How do I enable the Optane module in my new computer build after I have tried everything I can think of?

[SMcIl]

I have just built a new workstation grade computer for CAD use. I am unable to get the 16GB Optane module to be recognized within the Intel RST interface. I also tried setting up with the Optane Memory installer where I received a "No compatible drives error".

All of the drives I have installed are SATA, I have gone through all the prerequisites for the BIOS settings and checked them multiple times. I have tried the suggestion on this forum to do a low-level format. I have also tried switching the slots that the Optane memory and the SSD are installed in.

My system is setup as follows:

Intel Core i7 8700K

ASUS PRIME Z390-A Motherboard

Corsair 32GB (16x2) @2666 MHz Memory

Samsung 970 PRO 512GB NVMe M.2 installed in slot M.2_2

Western Digital 2TB HDD X4 (RAID10)

PNY Quadro P4000 Graphics Adaptor

Intel Optane Memory 16GB installed in slot M.2_1

Windows 10 Professional

Any help at this point is appreciated.

[DiegoV_Intel · Accepted solution]

Hi SMcIl, Thank you for posting in the Intel® communities. If you have configured the BIOS and OS properly, then the issue might be related to the driver version that you have installed. If you have downloaded the driver for the Intel® Optane™ Memory in the last few days, you may have the version 15.9. This version is an old one because the latest driver is currently down for maintenance to enable installer changes. We hope to have the updated driver available soon, however the latest one is the one that supports secondary drive acceleration, while the version 15.9 doesn’t. If your primary drive is the Samsung* 970 PRO, it will not be listed in the application because this drive is an NVMe* drive. So the other option would be to accelerate the secondary SATA drives, but if you are using the driver version 15.9 you won’t be able to do it because this feature is not included in that version. My recommendation is to wait until the driver is uploaded again. You can check the following site which is where the driver will be uploaded: https://downloadcenter.intel.com/product/99745/Intel-Optane-Memory However, I can also see that your SATA drives are in a RAID array. The Intel® Optane™ Memory cannot accelerate RAID arrays, so this might be also the reason why you don’t get any drives available to pair the module with, because the only options are the RAID array which is not supported and the Samsung* drive which is an NVMe* drive and therefore it is not supported either. I hope this information clarifies the issue. If you have any doubt, please feel free to ask. Have a nice day. Regards, Diego V. Intel Customer Support Technician Under Contract to Intel Corporation

[SMcIl]

Thanks for the information. I don't recall reading anywhere that RAID wasn't supported. Unless I missed it maybe an update to the prerequisite documentation would be in order. It would have saved me a lot of time.

Do you know if there will be support for RAID in the future?

[DiegoV_Intel]

Hi SMcIl,

There are no plans to support RAID volumes with the Intel® Optane™ Memory.

I recommend you to check the following article where there are some important details around the module, including a note about the RAID support: https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/support/articles/000024018/memory-and-storage/intel-optane-memory.html

I hope this information clarifies your concern. If there is anything else I can help you with, feel free to ask.

Have a nice day.

Regards,

Diego V.

Intel Customer Support Technician

Under Contract to Intel Corporation

[SMcIl]

Thanks for you assistance..

[DiegoV_Intel]

You’re welcome SMcIl.

If you ever have another issue or concern about the Intel® Optane™ Memory, feel free to open a new thread.

We’ll try to help you in any way possible.

Regards,

Diego V.

Intel Customer Support Technician

Under Contract to Intel Corporation