Installing optane software makes windows 10 Unable To boot Lenovo laptop

[RAtma]

Hi, so I'm struggling a lot with making optane work in my laptop. I own a lenovo ideapad 330 15IKB, which has a 16gb intel optane memory pre installed.

The storage mode is set to AHCI. So when I install optane software it tells me to restart computer. When it does it changes AHCI to RST. This change makes windows 10 unable to boot and my primary hard drive a 1Tb Seagate undetected. Sometimes I have to reinstall windows 10 other times If i have better luck changing back manually in the bios to ahci restores windows 10 functions.

So I am stuck in this situation if I enable RST goodbye windows so I cannot make optane work.

I have tried to set RST mode and install Windows but hard drives are not detected and even when i put RST controller in an usb drive to install them windows is unable to do it, so I can´t continue with the fresh installation of windows 10 in RST mode.

Is there anything I can do to solve this issue?

Thanks in advance for your help

[LeonWaksman]

Hello RAtma,

Please attach an image Disk Management from your computer.

Leon

[RAtma]

Hello Lwaksman

Thanks for the quick reply. Attached you will find the image. I haven't altered the partitions myself so they should be the way lenovo wants them.

Let's say I have to do something with partitions, If I modify them , Would it be possible to still perform a factory reset and restore the computer the way it was when I bought it ?

Thanks

[LeonWaksman]

Hello RAtma,

Make sure to leave an “Unallocated” space with a minimum of 20MB at the end of the disk.  On your drive C: I can see that end of the drive is occupied by OEM partition. So, you may try to shrink the OEM part in order to leave 20 MB unallocted in the end (use Disk Manager for this purpose).

For explanation see para. 1.2.3 in this guide: https://www.intel.com/content/dam/support/us/en/documents/memory-and-storage/optane-memory/intel-optane-memory-user-installation.pdf .

More information is here:  https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/support/articles/000023989/memory-and-storage/intel-optane-memory.html

Regards

Leon

[DiegoV_Intel]

Hi RAtma,

Thank you for posting in the Intel® communities.

I understand that you are having issues setting up the Intel® Optane™ Memory with your Lenovo* laptop. The issue itself is happening because your primary drive is probably using MBR partition style, and the system may be configured in Legacy mode. The Intel® Optane™ Memory is not compatible with this configuration.

The Intel® Optane™ application changes the system from AHCI to RST, and set the system to work in UEFI mode rather than Legacy mode in order to use the module properly, however since your drive is partitioned using MBR, it’s no longer recognized just as you described, because it works only in Legacy mode.

Having said this, you would have to change the partition style from MBR to GPT.  This may be done by re-installing the OS after changing the BIOS settings to work in UEFI mode, or by using a Windows* tool called MBR2GPT.EXE. This process is described in the following Microsoft* article: https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/deployment/mbr-to-gpt

There are some examples at the end of the article, but basically, the command that you have to run from the Command Prompt as Administrator is the following:

mbr2gpt.exe /convert /disk:0 /allowfullOS

Additionally, there is also a missing unallocated space of at least 5MB that should be reserved at the end of the primary drive for the module to work properly.

Anyhow, considering that you have to do some system changes to be able to setup the Intel® Optane™ Memory, I highly recommend you to contact Lenovo* for assistance. Laptops are not the same as Desktop computers. They usually include special features that we are not aware of, so we always recommend to contact the laptop manufacturer for assistance before making any system changes.

For example your question about the option to factory reset the system after changing the partitions, this is a question that goes beyond of our support scope and we cannot tell you how your laptop will behave after changing the partitions, or after re-installing the OS, etc. This question, and similar ones, must be answered directly from the manufacturer.

I hope this clarifies the issue. 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

[RAtma]

Hello,

First I would like to thank both for taking the time to answer. I entered diskpart to ensure that my partition is gpt, I attached the screenshot to show it. So apparently I have the recommended partition style.

In my bios in storage option ,as I mentioned in my first post, I have AHCI since when I change to RST myself or via optane installation I can't boot anymore and drives are not detected. I am also in UEFI mode not legacy.

In addition, I've come in contact with another owner of the same laptop. I told him to show me his partition structure which I also attached. As it can be seen he has the same structure as I do. So I am puzzled that he is able to run optane without the unallocated space at the end of the hard drive while I am unable to do it. How is this possible? I've also attached a screenshot of his optane status.

Any help would be appreciated thanks a lot.

[DiegoV_Intel]

Hi RAtma,

Considering that you are using a laptop, it’s hard to say what you are missing in your system that is preventing you from enabling the module. We highly recommend you to contact Lenovo* for assistance on how to configure and setup your module in this laptop.

The partitions in the primary drive should look like in the following picture, but as I mentioned before, laptops usually come with special features and configurations that we are not aware of, so we always recommend to contact the manufacturer for better assistance.

