During Windows 11 setup, when asked to load the storage driver, which VMD driver should I select?

[drkh]

Hi,

I'm going to do a clean installation of Windows 11 on an SSD of a newly built PC. The mother board is a Gigabyte B760M GAMING X AX DDR4 v1.2. The CPU is an Intel Core i5-12600K.

Because the VMD controller is enabled in UEFI and the SSD root port is mapped to it, Windows 11 setup program won't see the SSD and therefore will ask me to load the necessary driver, which, in my case, should be a driver for the VMD controller.

Gigabyte provides the needed driver and I have saved the folder where the driver resides in a Windows 11 installation thumb drive that I'll be using.

The needed driver is iaStorVD.sys. It is actually something that can be extracted from the Intel Rapid Storage Technology installer SetupRST.exe v19.5.0.1037. Not the latest, but I'll use it anyway, as it's provided by Gigabyte.

In the same folder, there is also the INF file, iaStorVD.inf, that will install the driver. However, I notice that this INF file can install four, not just one, VMD controller drivers, as follows:

"Intel RST VMD Controller 9A0B"
"Intel RST VMD Managed Controller 09AB"
"Intel RST VMD Controller 467F"
"Intel RST VMD Controller A77F"

The relevant section inside this INF file is copied below:

;*************************************
;* Manufacturer and Model sections
;*************************************
[Manufacturer]
%INTEL% = INTEL, NTamd64.10.0...15063

[INTEL.NTamd64.10.0...15063]
%PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_9A0B.DeviceDesc% = VMD_inst, PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_9A0B
%PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_09AB.DeviceDesc% = VMD_dummy_function_inst, PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_09AB
%PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_467F.DeviceDesc% = VMD_inst, PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_467F
%PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_A77F.DeviceDesc% = VMD_inst, PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_A77F

Based on the above, about selecting the right VMD controller driver during Windows 11 setup, I have three questions:

(1)

After I browse to the folder where this INF file is stored, will I be presented with more than one "Intel RST VMD Controller" to be selected from?

(2)

If yes, then, which one should I choose?

(3)

Is there any detailed documentation regarding which VMD controller driver should be selected to match what hardware (Intel PCHs, maybe)? Google didn't help much besides pointing to an Intel support article about "Installing Intel® RST VMD Controller (9A0B) Vs. Intel® RST VMD Managed Controller (09AB)".

I have sent the same quesion to Gigabyte, but have not received the answer.

Please shed the light. Thank you in advance.

[DhannielM_Intel]

Hi drkh,

Thank you for posting in the community. Let me look into this further so I can provide you with the most accurate answer. I'll get back to you as soon as possible.

Best regards,

Dhanniel M.

Intel Customer Support Technician

[drkh]

Hi, Dhanniel,

Thank you for replying to my question.

Is there any progress in expectation?