Hi,
sorry, guess I didnt mention this:
In every case, my drive followed as a result of the following behaviour:
Copying my old data (~300GB) onto my new array. In every case, it was done over a 100mbit network, overnight. It tended to fail at around 12 - 14 hours or so of activity. Again in each case it was straight after set up, so around 15 hours of operation.
hope that helps?
Snaga
The longer this problem goes on this thread is collecting more and more red herrings. As one of the original reporters of this problem my facts are:
Asus P6T Deluxe v1
i7-940
4x WD5001AALS-00L3B2 (F/W 01.03B01) in RAID10
Vista Home Premium 64
Optiarc AD7201S
LG GGW-H20L
System worked without problem using IMSM 8.7.0.1007 & 8.8.0.1009 for several months.
Without any other changes the system failed within 4 hours of updating to 8.9.0.1023. The system froze with no iastor error messages in Event log. It failed again within minutes of rebooting and rebuilding the array. I can't remember what I was doing at the time of the failures, but it was not transferring large files and it was not any intensive HDD usage, it was probably something mundane like surfing the web. Different drives/ports failed each time.
It is now 6 weeks since I returned to 8.8.0.1009 with no problems whatsover - just as it was prior to 8.9.0.1023.
Elizabeth,
Since Intel seems to having great difficulty in reproducing the problem some of the ways forward could be:
- use a complete system that is known to exhibit the problem - ie a system owned by one of the contributors to this thread, or
- deconstruct the "suspect changes" you made to 8.8.0.1009 and provide driver to a willing contributor to this thread for testing, or
- ask for more hard drives or motherboards from other users experiencing the problem, or
- get all contributors to this forum to complete a standardised questionaire in an attempt to determine any common factors or failure mode
I have only one computer, so I can't send it to Intel. But among all the users here who have multiple machines at home or especially at work, surely there's someone who can send a failing MSM 8.9 setup to Intel for analysis.
Didn't you dream of being Batman or Superman when you were a kid? This is your one chance to live that dream, to become a real-life superhero! Whoever can help Intel's engineers break this puzzling bug can wear a mask, cape, or both for the rest of their lives, as far as I'm concerned.
Don't dream it -- be it. Fed-Ex that machine to Intel today! Eternal thanks and gratitude, from a regular, ordinary citizen of Gotham City....
I have just built a new computer 5 days ago and install Matrix Storage Manager 8.9. So far I have tried to build a RAID 5 system 4 times, and guest what I am having the same problem of random drive failures. I am using WD drives and then checked them with there test software.( NO problems).
The following is the report generated from the Matrix Storage Manager 8.9.
System Information
Kit Installed: 8.9.0.1023
Kit Install History: 8.9.0.1023, Uninstall
Shell Version: 8.9.0.1023
OS Name: Microsoft Windows 7 Ultimate
OS Version: 6.1.7600 Build 7600
System Name: PAMPLING-I7
System Manufacturer: Intel Corporation
System Model: DX58SO
Processor: Intel(R) Core(TM) i7 CPU 975 @ 3.33GHz
BIOS Version/Date: Intel Corp. SOX5810J.86A.4196.2009.0715.1958, 07/15/2009
Language: ENU
Intel(R) Matrix Storage Manager
Intel RAID Controller: Intel(R) ICH8R/ICH9R/ICH10R/DO/PCH SATA RAID Controller
Number of Serial ATA ports: 6
RAID Option ROM Version: 8.9.0.1023
Driver Version: 8.9.0.1023
RAID Plug-In Version: 8.9.0.1023
Language Resource Version of the RAID Plug-In: 8.9.0.1023
Create Volume Wizard Version: 8.9.0.1023
Language Resource Version of the Create Volume Wizard: 8.9.0.1023
Create Volume from Existing Hard Drive Wizard Version: 8.9.0.1023
Language Resource Version of the Create Volume from Existing Hard Drive Wizard: 8.9.0.1023
Modify Volume Wizard Version: 8.9.0.1023
Language Resource Version of the Modify Volume Wizard: 8.9.0.1023
Delete Volume Wizard Version: 8.9.0.1023
Language Resource Version of the Delete Volume Wizard: 8.9.0.1023
