BSOD on Dell T7810 iaStorb.sys IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL RST version 4.6.0.2116

[Cabzinrah]

Having gotten nothing from Dell support except "update to the latest RST for your host" I am going to try Intel support. This seems to have begun with version 4.6.0.2116 and a rollback may be worthwhile. The "Dell Command | Update" tool is responsible for updating my hosts drivers and frankly is what started the issue.  

I have read the comments on EOL for RST support for my Intel C600+/C220+ series chipset sSATA AHCI Controller on this host. That said, this version *may not* be optimal from the BSOD's I see.

I should note that I have found no correlation on activities being performed versus when the BSOD's occur. The host can be idle and have it occur.

The Win10 is fully updated ; chkdsk, dism, and sfc outputs are all squeaky clean

Your are my last resort as Dell, to which I am paying support dollars, is not resolving this.

Thanks in advance.

[Cabzinrah]

I should have added that Dell had me run the Dell ePSA diagnostics at boot time and again results were clean.

[n_scott_pearson]

Are you actually using RAID? It doesn't seem like it. If not, RST is doing absolutely nothing for you; uninstall it.

...S

[Cabzinrah]

Yes. C-drive is a pair of SSD's in RAID 1 and the D-drive is a pair of SATA's also in RAID 1.

[n_scott_pearson]

All SATA devices, I presume? I know that you can use RAID for two NVMe SSDs (provided both are using PCH PCIe Lanes) or for some number of SATA drives, but I didn't think you could mix NVMe and SATA arrays in one box, even if NVMe drives are isolated to a single array.

...S

[Cabzinrah]

Correct. Off of the of the original order from Dell:

MegaRAID SAS 9341-8i 12Gb/s PCIe SATA/SAS controller - SW RAID 0, 1,5,10

C12 PCIe SSD Boot, plus 0-2 matching 3.5" SATA Hard Drives

RAID 1

PCIe Boot Drive Selected

Dell PCIe SSD Full-Height Card - holds up to 2 x M.2 Solid State Drives

M.2 512GB PCIe NVMe Class 40 Solid State Drive

Additional Drive: 3.5 inch 2TB SATA 7.2k RPM HDD

Additional Drive: 3.5 inch 2TB SATA 7.2k RPM HDD

[n_scott_pearson]

Sorry, I am coming up empty. Intel Customer Support may have to get involved with this case - if this isn't one they punt on because of EOL.

...S

[Cabzinrah]

Thank you Scott. Yes I hope they can at least suggest a course of action.  Not asking them to patch something that is EOL naturally ; just provide a workaround if possible.

[BrusC_Intel]

Hello, Cabzinrah.

Good day,

I checked the information provided in the ticket and the error message, I will be glad to assist you.

Regarding the driver version, is there a particular reason for you to not perform the update to a newer version of the driver?

Looking at the downloads page for T7810, the latest driver seems to be 5.5.4.1037, it does not list a specific fix for something like this, but it may include other fixes released "between" versions:

- https://www.dell.com/support/home/en-us/drivers/driversdetails?driverid=2206f&oscode=wt64a&productcode=precision-t7810-workstation

Your driver being an OEM version, the best option is to contact the system manufacturer, but I completely understand you already tried that, so let me know if the issue persists even with the latest version (5.5.4.1037) and I will check if there is anything else we can try.

Best regards,

Bruce C.

Intel Customer Support Technician

A Contingent Worker at Intel

[Cabzinrah]

Hi Bruce,

You may have discovery a bug (or a feature?) of the "Dell Command | Update tool". It would say that all was up to date with 4.6.0.2116. I went ahead and installed 5.5.4.1036 (see attached SystemReport) by way of your link. Re-ran "Dell Command | Update tool" and it now finds 5.5.4.1037, so I let the tool install that incremental update. After a reboot though, I still find the IRST SystemReport shows 5.5.4.1036 in place.

Either way I am excited that this has a chance now of resolving the BSOD issue but only time will tell. I don't understand why either the old or new report doesn't show a RAID 1 config for the D-drive. This should have been done prior to it being shipped.

[Cabzinrah]

I've attached screenshots of the RAID config in the bios which appears correct from the factory. Just curious why the SystemReport from Intel RST doesn't see this.

[BrusC_Intel]

Hello, Cabzinrah.

The reason for that is because your RAID is not being managed by Intel RSTe, the AVAGO MegaRAID controller is in charge of that, this according to the RSTe report, SSU and now screenshots from your BIOS configuration.

You may need to check with the controller or equipment manufacturer what options you have available to manage the RAID directly from the OS since RSTe is not actually the one in use.

If I can help you with anything else, please let me know.

Best regards,

Bruce C.

Intel Customer Support Technician

A Contingent Worker at Intel

[Cabzinrah]

Hi Bruce,

Well that does give me pause. Here's why:

1) It was RSTe that installed the iaStorb.sys file in the subject line that is where the BSOD is dying so clearly it is in the call stack

2) @n_scott_pearson noticed this earlier and mentioned why not simply uninstall RST. I thought it was being used due to the BSOD so did not feel it was something I'd want to try

Is this a case of the old Doctor doctor joke?

          Patient: Doctor doctor it hurts when I do this

          Doctor: Don't do that!

Thank for your time on this Bruce.

[BrusC_Intel]

Hello, Cabzinrah.

That's one way to look at it, but yes, this could be one of those cases.

Since RSTe is not in use according to the details, you should be fine uninstalling it as n_scott_pearson mentioned, specially if for some reason it is conflicting and generating a BSOD.

Best regards,

Bruce C.

Intel Customer Support Technician

A contingent Worker at Intel

[Cabzinrah]

Fair enough Bruce. If I see the same BSOD again after the version update I will uninstall RST.

Thanks!

[BrusC_Intel]

Hello, Cabzinrah.

I hope everything will continue working fine after that.

If you need any type of assistance from Intel in the future, you can always contact us back.

Best regards,

Bruce C.

Intel Customer Support Technician

A Contingent Worker at Intel