Change IDE to AHCI in BIOS - Much better performance

swarfega · 15 Oct 2009

v104hx said:

btw u dont need to reinstall windows. u can enable/disable ahci in reg. reboot change bios. done.

ok i thought i edit this post and let u guys know how to do so. incase anyone cares at all.

- run regedit.
- go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE/System/CurrentControlSet/Services/Msahci
- right-click Start in the Name column, and then click Modify.
- In the Value data box, type 0, and then click OK.
- exit the registry editor.

This requires a reboot. so do it. enter ur BIOS Settings and enable AHCI. On boot Windows will detect the changes made and reinstall needed drivers. Requires another reboot.

Once thats done ur done. AHCI enabled :)

Mine is currently set to 3, so not sure what that means.

Zardoc · 15 Oct 2009

Nate, What's your verdict on SSD??

I have raid on my Qosmio G35. What bothers me is the trouble when a drive craps out.

AHCI has not nade a difference for me either and yeah it is cool if you hotplug.

I have a regtweak for those who want to enable AHCI.

OH, and please, Always use at your own risk.

Antman · 15 Oct 2009

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\ControlSet001\services\msahci]
"Start"=dword:00000000
"Type"=dword:00000001
"ErrorControl"=dword:00000003
"ImagePath"=hex(2):5c,00,53,00,79,00,73,00,74,00,65,00,6d,00,52,00,6f,00,6f,00,\
74,00,5c,00,73,00,79,00,73,00,74,00,65,00,6d,00,33,00,32,00,5c,00,44,00,52,\
00,49,00,56,00,45,00,52,00,53,00,5c,00,6d,00,73,00,61,00,68,00,63,00,69,00,\
2e,00,73,00,79,00,73,00,00,00
"Group"="SCSI Miniport"
"DriverPackageId"="mshdc.inf_x86_neutral_3f3676f4c0e7d884"

Is this for 64-bit as well?

Why the variation between the two suggestions?

go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE/System/CurrentControlSet/Services/Msahci

v104hx · 15 Oct 2009

yes works in x64 aswell. if urs is set to 3 this usually means ur running IDE. U have to set this value to 0 (zero) to enable ahci. also need to enable it in bios on next reboot or Win will BSOD. the reg file provided by Zardock imo is for x86 systems only. (->mshdc.inf_x86_neutral_3f3676f4c0e7d884 = 32bit driver)

This is the x64 equivalent: mshdc.inf_amd64_neutral_a69a58a4286f0b22

about the difference between the two suggestions. Not sure tbh. Only did it my way and that worked for me. also i've tried it on x86 and also x64 systems. works. This is nothing new btw. Works in XP and Vista too :->

Antman · 15 Oct 2009

v104hx said:

yes works in x64 aswell. if urs is set to 3 this usually means ur running IDE. U have to set this value to 0 (zero) to enable ahci. also need to enable it in bios on next reboot or Win will BSOD. the reg file provided by Zardock id for x86 systems obviously. (->mshdc.inf_x86_neutral_3f3676f4c0e7d884 =32bit driver)

This is the x64 equivalent: mshdc.inf_amd64_neutral_a69a58a4286f0b22

about the difference between the two suggestions. Not sure tbh. Only did it my way and that worked for me. also i've tried it on x86 and also x64 systems. works.

Thank you for the timely response.

This is not a leet site. Please use a more common language so we can separate your meaning from your typos.

swarfega · 15 Oct 2009

v104hx said:

yes works in x64 aswell. if urs is set to 3 this usually means ur running IDE. U have to set this value to 0 (zero) to enable ahci. also need to enable it in bios on next reboot or Win will BSOD. the reg file provided by Zardock imo is for x86 systems only. (->mshdc.inf_x86_neutral_3f3676f4c0e7d884 = 32bit driver)

This is the x64 equivalent: mshdc.inf_amd64_neutral_a69a58a4286f0b22

about the difference between the two suggestions. Not sure tbh. Only did it my way and that worked for me. also i've tried it on x86 and also x64 systems. works. This is nothing new btw. Works in XP and Vista too :->

Thanks, sounds like I need to disable it then since I dont have any IDE drives. I dont want to use ahci though, its currently set to raid in bios.

HammerHead · 15 Oct 2009

I have ran a raid 1 config on my last two rigs. Twice I have had a problem. I tried to install a new disk and was not successful. I resorted to other backups etc. to solve the problem. I am cosidering on the new Win 7 install to scrap raid and go to another scheme for saving my operating system in case of a catastrophic failure.

Cons for raid:
speed reduction
uses up an extra disc

I think if I took the extra disk and put it in a dock and cloned the os to it once in a while. In the event of failure I could just replace the disk.

Does this sound reasonable?

Zardoc · 15 Oct 2009

Antman said:

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\ControlSet001\services\msahci]
"Start"=dword:00000000
"Type"=dword:00000001
"ErrorControl"=dword:00000003
"ImagePath"=hex(2):5c,00,53,00,79,00,73,00,74,00,65,00,6d,00,52,00,6f,00,6f,00,\
74,00,5c,00,73,00,79,00,73,00,74,00,65,00,6d,00,33,00,32,00,5c,00,44,00,52,\
00,49,00,56,00,45,00,52,00,53,00,5c,00,6d,00,73,00,61,00,68,00,63,00,69,00,\
2e,00,73,00,79,00,73,00,00,00
"Group"="SCSI Miniport"
"DriverPackageId"="mshdc.inf_x86_neutral_3f3676f4c0e7d884"

Is this for 64-bit as well?

Why the variation between the two suggestions?

go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE/System/CurrentControlSet/Services/Msahci

My bad Antman.

I should have mentioned that driver ID points to X86. The right value for X64 is mshdc.inf_amd64_neutral_a69a58a4286f0b22 as pointed out.

CurrentControlSet or CurrentControlSet001 won't make a difference. So let's stay on the same line. CurrentControlSet.

From Microsoft KB922976

During the Windows 7 or Windows Vista installation process, any unused storage drivers are disabled. This behavior speeds up the operating system's startup process. When you change the boot drive to a driver that has been disabled, you must enable the new driver before you change the hardware configuration.

For example, assume that you install Windows Vista or Windows 7 on a computer that contains a controller that uses the Pciide.sys driver. Later, you change the SATA mode to AHCI. Therefore, the drive must now load the Msahci.sys driver. However, you must enable the Msahci.sys driver before you make this change.

I added the notes to reg file.

Antman · 15 Oct 2009

Good work Zardoc. This thread requires more prominence.

nate42nd · 15 Oct 2009

Zardoc said:

Nate, What's your verdict on SSD??

I have raid on my Qosmio G35. What bothers me is the trouble when a drive craps out.

AHCI has not nade a difference for me either and yeah it is cool if you hotplug.

I have a regtweak for those who want to enable AHCI.

OH, and please, Always use at your own risk.

I will be honest, I have loved my SSD. I contacted Patriot with a MINOR problem I was having with slow writes for flash player temp files and they immediately told me to send them the drive and sent me a new one. I'm not quite sure it needed to be RMAd but I am just setting up the new one today. Other than that issue i have LOVED it. I have always run mine in AHCI mode but Patriot says to use IDE so I am going to try that for a while.

I believe during install you have to be in AHCI if you plan to switch back and forth between the two so I plan to do that tonight. I would love if someone could confirm this. I guess if you are in AHCI Windows 7 will install the driver automatically and you can switch. If you are in IDE during install you will BSOD if you try to switch to AHCI.

This is my understanding.

I would HIGHLY recommend getting a solid state disk Zardoc

Change IDE to AHCI in BIOS - Much better performance

To raid or not to raid