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INTEL OPTANE MEMORY SERIES 32GB - died after occasional system freezing.

LNTN
Beginner
1,194 Views

Optane memory completely died after occasional system freezing.

I didn't know the exact reason at first, and system freezing became more frequent, and eventually the computer could no longer boot.
After reinstall the OS, I tried to activate the Optane, and finally I found out that Optane was the cause of the system failure.
Because changing the BIOS setting to enable Optane made my computer unbootable again.

 

The main problem is data recovery.
I paired a 4TB NAS HDD with Optane, and there was more than 3TB of data.
I tried to recover data using TESTDISK, but after analyzing the disk, I found that quite a bit of data (about 600GB) exists in the form of pagefile.sys.
I'm not sure how to recover this.
I wanted to know a detailed solution to recover data when optane is broken, but I couldn't find any.

I was wondering if there is a solution for this.


OS - Win10 Pro

HDD - HGST HUS726T4TALA6L4

OPTANE - INTEL OPTANE MEMORY SERIES 32GB(model MEMPEK1W032GA)

캡처.PNG

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1 Solution
BrusC_Intel
Moderator
1,119 Views

Hello, LNTN.


I completely understand, I'm really sorry for what happened.


Generally the Intel RST window (and the Intel Optane Memory and Storage Management window) would show the HDD with and option to clear metadata if the Optane Memory fails, as seen in the article I shared and also this picture:


The only thing we can recommend regarding the data would be to contact a data recovery company, sometimes they can offer a free diagnostic and confirm if the data con be recovered or not, but this is mostly for cases where recovering the information is detrimental, as it tends to be expensive.


Here is a list of some data recovery companies, but if you are in South Korea (my apologies for the assumption based on the system language), the best option would be to look for local data recovery professionals close to your location.


The thread will be closed right now and no longer monitored by Intel support. If you require any type of assistance from Intel in the future, please open a new thread, or contact us using any of the available support methods:

- https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/support/contact-intel.html


You may also receive an invitation to take a survey in a few days. We value your feedback and look forward to hearing about your support experience.


Regards,


Bruce C.

Intel Customer Support Technician


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5 Replies
BrusC_Intel
Moderator
1,170 Views

Hello, LNTN.


Thank you for posting on the Intel Community Support forums.


I received your case regarding the data of the drive not being accessible after an Optane failure, and I will be reviewing this with you.


Just to confirm, exactly what do you mean by "NAS HDD"? was the drive not connected directly to the computer via SATA port? or do you mean just the type of disk that is designed for NAS usage?


Regarding the settings, I would consider normal if your system does not boot after changing the BIOS settings, since this has to be done before installing the operating system, it does not necessarily mean Optane was the cause of the problem, what setting were you changing?


Generally, when you reinstall an operating system without disabling Optane acceleration, there could be metadata left in the disks, this can be erased using the Intel Rapid Storage Technology application or the Intel Optane Memory and Storage Management, after that the drives can be used normally and data can be accessed, you can review this for more details:

- https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/support/articles/000056676/memory-and-storage/intel-optane-memory.html


Please keep in mind there are no official data recovery steps/tools/methods that we can share, as we always recommend to keep a backup of the information in case anything happens


Let me know if you can install the Optane management application and if the disk shows there with the option to clear metadata.


I will follow up on May 18th just in case.


Regards,


Bruce C.

Intel Customer Support Technician


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LNTN
Beginner
1,154 Views

Thank you for your reply, but sadly, I still have no clue for solving the problem.

 

First, NAS HDD means just HDD designed for NAS. I think it's not important for this issue.

I have used it for Optane accelation on Win10 for about 4 years, not for NAS.

 

Second, my computer was already unbootable at some point after occasional freezing, and then unbootable again after reinstalling OS and RST and changing BIOS setting to activate the Optane. You know, like RST controlled etc.

Which means, after system failure, my BIOS was reset to old version so after reinstalling OS and RST, I changed the BIOS setting following the instruction to activate Optane. After then, I was able to boot the computer for a while but it freezed right away and couldn't boot the computer again.

 

Since not long time ago, maybe 1 or 2 weeks, I felt system freezing. It happened more and more frequently, and finally I couldn't boot my computer at all. I had to format the main drive and reinstall the OS to boot the computer and it was fine until I install the Intel Rapid Storage Technology for activating Optane again.

