Enabling AHCI hard drive mode without reinstalling Windows. What is AHCI mode and how to configure it? Standard sata controller in ahci mode

Modern hard drives are connected to the motherboard of computer devices via the SATA interface, which allows operation, in particular, in IDE and AHCI modes. IDE is an old mode, it is necessary to ensure compatibility with outdated components and programs. The AHCI mode is also not a new development in the IT field, it appeared back in 2004, but it is a current mechanism for connecting hard drives via the SATA II and SATA III interface. AHCI has a number of advantages over IDE:

• the ability to connect more devices to the motherboard;
• operating hard drives at their highest possible speed;
• so-called “hot swapping” of hard drives, that is, disconnecting and connecting without having to turn off the computer;
• support for NCQ technology, which improves hard drive performance under multitasking conditions.

SATA mode is set in the BIOS. On modern laptops, AHCI mode is usually set by default. But new motherboards for PC builds may come with IDE mode active for hardware compatibility purposes. You can change IDE to AHCI (or vice versa) at any time in the BIOS of computers that support both modes. Not all computers support AHCI, but most do, since this mode has been around for 12 years. The minority includes rare vintage devices that were released onto the market, respectively, before the advent of AHCI. But even if the computer is less than 12 years old, if it supports AHCI, switching to this mode may still cause problems due to the lack of the appropriate setting in the outdated BIOS version. In such cases, you must first resolve the issue of updating the BIOS.

1. How to find out which mode – IDE or AHCI – is currently installed

You can find out which mode - IDE or AHCI - is currently active on your computer in Windows Device Manager. Expanding the thread:

• “IDE ATA/ATAPI controllers” in Windows versions 8.1 and 10;
• "IDE ATA/ATAPI controllers" in Windows 7.

If your computer's hard drives are connected via AHCI mode, the list of devices will include a SATA AHCI controller.

If IDE mode is active on the computer, the list of branches will contain an entry, respectively, about the IDE controller.

An alternative way is to use the AS SSD Benchmark utility to test the speed of hard drives. If hard drives can operate in AHCI mode, but the BIOS is set to IDE, the utility will notify you of this with the red value “pciide BAD”.

If the computer is running in AHCI mode, in the utility window we will see the green value “storahci - Ok”.

These two methods will make it possible to understand which mode is currently set. But to determine whether support for AHCI mode is implemented in the BIOS, you need to enter it and find the option to enable AHCI. The selection of SATA operating modes in different BIOS versions may be located in the “Advanced” or “Main” sections. For example, in the BIOS UEFI of the Asus motherboard, this is the “Advanced” section, in it you need to enter the “SATA Configuration” subsection and expand the options for the “SATA Mode” parameter.

Another example is the BIOS AMI (V17.9) of the MSI motherboard, here everything is more complicated, and not everyone will be able to immediately figure out where the AHCI setting is. In the “Integrated Peripherals” section, you must select the “On-Chip ATA Devices” subsection, and in it – “Raid Mode”, which provides a choice of hard drive connection modes.

2. Consequences of switching to AHCI mode for Windows operation

So, you can change the IDE mode to AHCI at any time in the BIOS settings. But for Windows, such a move will not result in a slight delay at startup due to the automatic installation of the necessary drivers, as when replacing some computer components. In this case, even getting rid of the connection to computer components using the standard Windows Sysprep utility, as is the case with replacing the motherboard or processor, will not help. Changing the IDE mode to AHCI leads to serious consequences - Windows simply will not start again. As a result, we will get either a blue screen of death or a cyclic reboot of Windows with a notification that the system has not started correctly.

The fact is that IDE and AHCI modes when installing Windows are registered at the registry level. To operate hard drives in AHCI mode, a special driver is required, which is automatically installed with versions of Windows starting with Vista. Since the AHCI mode appeared later than Windows XP, the AHCI driver must first be integrated into the distribution of this version of the system, taken from the motherboard driver disk or downloaded from the Internet.

Ideally, switching to AHCI mode should be done before installing or reinstalling Windows. But there are ways to activate AHCI without having to reinstall Windows - by starting safe mode or editing the system registry. Below we will consider these methods for versions of Windows 7, 8.1 and 10.

3. Mandatory measures and procedures

In principle, any experiments with Windows can lead to undesirable results, but methods for adapting the operating system to AHCI mode must be taken with particular seriousness. Because in this case, settings that affect the system's ability to boot will be affected. It is strictly forbidden to proceed with the instructions below without having previously prepared emergency means. You must either write down or create and prepare Windows installation media. Using the latter, you can log in or, as a last resort, start the process of reinstalling Windows.

The procedure is as follows:

• Step 1 – check the AHCI enable setting in the BIOS;
• Step 2 – preparation of emergency means;
• Step 3 - depending on the chosen method, either configure the next system startup in safe mode, or edit the system registry;
• Step 4 – reboot, enter BIOS and enable AHCI mode;
• Step 5 – start the computer.

