Convert SATA IDE to AHCI on Vista?

I am running Vista Premium on a SATA drive today, but the manufacturer configured it as "IDE". I would like to switch to "AHCI", which is supported by my motherboard and BIOS.

I changed, but Windows would not boot (said some hardware had changed, needed to repair).

So I switched back for now.

After reading the sticky, is there way I can convert from IDE to AHCI without going out an purchasing a separate controller card? Can I just need to boot off the Vista DVD and tell it to repair? I certainly dont want to trash my existing install.

I researched this a bit more and discovered two resources with information on this. First a Microsoft Knowledgebase article describing how to enable the AHCI drivers via the registry:
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/922976

Also information on how to force the load of the AHCI driver from the Windows GUI:
http://www.eggheadcafe.com/softwar [...] taide.aspx

I have not tried either of these yet. I plan to go the registry direction once I get a good image backup.

Nice!

I am digging up this old thread since this was the first result when I Googled "IDE to AHCI".

I just bought my Win7 rig from a system builder, and I read that they don't enable AHCI by default, so I looked into the BIOS and saw that was, in fact, the case. So I changed it. Watching those little colored balls freeze in midair and get the BSOD flash on the screen before going black made my stomach jump into my throat.

Read the KB you linked to (which now lists Win7 as an applicable OS) and followed the instructions. Took only a minute to change the registry and voila! Win7 booted and loaded the AHCI drivers and runs, like you said, like a champ. Thanks!

VSP