24GB SSD... cache, rapid start?, is it even used in windows 8?

I purchased a U410 from costco... it comes with a 24GB SSD, but the drive letter is D and has some mcafee bloatware on it.  
I thought the SSD would provide some sort of cache for the larger HD, but not sure if this is configured.
Does anyone know if this SSD can be configured as a cache?

Hi
I actually DOWNGRADED the U410 I bought last month from Win 8 to Win7, cos basically Win 8 is toy system for kids.  I HATE fingerprints on my screen.....
The U410 works fine with Win 7 Pro 64-bit (I had bought a license for this anyway) and almost all of the drivers for Win 7 64-bit are available on Lenovo's website.  I had problems with the Touchpad driver, but solved that by simply using the Windows 8 64-bit driver instead (Synaptics) - works like a dream.  Do not intall the recommended Win 7 drivers, they just mess things up.
The 24-GB SSD IS NOT an extra drive on these systems (I had hoped it was).  It's too small to be a boot drive....took many hours of research to discover this.  Basically, it's a fancy RAM drive (for those readers who remember the old DOS days of 640 KB memory and a paltry 384 KB RAM drive).
The Intel software does a good job of managing this, both under Win7 and Win8 - but have no illusions - you want SSD boot speed, buy a latpop with a SSD main drive!
BTW, I kinda like my U410 - but the touchpad software is a B***H.
Alistair
U410, i7-3rd. gen, (8 GB RAM, 24 GB SSD, 750 GB HDD and whole lot of anger for Win 8 ;-)

Similar Messages

  • U310 Rapid Start Issues....go figure?

    So, I didn't read up like I should have on how everything was formatted/partitioned on these U310's before going, "Hey I'm gonna install Windows 7 on this SSD! LET ME JUST REFORMAT IT!" ...so I reformatted it, then ran into all kinds of issues trying to boot from the Win 7 boot USB (Finally found out I had to turn off UEFI) ....only to come to the conclusion that I couldn't install windows 7 on the SSD because it was partitioned in GPT (I think thats what it was?) 
    I'm not too familiar with HD setups, partiions, and RAID...and all that, so I didn't want to screw with anything else.  I booted the comp back up to windows 8, and got a Rapid Start error saying it was off...I went into BIOS and saw it said "INVALID" ...figured out it was because I reformated the SSD and deleted the cache on it.
    So I ended up restoring the comp, and when I booted back up....it didn't say it was "INVALID" anymore, however, the SSD still says 24.9 GB free out of 24.9 GB.  There's nothing on the SSD still.  If I try to create that whole "Hibernation" partiion on it, it says there is only 2GB free, and if I bring up disk management, it says disc 0 (Which should be the SSD) is partitioned into 18GB, and 4GB (But it just says Primary partition and nothing about Hibernation)...
    SO MY QUESTION ....Is Rapid Start working correctly and using the SSD even though it shows 24.9/24.9 free?
    Also when I try to start Rapid Start Config ...it prompts the admin pop up, I hit ok, and then nothing happens.
    Ugh, this is super frustrating.  Thanks for any help you guys can provide.

    When will you be able to move timer on rapid start technology gui and comp goes into S4 state, then you know that it works fine
    I have problem,
    I don't have acceleration button on smart response technology, how to set it up ??
    Now SSD isn't useful

  • Does my t430s have the ssd cache that I ordered it with?

    I've been reading a little bit about some folks who have the SSD cache drive but for some reason, don't have the ExpressCache software installed.  But I'm actually trying to figure out if I even have the physical SSD drive.  In Windows Explorer, I see the C drive, the DVD RW drive and the Lenovo_Recovery drive (which I'm assuming is just partitioned off the hard drive).  Looking at the Device Manager I only see the Hitachi hard drive.  Does this mean Lenovo messed up and didn't install my SSD Cache drive?

    neil1967 wrote:
    So, how painful is it to get this fixed, since I paid for it?  Am i going to have to send the bloody thing back to lenovo?  i can't believe they'd be so shoddy with their manufacturing as to forget something like that.
    Mailing you the drive would be the smart thing to do.  Someone here will have to chime in on the proper procedure for enabling the caching after the storage device is installed.  I believe they are just using Intel RapidStart.
    See the Intel RapidStart User Guide at http://download.intel.com/support/motherboards/desktop/sb/rapid_start_technology_user_guide.pdf
    Looks like there's another thread on this topic at http://forums.lenovo.com/t5/T400-T500-and-newer-T-series/T430s-SSD-Intel-Rapid-Start-30-day-Standby-... that has useful information.

