Did you had this option with the Intel(R) Matrix Storage Manager?
What chipset do you have?
If you have a DELL* system, some of them will not allow to do a recovery volume.
PV.
Regarding your questions:
1) I do not know if IMSM 8.8 actually supported this, since I never actually tried to do so, no is the software installed now.
2) My computer is a Dell T3400. The chipset is ICH9. The RAID Option ROM firmware version is 7.6.1.1001. I have two 250-GB SATA drives connected in a RAID-1 mirror.
For planning purposes, if it turns out that there is no way to conver to a Recovery Volume, is there a safe way to convert the RAID-1 mirror back to a non-redundant, single-disk solution without having to do a reinstall? If so, is there a well documented series of steps that is valid for RST 9.6? I don't want to do this, but I would like to know if it is possible if all else fails.
Does the Intel rep feel that he answered my question? If so, I beg to disagree. So far the information flow seems to have been from me to Intel, not the other way around. I'm quite underwhelmed.
Is anybody from Intel responding to questions these days?
Perhaps I am confused. Enlightenment would be appreciated.
Charles, I apologize for the inconvenience.
As I mentioned before, DELL* systems will usually have this option disabled.
Have you tried to contact your system manufacturer to confirm that you have this option?
PV.
if the RAID1 volume is larger than 1.3TB, you will not be able to convert it to a Recovery Volume.
Also, if the RAID1 volume does not use the entire size of the disk, then it will not be able to be converted. A Recovery volume requires that at least one member disk use the entire capacity of the disk.
My RAID-1 configuration uses all of 2 identical 1-TB SATA drives.
I just noticed your note: "The RAID Option ROM firmware version is 7.6.1.1001."
No 7.6.1 RAID Option ROM had Recovery Volume support.
Therefore, the RST UI in Windows will prevent creation of a Recovery Volume since it is aware of what the RAID Option ROM on the system supports.
AHA! That is a very helpful answer, thank you!
Is the ROM essentially frozen (short of heroic measures), or is it upgradeable? And if so, where should I go to see what would be a suitable upgrade for me?
The Option ROM can only be updated via a BIOS update. Therefore, you could only update the RAID OROM if Dell released a newer BIOS for your system with a new OROM included in the BIOS.
