Question How do I enable and set up RAID with this mobo?

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Turbonium

Turbonium

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Mar 15, 2003
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I'm out of practice, so need a quick refresher here.

I went into my BIOS and didn't see an obvious option for "enabling" RAID.

Yes, I do have 2 identical, fully functional SATA HDDs etc. (this is the exact same HDD setup I had on my previous rig, just I have a new motherboard now and want to start with a new/fresh RAID setup). And yes, the mobo does support RAID.

Iirc, everything should be configurable in the BIOS? Or do I need to install drivers of some type in Windows first?

mobo:
Asus Pro B760M-CT-CSM

(There's no specific documentation for RAID setup with this motherboard model I don't think; the only Asus stuff I can find online is for other motherboard models, and the BIOS seems different with those ones.)

EDIT:

When I go into the RAID (Intel Rapid Storage Technology) menu in the BIOS, it says no disks are detected. Is this because I still have the striped (RAID-0) data on the 2 disks from my previous rig? I don't see why this should matter though. Disks are disks. And they are fully connected and seen by the BIOS in other menus.
 
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T

Tech Junky

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Depends on how you setup on the prior system. I use Linux and moving things over from one system to the other wasn't an issue because it's handled by the os. While it might be convenient in a dual boot to have the mobo handle it it's easier for me to manage in the os.

Since the drives are already raided in are system it might confuse the bios but, it should see the disks if they're connected directly to the mobo.
 
Turbonium

Turbonium

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igor_kavinski said:
I'm guessing you followed the steps in this manual? https://dlcdnets.asus.com/pub/ASUS/...51.1561448887.1577135102-452290160.1561993422

CSM should be DISABLED.

If you still can't see the SATA disks, change the SATA mode to AHCI instead of RAID and see if they are detected.
Click to expand...

It's already disabled by default. I even tried enabling CSM to see if that changes anything, then disabled it, and still nothing.

I'll try that now. Note that I can only seem to get into an older looking BIOS (F2 or DEL), not a fancy one where I have a cursor (I don't think it should matter though).
 
Turbonium

Turbonium

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igor_kavinski said:
If you still can't see the SATA disks, change the SATA mode to AHCI instead of RAID and see if they are detected.
Click to expand...

I checked. No such option. AHCI isn't mentioned anywhere in the menu or options.

Tech Junky said:
Depends on how you setup on the prior system. I use Linux and moving things over from one system to the other wasn't an issue because it's handled by the os. While it might be convenient in a dual boot to have the mobo handle it it's easier for me to manage in the os.

Since the drives are already raided in are system it might confuse the bios but, it should see the disks if they're connected directly to the mobo.
Click to expand...

They are still set up as a RAID-0 array as though they're in my old rig. Are you saying I should wipe them within Windows first, just to be sure?

BIOS does see the drives, just Intel RST doesn't detect them.
 
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igor_kavinski

Lifer
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Turbonium said:
BIOS does see the drives, just Intel RST doesn't detect them.
Click to expand...
Guess you should wipe them. Maybe the newer RST uses a different format for the RAID array and isn't backward compatible. Also, check if the disks are connected to consecutive ports 0 and 1 instead of 0 and 2 or something like that. It shouldn't matter but you never know.
 
Turbonium

Turbonium

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igor_kavinski said:
Guess you should wipe them. Maybe the newer RST uses a different format for the RAID array and isn't backward compatible. Also, check if the disks are connected to consecutive ports 0 and 1 instead of 0 and 2 or something like that. It shouldn't matter but you never know.
Click to expand...

I hooked up the RAID drives to SATA ports 0 and 1 (they are stacked vertically). Seemed the most logical.

I'll try wiping them I guess.
 
T

Tech Junky

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Turbonium said:
Intel RST
Click to expand...
Never used it but, before you wipe check for power to the drives. For a sanity check make a Linux USB boot and see if they show up there as well

I don't really trust Asus in general though with all of the issues they seem to have. Looking up the board there's no mention of raid on their sales page and that's usually an indicator of whether a board supports it on UEFI or not. Seems like a cheap no frills board from the looks of it.
 
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igor_kavinski

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Tech Junky said:
Never used it but, before you wipe check for power to the drives.
Click to expand...
BIOS can see the drives. Just RST can't see them.

Used RST wayyyyyy back in 2010 I think, when I enthusiastically splurged on three 1 TB WD Green drives to use in RAID 5 coz I had no experience with redundant storage before. It told me that initialization of the storage array would take 22 hours. That's way too long for me to trust that something won't fail, especially during array rebuilding. Gave up on RST after that. If the time could be reduced to 3 hours or less, I would consider RAID 5. I think only expensive enterprise solutions with powerful RISC CPUs and onboard RAM are able to rebuild that fast.
 
Turbonium

Turbonium

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igor_kavinski said:
BIOS can see the drives. Just RST can't see them.

Used RST wayyyyyy back in 2010 I think, when I enthusiastically splurged on three 1 TB WD Green drives to use in RAID 5 coz I had no experience with redundant storage before. It told me that initialization of the storage array would take 22 hours. That's way too long for me to trust that something won't fail, especially during array rebuilding. Gave up on RST after that. If the time could be reduced to 3 hours or less, I would consider RAID 5. I think only expensive enterprise solutions with powerful RISC CPUs and onboard RAM are able to rebuild that fast.
Click to expand...