  • Lenovo U310: Clean Windows 7 Installation Guide (including Rapid Start and Caching)

    Hi there,
    this is the first time that I am writing such a guide/tutorial/whatever you may call it – there are probably better ones, but though not being a total computer noob, it took me almost one week to get this pretty (now again) little beast running again. So hopefully this helps some others to avoid such stupid downtimes.
    A brief overview on what has happened to my original win 7 Home Premium:
    As some may know, this laptop is very well usable as a “Hackintosh” called Macbook clone. So that’s what I did. It turned out to be nice, but I wanted to go back to Windows after a while, using a clean W7 Pro installation to start over. Actually an easy task, format all drives, install Windows, be happy. Just as I had been doing this for years. Unfortunately, it turned out to be a real challenge. First, I couldn’t “see” my drives during installation (and thus not install), then I got random errors during installation aborting it at different points and finally rapid start and caching didn’t work. Every time I tried to activate them (after Win installation), it crashed my PC. I even found an (official Lenovo!) guide stating to install W7 on the SSD, which worked, but sucks due to space limitations. Oh and another very nice thing: The SSD showed up during WIN installation (but not the classical hard drive) stating it was about 60 GB. So as you can see, I have had a lot of different tries and errors. Why I didn’t use Lenovo Easy Recover? As said before, I erased all partitions…
    Before we start: If you have a good Windows running on the Laptop, do yourself a favor and disconnect the RAID 0 disks using the Intel Rapid Storage Application before(!!!) proceeding. It will make things much easier. And don’t forget to get all you data on an external drive or something.
    Ok, now let’s start.
    1.)    Prepare a USB Stick with the following driver
             http://downloadcenter.intel.com/Detail_Desc.aspx?DwnldID=21730 (choose f6flpy-x64.zip If you’re running a   
             64-bit system (standard nowadays), take f6flpy-x86.zip if it is a 32-bit Windows, just download and copy them
             into the stick’s root directory) and plug this stick in one of the left side USB ports.
    2.)    You’ll need Win 7 on either a DVD (plus external drive, for sure) or (bootable) USB stick
    3.)    Connect your drive/stick (with W7) to the right side USB port.
    4.)    Switch the computer on, immediately hit FN and F2. That will open the BIOS.
    5.)    In the BIOS, navigate to the very right section (“save and exit”) and navigate the cursor to “load setup defaults”.
             Hit enter to approve.
    6.)    After that, go to the “boot” tab and disable UEFI-boot.
    7.)    Next, go one more tab to the left and set the controller setting to RAID (NOT AHCI or Compatible!!!).
    8.)    Navigate the cursor down to “Intel Rapid Start” and hit enter. A submenu will pop up-
    9.)    Disable the first entry in that window, that will make the rest be disabled as well.
    10.) Navigate to the very right tab, this time hit save and exit.
    11.) The PC restarts.
    12.) Immediately hit FN and F12 to open the boot selection menu. Select to boot from your W7 DVD drive or USB
            stick.
    13.) Click yourself through the whole process of installing Windows 7 until the page comes up where you will have
            to select where to install it.
    14.) Click on “load drivers” and after a few seconds your downloaded driver should be there. Click ok to use them.
            Please do this step even if you can see your drives (SSD Disk 0, 32 GB and HDD Disk 1, 465(<-?) GB) as you
            would expect them – otherwise you’re very likely to get an error during the install process.
    15.) Now erase all partitions on both drives and select the HDD as the drive to install W7 to – NOT THE SSD!!!!!
            Seriously, don’t choose the SSD.
    16.) Windows will probably say that some extra partitions are necessary and so on, click ok and install Windows.
    17.) After the installation has finished and you see your Desktop, I suggest you to proceed with the next steps in the
            following order to see as early as possible if you are on the right way.
    18.) Install the Chipset driver, restart.
    19.) Install the Intel Rapid Storage “driver” and check the box where it asks to additionally install the control center.
            Reboot.
    20.) Go into BIOS (FN and F2) and enable Intel Rapid Start (the one you disabled in Step 8 and 9)
    21.) Boot into Windows.
    22.) Click on the Windows button, type cmd and right klick on the cmd.exe, select to run it as Admin.
    23.) Now you’ll create a hibernation partition on the SSD. (which by now should be completely empty as we’ve
            deleted all partitions in step 15)
    24.) In the command prompt that we have just opened, type: (without quotas, for sure)
    “diskpart” and hit the enter button
    “list disk” and hit the enter button
    Now you should see your ssd as disk 0 and your hdd as disk 1
    If your ssd is disk 0 (that would be standard), write “select disk 0”, otherwise write: “select disk 1”, and hit the enter button.
    Now write “create partition primary size=4096” and hit enter again. [if you have 4GB of ram, type 4096, if you have 8 GB of ram, use 8192]
    Now write “detail disk” and hit enter to see the volume number behind the volume that we have just created (it is 4 GB or 8 respectively, should be easy to find), in my case that was “2”
    Now type “select volume 2” if your 4 or 8 GB volume has number 2 as well, otherwise use the number you found out in step f. Hit enter.
    Finally, type: “set id=84 override” and hit enter for one last time.
    It should now say back that the id has been set successfully.
    Exit the command prompt. (close)
    25.) Reboot
    26.) Install the Rapid Start driver. Reboot.
    27.) Open the Intel Rapid Storage Application.
    28.) Click on accelerate and approve the settings. Two RAID’s will be created. Reboot.
    29.) Install the remaining drivers, have fun with Windows Update and that’s it!
    Good luck to all of you… And hey Lenovo - wouldn't that have been your job after all these posts showing your costumers in trouble? Just my two cents...
    If you want, you can now turn on UEFI-boot in BIOS.
    PS: If, after installing all drivers, you happen to see one unknown device in your device manager – this one belongs to Lenovo Connect Software that came with your Laptop. (Updates FB, Email etc when PC is in sleep mode) If you install Lenovo Connect it’s going to be fine, however, I would not recommend it as it is said to use a lot of energy and cause some other problems. So just live with it, your PC is totally fine without it.
    Kind regards from Shanghai