4. Windows Safe Mode

The first method is designed so that when you enter Windows Safe Mode, the AHCI driver will be installed automatically. But, unfortunately, this will not work in every case. On a running system, you need to configure the next startup in safe mode, reboot, enter the BIOS and set the AHCI mode. After starting the computer in safe mode, the AHCI driver should in theory be installed. If everything goes well, all that remains is to reboot the system in normal operation.

A universal way to enter safe mode the next time you boot Windows for all current versions of the system is to use the msconfig utility, called using the “Run” command.

5. Editing the Windows Registry

If the safe mode method does not work, you can avoid reinstalling the system by editing its registry. To launch the Registry Editor, in the “Run” command field, enter:

4.1 Editing the registry Windows 8.1 and 10

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services

In this branch, look for the “iaStorV” folder, click on it, open the “Start” parameter and set its value to “0”. Click "Ok".

Expand the “iaStorV” folder, select the “StartOverride” subfolder, open the “0” parameter and set its value to “0”. Click "Ok".

We go down alphabetically and find the “storahci” folder. Click on it and open the “ErrorControl” parameter. We remove the preset value “3” and enter “0” instead. Click "Ok".

4.2. Editing the Windows 7 registry

In the Registry Editor window, expand the branch:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\services

In the branch we find the “iaStorV” folder, click on it, open the “Start” parameter and set the value to “0”. Click "Ok".

After editing the registry, reboot the computer, go into the BIOS, activate the AHCI mode and start the system.

6. If Windows won't boot

If none of the methods helped adapt Windows to work in AHCI mode, the system will have to be reinstalled. But the current Windows can be started if, for example, you need to remove the settings of installed software or save some important files stored on drive C in a safe place. To do this, you need to enter the BIOS again and set the active IDE mode setting back.

However, it may also happen that the system will not be able to boot in either AHCI or IDE mode. If there is no blue screen of death, but versions of Windows 8.1 and 10 reboot cyclically, giving a screen that says “Automatic recovery,” click “Advanced options.”

Going to the “Select Action” menu, follow the path indicated in the screenshot below and roll back to the restore point.

If a blue screen of death appears when you start your computer, boot from the Windows installation media and at the system installation stage, select the “System Restore” option at the bottom.

Once in the “Select Action” menu, we follow the steps described above.

Those who choose the backup method using third-party software use the bootable media of the backup program.

Have a great day!

Proper operation of a computer is possible only with coordinated interaction between the hardware and the operating system. Technology is evolving, and lately this has been most noticeable in the field of storage. Modern hard drives and SSD drives are many times faster than those used in computers 5-10 years ago. For data transfer, the SATA interface is used, through which the drive is connected to the computer. The SATA interface is capable of operating in two modes: IDE and AHCI, and if you have a modern hard drive or SSD installed, you can speed up your computer by enabling AHCI mode.

What is AHCI mode

As noted above, AHCI is one of the data transfer modes over the SATA interface. As you know, through the SATA interface you can transfer information at speeds from 1.5 to 6 Gigabytes per second. The maximum speed is supported in AHCI mode, which should be used with all modern drives. As for the IDE mode, it is supported in the SATA interface for compatibility with older hard drives.

By default, AHCI mode is not always enabled in the Windows operating system, even if the drives are connected to the motherboard via SATA. Because of this, the user loses in computer performance, since the disk speed is limited by software. By setting the AHCI mode, you can increase the speed of the drive by 20-30%, which will affect the overall experience of the computer.

How to find out if AHCI mode is enabled in Windows

Most often, users do not even suspect that it is necessary to enable AHCI mode in order to improve computer performance. At the same time, Windows by default does not always work with HDDs and SSDs, even the most modern ones, in AHCI mode. To check if AHCI mode is enabled in Windows, you need to do the following:

Note: Also, the absence of devices operating in AHCI mode in the list may be due to the fact that old drives that are not capable of operating in the new mode are connected to the motherboard.

You can also check whether the SATA interface works in AHCI or IDE mode through the BIOS. To do this, you need to restart the computer and press “Del” or F2 during the boot process. The BIOS will launch, where you will need to find the SATA Mode item and see whether the AHCI or IDE option is installed.

Important: If you notice in the BIOS that the SATA interface is set to work in IDE mode, you do not need to switch to AHCI mode, since this will not do any good.

How to enable AHCI mode in Windows

Microsoft began supporting AHCI mode in Windows operating systems with Windows 7. However, you can enable it in Windows XP if you download the necessary drivers on the Internet, made by enthusiasts, and install them. However, it is worth noting that this method does not always provide a performance boost, and on Windows XP it is better to abandon the idea of ​​​​using AHCI mode and work with drives through a standard IDE.

