Intel Rapid Storage Technology Explained

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What is Intel Rapid Storage Technology

What is Intel Rapid Storage Technology?

Intel Rapid Storage Technology, also known as Intel Rapid Response Technology, refers to a technology or more specifically to a Windows-based application.

Technically, it refers to a firmware that is based on RAID which allows combining several storage disk drives in one single line component. It also has an intelligent system for caching data resolving data storage issues.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

  • The Intel Rapid Storage Technology is a program that is specifically designed to offer an enhanced performance and more reliability for those systems that come with SATA disks such as desktop computers, mobile devices and server platforms.
  • This technology is also designed to improve the storage capabilities of different devices and is aimed specifically at personal computers. It ensures security of the data files used in the system in a much more comprehensive approach to technology.
  • The Intel Rapid Storage Technology comes with a number of unique features such as Multiple Command Acceptability, Transactional Synchronous Serial ATA and Matrix RAID Technology.
  • The Intel Rapid Storage Technology offers a lot of benefits such as better SSD performance, improved data recovery, higher data storage space, and better cache data management.

Understanding Intel Rapid Storage Technology

What is Intel Rapid Storage Technology

The Intel Rapid Storage Technology comes with a much better data caching feature that not only secures the data of the users but also enhances the performance of the computer system on the whole.

With the use of this latest technology, you can configure your computer system with an SSD or a Solid State Drive which you can use as a cache memory between the memory of the system and the hard disk.

Ideally, the Rapid Storage Technology uses a firmware that is based on Redundant Array of Inexpensive Disks or RAID.

The primary objective of this particular program is to combine different storage disk drives into one single line module.

This particular technology serves as a solitary drive letter solution and therefore you will not need another such drive letter for using the SSD as cache.

Along with that, the Intel Rapid Storage Technology also makes the best use of the capabilities of the Central Processing Unit, the chipset and the software that is used.

However, in order to make the Intel Rapid Storage Technology work properly, all of these should be of compatible versions and it also needs to meet the system requirements.

System Requirements for Intel Rapid Storage Technology

Not all systems will support Intel Rapid Storage Technology. You will first need to make sure that your system has these following specs in the first place which are:

  • A desktop board based on Intel Z68, H77, Q77, Z77, H87, Q87, Z87 Express chipset
  • An Intel Core processor from the LGA 1150 or LGA 1155 package
  • BIOS with the SATA mode set to RAID
  • An Intel Rapid Storage Technology software of 10.5 version or later
  • Single or multiple Hard Disk Drives in single RAID volume
  • A Solid State Drive with at least 18.6 GB of space and
  • Windows 7 or Windows 8 operating system of 32-bit and 64-bit editions.

Once you are sure that your system is equipped with all these, you can go ahead with the setup process of the Intel Rapid Storage Technology in your system.

Setup Process

The setup process of the Intel Rapid Storage Technology is not very difficult but is pretty long.

There are different stages of it that you need to follow precisely. Now take a look at the different stages of the set up process.

Configuring the SATA Mode

The first thing that you will need to do is go to the BIOS and configure the SATA mode. The steps to follow in this case include:

  • Starting the computer with the F2 key pressed to go to the BIOS setup menu
  • Going to the Configuration SATA Drives
  • Selecting the setting for Chipset SATA Mode
  • Changing the value of it to RAID
  • Pressing the F10 key to save the settings and
  • Restarting the computer.

Installing the Operating System

Once you are done with configuring the SATA mode, the next step includes installing the operating system on the RAID volume or the drive. The precise steps include:

  • Installing all of the necessary device drivers
  • Installing the Intel Rapid Storage Technology software version 10.5 or higher and
  • Enabling it.

At this stage the Intel Rapid Storage Technology software will set the Intel Rapid Storage Technology as accelerated. You will have to enable it and for that you will have to follow these necessary steps:

  • Running the Intel Rapid Storage Technology software through the Task Bar icon or the All Programs menu
  • Looking for the Enable acceleration tab under either the Accelerate or Status menu and clicking on it
  • Selecting the SSD to be used as the cache device
  • Selecting the size from the SSD to be dedicated for the cache memory
  • Selecting the RAID volume or the drive to accelerate
  • Selecting the acceleration mode in place of the enhanced mode that is selected by default and finally
  • Clicking OK.

