How to Enable AHCI After Installing Windows 10 Improving your disk and system performance is as simple as enabling Advanced Host Controller Interface, or AHCI. Learn more about what this is and how you can turn it on. Before we begin, be sure to subscribe to NinjaOne's IT Video Hub and our YouTube channel for more tech content like this. What Is AHCI and Why Should You Enable It in Windows 10? AHCI is a technical standard that allows Serial ATA or SATA storage devices and a computer’s operating system to communicate quickly and efficiently. It acts as a smart digital assistant that helps you organize your data faster, swap hard drives without shutting down, and make SSDs run more efficiently. However, not all systems enable this useful feature by default, so here are three ways to find out and configure its status. Three Methods to Enable AHCI on Windows Let's start with the recommended method, Safe Mode. Open the System Configuration as an Administrator, go to the Boot tab, and check Safe boot > Minimal. Click on Apply and Exit without restart. Press Windows + L to lock screen, hold Shift, and click Restart. Once you have entered BIOS/UEFI, change SATA mode to AHCI. Click save & exit, restart, disable Safe boot, and restart again. For the code-savvy users, you have two options. One is via the Registry Editor. Run regedit and modify the following registry keys as shown on screen. Again, lock screen with Windows + L, hold shift, restart, change SATA to AHCI, restart again. Another is Command Prompt. Run the following command on screen, repeat the previous steps of changing SATA to AHCI, disable Safe Mode with this command prompt, and restart. Whichever method you choose will ensure a smoother and easier management of your physical drives. For more information, check out our official blog post on How to Enable AHCI After Installing Windows 10, linked in the description below.