Troubleshooting

Cause of Failure

Solution

Missing Array Disk, Recovery Procedure

If a member disk is temporarily missing, follow the steps below to attempt recovery:

1. Power off the system and reconnect the missing disk.

2. Power on the system. During startup, confirm that the volume status displays as Normal in the Intel® VROC Option ROM user interface.

3. Once Windows* has loaded, open Intel® Rapid Storage Technology enterprise (Intel® RSTe) from the Start menu, or click the Intel® Virtual RAID on CPU icon in the notification area.

4. Under Status, verify that both the volume and all member disks display as Normal. The same information can also be confirmed under the Manage tab.

Failed Array Disk, Data Loss and Rebuild

If the volume cannot be recovered, follow the procedure below to delete the failed volume and recreate the array:

1. Power off the system and replace the failed NVMe drive with a new one of equal or greater capacity.

2. Power on the system. During startup, verify that the volume status displays as Failed in the Intel® Virtual RAID on CPU (Option ROM) interface.

3. Press Ctrl + I to open the Option ROM main menu.

4. Select Delete RAID Volume from the main menu.

5. From the Delete Volume list, select the failed RAID volume using the arrow keys.

6. Press Delete, then press Y to confirm deletion.

7. Create a new RAID 0 volume using the replacement drive. If the failed disk was part of the system (boot) volume, reinstall the operating system on the new array.

Two or More Array Disks Failed

When two or more disks fail, the RAID 5 volume is usually unrecoverable and all data is lost. Before deletion, you may try resetting the disks to Normal and attempting data recovery. If access errors persist, the drives will quickly revert to the Failed state. For reset instructions, refer to Disk Events. Deleting and Recreating the Volume

If recovery fails:

1. Power off the system and replace failed NVMe drives with new ones of equal or greater capacity.

2. Power on the system. Confirm the volume shows Failed in Intel® Virtual RAID on CPU UEFI HII.

3. Enter BIOS Setup → Intel® VROC UEFI HII.

4. Select Delete RAID Volume → choose the failed RAID 5 volume.

5. Press Delete, then Y to confirm.

6. Create a new RAID 5 volume using the replacement drives. If this was a system volume, reinstall the operating system.

Two Adjacent Array Disks Missing (Visual Inspection)

• Power off the system and reconnect the missing drives.

• Power on the system. The rebuild process starts automatically. You can monitor progress via the Intel® VROC notification icon or under Status / Manage in the GUI.

Three or Four Array Disks Missing

In most cases, the volume cannot be recovered and all data is lost. To delete and recreate the failed array:

1. Power off the system and reconnect or replace the missing drives.

2. Power on the system. Confirm that the volume shows as Failed in the Intel® RSTe UEFI HII interface.

3. Enter BIOS Setup → Intel® VROC UEFI HII.

4. Select Delete RAID Volume from the main menu.

5. From the Delete Volume list, select the failed RAID 10 volume using the arrow keys.

6. Press Delete, then Y to confirm.

7. Create a new RAID 10 volume using the reconnected or new drives.

8. If this was the system volume, reinstall the operating system.

Two or More Array Disks Failed

When two or more drives fail, the volume is typically unrecoverable and all data is lost. Before deletion, you may attempt to reset the drives to Normal and perform limited data recovery. If access errors persist, the drives will revert to Failed. See Disk Events for reset instructions.

If recovery is unsuccessful:

1. Power off the system and replace the failed NVMe drives with new ones of equal or greater capacity.

2. Power on the system. Confirm the volume shows as Failed in the Intel® RSTe UEFI HII interface.

3. Enter BIOS Setup → Intel® VROC UEFI HII.

4. Select Delete RAID Volume from the main menu.

5. From the Delete Volume list, select the failed RAID 10 volume using the arrow keys.

6. Press Delete, then Y to confirm.

7. Create a new RAID 10 volume using the replacement drives.

8. If this was a system volume, reinstall the operating system.

One or More Missing Array Disks

Follow these steps to recover the volume:

1. Power off the system and reconnect the missing drive.

2. Power on and press the appropriate key (such as F2 or Del) to enter the BIOS Setup.

3. Navigate to Intel® VROC HII (Intel® Virtual RAID on CPU for NVMe Devices).

4. Select the failed RAID 0 volume.

5. Choose Reset to Normal, then confirm the selection.

6. Exit and re-enter the HII interface to verify that the volume now displays Normal status.

Failed Array Disk

If a member drive fails, the RAID 0 volume is generally unrecoverable and all data is lost. Before deletion, try resetting the array to Normal as if the drive were only disconnected, then attempt data recovery. If access errors persist, the drive will quickly return to the Failed state. See Disk Events for reset instructions. If the reset fails, proceed as follows:

1. Power off the system and replace the failed NVMe drive with a new one of equal or greater capacity.

2. Power on and enter the BIOS Setup → Intel® VROC HII.

3. Select the failed RAID 0 volume, then choose Delete.

4. Use the arrow keys to highlight the option and confirm deletion when prompted.

5. Create a new RAID 0 volume using the replacement drive and any remaining functional drives. If the failed disk was part of the system (boot) volume, reinstall the operating system on the new array.

Two or More Drives Failed

In most cases, the volume cannot be recovered and all data on the array is lost. However, before deleting the volume, the user can try resetting the disks to Normal and then attempt data recovery. If read/write access continues to fail, the disks will likely return to the Failed state.

The procedure for resetting the array to Normal:

1. Power off the system.

2. Power on the system, and during startup, press the appropriate key to enter the system BIOS.

3. Inside the BIOS, navigate to the Intel® VROC HII menu (Intel® Virtual RAID on CPU for NVMe Devices).

4. Select the failed RAID 5 volume from the list.

5. Choose the option “Reset to Normal.”

6. Confirm the reset action.

7. Exit and re-enter the HII interface to confirm that the previously failed RAID 5 volume now shows Normal status.

This procedure deletes the failed volume if resetting to Normal does not work:

1. Power off the system and replace the failed NVMe drives with new ones of equal or greater capacity.

2. Power on the system and enter the BIOS setup.

3. Go to the Intel® VROC HII menu (Intel® Virtual RAID on CPU for NVMe Devices).

4. Select the failed RAID 5 volume and choose “Delete.”

5. Use the arrow keys to highlight and confirm deletion when prompted.

6. Create a new RAID 5 volume using the replacement and remaining healthy drives. If the failed volume was the system (boot) volume, reinstall the operating system afterward.

Two or More Drives Missing (Up to One Drive Failed)

In most cases, the volume can be recovered successfully and its data remains intact. However, users must recognize the difference between a degraded state (one disk lost) and a failed state (two or more disks lost).

If the array has not been written to after becoming degraded, follow these steps to restore it:

1. Power off and reconnect the missing drive.

2. Power on, press the appropriate key to enter BIOS Setup, and open Intel® VROC HII (Intel® Virtual RAID on CPU for NVMe Devices).

3. Select the failed RAID 5 volume, choose Reset to Normal, and confirm.

4. Re-enter HII to verify that the volume now shows Normal status.

If the array was written to after the first disk was lost—but all drives still function and metadata is unchanged—proceed as follows:

1. Power off and reinstall the missing drives in their original slots.

2. Power on and enter Intel® VROC HII.

3. Select the failed RAID 5 volume, choose Reset to Degraded, and confirm.

4. When prompted, select all drives from the original array except the first one removed.

5. The system detects the re-inserted drive and automatically rebuilds the array. Status changes to Rebuilding, then Normal when complete.

If one drive has failed and additional drives were removed (with metadata intact), perform the following:

1. Power off, reconnect missing drives, and replace the failed one with an equal-or-larger drive.

2. Power on and open Intel® VROC HII.

3. Select the failed volume, choose Reset to Degraded, select all working drives, and confirm. The volume status becomes Degraded.