Once the page is refreshed the acceleration view will report the fresh acceleration configuration.

This will indicate that your computer is now ready and configured successfully with the Intel Rapid Storage Technology.

Using the Intel Rapid Storage Technology

However, in order to use the technology you will also need to do a few more things.

For example, you will also need to install the necessary files from Intel, the external source, assuming that you are using a Windows system.

The process is different for different types of BIOS or Basic Input/output System.

If your system has an Intel Visual BIOS, the steps to follow to install the files are:

  • Rebooting the computer with the F2 key pressed
  • Clicking on the Advanced Setup when the menu appears
  • Clicking on the Power option on it
  • Scrolling down and checking the box to enable Intel Rapid Start Technology
  • Setting the Hibernation Timer to Immediately
  • Pressing the F10 key for saving the changes made in the settings
  • Clicking on the Exit option located at the top of the screen to exit from the BIOS and finally
  • Rebooting the system.
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However, if your computer is equipped with an Intel non-visual BIOS, the steps to follow are:

  • Rebooting the computer with the F2 key pressed
  • Scrolling down to click on the Power option in the menu displayed
  • Tapping on the Settings option
  • Scrolling down and checking the Intel Rapid Start Technology option
  • Setting the Hibernation option to Immediately
  • Turning the computer off and
  • Rebooting it again.

Well, in spite of all these efforts, you are still not ready to use the Intel Rapid Storage Technology.

This is because, when you are done with this process, you will need to create a hibernation division on the SSD.

Creating Hibernation Divisions

The main purpose of creating hibernation divisions is to divide the total disk space into tiny storage spaces. The steps to follow in this case are:

  • Going to the Windows search bar
  • Typing cmd.exe
  • Right clicking and selecting Run as Administrator
  • Typing the command diskpart.exe in the single command line and
  • Hitting Enter.

At this point you will need to scroll down and find the Diskpart command. In here you will need to enter a few specific commands as follows in this order:

  • DISKPART> select disk X (Here X indicates the disk to be partitioned)
  • DISKPART> create partition primary size=YYYY (Here Y indicates the file size of the hibernation partition in MB)
  • DISKPART> detail disk
  • DISKPART> select volume Z (Here Z indicates the volume of partitions to be created)
  • DISKPART> set id=84 override
  • DISKPART> exit.

When all these commands are entered in and you exit from the prompt, your disk will be partitioned just as required.

Verifying Hibernation Division

You will also need to verify the hibernation partition to ensure that you have successfully created it. The steps to follow to do so are:

  • Accessing the Control Panel from My Computer or by searching in the Windows
  • Locating System and Security
  • Entering the menu
  • Clicking Administrative Tools from it
  • Clicking on Computer Management in the drop-down submenu
  • Selecting Disk Management from the drop-down menu
  • Double clicking on Hibernation to verify the file sizes that you have newly created and
  • Rebooting the computer.

Downloading the Necessary Files

Now your system is ready to download the necessary files and install them. The steps to be followed in this case are:

  • Visiting the official Intel site and downloading the driver from there
  • Following the steps prompted to install the setup for which you must unzip the downloaded file to use the installer and
  • Restarting the computer once the installation process is completed.

Verification Process

Finally, it is time to check, and there are a couple of easy steps to follow for that which includes:

  • Going to the Taskbar
  • Searching for the Intel Rapid Storage Technology icon
  • Taping on Launch The Tool from the Task Manager
  • Setting the Status to On and
  • Setting the Timer to Zero.

With all these steps completed, you will have successfully installed and configured the Intel Rapid Storage Technology that will be ready to use.

Features of Intel Rapid Storage Technology

Now, take a look at the features of the Intel Rapid Storage Technology, which is why it is so talked about, before you count the benefits it offers.