 

After installing RST and chaging BIOS setting(just only for the Optane) I couldn't boot my computer again. That's the reason why I think Optane is an issue.

If I just install the RST, I cannot disable the Optane because there's no Optane menu showing up. If I want to see the Optane menu, I have to change the BIOS setting for Optane, but it freezes my computer and make it unbootable.

As a result, I cannot disable Optane via RST because it causes system freezing and make system unbootable.

I'v tried many times already, but it could not be done. That is the point.

I had no choice but removing the Optane from the mainboard to use the computer.

 

I'm wondering why this Optane suddenly died without notifying any warning or caution.

I can't even check whether it's life is over or it has other problem because RST with Optane will break my computer again.

I didn't even know the reason for system failure until I reinstall the OS and RST.

 

I didn't backup my data, that was my mistake. I admit that.

But after reading your reply, I think that's done. I think you guys have no clear method too.

I didn't expect this dies so early and unpredictably.

More over, it seems that Optane does not support any method to safely disable paring and restore the paired drive after it's life is suddenly over.

Using Optane was my fault. I shouldn't have bought this.

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BrusC_Intel
Moderator
1,143 Views

Hello, LNTN.


Thank you very much for all the details.


Is the system currently installed in AHCI? 


If the Optane Memory module is not installed in the computer, you are still able to install the operating system in Intel RST mode (SATA mode: Intel RST premium with Optane), and isntall the Intel RST driver and Intel Optane Memory and Storage Management to check if you see the option to clear metadata from the HDD.


This type of OS installation should not cause any problems, but if it does, and the Optane is not even installed in the M.2 port, the problem could be related to the board itself.


Please let me know if you can try this, and I will follow up on May 20th just in case.


Regards,


Bruce C.

Intel Customer Support Technician


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LNTN
Beginner
1,133 Views

optane.PNG

This is what I can see. There's no available Optane options. I've already checked this before I posted the first one.

The page is written in korean, but I hope you know what this means.

If I connect the Optane with this state(RST with BIOS settings for Optane), it will break the system again.

(connect Optane) AND (install RST) AND (set BIOS for Optane), then it will happen(freezing, unbootable - now there's no freezing because I don't even have a chance to feel freezing - it goes directly to unbootable).

Once this happens, then I must reinstall the OS to boot the computer again.

-> after reinstalling the OS and initial state: (disconnect Optane) OR (uninstall RST) OR (no BIOS setting) will fine. I tested.

 

As I told you earlier, BIOS was suddenly reset and downgraded to it's very first version after many times of trying to boot the computer.

I think it is too late to solve this issue if your instruction is the appropriate one.

If that works, I should have removed the Optane right away when I feel freezing or when unbootable or, at least, before the BIOS was suddenly reset.

I hope there's a way to activate Optane acceleration without Optane. It sounds wierd but I think this is the only way to disable Optane without Optane in this case(when Optane is broken, system is suddenly unbootable and BIOS is forcebly reset).

 

Anyway, it looks like there's no way to recover my data. Also I cannot check the reason why the Optane caused the problem. If it's about write limit, I can say that Optane has very low durability(The warranty still remains more than 1 year). Not only that, it has no way to warn or handle the disablling accelration to safely free the paired drive before it's dead.

 

Thank you for your help, but I think it's time to decide to format my HDD. This thing was a good lesson to me, at least.

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BrusC_Intel
Moderator
1,120 Views

Hello, LNTN.


I completely understand, I'm really sorry for what happened.


Generally the Intel RST window (and the Intel Optane Memory and Storage Management window) would show the HDD with and option to clear metadata if the Optane Memory fails, as seen in the article I shared and also this picture:


The only thing we can recommend regarding the data would be to contact a data recovery company, sometimes they can offer a free diagnostic and confirm if the data con be recovered or not, but this is mostly for cases where recovering the information is detrimental, as it tends to be expensive.


Here is a list of some data recovery companies, but if you are in South Korea (my apologies for the assumption based on the system language), the best option would be to look for local data recovery professionals close to your location.


The thread will be closed right now and no longer monitored by Intel support. If you require any type of assistance from Intel in the future, please open a new thread, or contact us using any of the available support methods:

- https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/support/contact-intel.html


You may also receive an invitation to take a survey in a few days. We value your feedback and look forward to hearing about your support experience.


Regards,


Bruce C.

Intel Customer Support Technician


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