Question about AHCI and IDE

[Rabmac]

Hi,

I am about to install my first ever SSD and don't want to mess it up, so thought it best to double check before I get started.

I have read that the SSD should be set at AHCI but I am not sure what the other devices should be set at.

On my motherboard there are 6 SATA ports. In the BIOS you can set the value (AHCI or IDE) for ports 1-4 collectively and ports 5-6 collectively.

At the moment I have my DVD drive and secondary HDD connected to ports 5 and 6 and set them as IDE. I have the SSD connected to port 1 and set as AHCI.

Now I was wondering what ports should I plug each device and what setting is best for each device?

***I know that I need to disconnect the other HDD when I install Windows in the SSD.***

Thanks

 

[gbb0330]

Hi,

I am about to install my first ever SSD and don't want to mess it up, so thought it best to double check before I get started.

I have read that the SSD should be set at AHCI but I am not sure what the other devices should be set at.

On my motherboard there are 6 SATA ports. In the BIOS you can set the value (AHCI or IDE) for ports 1-4 collectively and ports 5-6 collectively.

At the moment I have my DVD drive and secondary HDD connected to ports 5 and 6 and set them as IDE. I have the SSD connected to port 1 and set as AHCI.

Now I was wondering what ports should I plug each device and what setting is best for each device?

***I know that I need to disconnect the other HDD when I install Windows in the SSD.***

Thanks

I would leave the HDD and DVD set to IDE, especially if you are adding an SSD to an existing system and have something saved on the HDD.

if you are starting from scratch then you can try setting all devices to AHCI first and if you have issues with the HDD or DVD then switch to IDE. some older HDDs and DVDs don't like AHCI.

 

[Rabmac]

Would I be better putting the HDD and DVD into ports 1-4 and the SSD in ports 5-6?

I am doing a completely fresh install and I have ran DBAN on the old HDD and I have not tried.

If I set them all to AHCI can I later change the HDD and DVD to IDE.

 

[gbb0330]

Would I be better putting the HDD and DVD into ports 1-4 and the SSD in ports 5-6?

I am doing a completely fresh install and I have ran DBAN on the old HDD and I have not tried.

If I set them all to AHCI can I later change the HDD and DVD to IDE.

I assume you intend to boot from the SSD, if that is the case go ahead and go with the following.
SSD port 1
HDD port 2
DVD port 5

yes you can set everything to AHCI and if there are issues with the HDD or the DVD then switch to IDE. you can do this safely because the HDD is blank.

 

[Rabmac]

I'm assuming that I would have to move the HDD to port 6 if I was wanting to set it to IDE because I don't have option on - my BIOS for every port. These are the groups:

ports 1-4
ports 5-6

 

[gbb0330]

I'm assuming that I would have to move the HDD to port 6 if I was wanting to set it to IDE because I don't have option on - my BIOS for every port. These are the groups:

ports 1-4
ports 5-6

correct

 

[Rabmac]

Going to post a reply and pick the solution once I plug the other HDD back in. Just troubleshooting all the Windows problems before I attach the other HDD.