eSata HDD

lifeisgood9989 SG

i've recently fixed an external hdd which supports eSata. However, as I've read up on the net, to allow the plug and play function, I have to configure my bios to use ACHI.

Now the question is what's the disadvantage of using ACHI when doing hot-swapping as compared to IDE? And how do I enable it so that my system does not crash?

Raraken SG

IDE didn't support hot-swapping. It never did. SCSI did, though.

The plug-and-play function also depends on your mobo in question. Older Intel mobos didn't support hot-swap through th Southbridge. They implemented a special controller for that.

There is no disadvantages of using AHCI over IDE. Only advantages. To enable it so the system does not crash, download the proper drivers for your mobo. Install them, and then switch. If it fails, you should get a failed boot-up with error quote, 'INACCESSIBLE_BOOT_DEVICE), then retry in IDE mode and reinstall. It all depends on your mobo chipset, though. What chipset you using?

lifeisgood9989 SG

I'm using an Asus P5Q mobo, E8400, with windows 7 x64. I've tried enabling ACHI, but it gives a blue screen after the "windows is starting" screen. Kindly advise.

nenepokey SG

I'm using an Asus P5Q mobo, E8400, with windows 7 x64. I've tried enabling ACHI, but it gives a blue screen after the "windows is starting" screen. Kindly advise.

P5Q, so it's a P45 chipset.

lifeisgood9989 SG

ya its a p45. how does it matter though?

lifeisgood9989 SG

problem solved. a little tweak in the registry and everything went fine. now using my hdd in achi mode. thx guys.