Re: [gentoo-user] Re: kernel build - back in the soup.

[John H. Moe]

Harry Putnam wrote:
> "John H. Moe" <johnmoe@××××××××××××.au> writes:
>
>
>> I stopped using that option in my systems, as there is now a AHCI SATA
>> option to use instead. It appears CONFIG_ATA_SFF (which CONFIG_ATA_PIIX
>> requires) is deprecated. From the help on it:
>>
>
> Do you notice some kind of difference from switching?
>
>
>
Well, my understanding is that SATA controllers can operate in one of
two modes: AHCI (or native) mode, which allows for the full capabilities
(read: SPEED) of the SATA interface, and an IDE-compatible mode, for
things like Windows XP (which I use at work) that doesn't, by default,
understand SATA. If you try to load WinXP on to a PC with SATA, you
either have to switch the SATA controller to IDE-mode, which allows
WinXP to see it as a normal IDE hard drive, or load a SATA driver at
install time (from a floppy! One of the few things I still need 3.5"
floppies for).

Translating this to Linux (at home), I chose the AHCI option when it
showed up in one kernel upgrade, and when I saw in the help for ATA_SFF
that it's the "legacy IDE interface", I figured I didn't need it, so I
left it out.

So if I understand this correctly, you should use the AHCI option if
your SATA controller is in "AHCI" or "Native" mode, and the ATA_SFF
option if you're in "IDE" or "Compatible" mode.

Hope this helps (and makes sense)

John Moe