Building RAID 1 (mirroring) array on AORUS GA-Z270X-GAMING 7 - Part 2

[milleniumaire]

Here I am again, 4 years on from my original PC build post (https://forum.giga-byte.co.uk/index.php?topic=18601.0) and asking a similar question because the Gigabyte BIOS doesn't seem to be doing what it should and the Gigabyte manuals don't appear to reflect reality!

My PC has been running in Legacy BIOS mode for 4 years and I had 2 disks configured in a RAID 1 array.  All drives used MBR.  Everything was good!

The Windows 11 update checker, told me I needed Secure Boot and TPM 2.0, so I read up and figured out how to change these BIOS settings.

This involved converting my disks from MBR to GPT and switching from Legacy BIOS to UEFI.  Eventually, I managed to do all of this, however, my RAID 1 array has been lost during the process and my PC now shows two separate disk drives, rather than the single "mirrored" drive.

So, I downloaded the Gigabyte RAID manual and followed the rather clumsy instructions.  Everything went okay, until rebooting when I received an error saying "INACCESSIBLE BOOT DEVICE".  Tried again, but this time switched the Sata Mode back to AHCI (which the instructions don't mention) and it successfully booted into Windows.  However, the RAID 1 array hasn't been created!

I have tried following the instructions 3 times and although everything appears to work, the RAID 1 array is never visible in Windows, so something is going wrong.  I even tried changing my BIOS settings back to use Legacy BIOS, but still can't get the RAID 1 array to build.

What is going on Gigabyte?

My PC is on the latest version of the BIOS: F9e, dated 3/9/18
I am fully up-to-date with Windows 10, build 19044.

For what it's worth, the Gigabyte RAID manual I followed can be found here: https://download.gigabyte.com/FileList/Manual/mb_manual_200series-raid.pdf

I followed this manual, with a few additions (to ensure things worked) as follows:

B. Configuring SATA controller mode in BIOS Setup
Step 1:
In Peripherals\SATA And RST Configuration, change SATA Mode Selection from "AHCI" to "Intel RST Premium With Intel Optane System Acceleration"

Step 2:  Follow UEFI RAID Configuration steps in C-2.

C-2 UEFI RAID Configuration
Step 1: (this was previously done as part of setting up Secure Boot)
Step 2...: In Peripherals\ Intel Rapid Storage Technology create the RAID array as required.  Note this Peripherals option is only shown if I reboot and go back into BIOS after changing the SATA Mode (as far as I can remember).

After saving changes and restarting, the PC wouldn't boot, presumably because it was no longer in AHCI mode.  No mention of this in the instructions.  So, changed back to AHCI and rebooted again (the BIOS was showing the RAID 1 array had been created).  In Windows, no sign of the RAID array, just two separate disks!

Tried the above again, but this time used the EZ RAID facility to create the RAID 1 array.  Again, after creating the RAID 1 array and checking it via the Intel Rapid Storage Technology, changed the SATA Mode back to AHCI and rebooted into Windows.  Still no RAID array.

I'm now at a loss as to what I'm doing wrong, having followed the instructions and apparently creating the array each time, only to find it doesn't exist in Windows!

Note: My PC comprises of a NVME, onto which the OS is installed and this is what is used for booting when SATA Mode is set to AHCI.  While set to AHCI, it isn't possible to create a RAID array.  When SATA Mode is set to "Intel RST Premium With Intel Optane System Acceleration" I can create the RAID array, but if left at this setting, I cannot boot into Windows as the NVME isn't listed in the boot list.  So, in order to create the RAID array, I have to change SATA Mode to "Intel RST Premium With Intel Optane System Acceleration", then create the array, then change SATA Mode back to AHCI, then reboot.

I recall having to do something similar to this when I first built the PC, but back then, the RAID array was created successfully.  Now, although BIOS implies the array has been created, it doesn't exist in Windows.

Any thoughts on why this isn't working?

[shadowsports]

Greetings,
I'll respond later this morning. 

[milleniumaire]

Last night I thought I would try again. I suspected I'd get the same result, and I did, but I recorded every step with photos of my screen, so here's a record of what I did:

1. Reboot and hit Delete to get into BIOS. This screen shows the bootable drive is the M.2 Samsung SSD:



2. Go to Peripherals menu:



3. Note, there is NO Intel(R) Rapid Storage Technology option shown because SATA Mode is currently set to AHCI.  Click on SATA And RST Configuration.



