Abnormal Status Reported by Rapid Storage Technology UEFI Driver

[RonR]

On every restart of my computer, starting this morning, I see that error message during the boot process.  The computer continues to boot normally.

System: Except it is only showing a single NVMe drive where there should be two.

Computer:      ASRock Z690 Taichi
CPU:           Intel Core i7-12700K (Alder Lake-S 841, C0)
               3600 MHz (36.00x100.0) @ 4900 MHz (49.00x100.0)
Motherboard:   ASRock Z690 Taichi
BIOS:          15.01, 02/09/2023
Chipset:       Intel Z690 (Alder Lake-S PCH)
Memory:        32768 MBytes @ 2400 MHz, 40-40-40-76
               - 16384 MB PC44800 DDR5 SDRAM - G.Skill F5-5600U3636C16G
               - 16384 MB PC44800 DDR5 SDRAM - G.Skill F5-5600U3636C16G
Graphics:      EVGA RTX 3080 Ti FTW3 ULTRA GAMING (12G-P5-3967)
               NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti, 12288 MB GDDR6X SDRAM
Drive:         M4-CT512M4SSD2, 500.1 GB, Serial ATA 6Gb/s @ 6Gb/s
Drive:         M4-CT512M4SSD2, 500.1 GB, Serial ATA 6Gb/s @ 6Gb/s
Drive:         Samsung SSD 970 EVO Plus 2TB, 1953.5 GB, NVMe
Drive:         ATAPI   iHAS424   B, DVD+R DL
Sound:         Intel Alder Lake-S PCH - cAVS (Audio, Voice, Speech)
Sound:         NVIDIA GA102 - High Definition Audio Controller
Network:       Killer Wi-Fi 6E AX1675i 160MHz Wireless Network Adapter (211NGW)
Network:       Intel Alder Lake PCH - I219-V GbE Controller (Consumer)
Network:       RealTek Semiconductor/Killer E3000 2.5 Gigabit Ethernet Controller
OS:            Microsoft Windows 11 Professional (x64) Build 22621.3880 (22H2)

Driver Information                                                              
Driver Manufacturer:  Intel Corporation
Driver Description:   Intel RST VMD Controller 467F
Driver Provider:      Intel Corporation
Driver Version:       19.5.0.1037
Driver Date:          02-Jun-2022

The UEFI Bios indicates that the Status is "Degraded"; one Drive is "Raid Member" and the other drive is "Error Occurred".

Systems is set to RAID 1 and was working normally since built about a year ago.

No recent hardware or software changes, except there was a windows update this morning.

Screen shots from BIOS:

Please advise.

[AlfredoS_Intel]

Hi Ronr,

Thank you for posting in Intel Communities.

To accurately provide you advice, we need to get more context on the issue. Kindly let us ask the following questions, where we will derive our answers from:

1. Have you activated the Intel Smart Response Technology on the Intel RST software? You may refer to this page to find out what it is?

Best Regards,

Alfred S

Intel® Customer Support Technician

[RonR]

Alfred,

Thank you for responding.

However, the link you provided goes nowhere. It shows as:  "about:blank"

Also, is this useful when, as you can see from my screenshots and system parameters, the Intel RAID controller is in the hardware of my motherboard and not software RAID.

Best wishes,

   Ron

[RonR]

I seem to have messed up.

Not having heard from you, I decided to remove the failed SSD and send it off for warranty repair/replacement.

After I did that, on the next startup of my computer, the BIOS reset itself to "default settings" (which does NOT include RAID) and the other drive in the RAID1 array would no longer boot to windows.

I have heard this is because there is information on that drive that says it is part of a RAID array. Of course, since the BIOS reset itself, there is no RAID and, since there is only the single drive, I cannot set up a RAID array.

I have backups of the entire disk. I am also able to access the information on that disk by installing Windows on another SSD in my computer.

BUT, when I finally get a replacement drive, will there be any way of reconstituting the original RAID1 array without destroying the information on the existing drive?

[AlfredoS_Intel]

Hi Ronr,

We appreciate the update that you provided about the drive.

Please allow us some time to further check the additional questions that you have posted based on the current status of the system.

By the way, here is the link again that we have shared in our previous post.

We will get back to you once we have updates.

Best Regards,

Alfred S

Intel Customer Support Technician

[RonR]

Dear Alfred,

Reading throught the pre-installation notes from the link you provided, which is an article on the Dell website, not an Intel or ASRock article, it does not seem applicable.

In particular, 

1. "If the system is in AHCI or ATA mode, Smart response cannot be configured."

As I wrote above, after removing the SSD, the BIOS reset itself to default settings and RAID is not longer available as an option.

I do have the single disc from the original RAID array, but it is non-bootable.

Again, my question: Is there any way of recreating the RAID1 array without destroying the data on the disc, once I have a functioning 2nd disc?

[RonR]

Alfred,

Reading further about the Intel Rapid Response Technology on an Intel page, I continue to question what it has to do with my system or my problem, or why I would activate it.

"Intel® Smart Response Technology is a feature of Intel® Rapid Storage Technology (Intel® RST) that enables either a dual drive—lower-cost, small-capacity SSD used in conjunction with a low-cost, high-capacity hard disk drive (HDD)—or a solid state hybrid drive (SSHD) to provide a high-performance, cost-effective storage solution.'

That seems to have nothing to do with a standard RAID 1 configuration. What am I missing here?

Ron

[AlfredoS_Intel]

Hi Ronr,

Thank you for waiting for our update.

To answer your questions, Yes, it is possible to reconstitute the original RAID1 array without destroying the data on the existing drive. Here’s how you can do it:

1. Install the Replacement Drive: Once you receive the replacement SSD, install it in your computer.

2. Enter BIOS and Reconfigure RAID: Access the BIOS settings and re-enable RAID. Ensure that the configuration recognizes the new drive as part of the RAID1 array.

3. Rebuild the RAID Array: Use the RAID management utility to rebuild the RAID1 array. This process should mirror the data from the existing drive to the new one without destroying the data on the current drive. Be sure to select the option that preserves the data on the existing drive.

Since you have backups of the entire disk, you have an additional safety net. If the RAID rebuild process does not go as planned, you can restore the data from your backups.

It's also a good idea to consult your motherboard or RAID controller's manual for specific instructions on rebuilding a RAID1 array, as the steps can vary depending on the hardware.

To respond to your earlier posts, we were just checking if you have Smart Response Technology activated on the system, as this may be a cause problems in rebuilding your RAID array. It seems you did not activate it, so you can ignore that subject.

We look forward to your feedback regarding our post.

Best Regards,

Alfred S

Intel Customer Support Technician

[AlfredoS_Intel]

Hi Ronr,

We are just following up.

It looks like you need more time to check with your system manufacturer since we have not heard from you. 

Should we not hear from you, our system may automatically close the thread.

Best Regards,

Alfred S

Intel Customer Support Technician

[RonR]

I was not able to re-enable RAID, so I would up recreating the RAID array and then recovering from a Backup.

That worked OK and my system seems to be functioning normally at this time.

Thank you.

[AlfredoS_Intel]

Hi Ronr, 

I deeply appreciate the update that you provided.

I am glad to know that your issue is already resolved.

If you would like to give us an update or if you have further questions, please submit a new question as this thread will no longer being monitored.

Thank you for contacting Intel® and have a great year.

Best Regards,

Alfred S

Intel Customer Support Technician