Having said this, please contact Lenovo* for further help.

I can try to give you any suggestion based on the current status of your system. For this, please download the Intel® System Support Utility (SSU) from the following site and run the full report. This report will collect your system information. Please attach the output file in your response: https://downloadcenter.intel.com/download/25293/Intel-System-Support-Utility-for-Windows-

Have a nice day.

Regards,

Diego V.

Intel Customer Support Technician

Under Contract to Intel Corporation

[LeonWaksman]

Hi RAtma,

1. I wrote you in my last post (a day ago) about the requirement for leaving unallocated space in the drive end. This requirement was based on Intel Guide which I've given you the link in my post. I can't be sure what will happen if you will change the partition on your laptop (if you will be able to reset it to the factory setting). You should ask this question Lenovo.
2. I agree with you that that the Partition Structure in your friend's laptop is similar to yours, however not the same. It doesn't include unallocated space in end of drive C like in your laptop. However it doesn't include 16GB unallocated drive (probably Optane), which I can see on your laptop.
3. One of my NUCs, is NUC7i7DNHE which has 1GB WD HDD, accelerated with 16GB Optane memory module. I've installed the hardware and O.S. by my self. The SATA mode in bios at beginning was set to AHCI. After installing Optane driver and enabling thee Optane memory, it was automatically changed to RST.
4. The Partiton Structure you may see diskManagNUC7i7DNHE.jpeg attached. No Optane memory is in this structure.
5. The result of diskpart see on diskpartNUC7i7DNHE.jpeg . Also here, you can see only the HDD and the Optane is not visible as a drive.
6. I don't know how the Bios setting looks on your laptop, but will give you some information from my NUC7i7DNHE.

6.1. On Advanced > Devices > Add-inn Config, I have possibility to see the configuration of Intel RST (press on Configure). See deviceAddInnNUC7i7DNHE.jpeg.

6.2 After depressing on Configure, Optane Volume screen opens. See optanVolumeNUC7i7DNHE.jpeg.

6.3. Now id I'm depressing on "Intel Optane, 931.5GB" (see optanVolumeNUC7i7DNHE.jpeg) , opens Optane Volume Information Screen (see optanVolumeInfoNUC7i7DNHE.jpeg)

7. Uninstall Optane driver. Check in your bios if you can see if some drive is already assigned to your Optane memory. If you can reach Optane Volume information screen and you will find that there is already assignment, please disable it and try to install the Optane driver again.

Regards

Leon

[LeonWaksman]

Hi RAtma,

Attached zip with all images. For some reason only one file can be attached to post.

Leon

[RAtma]

Hello,

Thanks both for the follow-up support. Before posting here I contacted lenovo support in my country about the problem. Upon talking to them It was clear that they were not going to solve the problem because they lack the expertise on the subject. Therefore I tried here because I thought I would have better chances to solve it. Anyway I will replicate this post in their English support community just in case someone can provide a solution.

I don't see any unallocated space at the end of your disk Leon. Yet I suspect that since your last partition is where you have windows installed maybe optane software is able to use it somehow but in my case It can't because it is a system partition at the end.

Regarding optane not showing in your configuration I recall reading that when its paired it doesn't show anymore in disk management.

I have also tried to install win 10 without altering partition structure, but having rst mode in bios. When RST is selected disk aren't showed, I think this is because windows installation media does not include rst drivers. Therefore I downloaded in an usb but Windows was unable to install them so I couldn't install windows from scratch in RST to see If this could solve the problem.

I Attached 3 pictures. The log you requested DiegoV and two bios pictures. In one of them you can see I have AHCI mode because as soon as I change this, windows offers me Blue screens like inaccesible boot device and some others. In the other you can see That I am operating in Uefi mode.

Regards.

[LeonWaksman]

1. Yes, I confirm. I don't have unallocated space in the end of my HDD. In my post above, I've clarified this issue. I've installed Windows 10 while SATA mode was AVHI. The Windows partition is the last on my HDD. This is true also, however on your friend's laptop the partition is like yours and Optane works.
2. Did you check in bios if you have additional Optane settings like I have in NUC?

[RAtma]

HI,

I have attached 3 pictures which show how the bios looks like when RST is enabled. As I said before when this storage mode is enabled I get blue screen or something like that. Right now I get checking media message at the top left corner and then offers me to choose boot device but hds don't appear.

I still don't understand what makes windows unable to boot when rst is enabled. It remains a mystery to me.

[RAtma]

Hi,

I will attach 3 more pictures on how my bios looks like when rst is enabled. As I said before windows does not load under this configuration, right now it says checking media... Then boot manager appears and the only option available is EFI PXE network.

Hope this can help.

