One of the main elements of any computer device, as you know, is the hard drive on which information is stored. For any type of hard drive, a term such as AHCI is used. But many users not only know how to enable AHCI, but do not even have an idea what it is. Consider the meaning of the basic term and the steps necessary to activate this mode in Windows systems.
What is AHCI?
Modern hard drives that are connected to the motherboard via the SATA interface can use two modes in operation: IDE (compatibility with outdated equipment) and AHCI - the latest standard, designated as the Advanced Host Controller Interface, which can significantly increase the performance of the device itself and the installed operating system for expense of faster reading of data.
Almost all modern SSDs show an increase in performance when accessing them in the case when the AHCI mode is set. But this is not the most important thing.
What is the AHCI mode for?
Let us leave the question for now, how to enable AHCI mode in Windows, and look at the advantages that a modern computer user can take when 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, special NCQ technology comes into play, which allows to reduce the number of read head movements, while accelerating the simultaneous use of calls to the hard drive by different applications, programs and services. Finally, it is believed that AHCI activation favorably affects the performance of the entire system. Of course, according to the reviews of experts and users, at home, performance gains will not be particularly noticeable, but if you install an SSD hard drive, this mode is still better to enable.
What you should not do and what to pay attention to initially
But the main misconception of most users is that they try to use exclusively the primary BIOS settings for activation (at least, you can read about this in most reviews of emerging problems). It is strictly forbidden to do this without performing preliminary steps in the operating system.
The mode can be activated in the BIOS only if the OS is installed on a “clean” hard drive. If you perform this procedure with an existing OS on board, Windows will throw an error at startup and go into constant reboot mode. Then lamentations begin, they say, the user turned on AHCI mode in Windows, but nothing good came of it. What to say? Perhaps the basic rules were violated, as different actions need to be taken in different modifications of the system.
How to check if AHCI mode is active?
But first you need to check if the mode is on. Perhaps its additional activation will not be needed.
In the simplest case, when starting a computer terminal or laptop, you need to go into the BIOS settings and refer to 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 using the devmgmt.msc command and go to the section of IDA ATA / ATAPI controllers. When the mode is enabled, in standard devices the AHCI controller will be displayed. If it is not in the list, you 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, for a start we will consider the "seven". For the seventh and tenth versions, the actions look somewhat similar, but for Windows 8 they differ quite a lot.
- The first step is to invoke the registry editor (regedit in the Run console).
- Expand the HKLM branch.
- Through the SYSTEM, CurrentControlSet directories and the Services final directory, go to the msahci folder.
- On the right, call up the Start parameter editing menu and set its value to zero.
- Now in the Services directory you need to find the IastorV directory, in which, for the Start parameter, the actions described above are performed.
- Only upon completion of 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 on Windows 8 / 8.1
For Windows 8, the above method will not work, because there is a simpler solution. In this case, you must first set the minimum boot mode in safe mode. How to enable AHCI? Simple enough.
- To do this, first the command line is called (required as the administrator), and the combination bcdedit / set {current} safeboot minimal is written in it.
- After this, it is necessary to reboot, at the very beginning of the restart enter the BOIS settings and already there 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, followed by another restart of the computer.
In principle, the question of how to enable AHCI in the G8 can be resolved through the use of a special utility from Intel (naturally, if there is a processor from this manufacturer).
- First, from the official resource, you need to download the driver in the form of a f6flpy file and SetupRST.exe.
- After that, the desired hard disk is selected in the “Device Manager”, the driver update procedure is applied, and the downloaded f6flpy file is specified as the driver itself in manual mode.
- A reboot follows, and after starting the system with the AHCI mode already activated, the setup executable file SetupRST is launched to complete the computer settings.
How to enable AHCI in Windows 10?
As already mentioned, for the tenth version of the system, the actions are somewhat similar to those produced in Windows 7. The only difference is the choice of folders and options.
- In the registry we find the Services directory. Here, for the Start parameter, the storahci directory is used.
- Further, zero values are set for parameter 0 in the directories storahci / StartOverride and iaStorV / StartOverride.
- After that, you can begin to activate the main value in the settings of the primary BIOS I / O system.
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?
AHCI activation in BIOS
To enter the 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 section or settings for the AHCI mode. How to enable the desired parameter in 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. Do not forget to save the changes (F10 + Y) when exiting and overload the system. When you restart, the system will automatically install the necessary drivers.
Possible problems
Unfortunately, sometimes unexpected errors can occur when switching to AHCI mode. Perhaps the hard drive itself does not support this mode of operation. In this case, there is nothing to try to activate AHCI.
On the other hand, if the system boots up, but some errors appear or failures occur precisely after switching from IDE to AHCI, you can try to fix the problems 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 registry that were described above, such methods may not work. The output will be either system recovery using removable media, or a complete reinstall of Windows. So be careful. However, I would like to hope that this will not come to that (of course, provided that the entire sequence was performed in the exact order that was given in the description).
When you reinstall or clean the installation of the system, you can initially enable this mode in the BIOS so that you don’t rush around in search of a solution to activate it or eliminate any problems or 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 and Windows operating systems should not activate this mode without special need. Anyway, on modern computers with powerful processors and large amounts of RAM, the performance gain will not be particularly noticeable. On older terminals or laptops, using this mode makes no sense at all. Basically, as already mentioned, such settings are more suitable for servers when several dozens of child terminals are accessed to the hard disk on the local network.