driver folder including the original applications into a .iso and loaded it as a DVD in a VM for illustrations but the results will be similar with a USB:

satabrowse2

If I then select ok I get the following:

not compatible

Because I am using a VM and not an XPS 8700, none of the SATA drivers in this folder are compatible. I am going to uncheck the "Hide Drivers that are not compatible with hardware on this computer" so I can see the drivers:

compatible

In general you wouldn't uncheck this box and the drivers would display if you have the right drivers for your hardware. If multiple dirvers are listed press [Ctrl] and [a] to select them all and then press next.

After Windows has loaded the correct drivers for the storage controller your hard drive will show. Now that Windows can read/write to the driver you will have the options to Delete, Format or Create a New Partition.

Win7-6

You should return to A Clean Install of Windows for details on proceeding with the installation.

28 thoughts on “Downloading, Preparing and Loading SATA Drivers

  1. Please provide these guides as TEXT, not as videos. It is hard to skim back and forth for details, URLs, commands etc. in a video, especially with no speakers.

    1. Its something I have planned to do.

      The videos were quickly done and have no audio.

      I plan to update both the videos on YouTube with audio and add text separately on this page.

    1. See the updated version of this page.
      You must load the drivers so Windows can recognise the storage controller and hence read/write to the hard drive(s). You will be unable to format it if WIndows cannot read it.

  2. Hi i followed every instructions, but in the last step , the drive doesn't appear.

    What could that mean?

    I have an xps 15 l521x if that helps.

    1. What version of Windows? What SATA operation? What SATA drivers are you using? Do you have a mSATA cache drive?

  3. hi i have the same problem with my inspiron n4050. pls give me lists of drivers needed to proceed with windows7 installation. thank you very much

    1. Please make a new thread in the Dell Community Forums, Microsoft OS Forum. It gets difficult to manage questions in the comments section here.

  4. Mister Philip 'the tech rockstar of all things dell' Yip,
    may you find yourself obliged with a single desire within your heart….(if you so choose, perhaps a good one ). . smiles, thank you for this, your forum, probably the fifteenth in, finally helped make a bit of headway. so thank you once more. .. very helpful, your knowledge is much appreciated.

  5. hi i have the same problem with my hp envy 14 2130nr. pls give me lists of drivers needed to proceed with windows 8 installation. thank you very much

    1. Please make a new thread in Microsoft Answers or the HP Community Forums opposed to asking for driver support as a comment.

    1. Thank you brilliant guide was trying to load windows 7 for ages without success on a dell xps laptop followed your guide and downloaded your iso and installed straight off

      1. Glad my guides helped. The Windows 7 SP2 .iso with Intel USB 3.0 support is significantly newer and should support newer hardware better. 🙂

  6. Hi!
    Great guide. Unfortunately, it doesn't work for my. I'm trying to install windows 7 pro on dell xps 13 (9350). I've done it successfully before, but on laptops with Samsung NVMe drive. The one I got now, is delivered with Toshiba drive. (THNSN5512GPU7 512GB M.2) and the windows installation won't start properly. It keeps asking for extra drivers (cd/dvd). I've tried your image (7 Professional SP2 x64 USB 3.0 June 2016), but it's the same. I've implemented required hotfixes (KB2990941, KB3087873) and USB 3.0 driver via DISM.exe. When Windows installation ask me for extra drivers and I choose browse, I can see the hard drive nad usb drive no problem. Furthermore, I even tried to copy the installation to hard drive and made it bootable, so now the installation is booting form HD, but still It keeps asking for cd/dvd drivers :/
    And ideas will be much appreciated
    Regards.
    Michal

  7. Hi!

    Great guide. Unfortunately, it doesn't work for my. I'm trying to install windows 7 pro on dell xps 13 (9350). I've done it successfully before, but on laptops with Samsung NVMe drive. The one I got now, is delivered with Toshiba drive. (THNSN5512GPU7 512GB M.2) and the windows installation won't start properly. It keeps asking for extra drivers (cd/dvd). I've tried your image (7 Professional SP2 x64 USB 3.0 June 2016), but it's the same. I've implemented required hotfixes (KB2990941, KB3087873) and USB 3.0 driver via DISM.exe. When Windows installation ask me for extra drivers and I choose browse, I can see the hard drive nad usb drive no problem. Furthermore, I even tried to copy the installation to hard drive and made it bootable, so now the installation is booting form HD, but still It keeps asking for cd/dvd drivers :/
    And ideas will be much appreciated

    Regards.
    Michal

  8. Hi!

    Great guide. Unfortunately, it doesn't work on my laptop. I'm trying to install windows 7 pro on dell xps 13 (9350). I've done it successfully before, but on laptops with Samsung NVMe drive. The one I got now, is delivered with Toshiba drive. (THNSN5512GPU7 512GB M.2) and the windows installation won't start properly. It keeps asking for extra drivers (cd/dvd). I've tried your image (7 Professional SP2 x64 USB 3.0 June 2016), but it's the same. I've implemented required hotfixes (KB2990941, KB3087873) and USB 3.0 driver via DISM.exe. When Windows installation ask me for extra drivers and I choose browse, I can see the hard drive nad usb drive no problem. Furthermore, I even tried to copy the installation to hard drive and made it bootable, so now the installation is booting form HD, but still It keeps asking for cd/dvd drivers :/
    And ideas will be much appreciated

