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1343 Discussions

Optane H10 - Crash - How recover data ?

Pierluigi
Beginner
7,326 Views

Today my zenbooh that uses Optane H10 hard drive (32GB + 512GB) while I was working suddenly presented BSOD related to STORAGE.

After this event the notebook not load Windows 10 anymore, after some tries to autorecover, the system stop to laod and shown advanced recovery option.

This is the second time I note this issue.

The first time it happened the same day i bought the notebook, and i suppose it was only a defective unit, no personal data stored, so no problem for me. Solved with notebook replace by reseller.

Now I've got stored in the hard drive very important data and i need to recover them.

I tried to boot using a Linux live distribution, but altought I see all disk and partition, I can't access to DATA partition. It seems that is not NTFS. I can't mount it in traditional way.

I suppose that DATA partition use a RAID configuration togheter with 32 GB cache.

I ask for a solution to read my data and store it in external hard drive...

Please help me....

- Pierluigi

 

 

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14 Replies
n_scott_pearson
Super User
7,308 Views

So, I will leave it to Intel Customer Support to cover the issue of file recovery. I want to explain the situation your data is in...

At any point in time, a portion of the file system's file structure data is cached in the Optane memory. As well, all or portions of individual files could be cached in the Optane memory. When you have a failure like this, you essentially lose whatever is cached in the Optane memory. This means that the file system on the drive is likely corrupted, as is any files that had been cached. Repair tools can be used to fix portions of the corruption and recovery tool can be used to find and restore most files. Unfortunately, files that have been partially cached will lose the portion that was cached. 

I personally would not trust this device ever again. Recover what you can and then replace the device.

Hope this helps,

...S

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Pierluigi
Beginner
7,304 Views

Dear Scott,

thank you for your explanation.

Which repair tool I can use to recovery my data ?

Windows not load anymore.

Booting with Linux I see all partition but I can't mount data partition (the biggest).

At this time my goal is recovery data. If only a few files are corrupted is a minor problem.

The notebook has 6 month life and is under warranty, so is not a problem to replace the fail drive.

 

 

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n_scott_pearson
Super User
7,288 Views

@Pierluigi,

I have never had to do it (I always have a backup), so haven't explored recovery tools. I thus will leave it to Intel Customer Support to cover the issue of file recovery.

Sorry,

...S

JosafathB_Intel
Moderator
7,259 Views

Hello Pierluigi,

 

Thank you for contacting Intel® Memory and Storage support.

 

As we understand, you need assistance with your Intel® Optane™ Memory H10 with Solid State Storage that came preinstalled on your Asus* ZenBook.

 

We are sorry to hear that you are experiencing issues for the second time with this PC model.

 

In this case, our first recommendation is to contact your PC manufacturer (OEM) to check the recovery options that this company has available for you.

 

In case they do not have a data recovery option and they offer a replacement as you described to happen the first time, our advice is the following:

 

1- Consult with the OEM if there is an option to deactivate the Optane acceleration from the BIOS. If that is a possibility and you successfully deactivate the acceleration, you can try the Windows recovery one more time. If this process fails to recover the OS and the information, then you may want to try with your Linux live distribution to attempt to extract your data from the Storage partition.

 

2- The Data Recovery Options for Intel® SSDs article (https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/support/articles/000006357/memory-and-storage.html) provides a list of companies available to help you with data recovery for your Intel® Solid State Drive. Contact your choice from the companies listed for pricing, services, and terms.

 

Note

Intel does not represent these companies nor recommend one over the other. Also, we don't reimburse customers for this service, and we don't guarantee data recovery services.

 

* Please take into consideration that we are giving these recommendations as a best effort to help you to try to recover your data since the support of your equipment should be provided by your PC original equipment manufacturer (OEM) and as mentioned by the superuser. Intel® strongly recommends customers to have a method of recovering data in the event the SSD is no longer accessible (online backup, backup drive, etc).

 

We are going to follow up with you again next Thursday, the 3rd of December 2020, if we do not receive an answer from you. Please let me know if you would like to schedule a different date for the follow-up.

 

Best regards,

 

Josh B.

Intel® Customer Support Technician.

