'Link Power Management' in 'Intel Optane Memory and Storage Management', enable or disable?

[k371]

I use a laptop, my OS drive is an NVME SSD and I have another 2.5" SATA HDD installed inside, I don't use Intel Optane but 'Intel Optane Memory and Storage Management' driver/software comes with the laptop (or at least it's in the drivers download page of the product). Should I enable or disable this option? After some googling, it seems that enabling it can cause problems such as HDD being forced to 'sleep' and 'wake up' repeatedly and it can shorten its lifespan. But I'm not sure to disable it since the option is enabled by default. Picture for reference below

[k371]

Also in power options, there's also similar setting called 'Link State Power Management', I wonder if they do the same thing/they might clash with each other

[n_scott_pearson]

If you are not using an Optane module/drive and you are not using RAID, then you do not need Intel RST at all and having it is a complication you do not need. I would uninstall its driver package if installed and, if its SATA Mode parameter in BIOS Setup is set to RAID or Optane, change it back to the AHCI setting.

As for the Link Power Management settings, I would leave this feature enabled so that the SATA channels can be shutdown to save power when the system is idle and not using them.

Hope this helps,

...S

[k371]

I tried to set SATA mode to AHCI once in my previous Windows installation and previous SSD, and after it restarted it would go into "No Bootable Device" screen. I had to restart the laptop again and set the SATA mode back to RST Premium + Optane (which is the default mode if I reset the options in my BIOS).

As for the Link Power Management settings, I heard that it can cause unnecessary wear and tear to the HDD.. I haven't seen any result from googling "Intel Link Power management disable or enable" that has said to leave it enabled..

[LividLeon]

You can't just switch and my dell come like that. If you switch you would need to reinstall a fresh copy of windows that wasn't customize by the oem. If you try to reset the windows it may work but it can still crash. You can leave it in raid it won't harm anything.

[n_scott_pearson]

Oops, sorry, should have pointed this out. After changing the SATA Mode back to AHCI, you need to

1. Boot Windows in Safe Mode.
2. Log into an account (any account).
3. Wait a minute or so for everything to settle down.
4. Do a Shutdown-Restart.

...S

[k371]

Is it ok to to change it to AHCI if the SATA mode is RST Premium + Optane by default in BIOS? Also how do I boot Windows in safe mode if it shows "No bootable Device" after BIOS screen..

[n_scott_pearson]

Yes, it is ok. You may need to manually select the disk for booting. This is usually done via the F10 key at BIOS POST, but could be implemented differently in your BIOS.
...S

[LividLeon]

I would switch it off because that was more design for an HDD and a NVMe Optane Drive or where the Sata is your main os drive. SSD nowadays are more efficient so it is not needed. I have the same exact setup like you. This option was causing the sata SSD to freeze and in the task manager it was saying 100 percent active with 0 data transfer because it repeatedly put the SSD to sleep. I thought it was something to do with superfetch or a faulty SSD. I end up giving the SSD a bad review for this then i change the review. What I noticed is that the SATA SSD was running at 28 degrees which raising a red flag when the other NVMe was at 38+ degrees.

[k371]

Yeah I've been running it at "OFF" for months and there are no issues so far, though I'm using SATA HDD + NVME instead of SATA SSD + NVME.