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    ACHI vs IDE on SATA HDD

    Discussion in 'Hardware Components and Aftermarket Upgrades' started by TechJunky9998, Feb 25, 2012.

  1. TechJunky9998

    TechJunky9998 Notebook Enthusiast

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    I got a used netbook and the previous owner formatted the hard drive.
    I didn't mind since I put my own image on laptops I buy, anyway.
    So, I re-imaged the hard drive and it wouldn't boot at all. I checked the bios and after switching from ACHI to IDE, it started to work.

    Now, I'm wondering if I'm loosing any performance because of this and why can't I use ACHI (blue screens if it is set to ACHI).

    I don't want to do a fresh install just yet, so are there any other solutions for now?
     
  2. katalin_2003

    katalin_2003 NBR Spectre Super Moderator

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    Follow these steps with the IDE option in BIOS enabled (so windows will boot):

    1) Run the Registry Editor (press the Orb button and type regedit.exe)
    2) Navigate to Registry Key: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\Msahci
    3) Set the "Start" value to 0
    4) Navigate to Registry Key: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\Pciide
    5) Set the "Start" value to 0
    6) Reboot
    7) Go into the BIOS configuration screens and change the disk mode to "AHCI". Save the new BIOS configuration and restart so that Windows boots.
    8)Enjoy not having to reinstall Windows again ;)
     
  3. TechJunky9998

    TechJunky9998 Notebook Enthusiast

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    Thank you for quick help :D
    Good to know that there are people who are willing to help!
    (Next time I see a question like this, I will also help that person)
     
  4. katalin_2003

    katalin_2003 NBR Spectre Super Moderator

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    Glad I could be of assistance :)
     
  5. Tsunade_Hime

    Tsunade_Hime such bacon. wow

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    Sometimes AHCI mode can be flaky. One of our Dell workstations at work would randomly BSOD in AHCI mode, IDE mode was fine. Same thing with my E6410, random BSOD in AHCI. AHCI allows for NCQ, as well as supporting hot swap capabilities.