To enable the AHCI mode itself, just set the appropriate setting for SATA in the BIOS. But this must be done before installing the Windows operating system, otherwise when booting the computer will display error 0x0000007B INACCESSABLE_BOOT_DEVICE or go into a constant reboot state. Therefore, to switch the IDE mode to AHCI when Windows is installed, you need to make some changes to the registry; below we will look at what actions to perform for each version of the operating system.

How to enable AHCI mode in Windows 10

In the modern Windows 10 operating system, Microsoft did not offer a setting that would enable support for AHCI mode on the fly if the SATA interface previously worked through the IDE. To correctly switch to AHCI mode, you will need to do the following:

After the computer boots, the Windows operating system will prompt you to install the necessary drivers to work with AHCI mode; be sure to do this.

How to enable AHCI mode in Windows 8 and Windows 8.1

To switch the Windows 8 or Windows 8.1 operating system to work with AHCI mode, you need to do some work on the command line. You will need to do the following:

It is worth noting that if the computer runs on an Intel CPU, then you can use the company’s standard utility, which allows you to make the necessary settings to switch Windows to work with AHCI. This is done as follows:

Note: The above method is only suitable for computers with Intel processors; there is currently no such solution for AMD.

How to enable AHCI mode in Windows 7

In the Windows 7 operating system, the method for enabling AHCI mode is close to that used in Windows 10. Here you will also need to make some changes to the registry as follows:

Note: When you first boot your computer, install all the drivers that the operating system offers.

It is worth noting that if errors occur after switching to AHCI mode, you can try to fix them using the free Microsoft Fix it utility, which should be downloaded from the official Microsoft website. The program has Russian localization, and understanding it will not be difficult.

It is quite natural that owners of desktop computing systems and laptops strive in one way or another to increase their performance. To solve this problem, some use the so-called overclocking (overclocking) of components, while others make adjustments through the capabilities provided by the developers. When choosing any method, it is important to understand what exactly you want to get and to have a good understanding of the features of the chosen method.

"Bottleneck"

It is known that one of the slowest components of a modern computing system is based on a classical spindle system. Today, SSD analogues have appeared, but they have not yet become widespread due to their too high cost.

Therefore, regular HDDs are installed on almost every computer. The result is that DDR3 memory easily transfers 20,000 MB/s; The internal CPU bus allows you to process ten times more data; and a hard drive with the SATA-3 standard only “accelerates” to a real 100 megabytes per second under ideal conditions. It is no coincidence that it is recommended to use high-performance SSD models, at least for system files. From all of the above, a simple conclusion follows: it is the HDD that slows down the modern system, thereby being a “bottleneck”. And since the user can easily make changes to the way the disk subsystem processes commands, affecting speed to a certain extent, you can often hear the question of which mode is better: AHCI or IDE.

Standards

The interaction of the disk with other components of the computer system occurs through a special control controller. This chip serves as a kind of command translator, converter. Until recently, the only “language” understood by the controller was the IDE protocol.

It originated at the dawn of the computer industry and has been modernized several times. With the advent of high-speed SATA drives, a radical reworking of the protocol was required. This is how it arose to easily cope with the increased data flow (interface), supports the fashionable NCQ command queue and implements the ability to turn off the device “on the fly”. So what is AHCI? IDE with some new features added. Everything is so simple at first glance.

Opportunities and prospects

Since the standards are backward compatible (SATA devices work perfectly using the IDE protocol), the BIOS or its equivalent almost always contains an item that allows you to select the desired mode.

In many cases, this is the only way to ensure normal computer performance. The mode selection function is present only in the software of those motherboards that support SATA. These are all modern systems. However, hybrid solutions can also be attributed here, allowing you to connect both classic IDE devices (PATA, wide connector comb) and SATA (compact connector). So, AHCI or IDE? What's better? To make it easier to understand this, here is a list of “bonuses” that a user receives by activating a more modern mode:

1. via internal electronic circuits “disk controller - board controller” reaches from 1.5 Gb/s (gigabit) for modification SATA-1 to 6 in the third revision. Let us remember that UDMA-6, in which old hard drives can work, provides only 133 Mbit/s.

2. When talking about which is better - AHCI or IDE, one cannot fail to mention support for NCQ technology. Its essence lies in the fact that the hard drive can “interfere” with the command flow queue, rearranging them to improve operating efficiency.

3. Possibility of “hot” replacement of the device, which does not require shutting down the entire system.

4. Parallel access to all disks at once, without using alternate switching.

Here is a very tempting list of possibilities. No wonder the question is: “AHCI or IDE: which is better?” is perhaps one of the most painful. Many computer owners, surprisingly, still believe in the “magic button”.