Some of the most modern features included in this technology to optimize storage speed and performance include:

  • The Intel Smart Response Technology, which is also known as the Intel Rapid Response Technology, that installs the most frequently used data into the high-speed SSD and increase its speed and performance
  • The Multiple Command Acceptability feature that allows the disks to access several commands at a time by using Native Command Queuing which enables the internal storage of the device and optimize the files while multitasking
  • The RAID Technology with more improved features that allows storing data in several chipsets to optimize the performance and speed of the device with RAID Level 0 for stripping, RAID Level 1 for mirroring, RAID Level 5 for stripping with parity, and RAID Level 10 for stripping and mirroring
  • The Transactional Synchronous Serial ATA that combines the abilities of data center SSDs and Serial ATA disk drives to offer more improved storage performance and allows more precise and faster error handling and data recovery and
  • The Matrix RAID Technology that allows the SATA disk drives to store two autonomous volume spaces by creating an array that can have 2 to 6 SATA disks to store data and most frequently used files in the first portion and minor files in the second portion of the volume space according to the requirement.

Benefits of Intel Rapid Storage Technology

All of the above useful features of the Intel Rapid Storage Technology offer a lot of benefits to the users.

Some of the most significant benefits offered by this new technology include:

  • Improved SSD performance with its support to new electronic Peripheral Component Interconnect devices and the dynamic storage accelerator to enhance the speed and performance of the internal drive and local apps due to efficient cache management
  • More improved data recovery by storing data automatically to the internal memory for easy access even if it is accidentally lost which adds on to the speed
  • Larger data storage and better cache data management for improved performance of the device due to creation of internal spaces on it and removing less-used apps from the cache
  • Better data security by preventing unauthorized access by anyone who cannot provide the security password asked for signing up which also helps in preventing malware attacks and data loss and
  • More reliability with the combined features and performance of both SSD and HDD.

You do not need to worry about the type of Intel processor you have in your computer and wonder whether or not it will support the Intel Rapid Storage Technology.

This is because, typically, almost every modern Intel processors will support this technology

The best part of the Intel Rapid Storage Technology is that it will keep the drive of your computer updated with its auto-update feature.

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You will not have to reinstall it right from the beginning in order to upgrade the driver. Simply run the upgrade each time it is available.

Enabling the Auto Upgrade Feature

However, this auto-upgrade feature may not work for all types of computers, especially those that have a low end module.

If your computer happens to be one of them, then you should try using the Windows auto-update feature.

This will also save you from the hassle of reinstalling the app right from scratch. The steps to follow in this case include:

  • Going to the taskbar
  • Looking for Device Manager
  • Selecting Firmware from the different categories displayed
  • Right clicking on the menu and
  • Selecting Update Driver.

Typically, Windows will look for the updates for you. Still, if it does not update the driver, you will unfortunately have to reinstall it.

Ideally, this technology is much faster, in fact about ten times faster than the Microsoft storage drivers.

This is because the Intel Rapid Storage Technology is based on a data storage array and utilizes the most modern microchip technology.

It works well both on the hardware and the software as opposed to the Microsoft storage driver which only works on the software and does not use modern technology.

Do You Need It?

What is Intel Rapid Storage Technology

There is no doubt that you will need the Intel Rapid Storage Technology since it is one of the most sophisticated technologies available as of now in the world.

This will help to protect your valuable data and also make the storing process much more hassle free for you.

This technology is most sustainable, which is another good reason to use it.

The technology will improve the speed and performance of the overall system and you will notice it instantly.

That is why most updated devices today come with this particular technology already installed in them.

However, if you have an old system that does not have the driver of this technology installed in it, you should therefore install it immediately.

You can do it easily in just a couple of steps. But before that, you should make sure that your system has everything that is required for it, including the operating system, as mentioned before.

Look at what the Intel Rapid Storage Technology has to give you and you will know why exactly you need it to have in your system.

Whether you use it on a mobile or a desktop platform, this technology will give you a newer and better level of performance, protection, and expandability.

Most importantly, it will reduce the power consumption significantly irrespective of using one or several hard drives.

The user interface of the Intel Rapid Storage Technology will also help in the creation and management of storage making it much more intuitive and simpler.

