Upgrading my Bootable RAID1 Capacity with Optane Memory and Storage Management

[RobertRexter]

Not sure I am posting in the correct section...

I have Windows 11 Pro w/latest updates and have 2x SATA 512GB SSD’s in a RAID1 configuration as my boot and data drive (C:).  The computer is a Dell Precision Tower 3431.  There is only one array in this system and no other drives at all.

The computer has Secure Mode enabled and RAID option is set in the BIOS.  The software is Intel Optane Memory and Storage Management (Not the older Intel RST).

I would like to upgrade the size of my two drives from 2x SATA 512GB SSD’s to 2x SATA 1TB SSD’s.  These drives are connected to the motherboard SATA connectors.

I have seen the directions on how to do this for Intel RST but can’t find how to do this for Intel Optane Memory and Storage Management.

The directions I have for this procedure for “Intel RST” is below:

1. Turn off the system and remove one of the drives.
2. Replace it with a drive larger in capacity.
3. Turn on the system and boot into Windows*.
4. Open the Intel® Rapid Storage Technology user interface (Start > All Programs > Intel > Intel® Rapid Storage Technology).
5. Click Rebuild to another disk.
6. Select the newly added drive and click Rebuild.
7. Allow the rebuild to complete.
8. Restart the system and enter the Intel® Rapid Storage Technology option ROM by pressing CTRL+I when prompted.
9. Click Reset Disks to Non-RAID.
    

Note	You may see a dialog box warning you of data loss. This warning does not apply to RAID 1; you will still be able to access your data.

1. 
    
2. Click Yes to confirm.
3. Click Exit and shut off the system.
4. Remove the original (smaller) drive from the system. This will leave only the new (higher capacity) drive, acting as a single drive (it is no longer part of a RAID volume).
5. Turn on the system and boot into Windows. You may need to change the drive priority in the BIOS.
6. From within Windows, use the Windows computer management tools or a third-party partitioning software to resize the drive partition so that it uses the entire capacity of the drive.
7. Turn off the system and attach the second large drive.
8. Turn on the system and boot into Windows.
9. Open the Intel Rapid Storage Technology user interface and click the Create icon.
10. Follow the prompts to create a new RAID 1 volume. Your data will then be migrated from the single large drive to the new RAID 1 volume.

The directions for RST seem to apply but when it gets to the “steps 8 through steps 12” booting into the BIOS Legacy Option ROM with CTRL+I, I do not believe that this exists in Secure Boot and Optane Memory and Storage Management.

Would I have to go into the BIOS and disable Secure Boot then enable Legacy Option ROM to make CTRL+I work?

*** or ***

My hopes would be that I would be able to simply:

Remove one smaller SSD and replace with larger SSD, tell Intel Optane to rebuild the array.

After rebuild completes, remove the other smaller SSD and replace with larger SSD, tell Optane to rebuild the array again.

After rebuild completes, go into Windows Disk Management and resize the array to the new larger size.

Would this be a viable option or is there another way to do this?

For backing up prior to doing any of this, I will be using Acronis to make a full image of the array prior to attempting any of this.

Thanks for any help!

[AlfredoS_Intel]

Hi Robertrexter,

Thank you for creating a thread in Intel Communities.

It is a good idea to confirm the steps that you gathered with us before attempting the configuration that you are after. 

To accurately answer your questions, kindly provide the following information:

1. The Windows Operating System on your RAID Volume can be either a Legacy or UEFI version. We presume that it is most likely a UEFI version. Kindly let us know if we have a wrong presumption.

2. It would really help us if we can get more information about your system. Please download and run our Intel® System Support Utility from this page,. To run it, please press "Scan". After the scan is finished, click next and there will be a save button, giving you an option to save the logs to a text file, please do so and attach the file on your reply. You can refer to How to get the Intel® System Support Utility Logs on Windows* for instructions.

3. Are you comfortable in accessing your system’s BIOS configuration page? If yes, kindly check if you have an Intel RST UEFI option ROM like the one pictured on page 101 of this Intel Rapid Storage Technology User Guide. If you have a UEFI Windows installation, switching to Legacy just to access “CTRL and I” may be a very complicated process and may introduce Windows boot up failures.

Best Regards,

Alfred S

Intel Customer Support Technician

[RobertRexter]

Hello Alfredo,

Yes, my system is UEFI version.

Attached is my file from the Intel SSU scan.

Yes, I am comfortable accessing my BIOS.

I have an option in the BIOS to turn on Legacy Option ROM but it won't let me unless I disable SecureBoot.  Not sure I want to do that as I am concerned it may mess up the boot process.  I believe Dell configured the array in software mode with Intel Optane Memory and Storage Management when it was purchased.  The system does not have Intel RST installed.