Theory and practice

So, after all, AHCI or IDE - which is better? From the above list we can conclude that the outdated protocol is significantly inferior to the new one. However, this is not quite true. Let's consider this point in more detail. Yes, indeed, the data transfer speed has increased tenfold, but the magnetic disks in hard drives both rotated at a speed of 7200 revolutions (the most popular solution) and still rotate. Accordingly, no revolutionary breakthroughs occurred in the reading process. The user will not see 6 Gbit transfer in any HDD test. Even 200 Mbit is unattainable! The exception is solid state drives. If there is such a device in the system, then you don’t have to deal with the question: “AHCI or IDE: which is better?”, but immediately activate the updated protocol. However, as we pointed out, due to cost, such drives have not yet become widespread.

Very often in debates about whether AHCI or IDE is better, the main argument in favor of the former is the protocol's ability to support NCQ. Indeed, when several programs are actively accessing the hard drive at once, this function allows you to rearrange the flow of requests in the most optimal way. However, on an average computer, more than two or three programs rarely access the disk at the same time, so it is impossible to talk about a complete lack of acceleration, but it is obtained within the margin of error.

IDE or AHCI - which is better? Windows 7, when the latter mode is activated, supports connecting/disconnecting a SATA device on the fly. Quite convenient, especially in server systems where shutdown is undesirable. However, to use “hot swap” it is recommended to use not internal connectors, but SATA modifications routed to the case.

And finally, the protocol allows several hard drives on the bus to work simultaneously, rather than waiting for requests. It is in this case that the potential of NCQ is fully revealed. Not relevant for the average computer.

As a result, it turns out that although the AHCI protocol is more interesting from a technological point of view, nevertheless, the majority of users will receive nothing but moral satisfaction from its inclusion. There are only two exceptions to the general rule: a server system and the use of an SSD.

Nuances of use

Although you can switch modes in the BIOS in a few seconds, there is one important point to consider. It is as follows: if the operating system was installed, for example, with AHCI, then after transferring to IDE, loading may not be possible. This is not a rule, but most often this is how things happen. Therefore, even before installing the distribution, you need to decide which disk subsystem protocol you plan to work with.

AHCI driver packages began to be integrated into the system only with Vista. All previous solutions from Microsoft do not have built-in support, so you need to either use “assemblies” or prepare media with the appropriate driver before installation. Windows 7 works fine with the new standard. Switching SATA from IDE mode to AHCI must be done from the BIOS (Configure SATA item). In very rare cases, changes to the registry may be required.

Switching method

In order to get into the BIOS, immediately after turning on the computer system, you need to press the Delete button (personal computers) or F2 (laptops) several times in a row. Depending on the implementation, the required item may be located in any sections. For example, to activate it, you may need to switch Boot Mode to CSM instead of UEFI, after which Compatible (IDE) and AHCI appear. The item you are looking for may be in the SATA Enhanced section. You need to carefully review the entire existing list. After switching, press ESC and agree to save the changes.

Results

The decision about which protocol to choose depends on several factors. First of all, it depends on the operating system used. From compatibility at the “hardware” level. And of course from the load on the subsystem. The higher it is, the more preferable AHCI is. If we analyze all the reviews, we can say that both protocols work great, without causing any failures when configured correctly. However, it makes more sense to use the updated version. This is, so to speak, a foundation “for the future,” for example, for the purchase of an SSD.

You bought a new hard drive. Of course, with a Serial ATA interface. And, of course, we heard a lot about the new interesting feature implemented in the latest models - NCQ. Anticipating a noticeable increase in the loading speed of Windows and programs, as well as a reduction in the noise of the hard drive, you connect the hard drive, install the operating system and... Now you will need to do additional manipulations to enable AHCI support and install the appropriate drivers. Otherwise, NCQ technology, as well as other interesting functions, will remain unused.

For what

The idea underlying the NCQ (Native Command Queuing) technology has been implemented more than once in hard drives and controllers, but not in those used in ordinary personal computers.

So this is the principle behind NCQ. As you know, the hard drive is quite slow compared to other PC devices due to its mechanical nature. Particularly a lot of time is spent moving the heads between the tracks on which the sectors with data requested by the system are located. To minimize these movements, you can use the method of reordering the command queue, well known in computer science. In this case, the distance between the tracks to be accessed is used as a restructuring criterion. Read commands coming to the hard drive from the system are not executed in order, but accumulate in a queue. There they are swapped in such a way that the head moves as little as possible when executing neighboring requests. Due to this, acceleration is achieved.

A classic example used to illustrate the effect of reordering is an elevator in a building. Imagine that he moves through the floors in the order in which the buttons on the panel were pressed. But the elevator works much more efficiently - it opens the doors on the floors in the direction of travel. Yes, some passengers have to wait longer, but others get to the desired floor much faster.

Actually, after giving the example of the elevator, some disadvantages became obvious to you. Not all requests will be completed faster - some may get stuck in the queue, allowing other requests to pass through. And the appearance of a write request generally complicates the processing of the command queue, since a situation of data integrity violation is possible.

In addition, such technology will only provide benefits if commands to the hard drive are received in a dense stream and much faster than it can execute them. In modern PCs, this situation does not happen very often - mainly at the time of loading the OS and large software packages. Therefore, the implementation of NCQ technology has only recently been undertaken, although in a server environment, intelligent command reordering has been used for a long time and successfully.

