How to replace SATA drivers by standard ones? help

**GailH** · January 15th, 2010, 09:53 AM

Hi experts - I need your help. I am a girl groping in a usually men's world.

I would like to be able to regularly put an individual SATA hard disk to sleep. The utility to do it ("revoSleep" ) needs that I replace the SATA drivers with "the standard Windows driver".

(I've installed a WD 500 GB Caviar Blue SATA hard disk, using a Promise FastTrak TX2300 PCI controller, on an WinXP SP2 system, Asus P4S533VM motherboard (SiS chipset)).

Now, what is the "standard Windows driver"? pciide.sys, pciidex.sys, atapi.sys, or all of the above?
And, in "Device Manager", which driver should be replaced? The driver for the Promise Controller (appearing under the "SCSI and RAID Controllers" section), or a driver at the ATA/IDE section?

TIA, Gail

(NB Windows Power Management cannot spin-down an individual disk, only all of them

**slgrieb** · January 15th, 2010, 02:57 PM

Hello GailH! Welcome to Windrivers. The Promise controller requires its own driver, and won't work with a "standard" Windows driver. Which is another way of saying that revoSleep doesn't work with your controller. You're going to need to wait on a rewrite of revoSleep.

If you look carefully at revoSleep's forum, you'll see that the workaround that some users have done is to remove the RAID controller or offending drive controller and use hardware that works with standard Windows drivers. And, more to the point, revo acknowledges the possibility that the software may damage a drive.

**NooNoo** · January 15th, 2010, 05:09 PM

Why would you want to use revoSleep?

**GailH** · January 16th, 2010, 04:14 AM

1. slgrieb: Users on the NET have been replacing the proprietary SATA drivers with generic Windows drivers, in order to enable revoSleep to spin-down an individual disk. (You sacrifice some SATA/SCSI functionality (NLQ, command reordering) but gain the ability to spin-down an individual disk).
My only and focused question is: how to do it?. In "Device Manager", when trying to "Update Driver", I can't locate a generic driver (pciide.sys etc) that it will agree to install. Do I need to concoct a new .inf file?
>slgrieb said: "If you look carefully at revoSleep's forum, you'll see that the workaround that some users have done is to remove the RAID controller or offending drive controller and use hardware that works with standard Windows drivers". Not correct! They kept the controllers, and replaced just the drivers with generic Windows drivers. My question is: how to do it?

2. NooNoo: I've installed a SATA disk with the purpose of periodic backup only (like, once every couple of days). I'd like it to stay asleep in between. My understanding is that revoSleep is the only utility around which can do it. Can offer other suggestions?

**NooNoo** · January 16th, 2010, 06:55 AM

Turn off that sata port in the bios would be one way... or connect it externally via esata if you have an external sata port, or even just disconnect the power cable to the drive if your case has easy access.

If this was a drive that I wanted for backup, I would not risk a beta program which states that it could wreck your hardware.

**slgrieb** · January 16th, 2010, 05:07 PM

Originally Posted by GailH

1. slgrieb: Users on the NET have been replacing the proprietary SATA drivers with generic Windows drivers, in order to enable revoSleep to spin-down an individual disk. (You sacrifice some SATA/SCSI functionality (NLQ, command reordering) but gain the ability to spin-down an individual disk).
My only and focused question is: how to do it?. In "Device Manager", when trying to "Update Driver", I can't locate a generic driver (pciide.sys etc) that it will agree to install. Do I need to concoct a new .inf file?
>slgrieb said: "If you look carefully at revoSleep's forum, you'll see that the workaround that some users have done is to remove the RAID controller or offending drive controller and use hardware that works with standard Windows drivers". Not correct! They kept the controllers, and replaced just the drivers with generic Windows drivers. My question is: how to do it?

GailH, at this point some people would be thinking, "Gee, since posters with far more technical experience than I have keep telling me that my controller won't work with standard drivers, and none of the people who say this can be done have told me how to do it, perhaps I can't make this work with my hardware." After all, this isn't the only forum where you've been told revoSleep won't work with your hardware is it? Generally speaking, if a moderator with over 39 thousand posts says, "It won't work." many would believe it.

But not you. And, because I really admire your tenacity and determination, I'm going to let you in on a secret. Yes! You actually can use standard Windows drivers for your controller. However, the secret is only known to Initiates of The Order of The Unsleeping Eye. Lucky for you, I am one!

Due to my admiration for your determination, "CAN DO!" attitude and apparent lapses in your cognitive processes, I'm prepared to induct you into the order (pending approval by a majority of Initiates, of course) for the low, low fee of $500, wired to the Order's bank account in Russia. If you are interested in pursuing this opportunity, please respond. BTW, this isn't the only secret of which the Order is in exclusive possession. Want to know what's really going to happen in 2012?

**CeeBee** · January 20th, 2010, 02:00 PM

Originally Posted by GailH

NooNoo: I've installed a SATA disk with the purpose of periodic backup only (like, once every couple of days). I'd like it to stay asleep in between. My understanding is that revoSleep is the only utility around which can do it. Can offer other suggestions?

Use an external drive and physically disconnect it from the computer and power. If you have a power supply failure/lightning strike/power surge that takes away your drives you'll end up without both your data and the backup... Yes, I've seen quite a few such failures in my life...