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Pierluigi
Beginner
7,254 Views

Dear Josh,

thank you for your answer,

I have already opened a ticket with ASUS, but the solution proposed to recovery my data leaves me doubtful, try to reinstall Windows again from USB key.

Reinstall Windows from USB key over existing intallation is quite dangerous and I'm almost sure that my data can be permanently lost.

About the option to deactivate Optane accleration it seem not present in Zenbook BIOS, i'll ask tomorrow to ASUS.

While waiting for a response from the suppor I tried to use my experience in computer forensic by making the physical copy of the two drives (32GB + 512GB) using a Linux distribution with the "dd" command and I made several tests to recover the data without damaging or altering change the contents of the original disks.

In linux the Optane is seen like two NVME separate hard drive.

I note reading documentation about Optane architecture that the data are splitted across the two drivers, so it seems impossible to read them without Windows 10, supported hardware and driver.

So my questions are:

1 - Using the "dd" command I've got the real "phisical copy" of hard drives content ?

If YES, I can try the suggested ASUS procedure to try to recover my data.

If soethings goes wron I can replace the data from "dd" copies returing to the previous state ?

2 - About the option to deactivate the Optane acceleration, Intel provide a software tool to make this using another PC and a RAW copy of Optane SSD units ?.

3 - Optane encrypts the cache drive ?

I tried to access to the raw images of disks using a Virtual Machine with Windows 10, and the 32 GB disk is recognized like "Bitlocker  encrypted", but in my notebook there was Windows 10 Home and Bitlocker is not supported.... IBitlocker needs Wndows 10 PRO...

I hope to receive some suggestions to find a way to recovery.....

Thanks in advance.

  • Pierluigi

 

 

 

 

 

 

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JosafathB_Intel
Moderator
7,236 Views

Hello Pierluigi,

 

To answer your questions:

 

1 - Using the "dd" command I've got the real "physical copy" of hard drive content?

 

R/ The “dd” command in Linux is useful to generate images of storage devices, and it can create an image file that will contain the information as it is.

 

-If YES, I can try the suggested ASUS procedure to try to recover my data.

 

R/ That is an option but take into consideration that since you can not check the information contained on the file, we can not trust this method a 100%

 

-If something goes wrong, can I replace the data from "dd" copies returning to the previous state?

 

R/Normally it will allow you to restore the image created to the storage media, but remember that your Optane is an OEM H10, and we do not know about the extra security or modifications that ASUS* may have done to this hardware.

 

2 - About the option to deactivate the Optane acceleration, Intel provides a software tool to make this using another PC and a RAW copy of Optane SSD units ?.

 

We do not offer a software solution that allows you to copy or clone the information from your current media to another storage device.

 

3 - Optane encrypts the cache drive?

 

R/ No The Optane do not encrypts the information, but remember that this is an OEM Intel® Optane™ Memory H10 with Solid State Storage, and we are not aware of the Asus* modifications

* Take into consideration that the OEM creates and modifies their solutions to fit their needs, and they have their list of compatible hardware and software that sometimes is different from our list. For example, there are cases that some of the systems need a specific BIOS or software configuration to be able to work with an OS, add-on hardware, or feature.

 

-I tried to access the raw images of disks using a Virtual Machine with Windows 10, and the 32 GB disk is recognized as "Bitlocker encrypted", but in my notebook, there was Windows 10 Home, and Bitlocker is not supported... BitLocker needs Windows 10 PRO...

 

R/ This is unusual behavior, and it is a good idea to consult with the OEM Asus* regarding this issue.

 

Our recommendation is to continue with the support that Asus* is offering you since they have tools that can diagnose if there is a hardware or software issue that provoked the PC to have this issue.

 

We are going to follow up with you again next Thursday, the 3rd of December 2020, if we do not receive an answer from you. Please let me know if you would like to schedule a different date for the follow-up.

 

We will be looking forward to your reply in case you need further assistance.

 

Best regards,

 

Josh B.
Intel® Customer Support Technician

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Pierluigi
Beginner
7,233 Views

Dear Josh,

your answer are very clear.

BTW, today I'll contact ASUS like you suggested and in the next few days I'll post the result of this issue.