    Seriously guys, I can't use my 3 days old laptop. Some help would be mostly appreciated. At this point, the network connection issue doesn't show up anymore, it's just a blank screen after reboot. I reinstall windows and do it all over again just to achieve the same result.
    Now couple of things caught my attention: as I load the "6flpy-x64.zip" driver from step 14, I get a message saying I need to install signed drivers, because unsigned ones are likely to mess up the system.
    Secondly, I could not find any Rapid Storage Technology drivers for Windows 7 (particularly for U310 model), so I use the Windows 8 ones (http://support.lenovo.com/en_US/downloads/detail.page?DocID=DS031455), which seems a silly thing, yet I know of no alternatives.
    Could it be any of these issues to cause my problem? Or smth else? Please help!

  • Can SSD which is configured for intel rapid start be used to store data files as a normal drive

    Can SSD which is configured for intel rapid start(No Smart Response) be used to store data files as a normal drive
    Lenovo ideapad u310 with 24 GB SSD Partition , only 4GB has been configured as Hibernate partition for Intel rapid start, rest of the 18.36 GB has been labelled as Healthy(Primary partition).Can this 18.36 GB of SSD be configured to store data files on it without affecting Intel rapid start.

    I think I have discovered the answer to my own question!
    I have disabled Adobe Reader plug-in, and can now see PDFs in Chrome.
    (Steps: Chrome Menu, Settings option, Click Advanced Settings link, then Content Settings button, then select Disable Individual Plug-Ins, and a list of plug-ins is offered to enable or disable).
    I then get a different result depending on whether or not Chrome PDF viewer is enabled - with it enabled I see the PDF document in Chrome, or with it disabled then the option is offered to download it, but either way I can get it it via Chrome without having to run Internet explorer in another browser window.

  • How to use Intel Rapid Start technology on my ThinkPad Edge 531 computer?

    I have a Thinkpad Edge 531 (model 6885-73G) preloaded with Windows 7 64bit. According to the appropriate user guide (see Thinkpad E531 User Guide - page 108) and chipset specifications Mobile Intel® HM77 Express this ThinkPad model supports Intel Rapid Start Technology with a special partition on the SSD M.2.Such an SSD with the specification M.2 (see MyDigitalSSD Super Cache 2) I bought it and installed successfully on my ThinkPad, which can run a cache software FNet HybriDisk on.
    However, even if I proceed exactly according to the installation script by Intel, see (Intel Rapid Start Technology User Guide) or by the installation script by Lenovo community, (see Edge E330 and Intel Rapid Start), I can not put into operation Intel Rapid Start Technology on my ThinkPad, although I use the installed SSD disk with an alone partition of appropriate type (with ID type 84 on MBR) with more allocated space than the size of RAM for my ThinkPad and with the currently deployed version of BIOS (1.29) and current drivers, such is Intel (R) Rapid Storage Technology Driver version 11.1.5.1001 downloaded from the webiste of Lenovo support for this model ThinkPad Edge 531.
    Since, in my opinion, based on the above specifications declared by the manufacturer Lenovo and Intel, this ThinkPad model should support Intel Rapid Start Technology, I would like therefore to know how this technology on my ThinkPad to put into operation, because of which I also bought this ThinkPad model. Does exist for this model ThinkPad Edge 531 some specific deployment scenario of Intel Rapid Start Technology? Does anyone have any practical experience with the launch of this technology on those ThinkPad models? Can it be expected that the full support of Intel Rapid Start Technology for the ThinkPad Edge 531 will occur after the release of a new version of the BIOS or a new version of Solid State Drive Firmware Update Utility with support for MyDigitalSSD Super Cache 2 published on the website of Lenovo support?
    Thanks in advance for any advice and guidance with the launch of Intel Rapid Start Technology on my ThinkPad Edge 531.

