How to Enable RAID or AHCI without Reinstalling Windows (for AMD SB85 or SB8XX Controllers)

Step-by-Step Guide

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   Step 1: Backups are always good so backup your important data!

   We will be messing with it a little bit and you may want to do it.
   
   Probably simply using Windows System Restore to create a new restore point before beginning should do it.
   
   And that means now! Do it! , Find the "storage configuration" section and change the SATA mode to your final choice of AHCI or RAID (it should offer three options:
   IDE, AHCI and RAID). , If you happened to boot into Windows at this point by mistake, you'll probably get a BSOD and an automatic reboot.
   
   Don't despair! It's no big deal.
   
   Just move along and choose normal windows boot the next time you'll be loading it... , It will list all PCI devices you have installed which you'll be able to browse using the PageUp and PageDown keys.
   
   If it does not work as expected, try doing the same as root using the following command: sudo lspci
   -vvnn | less (you'll need to provide the root password). ,,,,, Here you may see if the drivers you downloaded match your RAID controller by checking if there's one line in this section has your combination of VENdor and DEVice IDs.
   
   Leave this file opened so you can refer to this line.
   
   If there is an entry for your IDs, you're good-to-go.
   
   Else, you should re-check if your RAID controller is really a SB8xx and if you downloaded the correct drivers. ,,,, You don't have to worry about that, after all you did the registry back-up, right? ,, But...
   
   If you got again one more BSOD and a reboot, don't fret! Enter BIOS, revert to IDE, boot normally into Windows. ,
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   Step 2: Backup your registry!

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   Step 3: Restart your computer and enter the BIOS.

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   Step 4: Boot into Linux by using your own installation or a bootable Linux CD.

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   Step 5: Open a Linux terminal and type the following command: lspci -vvnn | less.

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   Step 6: Find the reference to your AMD SB850 SATA RAID Controller (look for an entry with these word on it) and note the following information: Vendor ID: a 4 digit number

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   Step 7: Device ID: a 4 digit number

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   Step 8: Subsystem ID: and 8 digit number split by a semicolon (":")

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   Step 9: Reboot again

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    Step 10: go back into the BIOS configuration and revert the SATA mode to IDE

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    Step 11: Boot into windows (choosing "boot normally" if requested)

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    Step 12: Extract the ZIP file with the AMD RAID drivers you downloaded (as pointed out in the previous section) and navigate to the folder with the drivers for your version of Windows

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    Step 13: Open the *.INF file in there

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    Step 14: in my case ahcix64s.inf

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    Step 15: with any text editor

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    Step 16: like Windows Notepad (or Notepad++ if you'd like something better) and search for the section named (for the 32 bits version).

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    Step 17: Copy the *.SYS file you find in the same folder

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    Step 18: mine was ahcix64s.sys

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    Step 19: from there to the c:\windows\system32\drivers folder

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    Step 20: Copy the registry text below into a new file in your text editor and name it someFileName.reg:

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    Step 21: Save the file with your modifications!

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    Step 22: Double-click the someFileName.reg and accept it being merged into your registry.

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    Step 23: Restart your computer

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    Step 24: enter the BIOS and change the setting to RAID or AHCI

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    Step 25: Watch Windows loading using your brand new RAID-ready system!

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    Step 26: Recheck all previous steps

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    Step 27: specially the tricky registry file editing part.

Detailed Guide

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