RAID BIOS Issue?

[BDhawal]

Hi All,

I am facing a problem regarding a RAID bios.
The problem is....
If the power goes off..and when I start the PC again, the Raid Bios loads Cached metadata into ssd and then detects the three drives which I am running, but stops at "Press Ctrl+I to enter configuration utility" and stays there regardless of time....the cursor keeps blinking. What might be a problem??

My Rig
Intel Core i5 2400
Gigabyte GA-Z68-APD3 MB
12 Gigs of Kingston RAM
Two 1TB WDC Blue HDDs
One ADATA SX300 mSATA SSD
One Geforce 210 Graphics Card
450 Watt PSU

I have to hard boot it and this instance it works fine. No issues at all..just gives the normal screen which asks about start windows normally...and its all fine.
It all started after I did these updates...
1. My old HDD failed and I baught two WDC HDDs.
2. I updated the BIOS using using utility gigabyte provided, the previous BIOS Version was F2....and the new one is F8.
I am using the SSD as a cache drive in RAID mode using Intel Rapid Storage Technology with the system disk accelerated in Enhanced Mode. The other HDD serves as Secondary Storage.

What seems to be a problem?
Thanks for reading.

 

[SuperSoph_WD]

Hey there, @BDhawal!

I'm not sure why you have configured your SSD in RAID mode since you use it as cache. I'd advise you backup all your data from the system somewhere off-site and then consider re-configuring your storage configuration.
Try swapping the SATA Mode for to AHCI as RAID mode is most probably causing these issues you are experiencing. My recommendation is to follow this tutorial on how to set up the ISRT SSD caching properly.

Hope it helps you & don't forget to back up important files beforehand!

Let me know if you experience further issues.
SuperSoph_WD

 

[BDhawal]

Thanks SuperSoph_WD
Gigabyte provides a utility called as EZ smart response, which is kind of a Wizard which guides you to configure the Cache system, it sets PC into RAID mode first and then installs ISRT .
Next step is to enable the acceleration through IRST utility. Restart the system and its start caching.
But somehow the EZ Smart Response utility was not working after the BIOS update, and I downloaded the latest version of utility...but no use. So i manually set the SATA to RAID mode in BIOS, installed the IRST driver and enabled the acceleration. Which works fine as long as no interruption of power.
I have been doing the exact steps what given in the link you provided.
Is the BIOS update is an issue? like I have jumped from F2 to F8?

 

[SuperSoph_WD]

Hey there again, @BDhawal!

I'd suggest you try to install an older BIOS version, if the F8 is the latest one. You should be able to find guides and tutorials on the motherboard manufacturer's official website about how to re-flash/downgrade the BIOS and make sure you follow those instructions precisely as the process should never be interrupted.

Give it a try and let me know how it goes. Good luck!
SuperSoph_WD