4. Change SATA Mode from AHCI to "Intel RST Premium With Intel Optane System Acceleration":



5. Save and Exit BIOS:



6. At this point, the PC reboots, however it then displays the following error.  I believe this is because AHCI mode is no longer being used, which means it doesn't recognise the M.2 drive:



7.  Reboot and hit Delete to re-enter BIOS.



8. Now go to the Peripherals menu and click on the Intel(R) Rapid Storage Technology option that has appeared as a result of changing the SATA mode (and restarting):



9. Click on Create RAID Volume:



10. Select the RAID level and the two disks:



11. Click on Create Volume and confirmation of the RAID1 array is shown:



12. Select Save and Exit:



13. On attempt to boot into Windows, the same error is displayed as before, due to AHCI setting:



14. Reboot and enter BIOS again.  Go to the Peripherals menu and change SATA Mode Selection back to AHCI:



15. Select Save and Exit:



16. This time the PC attempts to boot, but an screen is displayed indicating there is an issue.  NOTE: I wasn't fast enough to snapshot that particular screen, but here is the next screen in the sequence:



17. After a short time, the Automatic Repair is displayed.  Click Restart:



18. This time the PC boots into Windows without issue.  Start Disk Manager, which displays a message indicating the two drives that were supposed to have made up the RAID 1 array are still being seen as individual drives:



19.  There's no real choice but to click OK, which then initialises both disks so they can be used i.e. partitions created.  However, Disk Manager initially shows only Disk 1, rather than both disks:



20.  Exiting Disk Manager and restarting then shows the expected 2 disks.  No sign of a RAID 1 array.  The Gigabyte RAID creation facility has failed or caused a problem, requiring windows to fix it at step 16!




So, what went wrong?  Why wasn't the RAID 1 array created and if it was, why wasn't it acceptable to Windows, resulting in it being destroyed?

PS. I really hope you can see all the embedded images as it took me ages to make them available as shared links!!!!  Gigabyte don't make it easy!

[sygnus21]

I've no answer for why your failure other than a BIOS update for your board

I did however post a reply to your post back in ten forums on how to get better BIOS images. You might also use the snipping tool to get better Windows images 

Edit: From your 2017 post...

I suspect this has something to do with having a mix of M.2 storage, from which the OS needs to boot and SATA drives.

I was always under the impression both drives needed to use the same interface - NVMe or SATA. Never knew you could mix. That said, are you still mixing? Have you tried using the same ports - SATA and SATA instead of NVMe and SATA?

Another question - did you disable CSM in the BIOS. The RAID instructions for "UEFI RAID Configuration" clearly stated CSM must be "disabled".  I saw nothing in your posts indicating that. You also need to reboot, and enter the BIOS again, for step 2.

[milleniumaire]

I was always under the impression both drives needed to use the same interface - NVMe or SATA. Never knew you could mix. That said, are you still mixing? Have you tried using the same ports - SATA and SATA instead of NVMe and SATA?

Another question - did you disable CSM in the BIOS. The RAID instructions for "UEFI RAID Configuration" clearly stated CSM must be "disabled".  I saw nothing in your posts indicating that. You also need to reboot, and enter the BIOS again, for step 2.

I can confirm CSM Support was already disabled prior to me starting to create the RAID.  This is shown on the very first BIOS screen dump.  This, and some other BIOS options, as well as converting MBR to GPT was done last week as part of preparing for a Windows 11 upgrade as this needs to be done to enable Secure Boot functionality.

I suspect it was some of these earlier BIOS updates that actually broke the RAID 1 array, which has been in place and working for 4 years.  During this time, the PC has had the same 3 drives; 2 for the RAID and the M.2 for Windows boot.  They have always been mixed and are still mixed i.e. no hardware has been changed, only BIOS settings and the conversion to GPT.

I have notes from when I originally built the PC, explaining I would need to set the SATA mode to "Intel RST Premium ....." to create the RAID array, then change it back to AHCI so that the PC could boot from the M.2 drive.  This hasn't changed.

[shadowsports]

Greetings,
Sorry for the late reply.