4. Exit and reopen HII; under the degraded volume, choose Rebuild.

5. Select the new drive and confirm. The array rebuilds automatically and the status changes to Rebuilding, then Normal once finished.

Two Adjacent Array Disks Missing (Visual Inspection)

In most cases, the volume can be successfully recovered and all data remains intact. Users must understand the difference between a degraded state (one disk lost) and a failed state (two disks lost).

If the array has not been written to since it first became degraded, follow these steps to restore it:

1. Power off and reconnect the missing drives.

2. Power on, press the appropriate key to enter BIOS Setup, and open Intel® VROC HII (Intel® Virtual RAID on CPU for NVMe Devices).

3. Select the failed RAID 10 volume, choose Reset to Normal, and confirm.

4. Re-enter HII to verify the volume now shows Normal status.

If the array was written to after the first disk became missing but before the second disk failed, and all drives still function with unchanged metadata, perform the following:

1. Power off and reinstall missing drives in their original locations if possible.

2. Power on and enter Intel® VROC HII.

3. Select the failed RAID 10 volume, choose Reset to Degraded, and confirm.

4. When prompted, select all drives from the original array except the first one removed.

5. The system will detect the re-inserted drive and automatically start rebuilding. The status will change to Rebuilding, then Normal when complete.

Three or Four Array Disks Missing

In most cases, the volume and its data can still be recovered. Users should understand the difference between a degraded state (one disk lost) and a failed state (two or more disks lost). Follow the same recovery steps described for a RAID 10 array with two missing disks; the process is identical when three or four drives are missing.

Two or More Array Disks Failed

Before deleting the volume, the user can attempt to reset the disks to Normal, as if they were only disconnected, and then try data recovery. If read/write operations continue to fail, the drives will quickly revert to the Failed state.

To reset the array to Normal:

1. Power off the system and reconnect the missing drives.

2. Power on, press the appropriate key to enter BIOS Setup, and open Intel® VROC HII (Intel® Virtual RAID on CPU for NVMe Devices).

3. Select the failed RAID 10 volume, choose Reset to Normal, and confirm.

4. Exit and re-enter HII to verify that the volume now shows Normal status.

If resetting fails, delete and recreate the volume:

1. Power off the system and replace the failed NVMe drives with new ones of equal or greater capacity.

2. Power on and enter BIOS Setup → Intel® VROC HII.

3. Select the failed RAID 10 volume, choose Delete, and confirm when prompted.

4. Create a new RAID 10 volume using the new drives along with any remaining functional members. If the failed drives belonged to the system (boot) volume, reinstall the operating system afterward.

RAID Level

Cause of the Degraded State

Recovery Procedure

RAID 1

One of the two member disks is missing or has failed.

1. Power off the system and replace the failed/missing disk with a new one of equal or greater capacity. 2. Power on the system. The rebuild process should start automatically. You can monitor its progress in the Intel® VROC GUI.

RAID 5

One member disk is missing or has failed.

1. Power off the system and replace the failed/missing disk with a new one of equal or greater capacity. 2. Power on the system. The rebuild to the new disk will start automatically.

RAID 10

One member disk has failed, OR two non-adjacent disks have failed.

1. Power off the system and replace the failed disk(s) with new ones. 2. Power on the system. The rebuild process will begin automatically.

State

Cause

Solution

At Risk

The application has detected early warning signs of failure on a disk (e.g., from S.M.A.R.T. data).

The data is still accessible, but the disk should be replaced soon. Back up your data, power down, replace the at-risk disk, and let the volume rebuild.

Missing

An array disk is not physically connected or detected by the system.

Power off the computer and ensure the disk is securely connected. If the disk is truly lost or has failed, it must be replaced. The volume will be in a Degraded or Failed state.

Incompatible

The volume was moved to a system that does not support its RAID configuration (e.g., a RAID 5 volume moved to a system without a Premium Upgrade Key).

The data may be accessible for backup. To use the volume, return it to the original system or a system with a compatible configuration. Otherwise, you must delete the volume and recreate it.