My experience with Optane tecnology proceed, so now I've got more knowledge on it.

BTW, I haven't found detailed technical documentation about Optane architecture (documents for insiders or OEM).

I'm an electronic engineer specialized in computer science, so I can read easily in-depth information.

Can you post the links to this type of documentation ?

Like last information after other test I made,  I can tell that using several recovery software to recover ONLY the data partition on the biggest drive (no cache H10 associated) I can see only directory structure that seems a fresh Windows intallation.

It seems like that the FAT stored in the data partition is not joined with H10 cache and it is not the real one (the real is in the cache driver ??) or it was automatically rewritten by windows when it attempted to recovery from the startup error.

Otherwise the work I have done is useless if not associated with the cahce unit ?

Cache and data drive must be seen as a single unit ?

About the BIOS, I suppose to have found the option to "deassociate" Optane drive.

It's called "Reset to non-Optane".

Always in the BIOS I note that the Optane drive status is: "incomplete Optane Volume"

Could it mean that the cache driver is damaged ?

I hope to find more details in the insider documentation of Optane architecture if exist.

 

Thanks in advance, for your precious and professional support

- Pierluigi

 

 

 

 

 

 

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JosafathB_Intel
Moderator
7,226 Views

Hello Pierluigi,

 

Thank you for your reply.

 

To answer your questions:

 

1- Can you post the links to this type of documentation?

R/ The documentation you are requesting is not available for the public.

 

2- It seems like that the FAT stored in the data partition is not joined with the H10 cache and, it is not the real one (the real is in the cache driver ??), or it was automatically rewritten by windows when it attempted to recover from the startup error.

R/ I hope it is not the case that the Windows recovery deleted all your information and tried to restore your bootable drive to the factory defaults (Fresh installation).

 

3- Otherwise, the work I have done is useless if not associated with the cache unit?

R/ I can not assure you if it is fruitless or not, but as long as you can see the files, I may say that it was not useless. But in the case that your information is not in the USER folder, it may be.

 

4- Cache and data drive must be seen as a single unit?

R/ If the Optane acceleration is still active and linking both sides of the H10 (the Optane 32GB side and the 512GB storage side), it is going to be seen as a single unit that will be similar to a RAID 0.

 

*5- About the BIOS, I suppose to have found the option to "disassociate" the Optane drive. It's called "Reset to non-Optane".

R/ That's great seems to be the option that I was talking about in my previous post that will allow you to disassociate the Optane memory side from the Storage side from the BIOS. Since you already have a DD image of this drive will be a good idea to try to "reset to non-optane" and to follow the steps I shared with you before.

 

6- Always in the BIOS, I note that the Optane drive status is: "incomplete Optane Volume" Could it mean that the cache driver is damaged?

R/ I hope it is reflecting the state that the Optane is currently at since the OS is not usable, and the Windows* recovery failed. I am hoping it does not pointing to a hardware issue because if it is, it can cause your information to do not be accessible. Let's stay positive and try the previous steps to extract the data from the drive, and if it does not work, there is always the option to contact Asus* since it is under warranty.

 

We are going to follow up with you again next Friday, the 4th of December 2020, if we do not receive an answer from you. Please let me know if you would like to schedule a different date for the follow-up.

 

We will be looking forward to your reply in case you need further assistance.

 

Best regards,

 

Josh B.
Intel® Customer Support Technician

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JosafathB_Intel
Moderator
7,212 Views

Hello Pierluigi,

 

Greetings from; Intel® Memory and Storage support.

 

We were reviewing your community thread, which is related to the Intel® Optane™ Memory H10 with Solid State Storage that came preinstalled on your Asus* ZenBook. We would like to know if you were able to get your information extracted from the drive.

 

We are going to follow up with you again next Tuesday, the 8th of December 2020, if we do not receive an answer from you. Please let me know if you would like to schedule a different date for the follow-up.

 

We will be looking forward to your reply in case you need further assistance.

 

Best regards,

Josh B.
Intel® Customer Support Technician

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Pierluigi
Beginner
7,192 Views

Hello Jash,

today I called ASUS to ask confirmation about the best procedure to restore Windows without lose data.

