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1343 Discussions

Optane Memory not working properly. Please help me.

EFade
Novice
1,669 Views

The issue I am having is that if I turn on my PC and enter the BIOS before loading into windows, the RST software allows me to enable/disable optane, however if I turn on my PC without entering the BIOS the optane settings disappear entirely. If I create an Optane array and then reboot without entering the BIOS the software throws incompatibility errors at me before eventually failing and requiring me to clear metadata from the SATA drive. I tried the 16.5 and 16.7 drivers, and I also tried the 15.9 drivers (the current ones on the site listed as latest), only the 16.5 and 16.7 would allow me to do anything as I am only trying to accelerate a secondary drive (not system drive), the 15.9 doesn't have that functionality.

 

Now for some details on my system

 

Asus Maximus XI Gene Z390 Mobo

Intel i9 9900k CPU

Samsung 970 Evo 1TB NVMe M.2 (Boot Drive)

Intel Optane 32GB Cache M.2

Seagate Barracuda 2TB SATA HDD (Drive I am trying to accelerate with Optane)

 

Both my Samsung and Intel M.2 drives are installed in the DIMM.2 slot on my motherboard and hence are using PCIE lanes direct to CPU (not chipset). The only thing I can think of to explain this weird response I am getting from the RST software, is that maybe the Intel M.2 needs to be hooked into the motherboard M.2 slots which run through the PCH rather than the CPU. Oh also, I tried uninstalling the RST software and just trying out the Optane software suite, it refuses to install and the error message cited is that apparently I have an incompatible chipset, it then proceeds to tell me I need a 200 series chipset, weird error because I have a 300 series motherboard which is newer and states it is Optane Ready.

 

Please help, what am I doing wrong here, why am I getting this weird behaviour and how do I fix it so that I can use my Optane cache drive to accelerate my secondary data drive. Sorry for the long writeup but I figured the more detailed I am the less you will need from me to work out my problem.

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EFade
Novice
651 Views

To anyone who is facing a similar issue to what I was facing, I can indeed confirm that running the Optane drive through direct CPU pcie lanes on the NVMe will cause issues for you, you must ensure to run it through a PCH (Chipset) lanes. In my case, I moved the module from the DIMM.2_2 slot into the M.2_2 slot (because it didn't show up at all in M.2_1 for some reason) and now Optane is working just fine with PCH remapping enabled in the BIOS.

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6 Replies
JosafathB_Intel
Moderator
651 Views
Hello EFade, Thank you for contacting Intel® Technical Support. As we understand, you need assistance with your Intel® Optane™ Memory. If we infer correctly we will appreciate if you can provide us with the following information: • The SSU logs. 1- Go to https://downloadcenter.intel.com/download/26735/ and download the software. 2- When finished downloading it, open it. 3- Attach the file obtained to your reply. • Please take into consideration that the RST 16.5 and 16.7 drivers have been removed for installer changes. We hope to have the updated driver available soon. Please check download center at a later date for an updated driver. • We recommend you to open a ticket in parallel with your original equipment manufacturer (OEM) Asus* in your case, in order to get the latest version of the driver, BIOS firmware and the recommended BIOS configuration in your motherboard and let us know the results. We will be looking forward to your reply including this information. Best regards, Josh B. Intel Customer Support Technician Under Contract to Intel Corporation
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EFade
Novice
651 Views

Hi Josh,

 

Thanks for your reply, I have attached the SSU logs, the link you gave me was for SSU Linux but I followed it through to the windows version and used that.

Please note that the logs I am uploading are with the new RST 16.8 drivers you have released, I installed the new 16.8 after first removing the older 15.9 from my system.

My motherboard BIOS is already fully up to date, I have also set SATA mode to Intel RST, CSM to disabled and Boot mode to Windows UEFI, all of the settings I could see that related to Optane I have set up.

 

I really believe that this could just be a matter of Optane does not run through direct CPU pcie lanes and only chipset lanes, but I will await your analysis and response before opening up my case and motherboard for changes.

 

Thanks and regards,

 

Emile F.

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JosafathB_Intel
Moderator
651 Views
Hello EFade, Thank you for your reply. Based on the SSU logs you shared we do not see any hardware issue regarding the Optane memory installed in your system. This being said we advise you to open a ticket in parallel with your original equipment manufacturer (OEM) Asus* in order to check with them this behavior and let us know the results. We will be looking forward to your reply including the Best regards, Josh B. Intel Customer Support Technician Under Contract to Intel Corporation
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EFade
Novice
651 Views

Hello Josh,

 

That's it? No mention at all as to my question of whether Optane works via CPU lanes rather than chipset lanes... just a palm off to the OEM Asus. Hmm okay thank you, I will swap the drive to the chipset lanes and try again.

 

Regards,

 

EFade

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EFade
Novice
652 Views

To anyone who is facing a similar issue to what I was facing, I can indeed confirm that running the Optane drive through direct CPU pcie lanes on the NVMe will cause issues for you, you must ensure to run it through a PCH (Chipset) lanes. In my case, I moved the module from the DIMM.2_2 slot into the M.2_2 slot (because it didn't show up at all in M.2_1 for some reason) and now Optane is working just fine with PCH remapping enabled in the BIOS.

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JosafathB_Intel
Moderator
651 Views

Hello EFade

 

Thank you for your reply.

 

We appreciate the time you took to share your solution with the community. If you need further assistance please do not hesitate to contact us back.

 

Best regards.

 

Josh B.

Intel Customer Support Technician

Under Contract to Intel Corporation

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