[SOLVED] Win10 on 2x RAID 0 M.2 drives won't boot after power off - MSI Z170A xpower gaming titanium

[twobytwo]

I think I know what caused my problem, just not how to fix it without losing data (if possible).

I just moved and had my desktop disconnected from power for several weeks. Naturally, I believe the CR2032 on the board died. I have 2x Samsung SSD 950 PRO 512GB M.2 drives that I previously had set up in RAID 0 running my Win10 OS and games for speedy load times. Everything worked fine. I had used the m.2 Genie to set those two drives in RAID 0 before installing Win10 previously.

Now, after the move, I cannot boot to that RAID 0 volume and I believe it's because my BIOS memory got reset due to the onboard battery dying. My Bios still sees the 950s as boot options, but individually.

I need some way to tell the BIOS that those two drives are actually in RAID 0. My first inclination is to simply turn the M.2 Genie back on, but when I click that setting in the BIOS it gives me the message, "Press OK to Enable M.2 Genie and proceed RAID mode configuration after system reboot. NOTE: All Data will be losed [sic]".

So, the big question is... will I really lose all my data already sitting there in RAID 0? Does turning the Genie on actually format those drives? Or am I safe to just turn that setting on since they were already in RAID 0 before? If I'm not safe, is there some other way to tell the BIOS that those are a RAID 0 volume or is my only real option to start over by formatting them again in RAID 0 and fresh installing Win10 (I'd really rather not)?

Note: I have already updated BIOS to newest version 1.E, and put a fresh CR2032 on the board. I also set the SATA Mode to RAID and it did not seem to help.

EDIT: I forgot to add, when my system booted up for the first time after the move, it did a disk check on all 3 of my disks (3tb hdd, old ssd, and i assume the 2x 950 evos in raid 0) and found no issues in any of them. After that, it booted me into an old Win7 OS I had on the old ssd from a previous build. I have since just disconnected that old ssd to avoid any confusion.

Thanks in advance!

 

[USAFRet]

1. RAID 0 should never ever be run without a known good backup.
2. RAID 0 should not be on the OS drive, no matter what drives are involved.
3. RAID 0 + NVMe, specifically Samsung 950...does not result in "speedy load times". https://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/samsung-950-pro-256gb-raid-report,4449.html
4. Reconfiguring/fixing a RAID 0 will generally lose all data
5. See #1

 

[twobytwo]

1. RAID 0 should never ever be run without a known good backup.
2. RAID 0 should not be on the OS drive, no matter what drives are involved.
3. RAID 0 + NVMe, specifically Samsung 950...does not result in "speedy load times". https://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/samsung-950-pro-256gb-raid-report,4449.html
4. Reconfiguring/fixing a RAID 0 will generally lose all data
5. See #1

I was not aware of these things. Good to know. Is there an easy way to recover data from those drives if I want to pull off just a couple things before changing up my configuration?

 

[USAFRet]

I was not aware of these things. Good to know. Is there an easy way to recover data from those drives if I want to pull off just a couple things before changing up my configuration?

RAID 0 data is striped across both drives. Not applications, not "files", but specific bytes.
Unless you can get it to actually run, chances are zero getting any data from it.


RAID 0 sounds like a good idea. In the consumer space, especially with solid state drives, it rarely is.

 

[DSzymborski]

I was not aware of these things. Good to know. Is there an easy way to recover data from those drives if I want to pull off just a couple things before changing up my configuration?

Unfortunately, see number four. The only dependable way to recover things was to not lose them in the first place. If the stuff is this important, you're likely at the point at which you should be paying a professional and it's not likely to be cheap.

Hopefully, nothing's too important. The best thing to do, if you don't really need anything, is just to wipe everything, install Windows properly, and only use RAID if you're in one of the very few consumer situations where it makes sense, usually involving server applications, high-end workstation purposes, or things like storefront where downtime is possibly as bad as lost data.

Chucking RAID on a couple NVMe drives to play games makes absolutely no sense whatsoever. It's all downside, no upside.