Thank you.

[AlfredoS_Intel]

Hi Robertrexter,

Thank you for the prompt response.

While I am waiting for your post in reply to our message, I was checking if your system has a preinstalled Intel RST UEFI Interface as this could be vital in successfully completing your planned upgrade, and I stumbled on this Dell Article, How to Access the RAID Controller Setup in UEFI Configured Computers. There is a column titled, “How to Access RAID BIOS in UEFI mode”. Kindly confirm if this is something that is possible on your system.

Best Regards,

Alfred S

Intel Customer Support Technician

[RobertRexter]

Hello Alfred,

I am able to access the Dell Intel RST UEFI interface through using F12 during bootup.

Screen shot attached.

[AlfredoS_Intel]

Hi Robertrexter,

Thank you providing those information.

Please allow us some time to check on this. 

We will get back to you as soon as we have updates.

Best Regards,

Alfred S

Intel Customer Support Technician

[AlfredoS_Intel]

Hi Robertrexter,

Thank you for waiting for our update.

We are in the middle of our investigation and resolution finding process for the concern that you raised, and our engineers would like to obtain the following information that is vital for the investigation to move forward:

1) To confirm, you have mentioned that you will be creating backups for your image, do you already have a backup created? If not, please create a backup first before you try our suggestions.

2) You mentioned that Dell created the RAID 1 on the machine. When you took the system out of the box, do you already have RAID 1 preconfigured on the machine?

3) We need to confirm your system for accuracy purposes. Please confirm if this is your system model, https://www.dell.com/learn/us/en/45/shared-content_data-sheets_documents/dell-precision-3431-spec-sheet.pdf.

4) Since you can enter the Intel RST UEFI utility through F12, we need to know what options are available to you. Intel UEFI GUI maybe different across manufacturers, thus we need to check what features are available on the GUI. On the screenshot that you provided, please press enter on the “Array0…” that you have, then please provide a screenshot, so we will know the options available to you. Some configurations of the Intel RST have the increase size option, which will make it easier for you to obtain your planned upgrade, and we hope you have this option on your system.

We will wait for your answers.

Best Regards,

Alfred S

Intel® Customer Support Technician

[RobertRexter]

Hello Alfred,

1) Yes, I have a backup of the system and would perform another backup prior to any implementations of your suggestions.

2) Yes, Dell pre-configured the RAID1 out of the box with the OS already installed.

3) Yes, my system is a Dell Precision Tower 3431 computer.

4) I attached a picture of the screen after hitting enter on the RAID1 array in the RAID UEFI GUI.

There does not seem to be any other option to resize the array, only delete it or go into the two individual drives and remove each from array.

Thank you

[AlfredoS_Intel]

Hi Robertrexter,

I wanted to check if you had the chance to read the questions that we posted. Please let me know at your earliest convenience so that we can determine the best course of action to resolve this matter.

Best Regards,

Alfred S

Intel Customer Support Technician

[AlfredoS_Intel]

Hi Robertrexter,

Thank you for your response and providing more details regarding the issue,

We will continue checking this and the information that provided is invaluable to us.

Please allow us some time to check on this. We hope for your understanding regarding this

We will get back to you as soon as we have updates.

Best Regards,

Alfred S

Intel Customer Support Technician

[AlfredoS_Intel]

Hi Robertrexter,

Thank you for waiting for our update.

Our engineers thoroughly checked your concern and they would like to ask additional information:

1. Did you try to contact Dell regarding your concern? Since they are the one who preconfigured the RAID, they may be the best channel to advise you how to apply your planned setup with minimal risk of data loss.

2. See volumeactions screenshot. Are there options under “Volume Options”? Can we get a screenshot?

3. See arrowoptions screenshot. Please expand the arrow in one of the SATA drives and kindly provide a screenshot.

We look forward to your reply post.

Best Regards,

Alfred S

Intel Customer Support Technician

[RobertRexter]

Hello Alfred,

No, I have not yet reached out to Dell for a solution for this.  I will attempt to do that as well.

I checked on the "Volume Actions" and it is not selectable as it is a category title only (for the Delete function).

The arrow option screenshot is included and will likely not offer anything of value, it is just a SATA port identifier and the drive description.

There are no other selectable options on that screen.

Thank you,

Bob

[AlfredoS_Intel]

Hi Robertrexter,

Thank you for your response and providing more details regarding the issue,

We will continue checking this and the information that you provided is invaluable to us.

Please allow us some time to check on your concern. We hope for your understanding regarding this.

We will get back to you as soon as we have updates.

Best Regards,

Alfred S

Intel Customer Support Technician