It should be noted that the ability to change the order of commands and process queues is also included in the ATA interface protocol (TCQ technology). And there are even examples of its quite successful implementation. But it was not done very nicely or conveniently. The fact is that the ATA interface protocol, on which hard drives with a regular, “parallel” interface operate, is based on the ISA bus protocol. The initialization and command transmission procedure, as well as monitoring status and errors, is a rather lengthy and complex procedure that requires analysis of several registers. Therefore, the developers decided to implement support for this technology in hard drives using the new interface - Serial ATA.

AHCI protocol

The Serial ATA controller, according to the requirements of this standard, must support at least two operating modes. First - emulation mode of a standard ATA controller (Legacy Mode). In this mode, the controller completely repeats the protocol for accessing the ATA hard drive and, from the point of view of the operating system and drivers, is no different from the “parallel” interface controller. In this case, the hard drives connected to it are emulated either as Master devices on a separate channel, or, if the operating system “does not understand” more than two channels, as pairs of Master and Slave devices. This mode is enabled by default and is fully supported by all operating systems and BIOS.

The problem is that in emulation mode, the implementation of additional Serial ATA functions is partially or completely impossible, otherwise compatibility with the classic ATA implementation will be broken. Therefore, the controller has the ability to switch to “native” Serial ATA mode, which does not have any “family obligations” that bind it to the ATA.

AHCI (Advanced Host Controller Interface) protocol just describes the behavior of the controller in Native mode from a system point of view. It describes how the controller processes the command queue, where and how they are stored, how the programmer should place commands in the queue, and where to obtain the results of their execution. All conventions of the ATA protocol have been discarded, all difficulties with manipulating registers and flags have been eliminated as unnecessary. The implementation of all additional Serial ATA functions, including NCQ, Hot Swap, Port Multiplier, Staggered Spin-Up, etc., is now unlimited.

Native Mode is designed to work with operating systems Windows 2000, XP, Vista, Windows 7.

In other words, AHCI protocol functions only work in Native Mode Serial ATA.

This protocol was developed by a special initiative group led by Intel. It is an addition to the Serial ATA standard, which, in general, does not describe the requirements for host controllers (controllers on the side of the computer system to which the hard drive is connected). Together with AHCI, the Serial ATA standard is a complete solution for organizing the disk subsystem in a new generation PC.

At the same time Compatibility with software that does not natively support Serial ATA is lost. The controller cannot operate in two modes at the same time. By switching to Native mode, it loses the ability to accept commands from software that does not “understand” the AHCI protocol. Let us remember that Windows XP does not work natively with Serial ATA in Native Mode AHCI, but Vista and Windows 7 support it.

How to enable AHCI

Method one, classic. As with creating a RAID, you use the installation floppy that came with the motherboard or you created yourself. You start installing Windows, get to the first reboot, and when “Press F6...” appears at the bottom of the blue screen, press F6 and be offered a floppy disk. You should select the correct driver option and continue installing Windows. Subsequently, when the installation is completed successfully, it will be useful to install the drivers and utilities again - they will allow you to make some settings and make sure that NCQ is enabled.

The second method is more complicated, but it allows you to do without a floppy disk and without reinstalling Windows. To do this, your computer’s BIOS must have the ability to disable AHCI (or Native Mode, which in this case are synonyms). When emulation mode is enabled, you install Windows, and then install drivers from the controller manufacturer (motherboard chipset). If they are not installed automatically, do it manually. Then you enable AHCI in the BIOS, and the system begins to take advantage of NCQ.

Using Intel as an example

In Intel chipsets, AHCI support appeared in the 915 series. However, only in southbridges with the suffixes “R”, “M” and “DH”:

• ICH6R, ICH6M - 915/925 series chipsets;
• ICH7R, ICH7M, ICH7DH, ICH7MDH - 945/955/975 series chipsets;
• ICH8R - 965 series chipsets.
• ICH9R - P35 series chipsets

Only laptops on the Centrino platform, starting from the second generation, and motherboards on series chipsets - 925, 955, 975... As a rule, if AHCI is supported, then the BIOS will have a corresponding line. As a last resort, you can look at the manual for the motherboard.

