FAQs about RAID Array

Tobo · ‎10.03.2025

FAQs about RAID array

For a RAID array, at least two hard drives or (NVMe M.2) SSDs are required. To achieve optimal performance, the hard drives or SSDs should be of the same size and come from the same model series. The BIOS screenshots in this manual are for reference only and may differ from the exact settings for your motherboard.
⚠️Note⚠️ Please note that the BIOS setup menus shown in this FAQ may differ from the specific settings of your motherboard. Depending on your motherboard model and the BIOS version installed, the BIOS setup menu options actually displayed may look different.

RAID array for the Asrock mainboard
Turn on your PC and press the F2 or Delete key to enter the BIOS Setup. Navigate to Storage Configuration \ VMD Configuration, ensure that the Enable VMD controller and Enable VMD Global Mapping are set to enabled. Press F10 to save the settings and exit the BIOS.

Configuring the RAID Array:
After a restart, enter the BIOS Setup again. Open the Advanced \ Intel(R) Rapid Storage Technology submenu.
Under the Intel(R) Rapid Storage Technology menu, access the Create RAID Volume dialog with Create RAID Volume. Enter a name for the volume consisting of 1-16 letters (without special characters) after the Name entry and confirm with Enter.

Select the desired RAID level and confirm with Enter.

Choose the hard drives to be included in the RAID array and confirm with Enter.

Select a stripe size for the RAID array or use the default setting and confirm with Enter.

Select Create Volume and confirm with Enter to start creating the RAID array.

Once the BIOS settings have been made, you can proceed with the operating system installation using the RAID drivers.
Since Windows does not include RAID drivers, it is necessary to integrate the Intel® RST VMD Controller drivers during installation. Download the Intel SATA Preinstall driver from the Asrock site, unzip the file and copy the contents of the ZIP archive to a USB stick.
1. Boot from a Windows installation media, follow the instructions until you reach the dialog: Select an installation type:
  
  Select Custom
2. You will be asked for the installation drive, click on Load driver.
3. Insert the USB stick and select the folder with the unzipped files. When the dialog shown below appears, select Intel RST VMD Controller A77F and click on Next to load the drivers.
4. Then follow the further installation steps.
RAID array for the Gigabyte motherboard
Turn on your PC and press the Delete key to enter the BIOS Setup. Navigate to Settings \ IO Ports \ SATA And RST Configuration, ensure that SATA Controller(s) is set to enabled. For RAID configuration, open Settings \ IO Ports \ VMD setup menu and set Enable VMD controller to Enabled and Enable VMD Global Mapping to Disabled. Then, depending on whether SATA / M.2 storage devices are used, enable the corresponding entries in Map this Root Port under the VMD item.

Configure the RAID array

❗The next steps can be skipped if no SATA ports are used for the RAID.

After a restart, call up the BIOS setup again. Open the Settings \ IO Ports \ Intel(R) Rapid Storage Technology submenu.

Under the Intel Rapid Storage Technology menu, access the Create RAID Volume dialog with Create RAID Volume. Enter a name for the volume consisting of 1-16 letters (without special characters) after the Name entry and confirm with Enter. Then select the RAID level. Depending on the number of installed storage devices, the levels RAID 0, RAID 1, RAID 10, and RAID 5 are offered. Use the arrow keys to select Select Disks.

Under Select Disks, choose the hard drives or SSDs to be included in the RAID array. Press the Spacebar to select a drive (selected ones are marked with an X). Then set the block size, with values ranging from 4 KB to 128 KB possible. After selecting the stripe block size, set the capacity of the volume.

After setting the size, go to Create Volume and press Enter.

The Intel Rapid Storage Technology dialog will then be displayed again. Under RAID Volumes, an overview of the RAID volume is now shown. Press Enter to view detailed information about the RAID.

Installation of RAID Drivers and Windows
After configuring the BIOS settings, you can proceed with the operating system installation using the RAID drivers.

Since Windows does not include RAID drivers, integrating the Intel® RST VMD Controller drivers during installation is necessary. Download the Intel SATA Preinstall driver from the Gigabyte site, unzip the file and copy the contents of the ZIP archive to a USB stick.
1. Boot from a Windows installation media, follow the instructions until you reach the dialog: Select an installation type:
  
  Select Custom
2. You will be asked for the installation drive, click on Load driver.
3. Insert the USB stick and select the folder with the unzipped files. When the dialog shown below appears, select Intel RST VMD Controller 467F and click on Next to load the drivers.
4. Then follow the further installation steps.