A BIOS update is not needed, and will not help or change anything.

The issue is the Registry and the drivers windows is using.

See Below:

Let me start by saying this is not a Gigabyte issue.  This behavior would occur with any newer hardware you were using. 

Controller Operate Modes:

Although AHCI and RAID are similar technologies, the driver that allows each to operate is slightly different.  In addition, starting with Windows 7 drivers for unused storage interfaces are set to disabled in the windows registry by default.  This is why you see "Inaccessible Boot Device" when changing the controller operate mode from AHCI to RAID.  (Prior to this) IDE to AHCI.

I hope you have a back up of your RAID data?  Do you? 

Another complexity was introduced when MB manufacturers integrated the RAID BIOS into the main BIOS of a motherboard.  This added an additional layer to RAID management and recovery.  Its not a bad thing, just something you need to be aware of and account for.

This type of "recovery" would normally be a 2 step process.  The first step will be to get Windows 11 booting with the controller operate mode set to RAID, and the second RAID recovery.  Typically, this would involve you creating a new array and restoring it from back up. 

RAID1 is one of the more forgiving RAID levels, since both disks contain a full copy of the data.  However, each time you make a change, or attempt to use a Utility (disk management /  EZ-RAID, etc. new metadata can be written to the disks breaking the "RAID relationship" (simple terms).  In light of the steps you have performed, its hard to say if you will be able to recover the data without some extraordinary measures.  This is why I hope you have a back up.

Changing from AHCI to Intel RST:

This involves uninstalling the AHCI driver
Enabling the correct registry key for Intel RST
Restarting and making the changes in BIOS
(Note, the above is often a two step process.  Step  one, changing the controller operate mode, and step two setting Intel RST as the first boot device), even though it is a stand alone disk and not part of an array, it will be listed as the primary boot device.  You might be able to do this in one step using F10 to save and immediately pressing <DEL> to enter BIOS again.   
And finally, installing the Intel RST (RAID) driver on the subsequent restart

Considerations / Requirements for UEFI Boot:

CSM Disabled
UEFI Only
Disable any Legacy Boot Options (normally this happens when you disable CSM)

MBR vs. GPT

GPT is a better option, you can read about the differences using Google

Next Steps

Do you have a back up of your RAID data?
Disconnect the RAID array from the system for now
Make the changes to the system, registry and BIOS
Supply the Intel RST driver to the OS

I have read some articles where people claim to have been able to start in SAFE Mode after the AHCI driver uninstall and subsequent BIOS chage, then installing the Intel RST driver (which avoids) making the registry changes.  I have never tried.  Its also not something MS has documented

I use RAID quite often, but have not done a conversion for a long while.  Doing so, including the conversion to GPT should not be taken lightly.  Back ups are very important.

***EDIT
If you have initialized the RAID disk members in windows, you might have lost your data.  Changing this to a recovery scenario.

Wish I had better news.  One take away from this.  Ensure you have a back up strategy implemented.

Hopefully this will help you get started.  Others here might have more to add.   

[milleniumaire]

Hi shadowsports,

Thanks for the detailed response, there's definitely a lot for me to take in and understand before I try again.

To confirm, I do have multiple backups of the data that was on the RAID 1 array.  I use Acronis Backup regularly, but as the array is used to store my data (not the OS or software), I also have copies of it all over the place (laptop, network storage, usb), so recovery isn't an issue, in fact I think I have tried three times now to create this array and each time it fails, I recover the data back to one of the drives so I can use it.

It took me a few days to notice the RAID 1 array had actually failed.  Instead of both drives being made available as a single partition, I realised there were two partitions; one on each drive.  Both were accessible, so at that point I took an additional backup of one of them, just in case.

My drives have been recently converted to GPT and I've changed the configuration to use UEFI boot.  All this appears to be working okay.  I did this as a pre-requisite to installing Windows 11, but don't intend to do that for some time yet, possibly never, given my i7-7700K processor isn't supported by the Windows 11 upgrade process and my GA-Z270X motherboard won't allow a new processor to be used!  Damn Microsoft.

I confess, I'm a little concerned about uninstalling the AHCI driver as my PC will only boot when the BIOS SATA mode is set to AHCI.  It always boots from the M.2 drive.  If I were to remove that driver, doesn't this mean I won't be able to boot into Windows?

