It sounds like you have a MSATA cache drive.   It is basically a RAID 0 setup created by Intel Smart Response software with the primary drive so in Windows you are only going to see the main drive.  The system loads the most used files on the MSATA drive as it is faster than the SATA drive and should generally increase Windows performance.

I really don't suggest it but you can disable the cache in the Intel Rapid Storage Utiltiy.  Please make sure that all data is backed up before doing so.

 Removing the mSATA/SSD or HDD:

• • Before removing the HDD or cache from the system, the Smart Response feature should be disabled in the Rapid Storage Manager application by clicking the “Disable acceleration” link either on the main status page or under the Acceleration menu.

 I hope that this helps

TB

Thanks for the info. More what I was wondering is if I could use that drive as the boot drive. It seems a waste to have a pretty much  unused SSD just hanging out. The computer is slow as mud so I am trying anything I an think of to improve the speed.

64 bit Windows 7 require about 20 gygs of storage space, so presumably you will be able to install Windows on the mSATA drive but you wouldn't have a lot of room for anything else.  If you do decide to do something like this please disable Smart Response from the rapid storage manager or the system won't be able to see the drive when you attempt to install Windows.  Please also make sure to back up your data.

In theory you should be able to see an increase in speed especially while booting the system or loading programs if you do decide to try something like this.  Since you will have to load most of your software on the SATA drive and not the mSATA drive I can't really say that it will be a big difference.  If you are comfortable in reinstalling Windows it might be a good project.

TB

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