Gigabyte Z270-HD3 Can't get Optane to Work

[EMcCl]

I have searched everywhere I can think of and I can't seem to get Optane set up on this board.

BIOS F9d

Optane card is installed in the M2A_32G slot shown as number 7 in the manual.

These are the BIOS settings I found that's supposed to work.

BIOS Tab

Windows 8/10 Features set to Windows 8/10

CSM Support is disabled

Peripherals Tab

SATA and RST Configuration

SATA Mode is set to Intel RST Premium with Intel Optane Acceleration

User RST Legacy OROM is disabled

RST Control PCIe Storage Devices is set to Manual

PCIe Storage Dev on Port 9 is set to RST Controlled

When all of this is set, no bootable drives are found. Under Intel RST driver, the SSD and Optane are detected.

When BIOS defaults are loaded, both the SSD and Optane are detected as bootable drives.

Please let me know what I can do to get this working and if ican provide any more information.

[idata]

Hi mceric2010,

Thank you for contacting our support community. We understand your situation regarding the Intel® Optane™ Memory.

It seems that the partition table of your os is MBR and for Optane™ you require it to be GPT, that is why you have booting issues when you change the BIOS to the correct settings for the module.

We recommend you to follow the next steps in order to change the partition table mode to GPT:

1- Backup all files on your system.2- Make sure you have the Windows(R) 10 creator's update installed on your system and convert the partition table from MBR to GPT with MBR2GPT.exe in order to allow the system to boot after the BIOS change, please follow the next steps: A- Open Command Prompt with administrator privilegesB- Issue the following command: mbr2gpt.exe /convert /allowfullOS3-Shut down and boot into your BIOS4-Please apply the changes you provided above:

BIOS Tab 

Windows 8/10 Features set to Windows 8/10CSM Support is disabled

Peripherals Tab 

SATA and RST ConfigurationSATA Mode is set to Intel RST Premium with Intel Optane AccelerationUser RST Legacy OROM is disabledRST Control PCIe Storage Devices is set to ManualPCIe Storage Dev on Port 9 is set to RST Controlled

5-Press F10 to save and apply the changes.

6-Automatic repair may show up and it is expected. 7-After that, try to enable the module.

Please let us know the outcome of your situation.

Regards,

Junior M.

[EMcCl]

Thank you for the reply, but I don't know that it's an OS issue. Once all of those options are in the BIOS, the drives disappear as being bootable devices. See attached.

[idata]

Hi mceric2010,

We would like to let you know that this is expected if the partition table is not GPT and the BIOS is set to "Legacy Mode". You need to revert the settings applied to the BIOS in order to be able to boot again to your operating system. Once you have done that, you need to follow the steps suggested above in the order we provided in to be able to boot the system in the UEFI BIOS mode with the proper Optane(TM) settings.Please let us know the outcome of your situation. Regards, Junior M.

[EMcCl]

Thank you. I did as instructed. BIOS now sees Windows boot manager and I can get into Windows. When I run the Optane installer it says that the "partition on your system drive cannot be resized". Disk Management wants to initial the Optane card. Do I choose MBR or GPT? And, are there any additional steps?

[idata]

Hi mceric2010,

In order to better assist you, could you please provide screenshots of disk management. Also, please provide the SSU logs of Windows*, please follow the next steps: 1- Go to https://downloadcenter.intel.com/download/25293/Intel-System-Support-Utility?v=t and download the software.2- When finished downloading it, open it.3- Mark the box "Everything" and then click "Scan.4- When finish scanning, click "Next."5- Click on "Save."6-Attach the file when replying. Please don't initialize the Optane(TM) because you will have other issues when enabling it.Regards, Junior M.

[EMcCl]

The files are attached.

[idata]

Hi mceric2010,

Thank you for the screenshots attached. Based on that, the reason why the Optane(TM) software is giving you the error "partition on your system drive cannot be resized" is because you have the EFI system partition at the end of the drive and it can not be moved. We recommend you to back up your data, keep the BIOS settings, physically remove the Optane(TM) module from the system and reinstall Windows(R) 10, during the partition size set up option we recommend you to leave 5MB of unallocated space in order to avoid this issue to happen again. Once Windows(R) 10 is installed, you can physically connect the Optane(TM) again and try to enable it. Please let us know the outcome of your situation. Regards,Junior M.

[EMcCl]

Thank youI It's finally working. So it looks like the procedure is:

Setup BIOS according to motherboard manufacturer instructions.

Install Windows using a UEFI bootable installer. I used a flash drive.

Install the Optane module.

Install Optane driver.

[idata]

Hi mceric2010,

Thanks for the reply. We are glad to hear that your situation has been resolved. Please let us know if there is something else we can assist you with.Regards,Junior M.