SQL Server and SSDs: The nasty dependency

what I have is a very old Acer Aspire laptop. 5 years may be. I have upgraded it to 32G memory, 64 bit windows 10, and an SSD. Over 2 years ago I have struggled mightily for weeks to get SQL Server 2014 installed. Never succeeded although everything else on the computer ran flawlessly after the upgrade to the SSD for a whole year.

Last thing I suspected is that the SQL Server has such a high dependency on the type of driver used for SSD around block sizes etc.

What follows is a work around for this which involves downgrading to the windows native drivers.

Not only that every time I do this windows goes back updates to the new driver every few months.

SO I am back to the same problem every few months.

Be very very careful doing this on your computer as it might make your computer inoperative if you miss a step. take a full hard drive backup if you ever attempt this! You are warned

To replace possibly malfunctioning manufacturer-specific Serial ATA drivers with Microsoft's MSAHCI or StorAHCI drivers which may have better functionality in your system, use the following guide:

1. Enter Device Manager in Windows via either your Control Panel or Computer Management.

2. You should see a category of "IDE ATA/ATAPI controllers". (For my Dell M4800 this was "Storage Controllers") Click the 'plus' symbol to the left of this line to expand that category.

3. All manufacturer drivers under this category will appear. For each entry, right click, select 'Uninstall', and ensure for each uninstall window you select 'Delete the driver software for this device'. If you are given a confirmation prompt to remove this software, click yes. (For my Dell M4800 I right clicked and uninstalled the "Intel Rapid Storage Controller" drivers)

4. Once all items are gone from this category, restart your system. (For my Dell M4800 there was also an O2Micro Integrated SD controller in this category which did not need to be removed as it doesn't relate to the SATA drives)

5. Windows will see that the old drivers are gone and automatically install Microsoft's equivalent. Afterward, the system will prompt you to restart again. Go ahead and do so.

6. After two restarts and everything operating with Microsoft drivers I then cloned the existing drive to the new M550. Install mSATA in the laptop and No BSOD after reboot.

Here is a crucial website where I got the SSD and a relevent link

Here is another link from microsoft.com

This wiki will discuss the proper way to uninstall Intel(R) Rapid Storage Technology driver and replace it with the standard Microsoft SATA AHCI Controller driver. Unfortunately, in many cases Intel(R) Rapid Storage Technology is not like most software that you generally can uninstall from Control Panel's Add/Remove Programs, etc. If you attempt to do it improperly, given the impact this specific driver can have on your system/the way it alters your boot configuration, you may not be able to boot your OS after its removal.

when it is not working, you will see an intel or some other advanced SATA AHCI controller

Then use Browse my computer for driver Software

Pick the "Standard SATA AHCI Controller". You can also see how the automatic system updated gathered some intel drivers every so often. So you have to repeat this process every time that happens.

I don't know yet how to stop these automatic updates! :(

what is SATA AHCI controller?

Search for: what is SATA AHCI controller?


IBM AT - IBM Advanced Technology (basically a PC introduced by IBM)
AT - Advanced Technology
ATA - Advanced Technology Attachment standard
SATA - Seriral Advanced Technology Attachment
AHCI - Advanced Host Computer Interface