I used Intel RST for years on these same drives on an old i5 3570 system with an Intel mobo (DH77KC), in RAID-0, with absolutely no issues. I don't think the array took much time to build up either (only a RAID-0 array after all).

Anyway, I just did a Secure Erase on both drives in BIOS, restarted BIOS, and still nothing detected by RST in BIOS.

So yeah, still can't set up the RAID array it would seem.

What is "Intel(R) Rapid Storage Technology Driver V19.5.0.1037 for Windows 11 64-bit.(WHQL)" for? Do I need that?

link:

Pro B760M-CT-CSM｜Motherboards｜ASUS Canada

Micro-ATX B760 business motherboard with enhanced security, reliability and manageability and serviceability
www.asus.com www.asus.com

(I can't imagine why I would, as I'm not doing anything from within Windows, but from within BIOS, but I'm asking anyway.)
 
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Tech Junky

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Turbonium said:
Anyway, I just did a Secure Erase on both drives in BIOS, restarted BIOS, and still nothing detected by RST in BIOS.
Click to expand...
I think it's a limitation of the board personally. Either that or just a crappy UEFI image they released with that feature not working. Try a different UEFI version. Kill the secure boot while you're at it as it causes more issues to troubleshoot.
 
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igor_kavinski

Lifer
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You may need to get in touch with ASUS support.

Could be the BIOS needs an update (they may have some beta one for customers who complain). Or there's some obscure setting that needs to be fiddled with.

It's a mobo for corporate deployments and I don't think most admins go to the trouble of setting up RAID for the company employees. So ASUS engineers may have put the RAID functionality test really low on their priority list for this mobo.
 
Turbonium

Turbonium

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Tech Junky said:
I think it's a limitation of the board personally. Either that or just a crappy UEFI image they released with that feature not working. Try a different UEFI version. Kill the secure boot while you're at it as it causes more issues to troubleshoot.
Click to expand...

What is a UEFI image? Like BIOS version?

igor_kavinski said:
You may need to get in touch with ASUS support.

Could be the BIOS needs an update (they may have some beta one for customers who complain). Or there's some obscure setting that needs to be fiddled with.

It's a mobo for corporate deployments and I don't think most admins go to the trouble of setting up RAID for the company employees. So ASUS engineers may have put the RAID functionality test really low on their priority list for this mobo.
Click to expand...

I generally avoid updating BIOS unless absolutely necessary, for obvious reasons. But, given the circumstances, what's the safest way to go about it?
 
Turbonium

Turbonium

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Tech Junky said:
UEFI is the new BIOS.
Click to expand...


The thing contains a CAP file and an Application file. I have no clue how to use this to update the BIOS/UEFI.

Do I just run the Application file and follow prompts? I'm legitimately scared of bricking this board.

EDIT:

A slightly older-than-current BIOS/UEFI version says I need to update this first:
"Before BIOS update, please download Intel ME update tool from ASUS support site, and update ME firmware to Version 16.1.25.2124v4 to ensure optimized system settings."

The site also has the following update, accordingly it would seem:
ME firmware UpdateTool
Version 16.1.25.2124v4_S

I mean, what is ME firmware anyway? And should I be updating the BIOS stepwise, or can I just do the ME firmware first, then skip straight to updating to latest BIOS/UEFI?
 
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igor_kavinski

Lifer
Jul 27, 2020
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Turbonium said:
Do I just run the Application file and follow prompts? I'm legitimately scared of bricking this board.
Click to expand...
Yes, safer to update the ME first.

Intel Management Engine: https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/support/articles/000008927/software/chipset-software.html

Just make sure that power to the PSU is not lost during the update. That's a sure way to get a bricked mobo. But the mobo features some recovery thingie so maybe there's a backup BIOS. Doesn't make that clear.
 
Turbonium

Turbonium

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I need to totally wipe/reformat a USB key I have, but it's split into different partitions and a total mess.

What software do you recommend for this? (I can't figure out how to do it from within Windows.)

I just want the USB key to be like-new condition basically. Just one big FAT32 partition on it only.

EDIT: used Disk Management and got most of it in one partition/FAT32.
 
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Turbonium

Turbonium

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Also: I need an MD5 checksum tool. Remind me what to use? Something lightweight and reliable.

(I've been out of the loop for a VERY long time, clearly.)

EDIT: just figured it out. Windows 11 has it built-in, apparently.
 
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Turbonium

Turbonium

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Well, I installed the Intel drivers, then updated the Intel ME/microcode.

Now I'm just trying to figure out how to make this USB key ready. What is a CAP file? (I copied it to my FAT32-formatted USB key - do I just restart the system with the USB key plugged in and go through the BIOS menu? I'm so scared.)

EDIT: nm found a guide, lol.
 
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Turbonium

Turbonium

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So I updated (in order):

- Intel ME microcode (latest)
- BIOS (latest)

Still the same problem (HDDs aren't seen by Intel RST; nor are the nVME SSDs I have running, fwiw).

Not sure where to go from here. To be clear, the motherboard's manual itself says that the board supports RAID, as does the specifications page on the site. The chipset also does support RAID (Intel B760).

And if it matters, Windows shows this in Device Manager:



Note: I have NOT installed ANY of the "chipset" drivers off the Asus site, aside from the Intel ME stuff. Again, I don't see why this should matter though, given I'm just wanting it to work in BIOS. Correct me if I'm wrong.
 
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