HOW TO switch from IDE to AHCI mode without having to reinstall Win XP (GUIDE)

[trimarky]

Worked very good in my system P45Platinum with Samsung HD502IJ and boot a little bit  slowly but the programs run more faster than IDE, nice guide thx man

 

[CryTek]

Thanx 

 

[queequeg]

I'm looking to do this, but have an nvidia motherboard.  Has anybody have the correct .reg settings for the nvidia (nforce) AHCI/RAID controller instead of the intel one?

 

[Jack the Newbie]

I have not came upon a reg file for NVIDIA Chipsets.  Reinstalling the OS will probably cost you less time than piecing a proper reg file together.

 

[bratboy]

A bit back I decided to give ACHI a shot on my Win7 system. While things worked I really didn't see any real improvement so was wanting to switch back to SATA mode. To do this I had to change a single key in the registry, reboot into the bios and then switch that from SATA to ACHI and reboot into Win 7 which then installed the needed drivers.

Is it a simple thing ie just change the setting in the Bios from ACHI to SATA and rebooting into Win7 or do I need to make a change in the registry file to go back to SATA?

 

[Jack the Newbie]

What board/chipset are you talking about?

AHCI is a native SATA Mode.  There is not necessarely a major performance difference between IDE/Legacy Mode and AHCI Mode. 

 

[Hell Racer]

Hi! Awesome guide!

Do you know is it possible to switch from AHCI (or RAID non-member) to IDE without reinstalling, if Windows was installed in AHCI mode (using slipstreamed drivers)?

 

[Jack the Newbie]

The switch back to IDE Mode is usually no problem (not even for XP).  Usually, no further adjustments are necessary.

 

[Hell Racer]

Right now I have Windows XP SP3 installed in RAID non-member mode, and switching to IDE causes BSOD .

 

[faber]

For ICH9M the correct registry file is

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\CriticalDeviceDatabase\pci#ven_8086&dev_2929&cc_0106]
"Service"="iaStor"
"ClassGUID"="{4D36E96A-E325-11CE-BFC1-08002BE10318}"

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\iaStor]
"Type"=dword:00000001
"Start"=dword:00000000
"Group"="SCSI miniport"
"ErrorControl"=dword:00000001
"ImagePath"="system32\\drivers\\iaStor.sys"
"tag"=dword:00000019
"DisplayName"="Intel AHCI Controller"

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\iaStor\Parameters]
"queuePriorityEnable"=dword:00000000

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\iaStor\Enum]
"0"="PCI\\VEN_8086&DEV_2929&SUBSYS_B0051458&REV_02\\3&13c0b0c5&0&FA"
"Count"=dword:00000001
"NextInstance"=dword:00000001

--------------------
I tested in ACER Extensa 5230E and i've success.
Sorry for my English

 

[higado2]

I just registered so that I can thank Jack the Newbie for this most useful thread and to thank DJ Ramses and straddy for their suggestion to use an "alterlative method" that doesn't involve tinkering with the registry (thank god!). I personally ran into this problem when downgrading to Windows XP SP3 on an Acer Aspire 5735-6649 laptop. The Cd I used had the latest Intel SATA AHCI textmode drivers slipstreamed correctly into it, and yet still I would get that dreaded BSOD when I switched to AHCI mode in the BIOS when I tried to install Windows XP, so I had to use IDE mode. I tried the registry method after the install, but I guess since this laptop uses ICH9M, it didn't work.

Here are the instructions again so that others who keep getting the BSOD can get AHCI working on their computer running Windows XP (SP3 hopefully!):

* Extract the SATA AHCI drivers from IATAxxENU.exe by doing the following (xx is whatever the current version of that file is now. Mine was 89):
- copy IATAxxENU.exe to C:\
- go to Start > Run
- type the following in the box that appears then press enter:
  cmd
- now type this then press enter:
  cd..
- now type the following then press enter:
  IATAxxENU.exe -a -a
- Relax! nothing is getting installed! eventhough it looks like it. All that is happening is that the driver files are being copied to C:\Program Files\Intel\IntelStor or something similar
- remember this location as you will be needing it later
* Go to Device Manager > IDE ATA/ATAPI Controllers
* Right click on the first "Intel (some number like ICH9M) SATA IDE Controller" you find (the one that can't be disabled), then click "Update Driver..."
* Make a note of that ICHxx number as you will be needing it later. For example, like "ICH9M" mentioned above
* Now cancel the "search on the web" window, then select "Install from a list or specific location (Advanced)" then click next
* Now select the bottom choice "Don't Search. I will choose the driver to install" then click next
* Now uncheck the "Show compatible hardware" box, then click the "Have Disk..." button
* Now click browse and locate the folder with the drivers made earlier, find "iaAHCI" then click Open, then OK
* Now select the driver that most closely matches your controller number, in this example we will be using the one that has ICH9M then click ok
* You will be given a strong warning .... ignore it and click ok and continue
* Once windows is done it will ask you to reboot. So do that. BUT be ready to enter your computer's bios as soon as you reboot!
* Go to your BIOS and change your controller from IDE mode to AHCI. Save and exit.
* WOW! Windows didn't crash! Once windows finishes installing the correct controller it will ask for a restart and you reboot, you will be running AHCI in Windows XP! YEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!  :lol_anim:

And this is how I got AHCI working on an Acer Asperi 5735-6694 laptop. I know that this forum is for MSI motherboards, but my search for help on this subject on Google brought me to this thread so I hope that others who run into this problem will be able to benefit from it in the future .... well, at least until Windows XP becomes obsolete! hehehe. Again, many thanks to Jack the Newbie for this making this thread and to DJ Ramses and straddy for discovering the best method to solve this problem! 

 

[monographix]

Hello

- Is out there maybe some similar registry edit for the P55 chipset?
- What actually is the sata chipset in P55 boards ? (is there no southbridge anymore? ICHXX ?)

Jack, maybe should add to the original guide-post the ICH9M reglines provided here as well?

 

[monographix]

is it maybe ICH10(R) the sata controller in P55 boards?

 

[warlocklw]

Register here to say thanks. It works.

Thanks to Jack t.N.

Most thanks to higado2 because the steps solve my problem.

 

[eduds]

Register here to say thanks. It works.

Thanks to Jack t.N.

Most thanks to higado2 because the steps solve my problem.

same here.. Thanks to Jack, DJ Ramses and Higado   

The only difference is I am in dual boot config (XP SP2 main and Win 7). I was able to switch both to ACHI.. i.e. using exactly Higado's detailed method. I also have 3 partitions 1) XP 2) Win7 3) Data

It went like this:
Note: I have mobo drivers dvd with the AHCI driver in it. In the "Have Disk" portion, I selected the drivers from the dvd drive 
XP
-Login to XP, update according to Higado..
-Restart

Win7
-Reset the BIOS to IDE before login to Win7 (still in IDE mode at this time), otherwise win7 detects startup error and attempts to repair. In my case, I did this hoping WIn7 could switch to ACHI drivers automatically. It did not, so I swiched to IDE mode.
-Update the driver (same procedure)
Restart and finally, switch to ACHI mode

My mobo is Asus, anyway 

 

[Frog_User]

Off-subject, soory but it's Nice to see Jimi (Jack t.N. )

 

[medal]

I have a Gigabyte P55A-UD3 which is a P55 chipset.. for me the following reg worked.

Thanks to Jack T. N. and any other contributors

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\CriticalDeviceDatabase\pci#ven_8086&dev_3b22&cc_0106]
"Service"="iaStor"
"ClassGUID"="{4d36e96a-e325-11ce-bfc1-08002be10318}"

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\services\iaStor]
"Type"=dword:00000001
"Start"=dword:00000000
"ErrorControl"=dword:00000001
"Tag"=dword:00000019
"ImagePath"=hex(2):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,00,69,00,61,00,53,00,74,00,6f,00,72,\
  00,2e,00,73,00,79,00,73,00,00,00
"DisplayName"="Intel AHCI Controller"
"Group"="SCSI Miniport"

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\services\iaStor\Parameters]
"queuePriorityEnable"=dword:00000000
"BusType"=dword:00000003

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\services\iaStor\Enum]
"0"="PCI\\VEN_8086&DEV_3B22&SUBSYS_B0051458&REV_06\\3&13c0b0c5&0&FA"
"Count"=dword:00000001
"NextInstance"=dword:00000001

 

[CElliott]

This method worked well for me on an Asus P6T Deluxe V2 mobo with the X58 chipset and an ICH10R hub.  Whoever (RemusM) wrote on this forum that the SIS Sandra file system benchmark showed slower results after switching to AHCI was correct, but, on the other hand, Win XP seems to just leap on the screen on a reboot and the logging output from my Java programs scrolls by on the console screen so fast that the characters are just a blur.  Before I could easily read the logging messages.  So, on the whole, I am very satisfied.

Many, many thanks and much appreciation to Jack t. N. for his exceptionally clear guide and all his hard work.

 

[Jack the Newbie]

 

[S3ZAi]

Hi, just registered to say thanks, so THANKS A LOT for this guide. 

It worked with my asus p5q pro motherboard with ich10 chipset.

The reason I wanted to switch to ahci was because I bought a external hd drive with e-sata connectivity. Whatever I tried, it wouldn't work, until I tried ahci mode. Now it still doesn't work like an usb drive, meaning: when I plug it in and power it on, the external sata drive is not found by windows.

Also, a new problem occurred: my internal hd's now show up as removable drives, this is very annoying, is there way to tell windows those are fixed drives? Or should I change to ide again in my bios to fix this. It didn't solve my problem anyway, so might just as well do that.