How do you disable Optane Memory in Windows 10? Intel RST app not available!

[forbetterliving]

Hello again! When I last posted here, it was looking for help further to locating an m.2 ssd that didn't make terrible noises. I had a WD Black drive that made deeply annoying sounds akin to coil whine. That problem was solved (the drive turned out to be defective) but now I've got a new problem. To be certain it was the WD drive, and not my motherboard, I re-inserted the 16gb Optane unit into the m.2 slot (I shifted over to booting off a SATA Samsung 860 EVO in 2.5" bay).

The good news: no awful coil whine from the Optane, so the mobo is safe! The bad news: removing the Optane unit means I can't boot. What appears to have happened is that during my test, some crucial OS files were spirited over to the Optane cache, so that they would boot faster next time. I can't see which files, and trying to patch things up by using the "Repair Windows" function on my Windows Installation Media USB doesn't do the trick either.

Intel's solution seems to involve using an application called "Intel RST" or "Intel Optane", that has a "disable optane" function. However, this application does not appear in Windows (though the associated processes do show up!), and the legacy Intel Optane application doesn't detect my Optane chip, presumably because it's running the latest firmware and I've got the latest drivers.

So. Any help? Everything was working fine when I booted off the SATA alone. The problems started after I popped the Optane in. Certain that it's the source of the woes. If push comes to shove, I can remove the Optane and then do yet another clean install of Windows on the SATA SSD.... keen to avoid that if at all possible.

Merci d'avance, mes amis! 

[REO51ST]

Welcome to the HP Support Community  @forbetterliving 

See if this helps???

Intel® Optane™ Memory Install/Uninstall Guide:

https://www.intel.com/content/dam/support/us/en/documents/memory-and-storage/optane-memory/intel-opt...

REO

[forbetterliving · Accepted solution]

Hi REO51ST, thanks for this - and apologies for the delay in getting back to you! Between that document at HP's troubleshooting page on Optane detection issues (https://www.intel.co.uk/content/www/uk/en/support/articles/000025194/memory-and-storage/intel-optane...) I determined that the Optane unit needed resetting.

To do this, you:

1. Load up BIOS.
2. Go to the Intel Rapid Storage Technology menu (which in my version of BIOS appeared as a sub-menu alongside boot drive options).
3. Highlight the Optane unit and select the "Reset to non-Optane" option.

I had seen this option before, but was put off from doing so based on BIOS giving me a warning that it would delete all the information on both the Optane unit and my system drive! I backed everything up and decided to give it a go anyway, and lo and behold, it worked - but my system drive was left intact afterall. The Optane application now detects the unit (and gives me the option to enable/disable it), and removing the disabled Optane unit does not prevent me from booting up normally.

Thanks for your help!