ISDI Library Version: 8.9.0.1023
Event Monitor User Notification Tool Version: 8.9.0.1023
Language Resource Version of the Event Monitor User Notification Tool: 8.9.0.1023
Event Monitor Version: 8.9.0.1023
Array_0000
Status: Initializing
Hard Drive Data Cache Enabled: Yes
Size: 4191.7 GB
Free Space: 0 GB
Number of Hard Drives: 3
Hard Drive Member 1: WDC WD15EADS-00R6B0
Hard Drive Member 2: WDC WD15EADS-00R6B0
Hard Drive Member 3: WDC WD15EADS-00R6B0
Number of Volumes: 1
Volume Member 1: Volume_0000
Volume_0000
Status: Initializing: 0% complete
System Volume: No
Volume Write-Back Cache Enabled: Yes
RAID Level: RAID 5 (striping with parity)
Strip Size: 16 KB
Size: 2794.5 GB
Physical Sector Size: 512 Bytes
Logical Sector Size: 512 Bytes
Number of Hard Drives: 3
Hard Drive Member 1: WDC WD15EADS-00R6B0
Hard Drive Member 2: WDC WD15EADS-00R6B0
Hard Drive Member 3: WDC WD15EADS-00R6B0
Parent Array: Array_0000
Hard Drive 0
Usage: Non-RAID hard drive
Status: Normal
Device Port: 0
Device Port Location: Internal
Current Serial ATA Transfer Mode: Generation 2
Model: OCZ SUMMIT
Serial Number: DCF1C0S925SE925A1270
Firmware: VBM1801Q
Native Command Queuing Support: Yes
System Hard Drive: Yes
Size: 119.2 GB
Physical Sector Size: 512 Bytes
Logical Sector Size: 512 Bytes
Hard Drive 1
Usage: Array member
Status: Normal
Device Port: 3
Device Port Location: Internal
Current Serial ATA Transfer Mode: Generation 2
Model: WDC WD15EADS-00R6B0
Serial Number: WD-WCAVY0507495
Firmware: 01.00A01
Native Command Queuing Support: Yes
Hard Drive Data Cache Enabled: Yes
Size: 1397.2 GB
Physical Sector Size: 512 Bytes
Logical Sector Size: 512 Bytes
Number of Volumes: 1
Volume Member 1: Volume_0000
Parent Array: Array_0000
Hard Drive 2
Usage: Array member
Status: Normal
Device Port: 4
Device Port Location: Internal
Current Serial ATA Transfer Mode: Generation 2
Model: WDC WD15EADS-00R6B0
Serial Number: WD-WCAVY0493762
Firmware: 01.00A01
Native Command Queuing Support: Yes
Hard Drive Data Cache Enabled: Yes
Size: 1397.2 GB
Physical Sector Size: 512 Bytes
Logical Sector Size: 512 Bytes
Number of Volumes: 1
Volume Member 1: Volume_0000
Parent Array: Array_0000
Hard Drive 3
Usage: Array member
Status: Normal
Device Port: 5
Device Port Location: Internal
Current Serial ATA Transfer Mode: Generation 2
Model: WDC WD15EADS-00R6B0
Serial Number: WD-WCAVY0513558
Firmware: 01.00A01
Native Command Queuing Support: Yes
Hard Drive Data Cache Enabled: Yes
Size: 1397.2 GB
Physical Sector Size: 512 Bytes
Logical Sector Size: 512 Bytes
Number of Volumes: 1
Volume Member 1: Volume_0000
Parent Array: Array_0000
Unused Port 0
Device Port: 2
Device Port Location: Internal
CD/DVD Drive 0
Device Port: 1
Device Port Location: Internal
Current Serial ATA Transfer Mode: Generation 1
Model: PIONEER BD-ROM BDC-202
Serial Number: Data not reported
Firmware: 1.07
I hope intel fixes this problem or help us in some way.
Can't say anythink else, as what I have read seems to be the same problem as everybody else.
Just for the record. I have desktop PC based on P35 chipset and ICH9R, I don't have RAID, but primary boot drive is x25-e, about 1 month ago I have installed MSM 8.9 and next day I got freeze:
Log Name: System
Source: iaStor
Date: 18.08.2009 19:54:04
Event ID: 9
Task Category: None
Level: Error
Keywords: Classic
User: N/A
Computer: my-pc
Description:
The device, \Device\Ide\iaStor0, did not respond within the timeout period.
I decided to wait some more time before googling the problem and got next freeze after 5 days
Log Name: System
Source: iaStor
Date: 23.08.2009 9:49:07
Event ID: 9
Task Category: None
Level: Error
Keywords: Classic
User: N/A
Computer: my-pc
Description:
The device, \Device\Ide\iaStor0, did not respond within the timeout period.
23.08.2009 I have uninstalled MSM 8.9 and installed 8.8 back. No more problem.
Add one more to the mix. I am experiencing almost identical behavior to JefUK. Here's my bit:
Abit AB9-Pro
C2D E4300
4x WD6400AAKS
Windows 7 Professional x64 RTM
System worked without problem using IMSM 8.7.0.1007 & 8.8.0.1009 and prior with Vista for over a year.
