XPS 8930, Optane driver removal

Question

I have an XPS8930 that originally had Optane configuration (HDD+16Gb Optane). Three years ago after I investigated the storage setup thoroughly I opted to remove this setup by replacing the Optane card with a 1Gb NVMe card and set this up as the boot device. I subsequently removed all the Optane software.

I have had no problems with this since, but I noticed in Device Manager that drivers are still loaded for Intel Optane Memory and Storage Management, and Intel Optane Pinning Extensions (x2). I disabled these and they have no effect on performance. I have tried to permanently remove them via Device Manager but they insist on reloading. It seems they reload through Windows Update, so I turned off loading of driver software in the Windows Update, but this did not prevent them reloading. There are no Optane services running either.

OK, it doesn’t seem to affect anything, but why have these extra services running in memory when they are clearly not required in the new setup?

Does anyone have an answer to how I can uninstall these drivers permanently?

Chino de Oro · Answer

Re:  Does anyone have an answer to how I can uninstall these drivers permanently? If the issue is still remain unsolved, you can go into BIOS settings and change the storage controller mode from RAID to AHCI so that Windows does not require Intel RST driver with Optane be installed.  You will need to follow the process below, otherwise system will not boot (BSOD).  Once the storage driver being changed, you can try the uninstallation of the software again. Steps to Switch RAID to AHCI: Open Command Prompt as Administrator: Click Start, type cmd, right-click 'Command Prompt' and select 'Run as administrator'. Enable Safe Mode: Type the following command and press Enter: bcdedit /set {current} safeboot minimal. Restart and Enter BIOS: Restart your computer and press F2 to enter the BIOS/UEFI setup. Change SATA Mode: Navigate to the storage/SATA configuration settings and change the mode from RAID (or Intel RST) to AHCI. Save and Exit: Save the changes and exit the BIOS. The computer will reboot into Windows Safe Mode. Disable Safe Mode: Open the Command Prompt as administrator again. Type the following command and press Enter: bcdedit /deletevalue {current} safeboot. Final Reboot: Restart the computer one last time. Windows will now boot normally with AHCI drivers loaded.

Stileguru · Answer

@Chino de Oro​ Thanks for the instructions. Are there any precautions I should take beforehand? Obviously a recent disk image is a useful one. I have had experiences of using safeboot before when my system failed to reboot into Windows. I was left with a black screen, and not knowing what to do next. I had a disk image which recovered the system so didn't lose too much, but I want to avoid this solution if possible.

Chino de Oro · Answer

There is no need for disk image. The reason it may not boot after you change RAID to AHCI in BIOS settings because the storage controller has no driver for AHCI for Windows to boot until you can get to SAFE mode so the AHCI driver will be installed automatically at that point.

If there is mistake during the process and system BSOD, don't worry. Allow system BSOD to cycle, on the third BSOD, Windows Repair Environment will come up, you can select Start Up repair and select option 4 to boot into Safe Mode. Once your system in Safe Mode, just select Restart, it will reboot into Normal Mode with AHCI driver.

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XPS 8930, Optane driver removal

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