    Hi @nmulji ,
    Thank you for visiting the HP Support Forums and Welcome. I have looked into your issue about your HP ENVY TouchSmart 15t-j000 Notebook and issues with Raid technology. Here is a link that helps with the driver for your Notebook.
    You might need this update for software and drivers with the Intel Management Engine Interface.
    Here is a link to the HP Support Assistant if you need it. Just download and run the application and it will help with the software and drivers on your system at the time of purchase. If something is not updated this could be causing an issue.
    Please let me know how this goes.
    Thanks.
    Please click “Accept as Solution ” if you feel my post solved your issue, it will help others find the solution.
    Click the “Kudos, Thumbs Up" on the bottom to say “Thanks” for helping!

  • (Re)activate Intel Rapid start technolgy (RST) & RAID @U310

    Dear community,
    I have been frustrated about this for long time. Got U310 with win8(24GB SSD+500GB HDD).
    People says I should set RAID in BIOS. But I got only error and cannot do recovery. So I set back to ACHI mode and system restored. Then error: "Your system does not apear to have Intel Rapid Start technology enabled". 
    - Yes, I have tried to set BIOS ACHI to RAID, no start.
    - SSD 24GB is in device manager, not paritioned.
    - intel RAID software installed
    - So the point is: I have to activate in BIOS ACHI to RAID, but then Pc will not start.
       So whats is the problem?
    Now the partitions looks as this:
    Could anyone help me, how to reactivate the RAID/ fast caching technolgy of RST?
    Another frustration is: how to backup my system(win8) to USB media, so that I could restore factory state?
    appreciate any advices, thanks in advance!
    Signature on work
    Solved!
    Go to Solution.

    Hi,  bradlutz1
    thanks for your reply! How do you identify it is defective?  You have now a RAID enabled U310 or U410?
    My SSD HD can be manually partitioned and use as a normal R/W HDD. Just it cannot set to RAID I think, which should be set to before install windows 8. checking into BIOS, the Intel Rapid Storage technolgy (iRST) is enabled. But I still have problem( see screenshot): How does it look like for yours?
    On the other side, I use windows 8 recovery programm created a USB drive as recovery media. I want to use it to reset /recovery my PC to factory default with RAID eanbale.
    First I set BOIS to RAID. Boot from HDD, but still failed, it says (I think AHCI could go thru):
    Seeing from the partition picture in my first post, I think the last 20G partition is Lenovo recovery, but how to backup it and restore?
    Very annoying also, the Lenovo program OneKey Recovery program 8.0(for win8) gives no option to create factory DVD/USB media, while its ver. 7 did:
    http://support.lenovo.com/en_US/research/hints-or-tips/detail.page?DocID=HT051300
    http://support.lenovo.com/en_US/diagnose-and-fix/detail.page?DocID=HT071791
    BTW: my PC starts within 30s to login screen (w/o iRST), is it OK?
    Signature on work

  • 9470m Intel Rapid Start, Intel Rapid Storage. Is it working?

    When we image our Elitebook Folio 9470m SSD notebooks with Windows 7, part of the imaging process is to install Intel Rapid Storage and Rapid Start on all these notebooks.  We download the drivers from the support.hp.com driver download page for Windows 7 Profession 64-bit.
    The software/drivers installs successfully with no errors, but as far as I can tell, the laptops are not booting or shutting down faster than other model laptops with SSDs that do not have this software installed.  May even be slower, because it seems like the Rapid Start Technology is hanging and delaying the the shut down process when we shut down the laptops.
    We have verbose status messages enabled, so when shutting down the laptops, we often see a message saying something that roughly says in other words  "waiting for Intel Rapid Start Technology to shut down."
    What is installing this software really accomplishing and is it effective on SSD disks and disks that have full disk encryption installed?
    How can I tell if this software is doing the job it is supposed to be doing or maybe we should stop installing it on our notebooks all together?

