Author: parsec
Subject: SM951 as OS boot device information
Posted: 10 Jan 2017 at 9:59am
The failed member of the RAID 0 array is strange, there is no way a RAID 0 array can function with a member missing or failed.
First, go into the UEFI/BIOS, Advanced screen, and at the bottom of the screen list should be an entry for Intel Rapid Storage Technology. Which you may have used to create your RAID 0 array in the first place. That screen will also give you the status of the RAID 0 array.
What does it tell you there?
A reboot may be enough to clear up that problem.
You might want to check that you have the PCIe Remapping options set correctly for the M.2 slots, in the UEFI.
BTW, you will no longer see your 960's in Storage Configuration, the NVMe Configuration, or in System Browser screens, when they are in a RAID array. The only place is the IRST screen in the UEFI.
Also strange the IRST Windows program did not work immediately. As I've said, you must have a SATA drive connected to the Intel SATA ports, or it won't install. I used the IRST 15.2 download from ASRock, but normally the same version from Intel should work, always has in the past. If ASRock tweaked their version, nice job, but that would be very unusual.
I have a feeling all the trouble you apparently had installing the IRST Windows program may have resulted in a bad installation, if it thinks your RAID 0 array has failed. You can run the IRST installer again, which has been known to fix problems. What problems did you have that took hours to overcome?
Did you install the INF files and IME software in your new Win 10 installation? I believe you used the 15.2 F6 IRST driver during the Windows installation, correct?
Just thought, what UEFI/BIOS version are you using on your board? I was told the Intel RAID Option ROM version was updated in a UEFI update for the Z170 Extreme7+. My Z270 board has Option ROM version 15.2.0.2754.
You can check the Option ROM version by running the IRST Windows program, clicking on the Help button, and in that display click on System Report at the top. The second section of information shown includes the Option ROM version, as well as the driver version installed.
I'm also older than you may think. Sorry, but when you said you could not find the IRST software, that told me you were not familiar with IRST RAID. Obviously been a while since you've used it.
Repeating an earlier caution, if you clear the UEFI, or install a new UEFI version, you MUST be sure all the UEFI settings needed for a PCIe SSD RAID array are set correctly again. I did that ultimate test last night with a UEFI update for my Z270 board, and while the good news is I did not lose the RAID 0 array, and one of the required option settings was not changed (RAID mode), I had to set Launch Storage OpROM Policy to UEFI Only again, Save and Exit the UEFI, and go right back into the UEFI again to check the Boot Order entry. It was correct, but I still don't 100% trust PCIe RAID.
Subject: SM951 as OS boot device information
Posted: 10 Jan 2017 at 9:59am
The failed member of the RAID 0 array is strange, there is no way a RAID 0 array can function with a member missing or failed.
First, go into the UEFI/BIOS, Advanced screen, and at the bottom of the screen list should be an entry for Intel Rapid Storage Technology. Which you may have used to create your RAID 0 array in the first place. That screen will also give you the status of the RAID 0 array.
What does it tell you there?
A reboot may be enough to clear up that problem.
You might want to check that you have the PCIe Remapping options set correctly for the M.2 slots, in the UEFI.
BTW, you will no longer see your 960's in Storage Configuration, the NVMe Configuration, or in System Browser screens, when they are in a RAID array. The only place is the IRST screen in the UEFI.
Also strange the IRST Windows program did not work immediately. As I've said, you must have a SATA drive connected to the Intel SATA ports, or it won't install. I used the IRST 15.2 download from ASRock, but normally the same version from Intel should work, always has in the past. If ASRock tweaked their version, nice job, but that would be very unusual.
I have a feeling all the trouble you apparently had installing the IRST Windows program may have resulted in a bad installation, if it thinks your RAID 0 array has failed. You can run the IRST installer again, which has been known to fix problems. What problems did you have that took hours to overcome?
Did you install the INF files and IME software in your new Win 10 installation? I believe you used the 15.2 F6 IRST driver during the Windows installation, correct?
Just thought, what UEFI/BIOS version are you using on your board? I was told the Intel RAID Option ROM version was updated in a UEFI update for the Z170 Extreme7+. My Z270 board has Option ROM version 15.2.0.2754.
You can check the Option ROM version by running the IRST Windows program, clicking on the Help button, and in that display click on System Report at the top. The second section of information shown includes the Option ROM version, as well as the driver version installed.
I'm also older than you may think. Sorry, but when you said you could not find the IRST software, that told me you were not familiar with IRST RAID. Obviously been a while since you've used it.
Repeating an earlier caution, if you clear the UEFI, or install a new UEFI version, you MUST be sure all the UEFI settings needed for a PCIe SSD RAID array are set correctly again. I did that ultimate test last night with a UEFI update for my Z270 board, and while the good news is I did not lose the RAID 0 array, and one of the required option settings was not changed (RAID mode), I had to set Launch Storage OpROM Policy to UEFI Only again, Save and Exit the UEFI, and go right back into the UEFI again to check the Boot Order entry. It was correct, but I still don't 100% trust PCIe RAID.