Installed clean Windows 7. Figured I could not go wrong using the latest IMSM 8.9. This issue (or source of it) was confusing at first as there were no IAStor errors present in the event log either the first or second time this occurred. Finally on the third occurance, I left the machine in the "frozen" state for over an hour. After hard reset, event log showed a slew of iastor messages. Each time this has happend (3 in 4 days), I've left it to rebuild data redundancy on the "failed" drive.
Nothing I was doing at any one crash point was disk I/O intensive. First was realtek audio driver install. This really hosed things, so I clean installed again. Next was just firefox browsing, third one yesterday was just viewing pictures in explorer. Different drives/ports "failed" each time.
Array is rebuilding currently. When it is finished, I will downgrade to 8.8 and give it a week or two before I report back success (hopefully).
Hey - here's a good question:
How many posts re: problems with v8.9 does Intel need to see before it gets pulled from their web site?
Considering that:
a) there is no clear smoking gun
b) backdropping to v8.8 seems to alleviate all problems (as far as I can tell)
c) most people (and by most I mean the GRAND majority) of folks having these issues with v8.9 will never ever stumble across this thread because they have absolutely no idea what is going on or where to start looking
d) most folks (again, GRAND majority) willl believe they have completely lost all of their data, blow away their current RAID and/or send a perfectly good hard drive to Manufacturer X for replacement
and so on, and so on...
What is Intel's obligation and/or duty here? Certainly someone at some point will challenge the legal rhetoric in their uder agreement if a) the perceived loss of data is great enough and b) their is clear and substantial justification that Intel knew of the issues yet allowed downloads regardless.
BTW: For anyone that has seend the "VOLUME FAILED" message upon boot, let me assert a fix that I provided in a previous post:
1. Don't blow away your RAID config
2. Load your OS onto and IDE drive that you can boot from (must tell BIOS to use that drive first) and then load matrix storage manager
3. MSM will find your existing array and start rebuilding. All data should be intact.
When I did this, I chose to load v8.9 on the IDE drive and let the system rebuild even though I knew it would fail a drive again. I did this *just in case* their was something funky in the way v8.9 does its parity calcs fro RAID5 that might have been different from v8.8. As soon as trhe rebuild was complete, I immediately dropped to v8.8, shutdown the system, unplugged the IDE drive, and then booted off the RAID5. NO PROBLEMS after two weeks!
Another note: the system I refer to above is one I built a long time ago and used to combine the OS and Data on the same physical volume. I do not do that any longer and recommend highly against it. Some key points:
1. If you have extra SATA ports, use RAID1 (mirror) for your OS volume. It's fast and can take a big hit without jepardizing anything else since you have a full mirror copy on the second drive
2. The OS volume typically does not need BIG drives so can be inexpensive to implement
3. Moving data on system upgrades can be much easier of the data is separate from the OS (I just use D: for data)
4. etc, etc etc
While I am at it, for anyone looking to achieve maximum SATA throughput on larger volumes, use a 64k strip and a 32k cluster. I have researched the heck out of this one and validated almost every config on a 5.5T RAID5 volume using ATTO v2.41. Read peformance screamed past 400M/s and writes were >150M/s. Yep - you read those numbers right. I couldn't believe it when I read the posts from others and then saw the same when I configured the strip/cluster size correctly. Also, an odd number of drives in RAID5 works best (3 or 5) due to how the data is aligned for maximum peformance.
Anyway, I hope that helps someone out there..... Cheers!
Got my new board 
and it turns out you can still use 8.8 with the P55 boards after all and the array moved over just fine from ICH8R to the P55 plus a quick test a I did now looks like Volume Capacity Expansion is a feature with the P55.
I will just to see in a week test 8.9.
I can confirm the same problem with 8.9.0.1023. I reinstalled Windows XP using 8.8 and it works great.
Hi all,
Like to report the same problem described in this thread. Hope this helps to get some action out of Intel.
My setup:
Motherboard: Asus P5B Deluxe rev 1.5 (ICH8R) revision C1
Bios version 1223 (11/8/2007)
RAM: 4 GB Installed memory (4 x Kingston 9905316-025 DDR2 PC2-5300)
CPU: Intel Core2 Duo E6600
Video: Radeon X1950 (512MB)
One RAID10 volume, consisting of 4 x Seagate ST3320620AS (Seagate Baracuda 7200.10 , 320Gb, 3.AAE firmware)
System ran fine for almost a year, using Windows XP Pro 32 bit and the latest MSM till version 8.7. Almost no extra software except some games and a better browser.
Replaced (No update!) the OS 2 months ago with Windows 7 RC x64 bit with MSM version 8.9. No extra software. No games. Standard updates and drives supplied by Windows Update.
Problems since then, every morning (computer is never turned off) one or more random harddrives showed a "fail" in the Matrix Storage Console. Could do a "mark this drive as normal" and the array would rebuild. Till the next morning, one or more drive would show a "fail" status again.