I assume when you refer to Registry changes, it is the uninstalling and re-installing the AHCI drivers that will fix this as opposed to using Regedit to make manual changes, which I try to avoid?

[shadowsports]

Greetings,
Very happy to hear you have back ups.  This takes all of the pressure off and will allow you to experiment and test without worry.

Try the SAFE Mode Option.

Use windows Tools for this

SAFE Mode..  use MSCONFIG > Boot Tab > Safe Boot

Now use Settings > Update and Security > Recovery > Advanced Start Up > Restart Now

Then select BIOS

Make your changes, F10 to save and exit

Windows will start in SAFE Mode

Install Intel RST Driver:
https://download.gigabyte.com/FileList/Driver/mb_driver_chipset_irst_17.2.11.1033.zip?v=0a7b26b10a15742d39676c1a958b3668

Use Advanced Start Up Option again, enter BIOS, verify settings are correct CSM Disabled, UEFI Only, Intel RST (M.2) as Primary boot device, F10 to save again.

When windows loads, Disable SAFE Boot in MSCONFIG.

Restart again and test.  If you get a clean start, you can go back into the BIOS and create the array.

Let us know the result.

[milleniumaire]

Hi shadowsports, thanks for the info.

One thing I'm not too clear on, is the inability to currently boot into Windows unless the BIOS SATA mode is set to AHCI.  Changing this setting to Intel RST causes the machine to no longer detect the M.2 drive.  Changing the setting back to AHCI and the M.2 drive is detected again and the PC can boot into Windows.

I'm not sure how your instructions will work around this issue.  Installing an Intel RST driver may allow the RAID 1 array to be created (fingers crossed), but it won't change the fact that the M.2 drive is NOT visible while SATA mode is set to Intel RST.

It may just be that there are some missing steps after the driver is installed and the array created, that SATA mode needs to be changed back to AHCI to allow the machine to boot from the M.2 drive?

This is essentially what my notes say when I built the PC 4 years ago i.e.
- Change SATA mode to Intel RST
- Create RAID 1 array
- Change SATA mode to AHCI
- Boot into Windows on M.2 drive
- RAID array has been created.

I'm currently doing the same, except the RAID array never appears in Windows.  Hopefully, this is due to the driver issue you are suggestion needs to be resolved by installing the Intel RST Driver.

Is it not possible to install this software through Windows, prior to changing any settings.  Can Windows have a AHCI and Intel RST driver installed at the same time.  Sorry if this is a stupid question, but this AHCI v Intel RST is something I don't really get and just seems to be causing me lots of issues!

[shadowsports]

 I'm currently doing the same, except the RAID array never appears in Windows.  Hopefully, this is due to the driver issue you are suggestion needs to be resolved by installing the Intel RST Driver.

It is.

Is it not possible to install this software through Windows, prior to changing any settings? 

Can Windows have a AHCI and Intel RST driver installed at the same time.  Sorry if this is a stupid question, but this AHCI v Intel RST is something I don't really get and just seems to be causing me lots of issues!

Greetings,
You cannot install a driver for unsupported hardware or operate mode.  One driver for whichever mode you select. 

The controller operate mode is not meant to be toggled between AHCI or RAID in order to complete a task.  You either operate in AHCI with one or more stand alone disks, or use RAID if you plan have one or more disks (stand alone, and disk arrays) coexist. 

You have a back up.  What are your reservations?  SAFE mode appears to work.  Before you start, create Acronis Bootable Media, test that you can boot the system from it.  When ready, give it a go. 

[milleniumaire]

So, my attempt to install the Intel RST driver in Safe Mode failed as I got the following error: "The Windows Installer Service could not be accessed".

However, I had changed the SATA Mode to Intel RST in the BIOS and I noticed it still recognised the M.2 drive and booted into Windows Safe Mode.

Originally, I put this down to Safe Mode, but I'm not so sure this is why it could boot into Windows.  Previously, whenever I had changed SATA Mode from AHCI to Intel RST it couldn't find the M.2 drive so couldn't boot into Windows.

The other day I followed the recommendations of the Gigabyte APP Center software, which was telling me that version  19.0.0.1067 of the Rapid Storage Technology Driver was available for install.  This version confused me as it doesn't appear to match the Intel versions - it is much higher.  Anyway, I went ahead and did the install.

