[SOLVED] Sudden BSODs unless I switch to AHCI, and audio no longer working

[dipmonk]

First off, thank you to this community for being so helpful! Existing posts helped me solve a number of computer issues, but this one has me confounded.

I have a Dell G7 17 7790 with one HDD and an upgraded SSD which I installed half a year ago. Everything was fine, until yesterday when I restarted after updating Avast... BSODs galore!! I couldn't even get to safe mode. After 6 hours of troubleshooting, I finally got Windows to start... by switching from RAID to AHCI. Windows alerted me it had rolled back it's newest updates as a result of the crashes. I then switched back to RAID... more BSODs! Switching to AHCI fixed it again.

Anyone have a clue why that might be? A hardware failure, or delayed reaction to last week's Windows update, or somehow Avast & Window's updates conflicted? Or a Virus? (I've reinstalled Avast w/out problems, and also added Bitdefender, which has been reporting several blocked "threats" that Avast never reported... interesting.)

And the problems didn't stop there, cuz the sound no longer worked. I tried various driver updates and uninstall/restarts, but finally got it back by manually updating Realtek's drivers to the generic "High Definition Audio Device." But when I plug headphones in, I have to do it twice cuz the computer doesn't recognize them the first time. Could this be related to the AHCI switch? Could I have screwed something up six months ago when I installed the SSD, something that only surfaced now?

I'm super confused. Thanks for reading and thanks for any help!!

 

[popatim]

Did/does this laptop have Optane?

 

[dipmonk]

Thanks for replying! No Optane or Intel Rapid Storage in my device manager or programs/apps, and neither my original computer specs nor either SSD (old and new) mentioned anything about Optane...

HOWEVER, in C:\Program Files\Intel I have an Intel Rapid Storage folder with what appear to be only language files, and an OptaneShellExtensions folder with a half dozen dlls.... Could that mean something?

I've also discovered another "symptom"... switching between programs, there are sometimes very annoying staticky audio clicks. Kinda sounds like one's unplugging external speakers that are still on.

UPDATE: In case anyone else has this audio issue, I fixed it by uninstalling ALL Realtek drivers in Device Manager and ALL Realtek programs and folders on my PC. Then I downloaded and installed the top file from here: https://github.com/pal1000/Realtek-UAD-generic/releases/tag/6.0.8790.1