Solaris is Unable to Handle Mode Switches Between Legacy and AHCI Modes for the SATA Controller (6520224)

In systems which have an AHCI compliant SATA controller, the BIOS setup typically enables the controller to be set in either AHCI, legacy, or RAID modes. Solaris supports AHCI and legacy modes.

The SATA mode setting in BIOS must not be changed after an initial Solaris installation. The SATA mode setting must also not be changed before or after a Solaris upgrade. If the SATA mode BIOS setting is modified after installing Solaris, the system will reset and fail to boot without indicating what led to the failure.

Workaround: If boot failure is encountered as a result of changing the BIOS setting, revert back to the original setting in order to boot Solaris.