RAID 1 Failure but drive passes detailed diagnostic

[L0ttlevice]

I have a recently purchased motherboard with Intel RST enabled (Z490 AORUS MASTER), and 2x Western Digital Gold HDDs (14TB) set up in RAID 1 that are also brand new. These are server standard drives and should not be failing so soon. I actually have a second RAID 1 set-up in the same system using Samsung 970 EVO NVME M with no problems. Running the latest Windows 10 as well.

The set-up worked fine for about two weeks, however then (without warning) I saw that my RAID had degraded, rebuilding failed at about 25% as well. I then tried as few resolution steps, namely software removing the drive with an error (i.e. go into bios, remove from RAID, then re-add in windows via marking as a spare). Unfortunately the Intel Optane Memory and Storage Management tool (17.9.1008.0, which is the latest version) unhelpfully just says "Status Failed". The windows error log also shows no useful details.

Before RMAing the drive and to double check I ran the extended Western Digital Diagnostic tool over the whole drive when not in the RAID and it passed fully with zero issues (when not in the RAID). The remaining RAID 1 drive is fully functional (if degraded). I tried reinstalling the RST drivers and it didn't make any difference

At this point I am trying to understand what is the problem, and whether I RMA the drive or not. I'm suspicious if it is an Intel RST issue rather than a drive one (or even a cable now), but am quite frustrated by the lack of details on the failure reason from the Intel software. The windows event log is unhelpful, and I can see the following error logs that may be relevant:

Error 1 (maybe when I start RST?)

0x800702E4: Cannot create the process for package AppUp.IntelOptaneMemoryandStorageManagement_17.9.1008.0_x64__8j3eq9eme6ctt because an error was encountered while launching. [LaunchProcess]

Error 2 (May be related)

The description for Event ID 56 from source Application Popup cannot be found. Either the component that raises this event is not installed on your local computer or the installation is corrupted. You can install or repair the component on the local computer.

If the event originated on another computer, the display information had to be saved with the event.

The following information was included with the event:

ACPI
2

The message resource is present but the message was not found in the message table

I can otherwise only see Information messages from RST Middleware

Could anyone please advise how to:

1. Find out further details on the "Failed" status, i.e. getting extra logs or something relevant.

2. Any additional testing I should perform before I RMA the drive

[Alberto_Sykes]

L0ttlevice, Thank you for posting in the Intel® Communities Support.

In reference to this scenario, when you said "the Intel Optane Memory and Storage Management tool unhelpfully just says "Status Failed", that error could be related to the status of the RAID structure and not necessarily to a hardware issue with any of the drives.

Please, try to access the Intel® RST Option ROM of the board, the shortcut should be to press CTRl+ i several times while the PC is turning on before it boots, to see the status of the drives, then provide a screenshot of it so we can check the details showing in there. Depending on the system you are using the shortcut to access the Option ROM might be different, in that case, it is needed to get in contact directly with the manufacturer of the board to get the specific shortcut:

https://www.asus.com/support/

Additionally, please provide the SSU report so we can verify further details about the components in your platform:

https://downloadcenter.intel.com/download/25293/Intel-System-Support-Utility-for-Windows-?product=91600

Regards,

Albert R.

Intel Customer Support Technician

A Contingent Worker at Intel

[Alberto_Sykes]

Hello L0ttlevice, I just wanted to check if the information posted previously was useful for you and if you need further assistance on this matter?

Regards,

Albert R.

Intel Customer Support Technician

A Contingent Worker at Intel

[L0ttlevice · Accepted solution]

Apologies for the slow response, as the drive is 14TB it takes around 2-3 days to rebuild itself.... which delayed some of my testing considerably (including complete reinstalls that took me to 70% completion before the drive failed).

I've just managed to achieve a 100% rebuild, let's hope that it stays, on the RAID. In the end I decided to replace both of the cables on the two drives in the RAID. It turns out there was s minor amount of damage on the drive with "problems" that seems to have been the issue, or at least replacing the cable allowed me to hit 100%. I will see if it sticks, but for the future, it seems to be the cables that were damaged, not the drive. I've no idea how it could have passed the WD drive test mind....

[Alberto_Sykes]

Hi L0ttlevice, No problem at all, thank you very much for sharing those details.

Perfect, excellent, it is great to hear that the problem was not related to the drive itself but with the cables and that now it is fixed and the RAID configuration is working properly.

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

Regards,

Albert R.

Intel Customer Support Technician

A Contingent Worker at Intel