    Are these using regular 2.5 inch SSDs or mSATA mSSDs? I suspect the issue is with Intel Rapid Start. That is solely for the purpose of hibernating and recovering from hibernation faster. It really serves no other purpose and works optimally with an mSATA cache drive (which your model does not have) but does improve resume from sleep on any SSD. Intel Rapid Storage enables native command queing but that is in place anyway if the storage controller is set to ahci. I would also suspect that if your drives are encrypted fully, then Intel Rapid Start is having a problem trying to write startup information to the drive and that accounts for the hang at shutdown. Do you configure the laptops to use hibernation? 
    I would get two otherwise identical machines and configure one with and one without Intel Rapid Start and see if you notice any difference in bootup and shutdown time. Even on those where you have already installed Rapid Start, it can be turned off in the BIOS, thus disabling it. Personally I do not use hibernation so I do not enable Rapid Start in the BIOS and do not install the software. Rapid Storage should not cause a problem. 

  • Intel Rapid Start stops working when RAM upgraded

    I have a brand new ENVY dv7-7212nr notebook running Windows 8 64-bit.
    This machine has Intel Rapid Storage Technology which caches hard disk data (I think on the 32GB SSD) and Intel Rapid Start Technology which stores active memory in the SSD cache (I think) when the computer enters a hibernation state.
    The first thing I did was upgrade the RAM from 8GB to 16GB.  It works fine, but then I get an error message "your system does not appear to have intel rapid start technology enabled."
    HP provides very little information on this, basically none.  I assume the memory is being cached on the SSD, but I don't know how to verify this.  Also I notice that acceleration is not enabled under the Rapid Storage Tecnology applet for either drive.
    I called tech support twice but the techs knew nothing about upgrading RAM beyond the usual and couldn't get it to work either.
    Does anybody even know exactly how the SSD is being used in my system?  That would be valuable information to me.
    Thanks in advance!
    This question was solved.
    View Solution.

    Thanks for reading my reply.
    The "little SSD" is still a drive and not a chip, although you are right that it is little and it is attached to the motherboard. It is little because its form factor is not the typical 2.5 inch size but what's call "mSATA". In fact, the service manual for this dv7-7212nr laptop shows you how you can remove and replace or upgrade this mSATA SSD:
    Below is a comparison of how small the mSATA form factor is to other drive sizes (from Left to Right: mSATA, 1.8", 2.5", 3.5"):
    So if I want to replace the mSATA 32 GB SSD with a 64 GB SSD, I would have to get a mSATA SSD, not the typical 2.5" ones. So for this dv7-7212nr laptop, there can be 3 total drives installed: one in the mSATA slot and two in the 2.5'' drive bays. However, the default configuration as sold by HP only has one mSATA 32 GB SSD and one 750 GB SATA hard drive, with the remaining drive bay empty.
    This dv7-7212nr laptop does contain all the latest (and perhaps more complex) technologies and HP probably does not expect the typical user/consumer to go and muck around all the default settings. However, if one is curious and willing to make the effort to learn, the material is just a google search away.
    Here are the instructions for setting up Intel Rapid STORAGE Technology (aka Intel Smart Response Technology): http://download.intel.com/support/chipsets/sb/intel_smart_response_technology_user_guide.pdf
    For this dv7-7212nr laptop, you can ignore steps 1-4 because the BIOS is already configured properly from the factory (unless some changes were made by the end user).
    Here are the instructions for setting up Intel Rapid Start Technology:
    http://download.intel.com/support/motherboards/desktop/sb/rapid_start_technology_user_guide_v11.pdf
    For this particular laptop, ignore steps 1-7 but it is important to do this first: set up Intel Smart Response Technology as above, making sure to allow enough space on the SSD for a hibernation partition that is equal to or greater than the total size of RAM installed. Then follow steps 8 to the end of the guide.  It is important to set up Intel Smart Response before Intel Rapid Start because Intel Smart Response will destroy all partitions and data on the disk (if you set up a hibernation partition for Intel Rapid Start first, it will be removed when you set up Intel Smart Response).
    I have successfully ENable and DISable these technologies on my laptop using the above guides (with my modifications). WARNING: back up all data before trying any of this.
    In your case, I agree that you can also disable Rapid START and just use the whole SSD for acceleration along with the 16 GB RAM upgrade.
    [Edit: update link]

