GIGABYTE RAID Set SATA Hard Drive User Guide
- June 15, 2024
- Gigabyte
Table of Contents
GIGABYTE RAID Set SATA Hard Drive
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
- Q: Can I use an M.2 PCIe SSD to set up a RAID set?
- A: No, an M.2 PCIe SSD cannot be used to set up a RAID set with either an M.2 SATA SSD or a SATA hard drive.
RAID Levels
| RAID 0 | RAID 1 | RAID 5 | RAID 10 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Minimum Number of Hard Drives | **** |
≥2
| ****
2
| ****
≥3
| ****
4
Array Capacity
| Number of hard drives * Size of the smallest drive| Size of the smallest
drive
| (Number of hard drives -1) Size of the smallest drive| (Number of hard
drives/2) Size of the smallest drive
Fault Tolerance| No| Yes| Yes| Yes
To create a RAID set, follow the steps below:
- Install SATA hard drive(s) or SSDs in your computer.
- Configure the system BIOS.
- Create RAID configurations. (Note 1)
- Install the RAID driver and operating system.
Before you begin, please prepare the following items:
- At least two SATA hard drives or SSDs (Note 2) (to ensure optimal performance, it is recommended that you use two hard drives with identical model and capacity). (Note 3)
- A Windows setup disc.
- An Internet connected computer.
- A USB thumb drive.
Preparing the Hard Drives and BIOS Settings
Installing hard drives
- Install the hard drives/SSDs in the Intel® Chipset controlled connectors on the motherboard. Then connect the power connectors from your power supply to the hard drives.
(Note 1) Skip this step if you do not want to create RAID array on the
SATA controller.
(Note 2) An M.2 PCIe SSD cannot be used to set up a RAID set either with
an M.2 SATA SSD or a SATA hard drive.
(Note 3) Refer to the “Internal Connectors” section of the user’s manuals
for the installation notices for the M.2 and SATA connectors.
Configuring the BIOS settings
Step 1:
Turn on your computer and press
Configuring a RAID Array
Step 1:
- After the system reboot, enter BIOS Setup again. Then enter the Settings\IO Ports\Intel(R) Rapid Storage Technology sub-menu (Figure 2).
NOTE
- The BIOS Setup menus described in this section may differ from the exact settings for your motherboard.
- The actual BIOS Setup menu options you will see shall depend on the motherboard you have and the BIOS version.
Step 2:
On the Intel(R) Rapid Storage Technology menu, press
Step 3:
Under Select Disks item, select the hard drives to be included in the RAID
array. Press the
Step 4:
- After setting the capacity, move to Create Volume and press
to begin. (Figure 5)
After completing, you’ll be brought back to the Intel(R) Rapid Storage
Technology screen. Under RAID Volumes you can see the new RAID volume. To see
more detailed information, press
Delete RAID Volume
To delete a RAID array, press
Installing the RAID Driver and Operating System
With the correct BIOS settings, you are ready to install the operating system.
If you want to install an operating system on an M.2 PCIe SSD or a RAID
volume, you need to install the Intel® RST VMD Controller driver first during
the OS installation process. Refer to the steps below:
- Step 1:
- Go to GIGABYTE’s website, browse to the motherboard model’s web page, download the Intel SATA Preinstall driver file on the Support\Download\SATA RAID/AHCI page, unzip the file and copy the files to your USB thumb drive.
- Step 2:
- Boot from the Windows setup disc and perform standard OS installation steps. When the screen requesting you to load the driver appears, select Browse.
- Step 3:
- Insert the USB thumb drive and then browse to the location of the driver. When a screen as shown below appears, select Intel RST VMD Controller A77F and click Next to load the driver and continue the OS installation.
Installing Intel® Optane™ Memory and Storage Management
After entering the operating system, make sure your Internet connection works
properly.
Launch the GIGABYTE Control Center (GCC).
On the “Not Installed\New Drivers” screen, select Intel® Rapid Storage
Technology driver to install.
Follow the on-screen instructions to continue.
When completed, restart the system.
Enabling an Intel® Optane™ Memory
System Requirements
- Intel® Optane™ memory H10/H20.
- System acceleration with Intel® Optane™ Memory can only be enabled on the M.2 connectors supported by the Chipset.
- Only the system drive partition on the Intel® Optane memory being used can be enabled for system acceleration. The system drive partition must be GPT formatted and have Windows 10 64-bit (or later version) installed.
- An Internet connected computer.
Installation Guidelines
- Step 1: In BIOS Setup, go to Settings\IO Ports\VMD setup menu, set Enable VMD controller to Enabled and set Enable VMD Global Mapping to Disabled. Then depending on the SATA/M.2 connector you use, set the corresponding Map this Root Port under VMD item to Enabled.
- Step 2: After re-entering the operating system, launch the Intel® Optane™ Memory and Storage Management application from the Start menu. Click Enable Intel® Optane™ Memory. When completed, restart the system.
- Step 3: Launch the Intel® Optane™ Memory and Storage Management application from the Start menu and make sure the Intel® Optane™ Memory has been enabled.
NOTE
- Do not abruptly remove the Optane™ memory. Doing so will cause the operating system to stop functioning correctly.
- If you want to change/remove the Optane™ memory, you must disable it using the Intel® Optane™ Memory and Storage Management application first.
- After enabling the Optane™ memory, the related BIOS settings will remain even after a BIOS update.
Rebuilding an Array
Rebuilding is the process of restoring data to a hard drive from other drives in the array. Rebuilding applies only to fault-tolerant arrays such as RAID 1, RAID 5 or RAID 10 arrays. The procedures below assume a new drive is added to replace a failed drive to rebuild a RAID 1 array. (Note: The new drive must have equal or greater capacity than the old one.)
Turn off your computer and replace the failed hard drive with a new one.
Restart your computer.
While in the operating system, launch the Intel® Optane™ Memory and Storage
Management utility from the Start menu.
- Step 1: Go to the Manage menu and click Rebuild to another disk in Manage Volume.
- Step 2: Select a new drive to rebuild the RAID and click Rebuild.
- The Status item on the right of the screen displays the rebuild progress. After the RAID 1 volume rebuilding, the Status will display as Normal.
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