It can be checked in several ways: Method One It is quite possible that AHCI mode is already enabled in your PC. How to Find out Which Mode the Computer’s Controller is Using? Remember that you can’t install an operating system on an SSD in IDE mode – it requires AHCI to be enabled. In this way, computer manufacturers are trying to avoid possible problems with compatibility of hardware and software.Īnother important difference between IDE and AHCI concerns working with SSDs. Without kowing it, many users will feel no difference. On the other hand, any SATA disk can work in IDE mode.
That is, if you connect a disk with Windows XP to the system with AHCI-enabled controllers, you will run into a BSOD error (“the blue screen of death”). The matter is that operation of disk controllers in AHCI mode is supported in operating systems beginning with Windows Vista. Many people can ask quite a logical question: why have IDE mode for a SATA disk, if AHCI mode is natural for it enabling this SATA disk to completely realize its potential? Moreover, many motherboard manufacturers supply products with a default option to support PATA compatibility mode – IDE.
