Switch BIOS settings from RAID to AHCI [Windows 10]

PSA: You should not be attempting these fixes unless you’re a professional!  And it goes without saying, you will ALWAYS need your local admin password, recovery media, and backups of your data before fooling around with low-level storage driver configuration — or really anything else for that matter.  See the comments section below for examples of a couple of people who ran into mishaps after encountering other underlying issues or forgetting their admin password before starting the process.  PROCEED AT YOUR OWN RISK!

It’s not uncommon to find a system on which RAID drivers have been installed and something like the Intel Rapid Storage Technology package is handling storage devices, but where an SSD might require AHCI operation for more optimal performance or configurability. In these cases, there is in fact a way to switch operation from RAID to AHCI within Windows 10 without having to reinstall.  Here’s how:

1. Right-click the Windows Start Menu. Choose

   Command Prompt (Admin)

2. Type this command and press ENTER:

   bcdedit /set {current} safeboot minimal

3. Restart the computer and enter BIOS Setup (the key to press varies between systems).
4. Change the SATA Operation mode to AHCI from RAID.
5. Save changes and exit Setup and Windows will automatically boot to Safe Mode.
6. Right-click the Windows Start Menu once more. Choose

   Command Prompt (Admin)

7. Type this command and press ENTER:

   bcdedit /deletevalue {current} safeboot

8. Reboot once more and Windows will automatically start with AHCI drivers enabled.

That’s all there is to it!