How to install Windows 10 when Intel Optane is installed on your Alienware system?

Description

How to install Windows 10 when Intel Optane is installed?

Supported Systems:

Install Windows 10 from DVD / USB when Intel Optane is installed
 

Note:  When system is configured with Intel Optane, the SATA Operation Mode in Bios needs to be set in "RAID" or "Intel Rapid Response ….".

 Windows 10

1. To run the installation disk or installation USB, insert the Windows installation disk or USB into the system.
2. Shut down the computer
3. When press your computer's Power button and watch for the Dell / Alienware logo to appear.
4. When the logo appears, press the F12 key to load the Boot menu.
5. If this menu does not appear, try restarting your computer again and pressing F12 several times when the Dell logo appears.
6. Once the Boot menu opens, select the optical or USB drive with the Windows installation media and press Enter.
   • If using UEFI be sure to select the correct boot option (example: UEFI-USB storage device)
7. When Windows 10 Setup appears, confirm that the Language, Time, Currency and Keyboard Method fields display the correct settings.

8. On the Windows 10 Installation dialog box, click Install Now.

9. Review the license agreement, and click I accept the license terms.

10. On the Which type of installation do you want? window, click Custom (advanced).
    
    
    

11. Click Drive Options (advanced)

Optane Note: If no drives are detected the Intel Rapid Storage Technology Driver (F6 driver) will need to be installed.  Click Load Driver and follow the instructions to install the driver from removable media. For Optane drives, please locate and download the appropriate IRST driver.  

12. Select the newly formatted partition then click Next to proceed with the Operating System installation. Remember to choose the Mechanical Hard Drive instead of the SSD.

13. Once Windows is ready, please proceed to install Intel Rapid Storage Software and follow this configuration:
14. Open the Intel Rapid Storage Technology (IRST) UI from the start menu tile. (Figure 1.)
    
    Figure 1. - Intel Rapid Storage Technology (IRST) opening screen.
     
15. Click the "Intel Optane Memory Button", to access the Optane configuration options. (Figure 2.)
    
    Figure 2. - Selecting the Optane Memory tab
     
16. Click the "Enable" hyperlink in the IRST interface to pair the Optane module with the SATA 3 drive. (Figure 3.)
    
    Figure 3. - Starting the Optane Array Creation on the Optane Memory tab
     
17. You will see a pop-up showing the Optane device and the system drive that the Optane device will pair with, then click "Yes". (Figure 4.)
    
    
    Figure 4. - Clicking YES to pair the drives and create an Optane Array.
     
18. Once the pairing is complete, click the "Reboot" button to complete the Optane configuration. You will also note the the SATA Drive and the Optane device are now shown as an "Optane Memory Array". (Figure 5.)
    
    
    Figure 5. - Completing the Optane setup.

19. After the system restarts, you can open the Intel Rapid Storage Technology application from the top of the start menu. If you click the Intel Optane Memory tab, you will now see the hyperlink option is now "Disable", indicating that Optane is enabled. (Figure 6.)
    
    
    Figure 6. - Optane setup is completed.

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