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Go to Solution13 R2, RAID or AHCI
Hello,
I have an Alienware 13R2 running Windows 10 20H2. (i7 6500U 16GB memory) I just replaced the 500GB SSHD with a Samsung TB SSD. I have only the 1 drive, no M.2 ports or anything. (I believe this is a SATA III connection?)
Am I to leave the BIOS setting in RAID or should I change it to AHCI? Every google search comes up with answers involving more than 1 drive or a combination of drives SSD and HDD and M.2.
I would appreciate any clarity on this subject. Remember only 1 SSD and thats it. Thank you
Windows 10 handles SSD maintenance natively just fine -- the Samsung software can analyze the drive health at the hardware level, which Windows 10 doesn't. Most of the drive makers have software like this -- and it usually runs only in AHCI mode, not RAID.
ejn63
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Posted May 10th, 2021 08:00
It really does not matter, with one exception - and if you already have Windows installed, a switch requires either modifying the existing configuration or reinstalling Windows.
If you want to be able to use the Samsung Magician software to analyze the drive, that's the one exception - for that you will need to have the system running in AHCI mode.
To switch from RAID on to AHCI, see
https://support.thinkcritical.com/kb/articles/switch-windows-10-from-raid-ide-to-ahci#:~:text=There%20is%20in%20fact%20a,and%20select%20Run%20as%20administrator