change from IDE to AHCI

[white_dove]

Hello, i wanna reinstall my Windows, and i wanna change from IDE to AHCI. I read a lot of stuff about that, so i'm ready to pull the trigger 
My motherboard is Gigabyte GA EX58 UD5. I'm not sure which options i have to change in BIOS.
I have "SATA / RAID/ AHCI Mode" which is IDE now
And "Onboard SATA/IDE Ctrl Mode" which is IDE as well.
Which one do i have to change to AHCI before i make a fresh install ? Both ?
Thanks in advance
PS: question for those who already use AHCI ? Is it really worth ? Do you see any improvement ?

[Dark Mantis]

Hi

Firstly yes it normally is a decent performace improvement and you get the added bounses of Hot Swap and Native Command Queueing.

Switch both to AHCI mode and if anywhere it says Native IDE switch that on as well.

[white_dove]

Thanks a lot
But i don't understand what do you mean with " added bounses of Hot Swap and Native Command Queueing"
You mean those options / compatiblities on the hard drives ?

[Dark Mantis]

Yes Hot Swap is really for ESATA drives as it enables the drive to be connected/disconnected without shutting down the system.

Native Command Queueing or NCQ as it is more commonly called is just the way data is handled by the interface/drive and is more efficient.

[white_dove]

Ok, i went into BIOS, ready to format my Windows, but i see there another option, is already ENABLED.
See the image, please. Shall i leave it ENABLED ?
http://img706.imageshack.us/i/mainboardpo.jpg/
Thanks again.

[Dark Mantis]

The second option down from the top "SATA Port 0-3" needs to be enabled.

Leave the "onboard SATA/IDE Device" as enabled.

Change the "Onboard SATA/IDE control Mode" to AHCI.

[white_dove]

And the first one at the top ? I have it now IDE. I change that to AHCI, as well, right ?

[Dark Mantis]

Sorry, Yes change that to AHCI too.

[white_dove]

Thanks a lot, Dark Mantis.

[Dark Mantis]

No problem you're welcome. Have fun reinstalling Windows.

[white_dove]

Ok, i reinstalled Windows.
I don't know if i can get some help  here, i want to get ride of this icon from the sistray.
I'm talking about the HotSwap icon.
Thanks

[Dark Mantis]

Let me guess you have it showing the fixed hard drives as removable ?

[white_dove]

Let me guess you have it showing the fixed hard drives as removable ?

Yes. I don't want this icon on the sistray. Can i remove / disable it ?
But if i plugin some USB stick, i hope that the icon will be there.
Is that possible ?

[Dark Mantis]

What you need to do is a bit of registry hacking.

A fix can be found in the document located at:
http://www.microsoft.com/whdc/device/storage/eSATA.mspx but basically if you.....

Right Click the command prompt and select 'Run as Administrator';

Copy and paste the following command into the command prompt:
reg.exe add "HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\msahci\Controller(n)\Channel(N)" /f /v TreatAsInternalPort /t REG_DWORD /d 0x00000001

Change (n) for the contoller number – 0 on my machine ie. 'Controller0' and change Channel (N) for the SATA port number – 1 – 5 on my machine ie. Channel1, Channel2, channel3....etc

You can check which controller number and port(s) by using regedit to check the registry keys. The keys can also be be added while your there.


reg.exe add "HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\msahci\Controller0\Channel1" /f /v TreatAsInternalPort /t REG_DWORD /d 0x00000001

[white_dove]

Ok Dark Mantis. I'll give it a try, but before that, i make a backup, just in case.
And if i do this trick, can i see my USB stick icon when is plugged in, on the sistray, later ?