RAID setting not working and disappearing SSD

Whenever you use a RAID controller, the Windows installer will need the proper driver to access the RAID, or it will simply not see it.

That is why they set it up as RAID by default, even with a single drive, as this way Windows has both the RAID driver and NVMe driver available during boot.

As long as you did not configure a RAID volume, you can freely switch between RAID and NVMe access.

RAID volumes are not recommended for consumer systems, and you will also loose the ability to monitor the drives with SMART.

@Vanadiel​ Thanks. I wanted to use RAID1 to avoid downtime if a drive fails. It's unfortunate that windows setup doesn't recognise RAID volumes, in spite of it supporting them in windows.

Anyway, just in case anybody has the same problem, there is a way around it in this post.

From online forums, that's how I got the driver in Terminal

      ./SetupRST.exe -extractdrivers SetupRST_extracted

Thanks for that .. I wonder why all Dell agents I talked to didn't come up with an answer, when it's all there. 

Re:  I wonder why all Dell agents I talked to didn't come up with an answer, when it's all there. 

From what I understand, Dell agents are trained to provide sales support and warranty support.  They are not trained to show people how to use computers.  To receive answers for your questions, they must open a case for warranty support if you have hardware issue.  Or, they would provide answers if you request a paid software support.

Re:  Anyway, just in case anybody has the same problem, there is a way around it in this post.

With consumer class systems, you should be able to setup hardware RAID for your SATA drives with onboard controller.  Using Windows storage space, you can set up RAID volume for NVMe SSD but for storage only. 

How did you manage to install Windows on RAID 1 with NVMe drives?  Does your R16 storage controller support NVMe hardware RAID?

The R16 storage controller supports RAID. But it's a combination of software and hardware using Intel RST.

A true hardware RAID would be expensive.

R16 specifications

As I mentioned earlier it's always set to on by default, so you get the RAID driver added to your Windows OOB image.

However, no RAID volumes are configured so you can really only create a RAID 1 with it. How to do that is explained here

To my knowledge any other RAID besides RAID 1 will need a reinstallation of the OS because I know of no way to convert an existing image into a RAID volume.

@Chino de Oro​ My problem was windows installation stopped recognising the two SSD's paired in RAID1 when system crashed after Dell automatic BIOS update. So, either setup BIOS to NVMe or it won't see the drives at all. That's even after a complete erase. They spent hours online and over phone and couldn't tell me simply download xyz drivers for RST  and RAID available in Dell website, and use with Win setup. That's not a big ask, especially when problem was caused by BIOS automatic upgrade.

Anyway. That's why we have these community chats so we can help each other, and thanks for the advice received. 👍

Interest to know if the R16 can support NVMe RAID before installing operating system.

In short .. yes .. 

BIOS set to RAID (which by the way is the default when PC came from Dell). Added the RST drivers to the windows setup USB drive (can have it on another drive and swap, but I didn't want to mess about), and windows recognised the drives, and continued the setup. I'm arguing that such drivers should, like all others be included in the windows setup anyway, or that computer sellers should include them on their websites, or Intel should have the drivers, not the windows RST Optane setup which only works from inside windows (how to get there in the first instance ?!) available.

I hope my journey and frustration would help somebody else out there.

Edited to delete question due to changes in solution.  Will research on my own.

You set it up from within the RST drivers. You can actually migrate to RAID 0 or 1 under Windows 11 without needing to do a reinstallation.

I would still advice a backup before performing this function.

How to Set Up RAID 0 Using Built-In Intel Rapid Storage Technology

If your computer is running Windows OS 11 and has one hard drive that serves as the primary storage, you can use Intel Rapid Storage Technology to configure RAID 0. By using the migrating option available in Intel Rapid Storage Technology, you may likely not lose any files during the whole process. But still, you should back up the data you’ve got on the primary hard drive before fitting in the second one and setting up the RAID.

Guide

• On your PC’s taskbar, click on the Start button and go to All Apps 🡺 Intel Rapid Storage Technology 🡺 launch the Intel Rapid Storage Console. If you can’t find the Intel Rapid Storage Technology utility on your PC, then your PC’s motherboard or firmware is not compatible with the tool.
• Look at the top menu and click on Create
• Choose Optimized disk performance (RAID 0) and click on the Configure button.
• Set a Volume Name.
• Select the drives to use in the RAID 0
• Select the drive that Windows OS installed (as the source drive for data migration), and click Next to migrate the data to the new RAID volume you’re about to create.
• Recheck your settings and entries, then click Confirm to finalize.

NOTE: Although you will get a notification to keep using the system while the RAID creation happens in the background, it is advisable not to heed that. Don’t use the PC until the migration and RAID 0 creation is 100 percent completed. When you get the message box notification that volume has been successfully created, Click OK.

@Chino de Oro​ Originally windows came with BIOS setup as RAID. I installed Intel Optane app from Dell support and created a RAID1 very easily. After the BIOS update I couldn't log into windows. therefore tried to re-install or repair, and windows setup could not see the drives unless BIOS was reset to NVMe. This could have been avoided if windows setup had the RAID RST drivers, if DELL agents managed to tell me where to find them, or I had the info Vanadiel kindly provided after the event. I am trying to help other users who will face the same problem one day.

Am aware of software RAID using Windows storage space or Intel RST/RSTe app.  Also knew about available options for setting up SATA drives with RAID controller settings in BIOS and from F12 hardware setup options.

Questions were edited since OP topic was about installing Windows, not setting up NVMe RAID on R16.

@Vanadiel​ Hello and thanks for this!!  However, I have two 1TB ssd's installed and when I use IRST to create the RAID 0 I can NOT select both drives, only one drive at a time. If I click one the other becomes unclickable.  I've even tried a fresh windows install the using diskpart to strip the drives and windows gives an install error.  I can't for the life of me setup a raid.  I'd even be willing to install windows on 100GB partition and then raid the other data drives.  Any suggestions?  I'm using the newest the latest IRST drivers from Dell on my Alienware R16.