You can even protect data in an external drive by setting up data protection by using the Intel Rapid Recover technology.

This technology will enable a dual drive, small capacity and low cost SSD to be used in combination with a high capacity but low cost Hard Disk Drive.

The Intel Rapid Storage Technology will also help a Solid State Hybrid Drive or SSHD to offer a much higher and faster performance.

This will provide a much larger and more cost effective storage option.

All your valuable data will be safely stored and protected against any failure in the hard drive or due to system downtime with any of the three fault-resistant RAID levels configured in the system.

These are RAID 1, RAID 5, or RAID 10. It will help in storing copies of the data seamlessly on one or many additional hard drives.

Then, when you edit any videos or images, the Intel Rapid Storage Technology will also enhance the performance of the disk intensive recovery apps.

You will also find it very useful when you access data stored on each drive at the same time due to the combination of 2 to 6 drives in a RAID 0 configuration which will expedite the response time when you use data-intensive apps.

The systems with RAID 1 configuration can also take advantage of the technology and improve their data reads and boot times with the drive load balancing feature.

Can You Delete Intel Rapid Storage Technology?

Yes, you can delete or uninstall the Intel Rapid Storage Technology but it is recommended that you do not delete it due to the benefits that it offers.

However, if your computer does not use the RAID technology or it does not have a SATA SSD, there is no point installing these drivers.

In fact, Intel itself recommends uninstalling it. This is because the Intel Rapid Storage Technology is nothing but just a more superior version of the RAID technology.

In fact, this technology is highly dependent on the RAID technology because it is typically a combination of several RAID network chips at the same time.

In that case you should seriously consider deleting the Intel Rapid Storage Technology because it will not offer any added benefits and mainly remain useless.

In that case you should use the Windows storage driver instead.

Steps to uninstall

You can uninstall Intel Rapid Storage Technology by going to the control panel of your computer and using the Add/Remove program.

Find Intel Rapid Storage Technology software, click on it and select uninstall.

If that does not, you can take another route but before that you must create a Restore Point just in case.

To do this, the process may be different for different operating systems. For example:

  • In Vista, you will need to go to the Start menu, type rstrui, and select ‘Create a Restore Point.’
  • In Windows 7, 8 or 8.1, you must visit the Start menu, type create, and select ‘Create a Restore Point.’

After creating the Restore Point, you will need to follow these steps to uninstall the Intel Rapid Storage Technology from your computer:

  • Click on Start button or Right click on My Computer
  • Select Properties
  • Click in Device Manager in Control panel on the left side of the System window
  • Double click on IDE ATA/ATAPI controllers
  • Double-click on Intel SATA AHCI controller
  • Go to the Driver tab of it in the properties window
  • Select Uninstall and
  • Restart the system when it is completed.
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After it restarts, boot back to Windows and go to Device Manager to check whether it displays Standard SATA AHCI Controller under IDE ATA/ATAPI controllers. If it shows, you are done deleting the Intel Rapid Storage Technology.

There is one more thing left to do to verify that the technology is not loaded. You can download and install DriverView, which is a more user-friendly program for that.

Check on it that none of the following is listed:

  • iaStor.sys
  • iaStorA.sys
  • iaStorF.sys
  • iaStorS.sys and
  • iastorv.sys.

If none of the above is shown, you have successfully deleted the Intel Rapid Storage Technology from your computer.

However, if any one of the above is listed, there are a few more things to do in order to remove it or them. These are:

  • Visiting the Device Manager
  • Selecting View
  • Checking show hidden devices
  • Double-click on Non-plug and play Drivers
  • Right-click on the Intel Rapid Storage Technology driver
  • Select Properties
  • Go to the Driver tab under Startup
  • Change it to disabled and
  • Restart the system.

Now, you are done and your system is devoid of the Intel Rapid Storage Technology.

Is Intel Rapid Storage Needed for SSD?

It is not absolutely necessary to install the Intel Rapid Storage Technology for SSD but it is better to do so because this will enhance the performance and speed of the device.

This is because this latest technology is normally built on numerous chips.