The AHCI controller is integrated into the chipset with the following controller hub:

• Intel® ICH10R/DO SATA RAID/AHCI Controller Box
• Intel® ICH10D SATA AHCI Controller Box
• Intel® ICH9M-E SATA RAID/AHCI Controller Assembly
• Intel® ICH9M AHCI Controller Assembly
• Intel® Controller Assembly 82801IR/IO (ICH9R/DO) - RAID and AHCI
• Intel® 82801HEM I/O Controller Hub (ICH8M-E) - RAID and AHCI
• Intel® I/O Controller Hub 82801HBM (ICH8R) - AHCI only
• Intel® I/O Controller Assembly 82801HR/HH/HO (ICH8R/DH/DO) - RAID and AHCI
• Intel® I/O Controller Hub 631xESB/632xESB - RAID and AHCI
• Intel® 82801GHM I/O Controller Hub (ICH7MDH) - RAID only
• Intel® I/O Controller Assembly 82801GBM (ICH7M) - AHCI version only
• 82801GR/GH (ICH7R/DH) I/O Controller Block - RAID and AHCI
• Intel® I/O Controller Assembly 82801FR (ICH6-R) - RAID and AHCI
• Intel® 82801FBM I/O Controller Hub (ICH6M) - AHCI only

You will need Intel Matrix Storage drivers, formerly Intel Application Accelerator, and their installation floppy. Its image can be downloaded from the Intel website. The drivers from this floppy disk will be useful both for installing Windows and for enabling AHCI after installation. In the latter case, be sure to install the Intel INF Update before you begin manipulating other drivers. Once the standard Serial ATA controller drivers have been replaced with the drivers from the Intel installation diskette, you can enable AHCI. Windows will be able to boot, and you can then continue installing the Matrix Storage kit - without enabling AHCI, it will refuse to start. For controllers from other manufacturers, the procedure is similar - first install the drivers, then enable AHCI.

In this case, the hard drive is not affected - format, change, etc. do not need anything.

Step-by-step instructions for m/b Intel with south bridges ICH6R, ICH6M, ICH7R, ICH7DH, ICH7M, ICH8R, ICH9R

Note: below we are talking about 32bit versions of Windows. Of course, there is a driver for x64 as well. It's easy to find.

1. Make sure that AHCI is disabled in the BIOS and do not forget to backup the Windows folder. I also recommend making a spare boot disk.
2. Download 79im05ww.exe and unpack it, for example, to C:\DRIVERS\WIN\SATA
3. In case you have ICH7M, go to step (5)
4. Edit C:\DRIVERS\WIN\SATA\PREPARE\IMSM_PRE.inf replacing all DEV_27C5 values ​​corresponding to your southbridge:
   • ICH6R - DEV_2652
   • ICH6M - DEV_2653
   • ICH7R - DEV_27C1
   • ICH7DH - DEV_27C1
   • ICH7M - DEV_27C5
5. Press Win+R, enter C:\DRIVERS\WIN\SATA\PREPARE\INSTALL.CMD, click Ok
6. Restart your PC and enable AHCI support in the BIOS
7. When the OS boots, the wizard for detecting new devices will start:
   • For Windows XP, select No, not this time, then Install from a list or specific location (Advanced) and specify C:\DRIVERS\WIN\SATA as the path
   • For Windows 2000, select Search for a suitable driver for my device (recommended), then Specify a location and specify C:\DRIVERS\WIN\SATA

Solutions for board with ICH8R:

• To install Windows XP with AHCI enabled, you must first create a floppy disk with the AHCI driver. Everything you need for this is on the disk that comes with the motherboard.

When installing Windows XP SP 2, place the floppy disk with the driver in the FDD reader. When the Windows installer asks you to “Press F6 to install a special SCSI or RAID driver,” press F6 and select the AHCI driver from the list provided.

• in the event that you do not have a floppy disk reader, or Windows XP is already installed in the SATA - IDE operating mode, you can integrate the necessary driver directly into the operating system.

This is done as follows.
We go to the device manager and find IDE ATA/ATAPI controllers in the list.
We update drivers for controllers (by default there are 2).
To do this, select Update driver => Do not search. I will choose the right driver myself.
Specify the path to the Drivers\Chipset\Intel\makedisk\DOS\F632 folder on the installation disk for the motherboard.
Uncheck “Only compatible devices” and select Intel ® ICH8R/D0/DH SATA AHCI Controller from the list. (this is true for both controllers!!!).
The system will ask you to reboot - do it. When rebooting into the BIOS, select the controller mode - AHCI.

Installing Windows XP on laptops with Vista and Serial ATA AHCI

As the developers of this operating system admit in a special document (http://www.microsoft.com/whdc/device...alATA_FAQ.mspx), the disk subsystem of all versions of Windows released before Vista will not support AHCI. They explain this by the presence of features in the implementation of AHCI by manufacturers of different controllers. In the future, the Windows kernel will implement a new mechanism for connecting drivers - Ataport, and the drivers will include a standard miniport for the Native mode of the Serial ATA controller. In the meantime, alas, you need to install a special driver or SCSI miniport directly from the controller manufacturer.

This problem is more complex than it seems at first glance. The Windows operating system is designed in such a way that at startup it must “pick up” the correct driver for the hard drive controller. Otherwise, the start is interrupted by the notorious “blue screen”, which can only be gotten rid of by reinstalling the system. Moreover, the installation process will also be interrupted by the same “blue screen” if you do not provide Windows with a floppy disk with the required driver in time. You won’t envy the owners of laptops at all - they have nowhere to insert a floppy disk, and Windows in this case does not accept other media.

