I have three RST drivers installed on my system but RST not listed in Programs and Features

[JJohn36]

I have three RST drivers in the \Windows\system32\drivers folder on my 6-year old HP desktop but RST is not listed in the Programs and Features list of installed software. How can I find out what these belong to and whether they will give me a problem with Win10 v1903?

JohnD

       DATE/TIME            SIZE NAME               VERSION

    --------------------  ------- -----------------  ----------------

 1. 11/12/2013 12:32 AM  644,968 iaStorA.sys        12.8.2.1000

 2. 09/15/2018 12:28 AM  885,048 iaStorAVC.sys      15.44.0.1010

 3. 09/15/2018 12:28 AM  411,960 iaStorV.sys        8.6.2.1019

EDIT: I found more information about iaStorA.sys. Apparently it was installed as part of the "Intel 8 Series/C220 Chipset Family SATA AHCI Controller" drivers back in June 2016 when I upgraded the computer to Win10. That driver had been on the system when I had Windows 8. It is currently running on the system. I don't know where the other two came from.

[David_V_Intel]

Hello JJohn36,

Thank you for posting on the Intel ® communities.

Have you actually attempted the update? Normally if there is an error with the version you have there will be a pop-up that shows an error message. If not, please attempt to update.

Keep in mind also, that it is recommended to use the drivers provided by the system manufacturer before using the generic drivers, this is because we supply generic versions of graphics drivers for general purposes. Computer manufacturers can change the features, incorporate customizations, or make other changes to the driver software or software packaging. So please, try using the one provided by HP* first. 

Let me know the outcome of the update.

David V

Intel Customer Support Technician

A Contingent Worker at Intel

[JJohn36]

David,

No I have not attempted the update.

1. I am confused as to what to download since no RST shows in Programs and Features. Will an RST update just install an updated iaStorA.sys driver or other things such as possibly a replacement driver? Would it replace iaStorA.sys with iaStorAVC.sys as the driver for the SATA AHCI Controller? From the many posts I have seen, it appears that the RST update is not removing the older iaStorA.sys which is what is causing the Win10 v1903 installation to fail.
2. The current iaStorA.sys I have does not fall in the range of problem RST drivers (15.1.... to 15.5...) so I was not sure if it was necessary to do an update. Would there be any issues using a new driver with such an old computer.
3. This computer is 6 years old. HP no longer has driver updates available for this system. I would have to get any driver from Intel. Would this be a problem?
4. This especially seems to be an issue with HP computers although others are likely involved as well. I have access to a newer HP desktop in the local computer club to which I belong. This computer also has the same SATA AHCI Controller device with the iaStorA.sys driver. Fortunately there are still updates for it.

JohnD

[Alberto_R_Intel]

JJohn36, thank you very much for letting us know those details.

You can always run the Windows* 10 update even though you have those 3 files installed in there, just please make sure that Windows* 10 was validated by HP as fully compatible with your hardware. If there are no drivers for Windows* 10 available in HP's web site, it means that the Operating System was not validated and there might be some errors in doing the Windows* update.

In reference to your first question, HP has the option to do customizations on their systems, so probably they are the ones that installed those other 2 drivers in your computer.

The Intel® RST update it will not only install the iaStorA.sys driver, it will update the whole application. It will not replace iaStorA.sys with iaStorAVC.sys even though the driver is for the SATA AHCI Controller.

If you get an error message related to iaStorA.sys driver while doing the Windows* 10 updates, then please follow the steps in the link below and then run the update:

https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/support/articles/000055130/technologies/intel-rapid-storage-technology-intel-rst.html

If you are not using Intel® RST drivers from 15.1.0.1002 and 15.5.2.1053 then the Intel® RST update will not be necessary, especially if you are not using a RAID configuration.

There will be no problems installing the Intel® RST version provided in the link above, but that version is generic, meaning it might or might not work with your platform, that is why we recommend to install the Intel® RST driver provided by the manufacturer of the computer since that driver was customized by them work with your specific system.

Regards,

Alberto R.

Intel Customer Support Technician

A Contingent Worker at Intel

[JJohn36]

Alberto,

Thanks for your response. I suspect that the second two iaStor*.sys files were automatically installed by the v1809 Feature Update. Another person has mentioned he has noticed the same thing. The reason I cannot get any driver updates for my system is that HP made an arbitrary decision to not provide Windows 10 drivers for any system sold prior to August 2013. I purchased mine in July 2013 like one month makes a difference. The only updates available to me are those for Windows 8.1 which I had applied prior to upgrading to Windows 10. I have had no issues with this computer, updating to each Windows 10 upgrade that has been released since then. I suspect that will continue with v1903. Since the version of iaStorA.sys, although old, is not within the range of potentially problematic versions, I will refrain from updating it. I will most likely replace that HP computer within a year anyway.

I do have a Dell laptop which does have the problematic iaStorA.sys driver (v15.2.2.1030). Dell does have a newer version (15.7.2.1025), although not the latest, it is beyond the problematic range. I will update the laptop to that version.

Thanks for your assistance.

JohnD

[Alberto_R_Intel]

JJohn36, You are very welcome, thank you very much for letting us know those details.

And yes, the manufacturer of the computer has the option to validate which Operating Systems will work with their units and which drivers will be available for them.

As you mentioned, if the computer is working fine, then, there is no reason to do the update.

To purchase a new platform will be the best thing to do to avoid any particular errors while updating the Operating System and the drivers.

Any other inquiry, do not hesitate to contact us again.

Regards,

Alberto R.

Intel Customer Support Technician

A Contingent Worker at Intel