SATA AHCI mode in bios

[Nvidiaguy07]

ive read that i should have this set to AHCI so it doesnt emulate IDE mode or something like that, but when i enable it i get a BSOD. Should i have done this before i installed my OSes if i was supposed to do this? thats the only thing that seems to make sense.

Also i have a setting called SATA Port0-1 Native mode. should i enable or leave it disabled?

 

[taltamir]

has nothing to do with emulating. and besides, why WOULD AHCI emulate IDE? that defeats the purpose of running ahci in the first place.

windows needs to load the right driver, and if you installed windows with AHCI off then it will blue screen on boot. to fix it you need to reinstall windows with AHCI enabled.

 

[Cr0nJ0b]

AHCI is the host controller interface for your SATA drives. You use this if you want to be able to hot plug your drives. I don't care about this so I don't use it. here is what Wikipedia says:

Enabling AHCI in a system's BIOS will cause a 0x7B Blue Screen of Death STOP error (INACCESSIBLE_BOOT_DEVICE) on installations of Windows XP and Windows Vista where AHCI/RAID drivers for that system's chipset are not installed; i.e., boot failure.[5] Switching the chipset to AHCI mode involves changing the BIOS settings and will not work. Usually, manual installation of new drivers is required before enabling AHCI in BIOS.[6] Alternatively, a "Repair" installation with the appropriate driver loaded during the setup process usually corrects the problem. For motherboards with more than one Sata controller (for example, some boards have Intel and Jmicron Sata controllers) another alternative is possible. The sata cable for the boot drive can be inserted into a port on one controller (which can be configured in IDE mode), allowing the machine to boot successfully with the other controller configured for AHCI mode. The AHCI drivers can then be installed in windows without difficulty before swapping the cable back.

I'm not sure about native mode, but here is what the Internet has to day.

In native, SATA is used purely as SATA, without any consideration towards the compatibility with older devices and operating systems. Native mode enables use of all the advanced features that SATA can offer. It provides the most flexibility and options, but there is little regard for backwards compatibility

I would leave it on.

 

[Nvidiaguy07]

Originally posted by: taltamir
has nothing to do with emulating. and besides, why WOULD AHCI emulate IDE? that defeats the purpose of running ahci in the first place.

windows needs to load the right driver, and if you installed windows with AHCI off then it will blue screen on boot. to fix it you need to reinstall windows with AHCI enabled.

So i should leave it off for now, but for next time when i go to install windows and linux should i turn it on?

 

[Nvidiaguy07]

Originally posted by: Cr0nJ0b
AHCI is the host controller interface for your SATA drives. You use this if you want to be able to hot plug your drives. I don't care about this so I don't use it. here is what Wikipedia says:

Enabling AHCI in a system's BIOS will cause a 0x7B Blue Screen of Death STOP error (INACCESSIBLE_BOOT_DEVICE) on installations of Windows XP and Windows Vista where AHCI/RAID drivers for that system's chipset are not installed; i.e., boot failure.[5] Switching the chipset to AHCI mode involves changing the BIOS settings and will not work. Usually, manual installation of new drivers is required before enabling AHCI in BIOS.[6] Alternatively, a "Repair" installation with the appropriate driver loaded during the setup process usually corrects the problem. For motherboards with more than one Sata controller (for example, some boards have Intel and Jmicron Sata controllers) another alternative is possible. The sata cable for the boot drive can be inserted into a port on one controller (which can be configured in IDE mode), allowing the machine to boot successfully with the other controller configured for AHCI mode. The AHCI drivers can then be installed in windows without difficulty before swapping the cable back.

I'm not sure about native mode, but here is what the Internet has to day.

In native, SATA is used purely as SATA, without any consideration towards the compatibility with older devices and operating systems. Native mode enables use of all the advanced features that SATA can offer. It provides the most flexibility and options, but there is little regard for backwards compatibility

I would leave it on.

is that all its for? hot plugging? if so i really dont care about it then ill just leave it off

 

[Cr0nJ0b]

go to Wikipedia and read up on AHCI. It will explain a lot. If it were me, i'd leave it off until you reinstall.

 

[The Keeper]

You can enable AHCI after Vista has been installed. I've done it in the past and it works. http://support.microsoft.com/kb/922976

In paper, AHCI has many benefits over legacy IDE-mode but in reality actual performance gains vary from noticeable performance gain to noticeable performance loss. The main player is your HDD and how well it supports AHCI.

 

[lopri]

You can enable AHCI after OS installation, but it's tricky at best. And to be frank there isn't much benefit to gain on a desktop unless you want hot swapping. IDE mode is broadly compatible acorss different chipsets and OS so if you're happy with your setup, I'd suggest you stick with it.