So, we install Windows XP on a laptop with AHCI.

In most cases, trying to install XP in emulation mode results in a BSOD (“blue screen of death”) with the following error:

STOP 0x0000007B INACCESSABLE_BOOT_DEVICE

As already mentioned, there are 2 ways to install Windows XP with SATA Native Mode enabled in the BIOS: adding drivers to the distribution when loading via F6 or modifying the operating system in such a way as to already integrate the necessary drivers into the distribution.

In the first case, Since there is no flop drive in the laptop, the only way out is to use a USB Floppy Drive, which is not that cheap.

Driver integration into a distribution kit is more complex, but economically more feasible.

There are quite a lot of distribution kits (assemblies) with already integrated drivers; just download one from the Internet and burn it to a disc. If you cannot find such an assembly, then all that remains is to integrate the drivers yourself into the distribution using the nLite program.

For example, for the Intel platform with ICH7-ICH8 (Intel ® Matrix Storage Manager) these are the standard files:

• iaahci.cat
• iastor.cat
• iaahci.inf
• iastor.inf
• txtsetup.oem
• iastor.sys

During installation of Windows Vista, all unused storage device drivers are disabled. This allows you to increase the operating system startup speed. If you are replacing a boot disk driver with a driver that was disabled, you must enable the new driver before changing the SATA configuration in the BIOS.

Suppose you are installing Windows on a computer with a controller that uses the driver Pciide.sys. The user then performs a mode change from SATA to AHCI. The drive should now load the Msahci.sys driver. However, before making such changes, you must enable the driver Msahci.sys. This problem only applies to the boot disk. If the change is made to a drive that is not bootable, this issue does not occur.

To troubleshoot problems, enable the AHCI driver in the registry before changing the boot drive's SATA mode. To do this, follow these steps:

1. Launch the registry editor regedit.
   Find and highlight the following registry subkey:
2. HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\Msahci
3. In the right pane, right-click the option Start in column Name, then click Change.
4. In field Meaning enter 0 and click the button OK.
5. Close Registry Editor.

The method is professional. Instead of integrating the drivers into the distribution, you can try writing the file \i386\winnt.sif and putting it in the distribution, in which you can write the paths to the folders with the driver.

Something like:

OemPnpDriversPath = "Drivers\megaIDE;Drivers\ICH85;Drivers\ICH78;Drivers\ICH62;Drivers\!inf;Drivers\lan.Pro100;Drivers\lan.Pro1000;lan.Drivers\lan.rtl8169;Drivers\IntelVGA895;Drivers\ IntelVGA845;Drivers\lan.Marvell;Drivers\lan.Attansic;Drivers\jMicron;Drivers\ATK100;Drivers\ATK110"

One of the main elements of any computer device, as you know, is the hard drive on which information is stored. In relation to hard drives of any type, the term AHCI is used. But many users not only know how to enable AHCI, but have no idea what it is. Let's consider the meaning of the main term and the actions required to activate this mode on Windows systems.

What is AHCI?

Modern hard drives connected to the motherboard through operation can use two modes: IDE (compatibility with legacy equipment) and AHCI - the latest standard, designated as Advanced Host Controller Interface, which allows you to significantly increase the performance of the device itself and the installed operating system due to faster reading data.

Almost all modern SSD drives show an increase in performance when accessing them precisely when the AHCI mode is set. But this is not the most important thing.

What is AHCI mode for?

Let's leave for now the question of how to enable AHCI mode in Windows, and let's look at the benefits that a user of a modern computer can derive from activating this mode.

First of all, when AHCI mode is activated, you can change or install additional hard drives, as they say, “on the fly” (even without turning off the computer or reinstalling the operating system). This is undoubtedly a huge plus for servers.

The second aspect is related to the fact that when this mode is installed, a special NCQ technology comes into effect, which allows you to reduce the number of movements of the read heads, while speeding up the simultaneous use of access to the hard drive by different applications, programs and services. Finally, activating AHCI is believed to have a beneficial effect on overall system performance. Of course, as evidenced by reviews from experts and users, at home there will not be a significant increase in performance, however, if you install an SSD hard drive, it is still better to enable this mode.

What not to do and what to pay attention to initially

But the most important misconception of most users is that they try to use exclusively the settings of the primary BIOS system for activation (at least, this can be read in most reviews of emerging problems). It is strictly forbidden to do this without performing preliminary actions in the operating system.

You can activate the mode in the BIOS only if you install the OS on a “clean” hard drive. If you perform this procedure with an existing OS on board, Windows will generate an error at startup and go into constant reboot mode. Then the complaints begin, saying that the user enabled AHCI mode in Windows, but nothing good came of it. What to say? Basic rules may have been violated, since different modifications of the system require different actions.

How to check if AHCI mode is active?