 

[USAFRet]

Additionally....backups.
See my sig pic below.

What is your backup situation at home?

What is your backup situation at home? And if you don't do that, why not? Every single day, I read multiple threads here of "How do I get my stuff back?" or "That drive had 5 years of photos of my kids!!" Be it a dead drive, dropped phone, virus, accidental deletion, formatting the wrong...

forums.tomshardware.com

 

[twobytwo]

Ok got it. So I have these two nvme drives. I want to install Win10 to one of them and just use the other as storage/gaming.

What is the easiest way to format/wipe them? Can I boot from my USB with Win10 on it with both nvme m.2 still plugged into the mobo, use the Win10 installation software to format both of the drives, and then exit setup, shut down, and take one of the m.2s off the mobo to do the actual install on the other?

 

[Endre]

1. RAID 0 should never ever be run without a known good backup.
2. RAID 0 should not be on the OS drive, no matter what drives are involved.
3. RAID 0 + NVMe, specifically Samsung 950...does not result in "speedy load times". https://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/samsung-950-pro-256gb-raid-report,4449.html
4. Reconfiguring/fixing a RAID 0 will generally lose all data
5. See #1

Hello!
I’m fully aware of the fact that I must have a backup of my data if I want to run a RAID-0 setup.
But the idea that “RAID-0 should not be on the OS drive” got my attention, because I’ve been thinking to go for that someday with two Samsung 970 Pro 1TB M.2 NVMe SSDs.
Why is that a bad idea?

 

[DSzymborski]

Hello!
I’m fully aware of the fact that I must have a backup of my data if I want to run a RAID-0 setup.
But the idea that “RAID-0 should not be on the OS drive” got my attention, because I’ve been thinking to go for that someday with two Samsung 970 Pro 1TB M.2 NVMe SSDs.
Why is that a bad idea?

Because things happen and it's useful to ensure you always have access to an OS.

This is one of only many reasons to not use RAID. 99% of the time, it's pointless in the best-case scenario, dangerous in the worst. If you're using M.2 drives and don't have a very specialized purpose for a RAID setup, most consumers will only see a higher number on benchmark software.

 

[USAFRet]

Hello!
I’m fully aware of the fact that I must have a backup of my data if I want to run a RAID-0 setup.
But the idea that “RAID-0 should not be on the OS drive” got my attention, because I’ve been thinking to go for that someday with two Samsung 970 Pro 1TB M.2 NVMe SSDs.
Why is that a bad idea?

Even in a valid use case it wouldn't be the OS drive.

Consider a corporate database server. The OS (WindowsServer or Linux) lives on one drive or volume, the database and all that data may live in a RAID 0 array of spinning drives for faster throughput.

Once it is running, the host OS is mostly out of the way, and just about all interaction happens within the database engine and the data.
Plus, it is much easier to detach that database if it is not entangled with the OS volume.

 

[Endre]

Even in a valid use case it wouldn't be the OS drive.

Consider a corporate database server. The OS (WindowsServer or Linux) lives on one drive or volume, the database and all that data may live in a RAID 0 array of spinning drives for faster throughput.

Once it is running, the host OS is mostly out of the way, and just about all interaction happens within the database engine and the data.
Plus, it is much easier to detach that database if it is not entangled with the OS volume.

OK.
So, the only secure option that I’m left with for a faster system is getting an Intel Optane SSD...

 

[DSzymborski]

OK.
So, the only secure option that I’m left with for a faster system is getting an Intel Optane SSD...

If you have questions about your PC generally rather than a simple question related to this thread in passing, it's far better to start your own thread with a complete list of specs and describe what you're trying to do. This is twobytwo's thread for dealing with their PC issues, not yours.

 

[twobytwo]

Can I use the Win10 installation software to format both of the drives, then exit/shutdown, take the second m.2 off the mobo, and install win10 on the first? Is there a better method for formatting the second one that I don't plan to install the OS on?