Intel Matrix Storage Manager Option ROM

[ShawnITGuy]

When I set up my RAID 0 array in the 'Intel Matrix Storage Manager Option ROM' successfully and then exit, going straight into Windows 7 installation the install fails. It does not fail when I switch the BIOS from RAID to AHCI and do a single hard disk install.

How do I update Intel Matrix Storage Manager Option ROM so that Windows install does not fail? Presumably that's the problem, right? The drives are 2 brand new Kingston 120GB SATA SSDs.

System: HP Elitebook 6930p

[RickMtl]

Wow, a 6930p!  I bought one in 2008 (a promo for reseller, back then, it cost me $2000 CAD), I just sold it a few months ago.

It was built like a tank!

That is running an Intel Core2 Duo CPU and came with Vista.

You should look at the VERSION of Intel RST, back then it was call Intel Matrix.  The RST might not work and you may have to use the older version.

Question:  that model has a single 2.5" drive.  It came with the SATA drive which I replaced with a 2.5" SSD.  That's why it is still being used 15 yrs later.  Why bother with the Intel RST (or matrix) drivers?  You can't do RAID and you don't need it.

[Jupitero]

I want to add some more info to Rick's answer.

Windows 7 does not have built-in drivers for Intel RAID, only for generic IDE and AHCI modes.

What you need is the Intel Rapid Storage Technology driver from e.g. your laptop's support page:

https://support.hp.com/us-en/drivers/hp-elitebook-6930p-notebook-pc/3688868

There's an older Matrix Storage Manager driver as well, but don't bother with that. Intel just renamed it to RST at one point.

Run or extract the package (with 7-Zip or WinRAR) in another computer and open the readme file for instructions. It mentions building a driver floppy but since you don't have a floppy drive, you can just copy the drivers to a USB drive. If you are installing Win7 from USB, you can copy them to the same drive, for example to \IntelRST folder. You can also plug in another USB drive during installation if you can't modify the Win7 media.

Select Load Driver and point to the USB drive and folder containing the drivers. Win7 should then autodetect correct driver inside the Intel package but you may need to manually do this. After this your 240G array should be visible and ready for installation.

Afterwards, when Windows 7 is properly installed, I recommend updating the Intel RST package to at least v11.2 or later because that's the first version that provided TRIM support. (a sort of SSD housekeeping to keep it from slowing down and extending drive life).

11.7.4.1001 is the final version to support your ICHM9 Intel chipset and is probably the best version as well.