In reality, it is just the other way around. An SSD is a must-have in order to run the Intel Rapid Storage Technology.

However, the use of the Intel Rapid Storage Technology will enhance the performance of the SSD due to its additional support for PCI Express storage devices.

It will also optimize its response time and productivity for jobs like video loading, picture editing, and more.

The dynamic storage accelerator will also improve the performance of the SSD by managing the power policies of the system by changing them more dynamically.

This will be more helpful than the default power management process since it will improve it by as much as 15%. This will be of significant help especially during multitasking.

You will also have easier and faster access to the files and apps that you use frequently and at the same time check the health of the SSD.

All these benefits are also applicable even if you use an SSHD or a hybrid storage.

How Do You Know If Your Intel Rapid Storage is Working?

The simplest way to check whether or not the Intel Rapid Storage Technology is working on your system is by checking the time taken by the computer to reboot.

If it takes a very long time, then maybe the Intel Rapid Storage Technology is not running properly.

You will also come to know that the program is not running if the icon of it which is located at the right side of the taskbar says so.

Steps to check

The main reason for the driver not running is that perhaps it has not been set up properly.

Well, in that case, there is nothing to fret because there are some easy workarounds available that will resolve this issue quickly.

Step1: Using the Task Manager:-

  • Press Windows key and R key
  • Type ‘taskmgr’ in the dialogue box
  • Hit Enter
  • Look for Intel Rapid Storage Technology
  • Select start
  • Save changes and
  • Exit Task Manager.

Once done, check whether it is running properly.

Step 2: Adjusting the startup status:-

If the above step is not helpful, you can make changes in the startup status of the app to automatic state instead of manual.

This will ensure that the Intel Rapid Storage Technology launches automatically when the computer system starts up.

However, please be informed that you will need to have administrative privileges to follow this process, which includes:

  • Pressing Windows key and R key
  • Typing ‘services’ in the dialogue box
  • Hitting Enter
  • Finding the Intel Rapid Storage Technology
  • Double-clicking on it
  • Opening Properties
  • Changing the ‘Manual’ or ‘Automatic (Delayed Start)’ into ‘Automatic’
  • Clicking on Apply
  • Saving the changes made and
  • Exiting.

Finally, restart your computer and check whether or not the Intel Rapid Storage Technology is running.

Step 3: Update the Intel Rapid Storage Technology driver:-

If both the above steps do not resolve the issue, there is a third way to go which is to update the driver of the Intel Rapid Storage Technology.

However, for this process there are a few specific requirements. First, you will need to have a stable and active internet connection.

Then you will need to uninstall the disk drive driver and install the default one. This will help in removing the current driver if it is corrupted.

Now, here are the next steps to follow:

  • Press Windows key and R key
  • Type devmgmt.msc in the dialogue box
  • Press Enter to open the Device Manager
  • Open the Disk Driver sub-category
  • Find Intel Rapid Storage Technology
  • Right-click on it
  • Select ‘Uninstall Device’
  • Right-click on an empty space
  • Select ‘Scan for hardware changes’ before the default driver is installed
  • Go to the Official Intel Downloads
  • Type ‘Intel rapid’ in the dialogue box
  • Select ‘Intel Rapid Storage Technology’ from the result
  • Download the executable ‘SetupRST.exe’ from the list of drivers options
  • Save it and
  • Run it.

When you are done running it, restart the computer and check whether the issue has been resolved or not.

If none of the above processes work to make the Intel Rapid Storage Technology run successfully in your computer, then probably your system is not able to support the mechanism.

Therefore, before making any changes, first you must ensure that the drive and your system are compatible with the Intel Rapid Storage Technology to enjoy the amazing benefits that it has on offer.

Conclusion

The Intel Rapid Storage Technology is very useful. Most high-end computers improve their storage functionality by using this technology.

Well, after reading this article now you know why this budget-friendly latest feature has become so popular over the last couple of years.

About Taylor

AvatarTaylor S. Irwin is a freelance technology writer with in-depth knowledge about computers. She has an understanding of hardware and technology gained through over 10 years of experience.

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