For them the best way is reinstall Windows using an USB key over the exiting partition.

I follow suggested procedure and the result was that I've got a fresh installation on a SINGLE drive (Optane drive is not used) and my data are gone away......

Related to my previous post I note in the BIOS an option called Reset to NON-OPTANE and I suppose it was the "deconcatenate" option you suggest me.

Instead this option is for delete all data and "de-jon" the Optane drives. See pictur attached.

So now I've got a notebook with windows installed on a single drive without optimized drivers and no data recovery....

Booting with an external Linux USB I can mount the NTFS data partition and read the data because Optane drive isn't active.

Can I use H10 drive in SINGLE drive mode (only 512GB drive) ?

I prefer to have an accessible driver instead an accelerated drive not accessible in event of crash...

Performance of SINGLE drive configuration are the same of an NVME SSD standard drive ?

At this time I haven't found any recoery software that support Optane architecture to try to recover my data from backup images.

I've written to ASUS to have more informations if possible.

I'll take the community updated.

Thanks for your precious support.

- Pierluigi

 

 

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JosafathB_Intel
Moderator
7,185 Views

Hello Pierluigi,

 

Thank you for your reply.

 

To answer your questions:

 

1- Can I use H10 drive in SINGLE drive mode (only 512GB drive)?

R/ We do not recommend this configuration, but yes, it is possible to use the storage portion without the Optane acceleration side.

 

2- Performance of the SINGLE drive configuration is the same as an NVME SSD standard drive?

R/ The performance will be slower than before due to the Optane site not be working with the Storage regarding performance. We advise you to consult Asus*.

 

We hope your OEM can provide you with more information.


We are going to follow up with you again next Thursday, the 10th of December 2020, if we do not receive an answer from you. Please let me know if you would like to schedule a different date for the follow-up.

 

We will be looking forward to your reply in case you need further assistance.

 

Best regards,

 

Josh B.
Intel® Customer Support Technician

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JosafathB_Intel
Moderator
7,172 Views

Hello Pierluigi,

 

Greetings from; Intel® Memory and Storage support.

 

We were reviewing your community thread, which is related to your Intel® Optane™ Memory H10 with Solid State Storage. We would like to know if you were able to contact the PC OEM.

 

We are going to follow up with you again next Friday, the 11th of December 2020, if we do not receive an answer from you. Please let me know if you would like to schedule a different date for the follow-up.

 

We will be looking forward to your reply in case you need further assistance.

 

Best regards,

 

Josh B.

Intel® Customer Support Technician

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Pierluigi
Beginner
7,158 Views

Dear Josh,

I contact OEM, the final solution is to send the notebook to technical service for a complete check in warranty.

BTW, I've not received any support about the possibility to recovery data. The first solution provided to me (as described in a previous post) was to reinstall Windows from USB Key, but without any trick about the presence of Optane memory, so reinstall left the warning in the BIOS: Inconsistence Optane Volume and windows was installed on the main drive...without Optane acceleration.

Optane acceleration it's impossible to enable in windows after RST driver installation because is showned an error. Not avilable volme for Optane or too many driver in the system...

So in second attempt OEM ask to me to send the notebook to technical service.

When this case will be closed could be a good idea create a new post to share my experience about ptane memory. I know more information about this new architecture.

What do you think about ?

 

Regards,

- Pierluigi

 

 

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JosafathB_Intel
Moderator
7,148 Views

Hello Pierluigi,

 

Thank you for your reply.

 

We are glad to hear that your OEM technical support is going to examine your PC to discard any hardware damage that may have caused this weird behavior.

 

Regarding your findings and information, it will be welcome in our community. This feedback and knowledge will be valuable to other community members that may experience similar symptoms or behaviors with their PCs and need help on how to proceed.

 

Feel free to continue posting on this thread the results after your OEM returns your PC to you. We will not be monitoring this thread, but in case you need support related to an Intel® product, feel free to post a new community thread to assist you.

 

It has been a pleasure to assist you, and please do not hesitate to contact us if you need further assistance.

 

Best regards,

 

Josh B.

Intel® Customer Support Technician

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