Impact of disabling SATA RAID config and Intel RST

Question

Hi all,

Recently, to install Ubuntu 20.04, in addition to Windows 10, I had to disable SATA RAID config in bios and enable SATA AHCI instead. I understand this is a prerequisite for installing Ubuntu, at least in my case.

I have observed the following:

Battery back-up has reduced in both Windows and Ubuntu OS

I have the following questions:

Does the battery back-up have anything to do with SATA RAID disablement / Intel RST disablement? If yes, is there any remedy, like installing some driver, etc.?
If I go back to SATA RAID config (in bios), shall my Ubuntu stop working? Please note, in my case I had to disable it to be able to install Ubuntu in the first place.
1. If it is indeed possible, what precautions should I take to keep both the OS functional?

P.S.> Laptop model Inspiron 7591

Thanks for your help!

Best wishes,

Anirban

DELL-Cares · Answer

Thank you! We have received the required details. We will work towards a resolution via private messages to ensure the security of your information. In the meanwhile, you may receive assistance or suggestions from the community members as well.

jphughan · Answer

@Anix-Anirban  What do you mean 'battery back-up' has been reduced? Do you mean battery runtime? If so, I doubt this change is responsible for the that. If you just set up a new OS, then there might be a lot of background tasks running to check for updates, monitor usage to perform optimizations, etc. And of course a completely different OS will have different code that might result in different battery life. Microsoft has often advertised that new versions of Windows eliminated code inefficiencies and therefore improve battery life, so software absolutely makes a difference. Setting your system back to RAID mode will make any Linux installation on your internal disk unbootable because Linux kernels don’t have an Intel Rapid Storage driver, which is required when RAID mode is in use because that activates the Rapid Storage controller and abstracts the storage from the OS.

Anix-Anirban · Answer

Thank you @jghughan for validating my assumption. But, I still have some ray of hope as Intel mentioned the following on their website ( https://www.intel.in/content/www/in/en/support/articles/000005769/technologies.html ***** Linux* Beginning with Linux* kernel version 2.6.18*, the dmraid* utility 1.0.0-rc15 supports RAID 0, RAID 1, and RAID 10. Beginning with Linux kernel version 2.6.27*, the mdadm* utility 3.0 supports RAID 0, RAID 1, RAID 10, and RAID 5. The kernel provides the RAID level support. The utilities support the Intel® Matrix Storage Manager metadata format. To use the RAID features in dmraid and mdadm, set up the RAID volume using the Intel Matrix Storage Manager option ROM. To enter the option ROM user interface, click CTRL+I when prompted during boot. ***** Can you please translate the above-mentioned situation for my Inspiron 7591? How will it work in Dell's bios program? Thanks again, Anirban

jphughan · Answer

@Anix-Anirban  Interesting find. In that case, give it a try. If your Linux environment ends up unbootable, it's not going to be permanently damaged. You'd just have to switch back to AHCI. If it works, then obviously RAID mode is supported.  I still really don't see why you believe that enabling the Rapid Storage controller is going to improve your battery life, but there's no harm trying.

Artyomsazonov · Answer

I have the same problem. Could you help me?

Inspiron

Impact of disabling SATA RAID config and Intel RST

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