    Regards.
    Michal

    1. Glad my guide has helped in the past. Looking specifically for Toshiba I see this:
      "Toshiba NVMe SSDs require only the Microsoft HotFix installation, as they have no Toshiba-supplied NVMe drivers at the time of this writing"
      http://www.dell.com/support/article/us/en/19/SLN300994/EN

      The only SATA drivers I see on the Drivers and Downloads Page are these but I suppose you have tried loading them already:
      http://downloads.dell.com/FOLDER03273188M/1/9350_Serial-ATA_Driver_WV03M_WN32_14.5.2.1088_A00.EXE

      A Google search for "THNSN5512GPU7 Driver" takes me first to this Intel site so you can try loading the Intel driver also to see if it helps:
      https://downloadcenter.intel.com/download/23929/Intel-SSD-Data-Center-Family-for-NVMe-Drivers
      Also search results yield this Dell driver which is likely the same thing but older:
      http://www.dell.com/support/home/us/en/04/Drivers/DriversDetails?driverId=X3MW0

      I would try putting the extracted Intel Rapid Storage Technology and latest Intel SSD Data Centre Family for NVMe Drivers in the same folder and loading these during the Windows 7 setup to see what happens…

      There seems to be some additional instructions here:
      http://de.community.dell.com/techcenter/enterprise-client/w/wiki/2567.how-to-install-windows-7-on-systems-with-intel-skylake-cpu
      I don't see any Toshiba specific drivers being loaded however (I don't see this as any different from loading the SATA preinstallation drivers).

      1. Thanks for such a quick replay.

        Glad my guide has helped in the past. Looking specifically for Toshiba I see this:
        “Toshiba NVMe SSDs require only the Microsoft HotFix installation, as they have no Toshiba-supplied NVMe drivers at the time of this writing”
        http://www.dell.com/support/article/us/en/19/SLN300994/EN

        ^tried that.That's why I've implemented hotfixes (KB2990941, KB3087873). Without them, I could't see the HD at all.

        The only SATA drivers I see on the Drivers and Downloads Page are these but I suppose you have tried loading them already:
        http://downloads.dell.com/FOLDER03273188M/1/9350_Serial-ATA_Driver_WV03M_WN32_14.5.2.1088_A00.EXE

        ^I've tried them as well. Without this driver, I couldn't see HD.

        A Google search for “THNSN5512GPU7 Driver” takes me first to this Intel site so you can try loading the Intel driver also to see if it helps:
        https://downloadcenter.intel.com/download/23929/Intel-SSD-Data-Center-Family-for-NVMe-Drivers

        ^Got this driver in Version: 1.5.0.1002. Doesn't help. After trying to install, os says "No new devices could be found. Make sure the driver files are correct and located on the driver installation media.

        I would try putting the extracted Intel Rapid Storage Technology and latest Intel SSD Data Centre Family for NVMe Drivers in the same folder and loading these during the Windows 7 setup to see what happens…

        ^I'll try this. see what happens. You mean, to implement them into boot.wim and install.wim or just keep them in the same folder? You see, after I install Intel RST driver (the hotfixes r implemented into boot.wim and install.wim), the hd shows up and I can browse through the hd and usb drive to look for drivers no problem. I basicly have all the drivers for this laptop downloaded form dell's web site and extracted them into the same folder. But as I choose any of them, the os is installing the driver and says that "No new devices could be found. Make sure the driver files are correct and located on the driver installation media. :/

        There seems to be some additional instructions here:
        http://de.community.dell.com/techcenter/enterprise-client/w/wiki/2567.how-to-install-windows-7-on-systems-with-intel-skylake-cpu

        ^Didn't see that before. I'll try it.

        I don’t see any Toshiba specific drivers being loaded however (I don’t see this as any different from loading the SATA preinstallation drivers).

        ^Yeah, I know. Couldn't find any myself.

        Anyway, thanks for your ideas. If anything comes to your mind, please let me know. 😀

        Regard
        Michal.

      1. Philipyip! You're magican! It worked. It needed only INTEL RST Drivers and teh installation booted properly! Thanks a lot man! Awesome! 😀

      2. I didn't perform the magic on that .iso and unfortunately I don't know what additional drivers were added but glad to know it worked. 🙂

  9. Worked like a charm on my new Dell XPS 8920! Thought I was crazy when my SSD wasn't showing up. THANK YOU

  10. Greetings Sir,

    15.5.0.1051 (6-7th generation)
    Intel® 200 Series Chipset Family SATA AHCI/RAID Controller driver is not available on Intel's website. :/
    Is there any other reliable source to download it or do you have a backup of the same in GDrive or somewhere from where can I download it.

    Regards.

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