Solved: Upgrading my Bootable RAID1 Capacity with Optane Memory and Storage Management - Page 2

RobertRexter · ‎07-13-2024

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:

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

Click Yes to confirm.
Click Exit and shut off the system.
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).
Turn on the system and boot into Windows. You may need to change the drive priority in the BIOS.
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.
Turn off the system and attach the second large drive.
Turn on the system and boot into Windows.
Open the Intel Rapid Storage Technology user interface and click the Create icon.
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 · ‎10-21-2024

Hi Robertrexter,

Thank you for waiting for our update.

Before attempting the below instructions, please ensure that you have saved backups of your data.

1. Showing Intel RST RAID 1 array in Normal Status.

2. Reboot in BIOS the go to (Advanced -] Add-in Config). Reset one of the drives in the RAID 1 array to non-RAID.

3. This will show in BIOS that the RAID array is "degraded".

4. The Boot screen prior to the Operating System splash screen will show "Abnormal status reported by Rapid Storage Technology UEFI driver.

5. Open Intel Optane Memory and Storage Management and it should show kkRAID array is Degraded.

6. The software should show the driver that was removed from the array . Do not mark as spare

7. - Select the RAID array and click on "Rebuild to another disk".

8- Now select the drive to rebuild into then click "Rebuild".

9 - Now it will rebuild the RAID array. You need to wait for this process to finish.

10. After doing the Rebuild. Do the same for the other drive.

11. After doing the rebuild of RAID 1 array with now larger capacity drives, resize the volume using disk management tools like Windows Disk Management to extend the volume to utilize the additional space.

We look forward to your feedback regarding our post.

Best Regards,

Alfred S

Intel Customer Support Technician

View solution in original post

AlfredoS_Intel · ‎10-29-2024

Hi Robertrexter,

We are just following up.

It looks like you need more time to carry out the recommendations that we have provided.

Best Regards,

Alfred S

Intel Customer Support Technician

AlfredoS_Intel · ‎11-05-2024

Hi Robertrexter,

We need to close this thread since we have not gotten a response from you: maybe because you are busy or preoccupied at the moment. We know that this is important for you to get it resolved and it is also equally important for us to give you the right solution; as much as we would like to assist you, we need to close it to attend to other customers.

We hope for your consideration and understanding on this one.

If you need any additional information, please submit a new question as this thread will no longer being monitored.

Thank you for contacting Intel® and have a great week!

Best Regards,

Alfred S

Intel Customer Support Technician

RobertRexter · ‎11-06-2024

Thank you for your help.

The steps worked fine and the RAID1 capacity was increased.

This thread can be closed.

-Bob