How do I reinstall windows to switch from IDE to AHCI?- Might have messed everything up

[Encendi]

Hey all,

I just got a new Lenovo y720 laptop and installed a Samsung Evo 960 SSD. Unfortunately I had no idea what I was doing when I was trying to migrate the OS to the SSD and I messed things up.

I used the Samsung Migration tool to copy everything from the HDD to the SSD. Then I went into Disk Management and set the SSD online despite a signature collision. I booted up into BIOS and set the Evo as my boot drive. Then everything booted up fine and dandy so I went into Disk Management and deleted the partition on the HDD. I noticed after this that the SSD was oddly slow for an Evo so I ran a benchmark and got some terrible results. So, I downloaded Samsung Magician and voila, it doesn't even recognize my drive.

Long story short, I looked into this issue and it appears to be due to my BIOS not being set to AHCI. Unfortunately, when I go into BIOS and set it to AHCI, my drive doesn't boot. Apparently I have to wipe my SSD and reinstall Windows.

I'm not looking to do a registry edit or any sort of hack because I just got this computer and there's literally nothing on it. I just want to know step-by-step, how to do this the proper way- I can only find instructions to do hacks and stuff online.

Do I literally just click Reset My PC and everything will be fine and dandy? Or do I have to wipe the SSD somehow (no idea how to do this properly so please tell me), boot into BIOS, set it to AHCI, and then boot from a USB (never done this before)? Or is there some other way that I'm missing? Sorry if this stuff is obvious.

 

[SBMfromLA]

Keep it on AHCI... Delete all the partitions on your SSD and Reinstall Windows... Make sure you unplug or disconnect your older HDD during this process.

 

[Encendi]

Keep it on AHCI... Delete all the partitions on your SSD and Reinstall Windows... Make sure you unplug or disconnect your older HDD during this process.

I have never done this before so I am going to ask some dumb obvious questions.

1. My laptop has lots of annoying screws to get inside. Do I absolutely have to go back in and unscrew and unplug the HDD before doing this?
2. Do I delete the partitions during the install or before? I feel like it's during the install because I doubt I can delete the partition while I'm in Windows, but I just want to check.

 

[cyphacipher]

1. Find/download the Windows version that your pc had. If you had 10, see if it was 64bit or 32 (most likely 64). Download and burn the image to a cd, or make a bootable flash drive (will need a 8gb as the windows image is slightly over 4gb). 2. in bios, set boot from cd/dvd (if using disk) or removeable drive to the first boot device. Save and exit. Place bootable drive in a non USB3.0 slot. 3. When the flash boots, select "custom" and select the Evo. Delete the partitions, recreate them, format and continue. Windows will reinstall. If you're install 10, then your computer will reactivate itself when you connect online (digital license). Goto the manufacturers site and download all the applicable drivers for your unit. Install them. Entire process should take you roughly 1.5hours. Any other question, just ask.

 

[Encendi]

1. Find/download the Windows version that your pc had. If you had 10, see if it was 64bit or 32 (most likely 64). Download and burn the image to a cd, or make a bootable flash drive (will need a 8gb as the windows image is slightly over 4gb). 2. in bios, set boot from cd/dvd (if using disk) or removeable drive to the first boot device. Save and exit. Place bootable drive in a non USB3.0 slot. 3. When the flash boots, select "custom" and select the Evo. Delete the partitions, recreate them, format and continue. Windows will reinstall. If you're install 10, then your computer will reactivate itself when you connect online (digital license). Goto the manufacturers site and download all the applicable drivers for your unit. Install them. Entire process should take you roughly 1.5hours. Any other question, just ask.

Thanks. Just one more question- do I set the configuration to AHCI before I boot from the flash drive, or will Windows do it for me?

 

[cyphacipher]

You must make sure AHCI is enabled BEFORE. Windows will use the current setting to determine the drives config. So while you're in bios changing boot device order, set drives to AHCI.

 

[cyphacipher]

Here's a complete HOW-TO-DO. http://www.techadvisor.co.uk/how-to/windows/how-reinstall-windows-reinstall-windows-10-reinstall-windows-10-3535423/

 

[Encendi]

You must make sure AHCI is enabled BEFORE. Windows will use the current setting to determine the drives config. So while you're in bios changing boot device order, set drives to AHCI.

Thank you everything worked perfectly!