  • GUIDE Install ExpressCache for SSD Caching

    After purchasing a M5-481T as well as setting up a M5-581T, I wanted to be able to reproduce the factory SSD caching for these models. They both come with 20GB SSD's that are used for both Intel's Rapid Start technology as well as Diskeepers ExpressCache. After quite a bit of research, I became underwhelemed with Acer's support and provided downloads. While setting up these laptops, I did create the Drivers and Applications DVD's before blowing away the default build. These did not contain the ExpressCache software, nor did the download website. I even called Acer asking for support and I was told that with these models, the SSD drives are not used for caching only for the Rapid Start. The technican I spoke with was adamant about this. To make a long journey short, I was able to figure out how to replicate the default SSD caching in addition to the Rapid Start that comes on the default build of these devices. This should be handy for people that are trying to do clean installs for various reasons. The key to this is to have the ExpressCache software from the default build. The software is licensed to the OEM system builders and without it the software doesn't work. Fortunately for us, if you have the files then your golden. This proves quite difficult when Acer doesn't provide the software to download. Two key items are needed for the ExpressCache install. The software from a different Vendor, and the files from the default system build. I have provided them for you at the following links: ExpressCache Install: http://depositfiles.com/files/l73q0rizhExpressCache Acer Files: http://depositfiles.com/files/68vvduipq Hopefully if you have made it this far, you don't need a guide on how to install software. The idea is simple:1.) Install the Software using the installer from the ExpressCache Install link above. Don't worry if you get a message that says that it couldn't detect the SSD Drive to use. We will fix this later. Don't reboot when prompted to do so.2.) Use the files in the ExpressCache Acer Files download link above to overwrite the ones that were created during the installation in step 1. (copy everything in that download the the program files folder) The location is: C:\Program Files\Condusiv Technologies\ExpressCache\. Once this is done, you may restart the computer.*3.) If you happen to have restarted before completing step 2 above, all you have to do is stop the ExpressCache service and then do step 2. Start the service back up when completed. Now that the ExpressCache software is installed, we need to make a decision. Do you want to use Intel Rapid Start? If you don't care about Rapid Start, the process is much easier. If you do, then go down to the Rapid Start with ExpressCache Instructions. ExpressCache Only: 1.) Open an elevated command prompt and type diskpart.2.) type "list disk" (note the drive number of the SSD).3.) type "select disk n" (n= the drive number found above)4.) type "clean"5.) type "exit"6.) Now that you are back to the normal command prompt, lets navigate to the ExpressCache directory. Do this by typing "cd C:\Program Files\Condusiv Technologies\ExpressCache\"7.) type "ECCmd -partition" (this tells ExpressCache to use the whole SSD drive)8.) Your DONE! to confirm that it is working, you can type "ECCmd -info" and ensure that it starts showing you some caching statistics. Intel Rapid Start with ExpressCache: 1.) Open an elevated command prompt and type diskpart.2.) type "list disk" (note the drive number of the SSD).3.) type "select disk n" (n= the drive number found above)4.) type "clean"5.) type "create partition primary size=NNNN" (NNNN= the amount of memory you have in your system. So if you have 6GB's of RAM, replace NNNN with 6000)6.) type "detail disk" (Note the volume number of the partition that you created in step 5)7.) type "select Volume M" (Replace M with the volume number from the previous step)8.) type "set id=84 override"9.) type "exit"10.) The above steps created a hibernation partition on the SSD drive approximately equal to your RAM. Before you can Install Rapid Start, you will need to reboot the computer or else it will not install. You can do this now or after you setup ExpressCache.11.) Installation of Intel Rapid Start is straight forward. Just download it from the Intel web site and install it. You can also refer to the Rapid Start User guide for the above steps as well as how to configure Rapid Start: Intel Rapid Start (as of 3/21/13): http://downloadcenter.intel.com/confirm.aspx?httpDown=http://downloadmirror.intel.com/21612/eng/Rapid_Start_Win7_2.1.0.1002.exe&lang=eng&Dwnldid=21612&DownloadType=%0a%09%09%09%09%09%09%09Drivers%0a%09%09%09%09%09%09&OSFullname=Windows+8%2c+64-bit*Intel Rapid Start User guide: http://download.intel.com/support/motherboards/desktop/sb/rapid_start_technology_user_guide.pdf 12.) Now we will setup ExpressCache. Its a little trickier now that we are using Rapid Start.13.) Figure out how much free space you have on the SSD now that the Hibernation partition is created. You need the value in MB. So for example, if you created a hibernation partition of 6000, and the total drive size is 20480, then you have 14480MB left. You can get this information easily in Disk Management (diskmgmt.msc) by right clicking the SSD drive and selecting Properties. Then go to the Volumes tab. Remember this value for later.14.) If your elevated command prompt is not still open, open it now.15.) Navigate to the ExpressCache directory. Do this by typing "cd C:\Program Files\Condusiv Technologies\ExpressCache\"16.) type "ECCmd -partition X YYYYY" (X is the drive ID and YYYYY is the partition size you wish to create for ExpressCache. In other words, replace X with the drive ID from step 2 and YYYYY with the free space from step 13)17.) Your DONE! To confirm that it is working, you can type "ECCmd -info" and ensure that it starts showing you some caching statistics.  This procedure took me quite some time to figure out and to also get written up. Hopefully you guys find this useful and can benefit from my work. Please also let me know if you run into any issues. Thanks!