So, I'm now thinking this has essentially installed the RST Drivers that your instructions were indicating needed to be installed.  As to which Intel version number was installed, I'm not sure and I don't know how to view the version number of the RST Drivers.

Having realised I could now boot into Windows with SATA Mode set to Intel RST, I then went back into the BIOS and created the RAID 1 array.  I then restarted and in windows could see the array and so I changed it from MBR to GPT and created a Primary partition.

So far, so good. (I was going to post an image but I can't be bothered messing about making it available as a link!).

Unfortunately, when I tried to restore the backed up partition using Acronis Backup, it wouldn't do it through Windows and had to reboot into the Acronis Kernel and then failed each time, with various errors.  I tried this 3 times and using different backups, but without success.  Not sure if this is something to do with backing up a "single disk" volume and trying to restore that "single disk" volume to a RAID 1 volume, but it is rather worrying that my volume backups appear to be useless due to the changes.

In the end, I figured out how to restore as "Folders/Files" rather than a Volume and that appears to be running okay as I type.

So, a bit of a mess and not particularly straight forward, but I appear to be where I wanted to be.  When recovered, I may try taking another backup of the RAID 1 volume and test if it can be recovered.

[shadowsports]

milleniumaire,
Marvelous!

The SAFE Mode option.  Yes, the windows installer won't run.  So this must be what others have done.  Unpack and and use right-click from the context menu.  I verified this was possible.



But you got there.

Your Acronis Images.  In addition to using the file and folder restore option from boot media, you can also do the following if Acronis TI is installed.  .tib and .tibx files can be mounted as disks in windows.  This includes RW (read / write) access.  So this is another option if you are looking to recover a single file or and entire disk.  You can also add file or folders to an existing back up. 

Have a beer, pat yourself on the back. 

Cheers!

[milleniumaire]

Thanks for your help shadowsports.  Although I work in IT, this kind of low level maintenance isn't something I do very often, usually when building a new PC or when I encounter issues.  Thankfully, most of the time, my PC runs without issue and these days, as I work full time from home, downtime can cost me lost income!

Now that my RAID 1 array is up and running, I wondered if there was any Windows software I could use to monitor it.  I seem to recall with my previous RAID I had some Intel software accessible through the notification area on the task bar and this allowed me to monitor the status of the RAID.

As I have now used Gigabyte to create the RAID, does this mean I can't use Intel software to monitor it?  A quick Google, suggests that the Intel RST Driver provides this, but I'm not seeing any way to access it!  Any ideas?

Thanks.

[shadowsports]

Thanks for your help shadowsports.  Although I work in IT, this kind of low level maintenance isn't something I do very often, usually when building a new PC or when I encounter issues.  Thankfully, most of the time, my PC runs without issue and these days, as I work full time from home, downtime can cost me lost income!

Now that my RAID 1 array is up and running, I wondered if there was any Windows software I could use to monitor it.  I seem to recall with my previous RAID I had some Intel software accessible through the notification area on the task bar and this allowed me to monitor the status of the RAID.

As I have now used Gigabyte to create the RAID, does this mean I can't use Intel software to monitor it?  A quick Google, suggests that the Intel RST Driver provides this, but I'm not seeing any way to access it!  Any ideas?

Thanks.

Greetings,
Check your start Menu for Intel Rapid Storage Technology

If its not there, Install from link I sent above.  This utility runs resident and monitors your RAID.  It will display notifications for problems / issues, it also does predictive failure well.  It includes the option to add an email for email based notifications as well.

[shadowsports]

Your post inspired me.

I updated my older Z97 rig from a 238GB > 1TB RAID0

My disks were already formatted GPT.  I made a Disk Image Back Up of the C: Drive

Shut down, removed the old Samsung's and installed some WD Blue SSD's.  I purchased these yesterday merely for price.

Turns out they have 560/530 read / write and 5yr warranty
The Samsung's they replaced were 550/520 10 yr

I still like Samsung but they were nearly $30 more each and this system is getting older now.   

Total downtime was 34 min.  16 min each for imaging and restore.  a minute to install the drives and another minute to configure RAID in the BIOS.

Went smoothly.

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