[DiegoV_Intel]

Hi RAtma,

Thank you for the information.

I was investigating about your laptop model and I found the following thread (https://forums.lenovo.com/t5/Lenovo-C-E-K-M-N-and-V-Series/V330-15ikb-Intel-Optane-compatibility/m-p/4230039#M25682) in the Lenovo* community that states the model V330-15IKB does not support the Intel® Optane™ Memory, and apparently the model that supports it is the 330S, which I checked in the following Lenovo* site and it indeed mentions the Intel® Optane™ Memory: http://psref.lenovo.com/Product/Lenovo_Laptops/ideapad_330S_15_Intel

I checked then for your laptop model (330-15IKB), and apparently some models of the 330 version supports the module, however please notice that the only processors that are listed in the documentation for the 15IKB are 7th generation processors, but according to your system, you have an 8th generation processor.

Considering this information, it may be possible that your system requires a BIOS update to support the module, or it may not support it at all, however this would be weird since it already included the module as you mentioned. Anyhow, the processor that you have is not included in the specifications for this laptop model, so I’m wondering how your laptop came with the 8th Gen processor and not the 7th Gen processor.

This information only makes me reinforce my previous suggestion to contact Lenovo* for clarification and for assistance to configure the module in your system correctly. The information we have is limited to help you with the configuration.

Have a nice day.

Regards,

Diego V.

Intel Customer Support Technician

Under Contract to Intel Corporation

[RAtma]

Hi

Thanks for the input. The thing is other people with the same computer are able to make optane work. So it must be something else. Moreover as you have mentioned optane is already included in the laptop, so it would be a huge mistake from lenovo to include a piece of hardware that is not supported by the laptop. In addition in the driver download section of my laptop, they include an rst driver so it should be supported.

I will try to find more information or try some other things. Anyway the only things I can think of is that maybe it has something to do with bios version o rst version. I have the latest ones y both cases. Some people that i have contacted have factory bios and haven't updated it yet.

Regards

[LeonWaksman]

Hi @RAtma​ 

1. I assume that you bought a laptop with Windows 10, HDD and Optane memory pre installed. Probably some thing happen causing that the Optane memory is disconnected?
2. As have written in the previous post, there is possibility to reset your laptop to factory settings. Did you try to use this future? Backup your data before resetting.

Leon

[RAtma]

Hi Leon,

I 've bought the laptop recently; a couple of weeks ago. At first I was not aware about optane too much. I got blue screen, maybe because of windows 10 update, I am not sure though. After this the only thing left for me was to reinstall windows 10. From that moment on I have been unable to run optane.

So far I have tried multiple bios versions and also several rst drivers without success. Right now I can't do factory reset because I get an error yet I have done it last week and It did not solve the issue. Right now I am trying to download windows 10 1709 and try with this version and with the factory bios after having downgraded it.

The only thing I haven't tried is altering partitions yet, because it seems that if I move the system drv partition I will lose it. In addition If I don't solve the problem I will try to get a refund on the laptop or at least a replacement that's why I don't want to mess to much with partitions. In addition as you have stated and some others unallocated space does not seem mandatory to run optane.

Anyway I will keep the post updated if I manage to find a solution, which by the way seems unlikely.

Have a nice day

[LeonWaksman]

Hi @RAtma​ ,

1. You may try to make image of your HDD as it is now. That will give you possibility to restore the disk state to the factory original state, in case that you will return this laptop. You may use for this different free software. I'm using https://www.backup-utility.com/downloads.html . With this utility you may prepare a disk image. You should prepare also a USB bootable disk with utility.
2. After having disk image saved, you can install latest version of Windows 10. The SATA chipset mode in bios, should be set to AHCI.
3. Prepare your installation USB, using Microsoft Media Creation tool https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/software-download/windows10
4. Boot your laptop from this installation USB and the installation will start. Follow those steps: https://www.tenforums.com/tutorials/1950-clean-install-windows-10-a.html
5. If you don't have your product key, you don't need to write it. Press I don't have product key. The key is saved in your bios.
6. Skip on paragraph 12 and continue in paragraph 13.

6.1 Delete all existing partition from your HDD, till you will see one unallocated space.

6.2 Now press on Next (do not press on format). The installation process should continue.

After Windows will run, you should install all the drivers and as the last, the Optane driver.

If you will take this above suggestions, you should do this on your own risk. Before starting try to restore your disk from saved disk image in order to check that the bootable USB and the image working.

Leon

[RAtma · Accepted solution]

Hi Leon,

Thanks for the advice. I finally asked for a replacement, not just because of my problems with making optane work but because the hard drive was too noisy. I will see if the new unit comes with optane already activated and it remains like this after getting updates, since I still don't know what really caused the first blue screen in my laptop.

I will post if I discover something about the issue.

Regards