I did a "Verify Volume Data" several times (after the array had been rebuild), and no errors.
Came to this thread and read about downgrading MSM 8.9 to 8.8.
Ps. unfortunately since I replaced Windows XP x86 with Windows 7 x64, I am unable to test if MSM 8.9 also gives problems on XP. And also unable to check if the problems lies between 32 and 64 bit version of the Microsoft OS.
Grtz, Marcel
Hi, gpinzone. If you wouldn't mind adding your config info, that would be fantastic. I am trying to keep a running list of the users and their configurations in case something jumps out at us.
Still have not seen the issue. I think we've tried it on nearly as many systems as users that have reported it - which I must confess is frustrating me no end. (Oh, PeterUK, to answer your question - most of the tests have been with the OS on the array, but I think I've done at least one with the OS on a different hard drive.) Anyway, we continue to try.
One note .. there were a few users who commented that they looked for info about the issue on the support site and/or in the release notes first, before finding this thread. I added the info to the support site @ http://www.intel.com/support/chipsets/imsm/sb/CS-030818.htm and will add that same note to the release notes next week, just in case anyone else runs into the issue and looks there for help.
Sure...
Product: Intel(R) Matrix Storage Manager
OS: Windows XP Professional (32-bit)
servicepack: Service Pack 3
Chipset: Intel 945G
Bios_version: Phoenix 6.00 PG
Processor_type: Intel Pentium D 930
Processor_speed: 3.00 GHz
Motherboard: Shuttle SD31P
Overclocked: no
RAM: 1024 MB
SATA_devices: 3 Seagate 400GB Baracuda SATA II
RAID_config: Three identical Seagate 400 GB SATA drives in a RAID 5 configuration.
I performed a fresh install with Matrix Storage Manager floppy driver 8.9 slipstreamed. The RAID array was detected and the OS installed without issue. I then installed the full matrix manager. The next day, I discovered the RAID array was degraded. After the drive was rebuilt, another drive was marked as bad. I performed another install of Windows XP with the same result. I then found this thread and reinstalled Windows XP a third time. After the initial Windows install, I installed Matrix Storage Manager 8.8 (said yes to the downgrade) and I've been running fine ever since.
This problem has be resolved by updating the motherboad BIOS Intel RAID option ROM on a Asus P6T. A user was able to replace the Intel Storage option rom 8.0.0.1038 that is present in the standard P6T 0603 BIOS with the 8.8.0.1009. He was pretty certain that option rom 8.0.0.1038 had an issue with the version 8.9 of the Intel Matrix Storage Manager in Vista x64.
If you want to use the new storage manager you'll either need to replace the option ROM yourself which will probably void your motherboard warranty and may cause other problems or request a BIOS update containing a newer option ROM from your motherboard manufacturer. You can determine the option ROM version you have in the Intel Matrix Storage Console by going to Intel Matrix Storage Manager tab in the System Report in the View menu.
Storage rom Matrix Storage
Manager on Vista x64
8.0.0.1038 8.8 OK
8.0.0.1038 8.9 Hangs on Vista boot progress screen
able to use last known good
configuration to revert back to 8.8
8.8.0.1009 8.8 OK
8.8.0.1009 8.9 OK
kau wrote:
This problem has be resolved by updating the motherboad BIOS Intel RAID option ROM on a Asus P6T. A user was able to replace the Intel Storage option rom 8.0.0.1038 that is present in the standard P6T 0603 BIOS with the 8.8.0.1009. He was pretty certain that option rom 8.0.0.1038 had an issue with the version 8.9 of the Intel Matrix Storage Manager in Vista x64.
If you want to use the new storage manager you'll either need to replace the option ROM yourself which will probably void your motherboard warranty and may cause other problems or request a BIOS update containing a newer option ROM from your motherboard manufacturer. You can determine the option ROM version you have in the Intel Matrix Storage Console by going to Intel Matrix Storage Manager tab in the System Report in the View menu.
My ASUS board has the following parameters:
System Manufacturer: ASUSTeK Computer INC.
System Model: P5B-Premium
BIOS Version/Date: American Megatrends Inc. 1102 , 07/14/2008
Intel(R) Matrix Storage Manager
Intel RAID Controller: Intel(R) ICH8R/ICH9R/ICH10R SATA RAID Controller
Number of Serial ATA ports: 6
RAID Option ROM Version: 6.1.0.1002
Driver Version: 8.8.0.1009
RAID Plug-In Version: 8.8.0.1009
the rest of the system info is on the first page of this thread.
WTF.... RAID Option ROM version SIX... where do i get a bios with the new version 8 Option ROM ??? 
The newer option ROM may only be for the ICH10R chipset on the P6T and other newer motherboards. You may have the latest storage rom for the ICH8R chipset on P5B Premium. I don't know where you could determine if you have the latest.
