Windows 7: W7 on laptop - Configure SATA as IDE or AHCI

Hi all
In the BIOS on a laptop the disk choice can enable SATA as IDE or AHCI.
If I chose IDE do I actually lose any disk performance -- having IDE makes it easier to have Windows XP as a dual boot system without having to hunt down all the SATA drivers and slip stream an XP disk.

Remember this is a LAPTOP not a desktop so disk performance won't be that great in any case.

Cheers
jimbo

AHCI (Advanced Host Controler Interface) will provide you with better performance, Read writes IOPs. Use it if possible.

Sometimes it is nessesary to build in IDE then change to AHCI after...
(i found this with XP but with the expanded driver database in 7 i doubt it will be nessesary)

Paul

If you have windows already installed you MUST change your windows registry before you go to AHCI in your BIOS or it will not boot. If you are going to be installing a new version of Windows, change it in your BIOS and Windows will automatically install the driver, if you are doing a new install.


http://www.ithinkdiff.com/how-to-ena...-installation/

Thanks there
That worked for the XP system -- now AHCI is OK

Cheers
jimbo

Well I think with Windows XP you have to have a driver disk when you use AHCI since it is newer, but with Windows 7 since it has support for pretty much everything under the sun, you don't necessarily have to have a driver disk when you install the OS.