    As promised, I'm reporting back on my venture - trying to install Intel Smart Response Technology + Intel Rapid Start, but it's not working and I made it work    I have tested, and both technologies are working in tandem, which brings me back to the question: why did Acer spend money on 3rd party software, instead of using Intel's? Anyway.... This is the recipe:Clean all partition in the SSD and the HDD.Install Windows7 on the HDDInstall Chipset INF file and video driver ( not necessary, just to speed up the system )Install Intel Rapid Storage and enable Acceleration ( Intel guide here )Create the hibernation partition on the SSD and REBOOT ( required by Intel Rapid Start, from first post or here )Install Intel Rapid Start Technology softwareI didn't measure the boot time with ExpressCache, but on my experience, the Windows boot is faster with Intel Smart Response. Some notes:I'm able to use the latest drivers from Intel website to theChipset ( 9.4.0.1026 )VGA ( 8.15.10.2712 )Rapid Start ( 3.0.0.1053 )But not for the Rapid StorageTechnology. My Windows 7 64 bits PRO would get stuck on the boot logo animation if I used the latest version ( 12.9 ), it only worked using version 11.7.0.1013 ( link ). Since the Hibernation partition has 3.77GB, and the laptop has 4GB, I can't predict what will happen in the situtation your laptop is using more RAM than the partition has.On my research, I think this wouldn`t be a problem because I have seen on other forums people advising others to use 80% of the system physical RAM to the hibernation file. Regards,HalfBit.

  • Reconfigure Aspire v7 SSD caching on Windows 10

    Hello, I have upgraded to Windows 10 on my Aspire V7 482pg (5861). I have installed all the recommended drivers from the support page, and have not run into any significant errors. However, this particular notebook comes with a SSD for caching, and I have not been able to reconfigure it to do so. The ExpressCache software I was using before on Windows 8.1 does not appear to be compatible with Windows 10. Is there any other caching software I should try using? One of the downloads on the support page is Intel Rapid Storage (even though the description on the page says Rapid Start, it is definitely Rapid Storage that was installed). Right now, the only thing that Rapid Storage seems to be doing is reducing power consumption during idle periods. Should I attempt to configure this system to use Smart Response? Is it even possible with this version of the Rapid Storage technology? Any help would be appreaciated, Thanks

    Once I cleaned the drive with diskpart and installed expresscache that way, it formatted the drive.I then proceeded to follow this guide to try to get the drive working with Intel Rapid Start.http://community.acer.com/t5/S-and-R-Series/GUIDE-Install-ExpressCache-for-SSD-Caching/td-p/64381 It all worked fine and dandy, and I was finally able to get a response from eccmd -info. However, Windows 10 (actually 8.1 onwards, I believe) has built in drive encryption that is incompatible with Rapid Start, so I uninstalled it. I am still getting readings ike this from eccmd -info. My question is: on Acer's website, Rapid Storage was provided for download. Was that alone sufficient enough for the whole ssd caching mechanism to start working?I read from here that the drives needed to be configured as RAID with a fresh install for rapid storage to work. Shouldn't Acer inform users of that if it were true? I also don't notice my laptop being "really quick". What else, besides eccmd, can I use to test the performance?I believe I was mistaken before, and it is indeed Sleep that my computer has issues with as well. When upgrading from 8.1 to 10, my expresscache folder becomes empitied as well, so I wondered if you had to have installed a newer version prior to upgrade to retain it.

  • Disable SSD cache in Windows on W540?

    I just received my W540, which came with the micro SSD cache drive. I'm dual booting my machine with Linux, and intend to use the micro SSD with the bcache Linux kernel module, which assumes it has exclusive use of the cache device, even through reboots. I thus need to make sure Windows doesn't use the cache device (which is fine, since I won't use Windows most of the time anyway).
    What must I do to ensure Windows doesn't touch the micro SSD?

    Just uninstall ExpressCache in Windows, and then reformat the mSATA.
    You can uninstall it in "Programs and Features", which is found in the "Control Panel".
    Or right-click the start orb of Windows 8.1, and select "Programs and Features".
    Jonas
    Microsoft MVP: Windows Consumer Expert
    Yoga Tablet 2 10 || ThinkPad X1 Carbon (20A7007MPH) || ThinkPad Helix (3698-6EU) || IdeaCentre B540
    Twitter: @jonashendrickx

