Inspiron 16 7630, not able to set SATA operation to AHCI in BIOS

This forum thread has information on Linux but describes the issue with AHCI and the 7490. My guess is that your MB had an older BIOS version that had the AHCI option and the new MB does not. In a worst case scenario you may have to reinstall Windows. However you can try this method as described in the forum thread which would allow the change without a reinstall of Windows.

Thank's for your replay. 

Interestingly, the replacement MB came with an older BIOS version. Even with the BIOS version of the original MB, the AHCI option did not show up.

I am not even capable of installing Windows from scratch since the SSD drive is not recognized. Loading the Intel RST drivers does not help either.

In my opinion the given link describes how to change AHCI with Windows installed. In my case I can neither boot from the SSD (that was set up in AHCI mode on the first MB) nor I can reinstall Windows from scratch.

Try turning secure boot OFF -- it may unlock the drive mode setting (once the system is set up as you wish, you can then turn it back on).

Unfortunately, this does not help These are the present settings I just tested:

One additional question: Would "Add Boot Option" help? If I click on it I see the partitions of the SSD. But, I have no idea if this is the right approach.

Furthermore, I'd like to show another screenshot:

Welcome to Dell chat support on basic and premium devices. Working hours from 8AM to 5PM. My name is Daniel. Can we try to load default bios settings and check whether Windows installer will detect hard drive? It's detected in bios it does not look like hardware issue. It might be also problem with compatibility as this hard drive is not from original configuration. So in case if nothing will help we can also try to install original hard drive and then check if anything will change.

Hi Daniel,

thank's, for your reply. Of course, I've already tried to load the BIOS defaults. It doesn't help.

And yes, with the original hard drive it boots - so this seems to be RAID compatible.

BUT: My SSD (Samsung 980 Pro) requires AHCI and it worked fine on the original MB. So the requirement is that Dell MUST make it work again. Otherwise, the Notebook will have to be returned.

Fortunately, it will be replaced again tomorrow. But, I'am not too optimistic that this works.

Hey @mattberlin,

The Dell Inspiron 16 7630 is a relatively new laptop model as of my knowledge. If you're trying to change the SATA operation mode in the BIOS (Basic Input/Output System) and can't find the option, it might be because of a few reasons:

Many modern laptops, including Dell Inspiron models, come with NVMe (Non-Volatile Memory Express) SSDs (Solid State Drives) which operate over the PCIe (Peripheral Component Interconnect Express) interface, not SATA (Serial AT Attachment). So you wouldn't need (or be able) to change the SATA operation mode because it doesn't apply to your drive.

Some laptop manufacturers might hide certain advanced options in BIOS, including SATA operation modes, to prevent inadvertent changes that could cause system instability.

Hope this information will help...

Hi Jessy, 

Thank you for the interesting technical background. 

Well, as far as I know, AHCI ist not SATA-based. 

However, how can a drive such as the Samsung 980 Pro be used then? 

Not being able to do so is simply inacceptable.

And with the original MB, AHCI was available which makes it so weird that the new and supposingly identical MB with the very same BIOS version doesn't support AHCI any more. 

Actually, AHCI originated as an operating mode (superset of) SATA, but it's equally applicable to NVMe as it is to SATA.  

On newer systems, the former AHCI mode can be referred to as "RAID off" or "IRST off".

The one question no one's asked is whether the original drive affords the option of disabling IRST in favor of AHCI mode.  Does it?

And is the firmware on the Samsung 980 drive up to date?  This being a new model, it has seen updates of late.

Hi again,

Regardless whether no drive, the original SSD or the 980 SSD is installed, there are no options regarding AHCI, RAID or IRST.

It always looks like in the 3rd image of post 07-30-2023 06:27 AM.

Even installing Windows from scratch with the original SSD is not possible since there is no drive shown to install Windows on:

I wanna give an update.

With the IRST driver downloaded from dell, I see the SSD now in Windows setup. It's strange that this did not work with the driver coming from Intel.

So, this enables me st least to reinstall Windows. But, I am really angry about having to do this because it is a fact that I wouldn't have to so, if the new MB behaved in the same way as the original one.

Especially when taking into account that changing the MB was complete nonsense, since the initial problem of a catastrophic WLAN reception still persists.

see: https://www.dell.com/community/Inspiron/Inspiron-16-7630-2-in-1-catastrophic-WLAN-reception/m-p/8425004#M166192

If the Dell support, that I am dealing with via telephone, had acted professionally enough, the would have known that the 7630 comes with a faulty WLAN function by design!

Thank you Dell, for wasting valuable time!

With the 2nd replacement of the MB I encounter still the same issue! No AHCI available!