I have also since opened up the Intel Rapid Storage Technology where I saw these messages:

Does this mean that the HDD was damaged during the data migration? It seems to me like I have to clear the entire drive in order to restore it, but there is a lot of data on it that I really don't want to lose. Is there another way to restore it, and if not, how can I recover or back up this data before I wipe the drive?

I had an R7 and loved the beast, but it was designed before 2 SSD's were affordable and were not common especially when one of them has to occupy a PCIE slot.

My guess is the motherboard simply can't cope with 2 SSD's and a HDD. I would ditch the HDD.

The cooling system must be working hard anyway to keep your system cool as it was never designed to cope with the configuration you now have, and your CPU will now be demanding overtime.

The first thing to learn from this is never format a system drive until you are sure the new system drive is working properly.

Second thing is, I don't think you can disable Optane on this system. I see no option in the BIOS to disable it.

Click on the Intel Optane Memory tab and see what you have available there. It shows a duplicate of your drive because it is expecting that slot to contain the Optane module.

If using Intel Optane MaSM, the Optane acceleration module and feature (for the HDD) should have been disabled before swapping it for the real-NVMe-SSD.

Then you should have been sure the HDD still works, and even after removing Optane-module. THEN, you install the NVMe-SSD in that M2-slot.

Secondly, all those "migrations" as you call them ... I guess you mean Cloning ... you can sometimes get by with one (if you use something good, like maybe Macrium-Reflect). But using that as a base and then cloning again ... just makes me nervous. And as you see, problems crop-up later.

Personally, I would just backup, setup the drives the way I wanted them for a while, and then clean-install Windows and Apps. Restore data. Some people use this Nuke-and-Pave as a good time to switch the system BIOS from RAID to AHCI (and then never install Intel-RST, Intel Optane MaSM or any Intel-VMD). 

Oh, and SATA-SSDs have been popular and affordable since at least 2015. NVMe-SSDs since at least 2017. Entry-level versions of both are pretty much dirt cheap now which is nice.

At this point, I am just trying to restore the HDD data. Afterward, I'll probably clean-install windows on the new 970 EVO and switch everything to AHCI the way you recommended. But at this current time, I'm mainly trying to figure out how to access the HDD again so I can backup what's on it. Do you know if temporarily putting the intel optane memory back into the system would fix the issue with the HDD not being recognized? If not, is there any way you would know of?

It sees it as incompatible RAID data based on your screenshots.

Like I said, go into the Optane tab and see what options are available there.

If your BIOS was initially configured RAID and you had a RAID volume and pulled the Optane module, there is likely no way to restore the data on the drive.

You should also check the Windows disk manager and see what the OS thinks about the 2 TB HDD. It will likely see it as unformatted. 

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@mattdfleck wrote:

1. But at this current time, I'm mainly trying to figure out how to access the HDD again so I can backup what's on it.

2. Do you know if temporarily putting the intel optane memory back into the system would fix the issue with the HDD not being recognized?

3. If not, is there any way you would know of?

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1. Oh no . That's not good. Are you sure your last backup doesn't include that drive?

2. Off hand, sorry, no. My understanding is that RAIDed drives aren't necessarily encrypted, however ... they only run properly with the "disk-controllers and/or raid software" with which they were created. So, thinking like that, yeah ... what you propose might work.

3. Not that I know of. However, I'm just the guy who uses Intel-RST and/or Optane MaSM when it's on the machine I've given (and not causing me any grief). If I end-up doing a Nuke-and-Pave on the machine, I usually get rid of it and go AHCI.

I do however read a lot of messages here. You are not the first one to fall-into this hole.

So I just cloned everything from the 970 EVO back to the 850 EVO, took the 970 EVO out of my PC, and put the intel optane memory back in. It's basically back to how it was initially before i got my 970. On first boot up, the HDD is back to normal and recognized. I'm able to back it up and everything.

In case it isn't easy to tell by the mistakes and issues I'm having, I'm a bit of a noob when it comes to PC building and upgrading. You mentioned the "Nuke-and-Pave" method earlier and I've heard of it, but I'm not certain of how to do it. I understand it means wiping all the drives clean and installing a fresh windows os onto the system. You also mentioned using that process to then switch from RAID to AHCI. This sounds like my best bet in order to be able to remove the intel optane memory (safely this time), use the 970 as my boot drive with the OS and the 850 and HDD as extra storage drives. Would you be able to explain how you recommend I go from here in doing this safely?

Also, would the fact that the 970 currently has windows installed on it while in RAID mode (not certain about the correct terminology) affect the process? I assume I would need to wipe it at some point, but I know I can't right because the intel optane memory is installed so I can backup my HDD onto an external hard drive.

You have to disable the Optane module before you do anything else...

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@Vanadiel wrote:

You have to disable the Optane module before you do anything else...

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That's what I was thinking, but I've never actually HAD an Optane module to play with. Definitely never been in this situation.

Actually, I think his next step is to backup the D-Drive (or whole system) before anything else really.