  • U410 Rapid Start, Smart Response setup from scratch

    Hi!
    I have a question about the built-in Intel's Rapid Start and Smart Response technology in my U410 notebook.
    The problem is that I've managed to "reset" the SSD cache drive so the raid array and the partitions are lost.
    I've tried to restore the drive structure by creating a 8GB hibernation partition, with diskaprt (on basic disk, create partition primary size=8192 id=84). After that the Rapid Start works fine. Next I've used the Intel Rapid Storage Manager utitlity to create the acceleration for a partition on the HDD. There were two option for that, the firts one is to use 18,6 GB for cacheing, the second one was to use the whole drive (max. 64GB). Chosing the second option did nothing exept throwing an error, the firts option created the cache array with the following structure:
    Array_0000:
    - Volume_001: 11GB (data)
    - Volume_002: 19GB (cache)
    In the widows drive manager the hibernation partition appeard on Volume_001 with another unallocated 3GB partition.
    The original setup was (without having the 3GB unallocated space):
    Array_0000:
    - Volume_001: 8GB (data)
    - Volume_002: 22GB (cache)
    The question is, how can I create the original array structure, for using the two menitoned technoligies, without loosing 3GB caching space, filling the whole remaining space for caching?
    I hope I was clear about the probelm  Any help appreaciaed!
    Solved!
    Go to Solution.

    Got some reply from Intel:
    This cannot be done by the end-user with the current production version of the Intel® Rapid Storage Technology driver (I assume that they are using the 11.0 production version of Intel® Rapid Storage Technology driver).  This has been fixed in the next release version 11.5 (PV WW28 – 32).  The only option for end-user to reconfigure the SSD with cache + data is to select 18.6GB for the cache which will create 11GB for the data area of the SSD.  The correct sequence of steps for restoring the CacheSSD with the Intel® Rapid Start Technology partition:
    1.       Launch the Intel® RST GUI and click the ‘Acceleration’ button at the top of the GUI
    2.       Click Enable acceleration
    3.       Select the SSD and 18.6GB for the Cache size (this will create a cache volume size 18.6GB + data volume size 11GB)
    4.       Select the Acceleration mode (Maximized or Enhanced) and complete the Acceleration.
    5.       Once the Acceleration-enabling operation is complete you can partition any portion of the 11GB data volume for Intel® Rapid Start Technology
    Note:  The user can select any size of the 11GB data volume that they wish for the Rapid Start partition.  Any space unused can be partitioned in Disk Manager for additional data storage space.  As far as performance, there should not be much difference if any between the cache size of 18.6GB and the original 22GB.

  • U410 "rapid start technology not enables"; won't shut down; touchpad problems...

    Having a bit of a nightmare at the moment with my (three month old!) U410 Ultrabook. When it turns on it takes an ABSOLUTE AGE, and then I get a popup saying "Your system does not appear to have Intel Rapid Start Technology enabled." Then if I try to shut it down normally, it just sort of goes to sleep and I can only tun it off properly with the power button. In the past few days, the scrolling function of the touchpad stopped working.
    I have several important deadlines approaching and all this is really interfering with my work.  
    Can anyone offer solutions?

    hi Aoife,
    Welcome to the Forums.
    If the Ideapad U410 is configured with Windows 8 and runs on an HDD+mSATA SSD drive then your issue might be somewhat similar to this thread.
    When the machine boots up, it caches data and enables Intel Rapid Start Technology on the mSATA SSD. To ensure everything is configured correctly, try to check if:
    1. The mSATA SSD is detected under the BIOS
    2. Data caching is enabled via Intel Smart Respose Technology, check this guide on how to reconfigure it. If data caching is enabled via Expresscache, try opening a command prompt and type eccmd -info. You should see an output similar to this image.
    3. Intel Rapid Start Technology is configured as in this guide.
    Alternatively, you may also want to run an error scan on the drive by using HD Tune or similar utility and observe.
    Let me know your findings
    Regards
    Did someone help you today? Press the star on the left to thank them with a Kudo!
    If you find a post helpful and it answers your question, please mark it as an "Accepted Solution"! This will help the rest of the Community with similar issues identify the verified solution and benefit from it.
    Follow @LenovoForums on Twitter!

  • E540 SSD caching - how to make it work

    Hello. Does anyone know how can I rebuild E540 SSD caching? The problem is, that I formatted the whole notebook (1TB HDD + 16 GB SSD) and now after fresh install of Windows 8.1 it doesn't seem to use the 16 GB SSD as cache. I installed Intel Rapid Storage, but I can't install Intel Smart Response (which seems to do the SSD-caching) because it needs the RAID to be enable in BIOS but I don't have such an option. Any idea how to make it work?
    Thanks in advance!

    ColonelONeill wrote:
    I think you need the ExpressCache package.
    Well that seems to do the trick. The quiestion is  - why? On lenovo expresscache download page (http://support.lenovo.com/en/downloads/ds035460) my model (E540) isn't listed in the supported models. That's why I didn't even try it. Although I was considering this until I saw, that my model is not supported.

Maybe you are looking for