Disable Intel VMD and switch to AHCI

[Byro267]

I bought Victus by HP laptop, which I want to use with Fedora Linux. I have read that disabling Intel VMD controller in BIOS is recommended for stability, but I can't seem to find the option in BIOS. How can I disable it? I really need it disabled in order to use the laptop without any stability problems. I know Windows works with the Intel RST drivers, but I need Linux for the work I'm doing.

[Dragora]

Hi Byro267

If you cannot disable VMD in the BIOS, you can tell the Fedora kernel how to handle the VMD controller. This often solves the "drive not found" or stability issues during/after installation.

1. When the Fedora Boot Menu (GRUB) appears, highlight "Install Fedora" and press 'e' to edit the boot parameters.

2. Find the line starting with linux or linuxefi.

3. Go to the end of that line and add a space, then type: nvme_load=1 or modprobe.blacklist=vmd.

   • nvme_load=1 tells the kernel to prioritize the NVMe driver.

   • modprobe.blacklist=vmd forces the system to ignore the VMD controller and talk to the drive directly (this is highly effective for stability).

4. Press Ctrl + X or F10 to boot.

Stability Fix: Disable NVMe Power Management

If your "stability problems" involve the system freezing or the SSD disappearing after sleep, it is likely an ASPM (Power Management) conflict rather than VMD itself.

• Add the following kernel parameter (using the same 'e' method above):

  pcie_aspm=off

• Or for Intel specifically: nvme_core.default_ps_max_latency_us=0

Summary Table for Fedora on Victus

Goal	Action
Access Hidden BIOS	Try Ctrl + F10 while inside BIOS Setup
Make Drive Visible	Use modprobe.blacklist=vmd at boot
Fix System Freezes	Use pcie_aspm=off or nvme_core.default_ps_max_latency_us=0

I hope the above is helpful

If this helped you solve your problem, please mark my answer as the solution. Thank you.