But first you should check if the mode is enabled. Perhaps its additional activation will not be needed.

In the simplest case, when starting a computer terminal or laptop, you need to go to the BIOS settings and access the SATA Mode section.

In the operating system itself, you can use the “Device Manager”, called from the “Control Panel”, administration or the “Run” console with the command devmgmt.msc and go to the IDE ATA/ATAPI controllers section. When this mode is enabled, the AHCI controller will be displayed in standard devices. If it is not on the list, you will have to decide how to enable AHCI in the system. Again, the decision depends on which version of Windows is installed on the computer.

How to enable AHCI mode in Windows 7

So, first, let's look at the "seven". For the seventh and tenth versions, the actions look somewhat similar, but for Windows 8 they are quite different.

• The first step is to call the registry editor (regedit in the Run console).
• Expand the HKLM thread.
• Through the SYSTEM, CurrentControlSet directories and the final Services directory, reach the msahci folder.
• On the right, call up the menu for editing the Start parameter and set its value to zero.
• Now in the Services directory you need to find the IastorV directory, in which, for the Start parameter, actions similar to those described above are performed.
• Only after completing these procedures, the question of how to enable AHCI in the BIOS without catastrophic consequences for the system will cease to be a problem.

Actions in Windows 8/8.1

For Windows 8, the above method will not work, since there is a simpler solution. In this case, you first need to set the system to minimum boot mode in safe mode. How to enable AHCI? Simple enough.

• To do this, first call the command line (necessarily as an administrator), and enter the combination bcdedit /set (current) safeboot minimal.
• After this, you need to reboot, at the very beginning of the restart, enter the BOIS settings and then switch the mode from IDE to AHCI.
• After saving the settings, a reboot follows again, the command console is called, and the line bcdedit /deletevalue (current) safeboot is written in it, after which another restart of the computer follows.

In principle, the question of how to enable AHCI in the G8 can be resolved by using a special utility from Intel (of course, if you have a processor from this particular manufacturer).

• First, you need to download the driver in the form of the f6flpy file and the SetupRST.exe customizer from the official resource.
• After this, the desired hard drive is selected in the “Device Manager”, the driver update procedure is applied, and the downloaded f6flpy file is manually specified as the driver itself.
• This is followed by a reboot, and after the system starts with the AHCI mode already activated, the SetupRST executable configuration file is launched to complete the computer setup.

How to enable AHCI on Windows 10?

As already mentioned, for the tenth version of the system the actions are somewhat similar to those performed in Windows 7. The only difference is the selection of folders and parameters.

• In the system registry we find the Services directory. Here, the storahci directory is used for the Start parameter.
• Next, zero values ​​are set for parameter 0 in the storahci/StartOverride and iaStorV/StartOverride directories.
• After this, you can begin to activate the primary value in the BIOS primary input/output system settings.

By the way, in the eighth version of the system, editing similar parameters can also be done. But why, if there is a simpler rational solution to the problem?

Activating AHCI in BIOS

To enter settings on desktop computers, the Del key is most often used, and for laptops - F2, F12, combinations with the Esc and Fn keys, or special buttons on the panel like ASSIST in Sony VAIO.

Here you need to find the AHCI mode section or settings. How to enable the required parameter in the BIOS? Just use the enter key on the SATA mode setting line, and select a parameter using the arrows with confirmation in the form of another press of Enter. When exiting, don’t forget to save the changes (F10 + Y) and reboot the system. When you restart, the system will automatically install the necessary drivers.

Possible problems

Unfortunately, sometimes unexpected errors may occur when switching to AHCI mode. Perhaps the hard drive itself does not support this mode of operation. In this case, there is no point in trying to activate AHCI.

On the other hand, if the system boots, but some errors are displayed or crashes occur precisely after switching from IDE to AHCI, you can try to troubleshoot using a specially developed utility from Microsoft called Fix It.

If neither one nor the other helps, you will have to call up the BIOS settings again and change the operating mode of the hard drive. Please note: if AHCI was activated without performing the preliminary steps in the system registry described above, these methods may not work. The solution is either a system restore using removable media or a complete reinstallation of Windows. So be careful. However, I would like to hope that it will not come to this (of course, provided that the entire sequence was completed exactly in the order that was given in the description).

When repeating or clearing, you can initially enable this mode in the BIOS, so that later you don’t have to rush around looking for a solution to activate it or troubleshoot problems and malfunctions in your computer or laptop.

Instead of a total

In conclusion, it remains to add that inexperienced users who are not familiar with the intricacies of setting up the primary BIOS system and Windows operating systems should not activate this mode unless absolutely necessary. All the same, on modern computers with powerful processors and large amounts of RAM, the performance increase will not be particularly noticeable. On old terminals or laptops there is no point in using this mode at all. Basically, as already mentioned, such settings are more suitable for servers when the hard drive is accessed by several dozen child terminals on the local network.