Cannot create raid volume using 8TB Drives

[KTann]

I'm trying to create a raid volume using 2 drives that show in the Intel RST app as sata disks but when I try to create a raid volume the drives do not appear. Below are three images, the first showing the first drive properties. The second image show the first step when creating a raid volume (raid 1). The third shows only the SSD and the 1TB availble to add to new volume.

I've also tried to create the volume during boot sequence and select both drives as Raid 1 volume. However when doing so the drives appear as 3200Gb drives not 8Tb and when windows boots the volume is not created.

Finally I'm running Intel RST Version 15.5.0.1051.

I have not have difficulty creating raid volumes on this system using smaller/older drives. I'm wondering if I'm having issues because of the size or newness of the drives.

[KTann]

Here's screen shots from attempt to create the raid volume using the at boot. The anomalies start with recognizing the 8TB drives as 1308.0GB. After what appears to be a correct creation of the Raid volume, it boots to windows and one of the drives disappears from the os (just not visible), while the other functions normally. If I launch windows "Disk Management" it tries to initialize the drive that disappeared.

[KL2]

AFAIK the Intel Matrix / RST Option ROM needs to be at least 9.6.x.x in order to support drives of that size. 4K (512e) sector support started with 9.6.x.x: http://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/support/technologies/000005646.html http://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/support/technologies/000005646.html

It doesn't matter if only the RST driver is equal or greater than 9.6.x.x -- both the RST Option ROM and the RST driver need to be above that version for proper support.

Also, UEFI would only be required if you were *booting* to 4K (512e) / >2TB HDD's.

[idata · Accepted solution]

Hello kentann,

Thank you for contacting the Intel community. I will be more than glad to help you as much as I can with this problem, first of all, we will need to make sure you have UEFI enabled in the BIOS, it depends on the motherboard you have, you will find this option under the boot menu or you can check the manual or on the motherboard website to check where you can enable the UEFI. UEFI is required to use more than 2TB HDDS. Please see if that option is available with your motherboard. Best regards, Ivan.

[idata]

Hello ,I'm following on this post to ask you if your issue has been resolved or if you need further assistance.Regards,Ivan.

[KTann]

The system I have is an HPZ800 that does not support UEFI as far as I know. I hit all the screens in the HP BIOS Setup utility. None of them had any reference or options for enabling UEFI. I guess I have to presume this system will not support INTEL Raid for drives that exceed 2T.

[idata]

Hello kentann,

Being that the case, the UEFI it is require to use more than 2TB HDDS, perhaps you can try contacting your computer manufacturer to find out if they have some type of configuration or a way for you to use more than 2TB HDDS in your system. Best wishes, Ivan.

[KTann]

Actually, I am able to use the 8TB drives as individual volumes. I'm even able to span two 8TB drives in Windows Server. What I'm unable to do is create Raid volumes using the Intel raid control chipset.

[idata]

Thanks for your contribution on this post Gize2, I hope this can help kentann as well.

Regards, Ivan U.

[KTann]

Thanks Gize2! Sounds like your info is more accurate. As you can see from what I posted my system currently has Option Rom 8.6.0... I've updated the windows utility (Intel Rapid Storage Technology) to version 15.5.0.1051. Can you tell me if and how one can update the Intel Matrix Storage Manager option Rom from 8.6.xx to 9.6.xx? I've already updated the Systems (HP Z800 workstation) Motherboard BIOS to the latest version, that step did NOT update the option rom.

[KL2]

Officially, Matrix RAID / RST Option ROM updates are shipped with BIOS updates. There are unofficial ways of adding newer Option ROMS to BIOS files, but they are completely unsupported, and have the ability to brick your board.

If it were me, I'd look into getting something like an LSI 9240-4i or similar.

If you go that route, pay attention to the PCIe bus version, as newer cards (PCIe 3.0) may not like slowing down to the HP Z800 PCIe bus version (2.0). Also, look at which connectors are between the card and the backplane / HDD's, so you can acquire the correct cable.

Found this: http://h10032.www1.hp.com/ctg/Manual/c02027249 http://h10032.www1.hp.com/ctg/Manual/c02027249 In comparison to the 9240-4i, the 9260-8i has onboard RAM + 4 more internal SATA/SAS ports -- in other words, it's full hardware RAID.