Enable Trim on exsisting RAID-0

[PhIlLy ChEeSe]

I have 2 SDD'S in raid-0 when i use a tool to check trim it says not on, so the question is can I enable it on the array or do I need to reformat?

If I can how?

My set up
Maximus V gene
Intel 3770K
2 X Kingston Hyper 120GB RAID-0
8GB Ripjaws
BLAH BAH BLAH

 

[BonzaiDuck]

I have 2 SDD'S in raid-0 when i use a tool to check trim it says not on, so the question is can I enable it on the array or do I need to reformat?

If I can how?

My set up
Maximus V gene
Intel 3770K
2 X Kingston Hyper 120GB RAID-0
8GB Ripjaws
BLAH BAH BLAH

Did you use the TRIMCHECK tool, following the instructions to run it a second time after some few minutes?

I'm just guessing, but I'd had some exchanges last year with Z15CAM and some others when this had actually been an issue that was also being resolved. If memory serves me -- (at my age I don't trust it!) -- it was fixed in BIOS revisions for boards that preceded yours. Also, newer revisions of the IRST software figured into the solution, and I say that with greater mental clarity. And in fact, some of those revisions actually required a BIOS upgrade.

Someone else would know with greater certainty, so my two-cents here are not the last word on it.

 

[Elixer]

I thought intel's latest drivers offer trim for RAID, via their utility program?
*edit, maybe this will help: http://www.anandtech.com/show/6161/...ssd-arrays-on-7series-motherboards-we-test-it

 

[BonzaiDuck]

I thought intel's latest drivers offer trim for RAID, via their utility program?
*edit, maybe this will help: http://www.anandtech.com/show/6161/...ssd-arrays-on-7series-motherboards-we-test-it

What you said -- what I said. I just had to write "War and Peace" to say it.

But I didn't know it was a "utility program." I thought it was the drivers and the IRST software. Well -- that's a "utility program," the more I think of it.

That's why I dumped using ISRT the way Intel implements it: I wanted to go AHCI all the way. The usefulness of RAID at a work-station depends a lot on usage patterns, backup and redundancy strategies. The desire for RAID at the workstation level is often a need for speed.

Caching may be seen as a gimmick that provides speed through "stale code" stored in RAM or SSD, but it can be made to serve well. And without caching, a 500 seq-read / 500 seq-write performance level won't be perceptually different to some average user than what you get either with RAID0 or caching. Or -- it's not a crippling difference as viewed by the discriminating benchmarker-user. There are things you notice without the benchmarks, and the information provided by the benchmarks themselves.

It's all about diminishing returns and the use or granularity (?!) of human time.

But it's great that Intel fixed the flaw with TRIM for RAID.

 

[PhIlLy ChEeSe]

I thought intel's latest drivers offer trim for RAID, via their utility program?
*edit, maybe this will help: http://www.anandtech.com/show/6161/...ssd-arrays-on-7series-motherboards-we-test-it

Yeah Bonzai I rechecked it and still says trim not on, and yes I used what you said trim checker.
I think the above is only for intel SSD'S, or am I wrong?

 

[BonzaiDuck]

Yeah Bonzai I rechecked it and still says trim not on, and yes I used what you said trim checker.
I think the above is only for intel SSD'S, or am I wrong?

I don't think so. It would be foolish for Intel to do that. If they chose such an approach, they could just as easily limit ISRT SSD-caching to their brand. I don't think there was any indication during last year's discussion about it that Intel did such a thing.

Z15CAM, another member, seemed to have been quite knowledgeable about Intel's "fix." You had to use the IRST software of a certain version or later, and use of the software required a BIOS update as well.

I think when the topic came up, I was clueless as to what was happening to the caching-SSD I was using under its RAID-mode requirement. I think it was established that TRIM was -- indeed -- implemented there, but I didn't like being forced into a RAID-mode BIOS configuration generally. Then I discovered that Samsung required AHCI-mode for its RAPID feature to work, and I simply chose to move away from RAID of any kind. Even my server is configured in AHCI-mode and uses Stablebit DrivePool instead of a RAID array. If I wanted RAID1 redundancy, I can get it at the folder level with DrivePool. If I wanted RAID5 or RAID6 redundancy, I think I could still get it with DrivePool, and at the folder level.

I'd think that you would have less of a problem rectifying this with a Z77 motherboard, but I'm only speculating. If Z15CAM's experience with it gave any assurances, the "fix" of software-version and BIOS was effective for a Z68-Gen3 board.

 

[PhIlLy ChEeSe]

So I would have to do a new install and make sure the right RST drivers are used assuming trim isn't working now?

 

[BonzaiDuck]

So I would have to do a new install and make sure the right RST drivers are used assuming trim isn't working now?

No -- I don't think you'd have to do that. Update the BIOS and find the latest IRST software version. I don't know what else you'd need to do, but you shouldn't need to reinstall the OS.

I don't know how much storage you have in that array or what it contains besides the OS. But if you can separate all the user-data -- personal files, photos, movies -- from the OS and programs, you should be able to back up the data, remove it from the boot-disk-array (?), shrink the array partition as much as you need to, and then use something like a free Acronis cloning tool to move it over to a single disk, also configured in RAID mode but without "partners," run the MS RAID-to-AHCI conversion tool, reboot and then do whatever you want with the drive. You could clone it to a single SSD, for instance.

Or why worry about an intermediate HDD backup? You could simply clone directly to a larger SSD connected and configured in RAID mode (but separate from the array). At that point, the drive would still be bootable in BIOS RAID-mode configuration.

You would then run the MS Fix-It tool I mentioned, restart the system, and enter BIOS (IM-MEDIATELY . . . very important), change the BIOS to AHCI mode, and then the single SSD would then boot normally that way.

But if you want to keep the array, first try to update the BIOS and install the latest version of IRST.

Anyone think I'm wrong about this? I wouldn't want to hand Philly bad information, then to see him bork his RAID.

 

[Z15CAM]

If your Intel Sata Controller in Bios is Set RAID, I suggest you have the latest Intel IRST Driver installed and ENSURE your Image is Sys-PREP where it doesn't matter whether or not your BIOS is Enabled AHCI or RAID when cloning to new hardware.

Seems Intel RAID-0 SDD TRIM works but AMD Chipsets don't work for RAID-0 SSD's.

 

[Dufus]

For Intel RAID0 trim to work you need

• SSD's that supports trim
• Use the native Intel sata ports (not Asmedia / Marvell)
• Driver version 11 upwards for legacy and 11.5 upwards for UEFI (no CSM)
• Option ROM or UEFI BIOS driver with trim flag enabled
• Software that generates the trim command whether that's the OS or 3rd party.

Intel RAID0 trim is software driven and has been shown to work on old boards such as with ICH8R and even when using trim enabled Intel Matrix RAID 8.0 option ROM.

If you are having trouble you might want to try the Win-RAID forum which offers excellent, perhaps even the best support in these matters.