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Symantec System Recovery 2013_R2_11.1.6.55604 - Issues with UEFI and PCIe SSD RAID WIN10 x64

kingkennyc
Level 3

Hi Symantec, 

I have purchased a MSI laptop - GT72S 6QF (DOMINATOR PRO DRAGON 4K)-093UK back in July. This has 2 PCIe SSD's in RAID0. Note that the laptop is a 4K screen 3840x2160.

I was looking for a BACKUP solution. I have downloaded the SSR 60 DAY trial. I am running Windows 10 Build 1607. I have downloaded the correct ADK for the build. I can create the SRD Recovery ISO and copy to a USB. During creation it builds the image using drivers that are currently on OS. 

I can boot from the USB... but at this point I have 2 issues: 

1. The UEFI boot picks up the USB boot... but I think due to the screen resolution - the SSR GUI is way... wayyyyyyy to small. The GUI is like 1 inch wide by 1 inch tall!. Its impossible to see all the options. Also I think some of the options do not work - but I think thats due to the screen size. I can see the option for RECOVER YOUR PC... but the one below that is unseen (BACKUP YOUR PC). Although if I click the screen and hit TAB a few times it seems to be able to get to the option. 

2. When I do get to the option... its unable to find my PCIe SSD's in RAID0 using the IRST x64_14.7.0.1000 Driver - which is the same driver it adds from the OS on the SSR image. 

I have also posted this question on the MSI forums:      https://forum-en.msi.com/index.php?topic=276944.0

What's REALLY annoying is that I also downloaded and tested another solution - Macrium Reflect v6.2.1549. The Macrium Reflect bootable USB appears to work fine. It sees my PCIe SSD Raid 0 Array. This works fine! OK the GUI is still a little small... but its readable and defaults to a FULL SCREEN GUI. I can work out what its saying and I can see the menus.  

Kinda makes me think theres an issue with the way it creates the SSR WinPE image. The SSR.iso actually works fine 100% in BIOS LEGACY MODE. All looks OK with the GUI. Its readable and big... but that doesnt help me -  as the PCIe SSD's are only available in UEFI or UEFI with CSM mode - So at this point I cannot backup or restore any images.

Does anybody have any possible solutions? Is it possible to change the SSR GUI window size? Any ideas why its NOT picking uo my PCIe SSD RAID 0 disks in the UEFI or UEFI with CSM.

One more thing. Why dont you have an option for Windows 10 under OPERATING SYSTEM when creating a new post? 

Kind Regards,

Kenny

19 REPLIES 19

criley
Moderator
Moderator
Employee Accredited

2. When I do get to the option... its unable to find my PCIe SSD's in RAID0 using the IRST x64_14.7.0.1000 Driver - which is the same driver it adds from the OS on the SSR image.

If you manually load the driver (via the 'Utilities' tab) once booted into the recovery environment, does that then help? We do have one issue that sounds similar that is currently under investigation. If the manual load of the driver works, it could be that you have run into the same issue.

One more thing. Why dont you have an option for Windows 10 under OPERATING SYSTEM when creating a new post? 

This has already been reported. This should hopefully be addressed soon by the team that manage these forums.

As for the screen resolution issue, this is not something that I have heard of before. Could you please post a screenshot that shows this issue?

criley
Moderator
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Employee Accredited

Hi,

Yeah thats the same issue I am facing. I have attached some screen shots. They are not great but you will see what I mean. If I load the F6 Floppy driver for my intel storage (iaStorAC.inf) during the SSR iso creation it tells me its already included from the selection of drivers on the OS itself. It still canot see my PCIe SSD Raid0 setup.

I guess it a limitiation of UEFI and GOP? 

**bleep** It only lets me load one image? Heres a zip file.

criley
Moderator
Moderator
Employee Accredited

I guess it a limitiation of UEFI and GOP?

Yes, it looks that way based on the comments in that thread I posted.

Regarding the driver issue for your storage, is the disk shown when going into DISKPART and using the LIST DISK command?

Hi, 

Is there no way to adjust the GUI image size i.e. make it 1024x768? or is the size governed by UEFI GOP during boot time? It makes no difference if I set my BIOS to UEFI or UEFI with CSM. Same issues. 

Anyway. Tested again. GUI is still very small and still unable to see the DISKS. Running DISKPART from the SSR USB boot shows only my 1TB non raid disk and my USB stick. It does not register the PCIe SSD in RAID0.

Please find attached SSR collect and screen shots. I can see reference to a device that cannot be opened?

Error SMEWINDOWS_ERROR_DEVICE_OPEN_FAILED (E0020002): Device \\.\PhysicalDrive4294967295 cannot be opened

Like I said Macrium Reflect v6.2.1549 works fine. Although Windows ADK is installed at this time... MR when installed uses the Windows PE 10.0 Rescue media (Windows 10 Kernel) but does connect to MS and downloads a winpe.wim image - pe10x64.zip So not sure if that could be related. 

Kind Regards,

Kenny

 

criley
Moderator
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Can you send me a copy of the following file:

\ProgramData\Symantec\Symantec System Recovery\Logs\SRDCreatorUI.log

Also, you can run this tool (http://www.nirsoft.net/utils/driverview.html) when booted inside the recovery environment (WinPE). This will list the drivers that are loaded - you can export the results to a file.

Would be interesting to compare the results - SSR vs Macrium. It may give us some clues.

Hi, 

As requested.  This the Driverview-64 results from both the SSR Boot USB and the MR Boot USB once booted into the GUI's. HTML exported didnt work. Had to select all and then save as. I've also had a quick look at both USB's and there are differences for various files in BOOT and  EFI and other locations.

criley
Moderator
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OK, I think I spot the problem and unfortunately the solution is not a simple one ..

In the screenshot you provided, I can see that you are trying to add the 14.7.0.1000 version of the iaStorA driver. The DriverView results show this:

Macrium:

Driver Name : iaStorA.sys
Description : Intel(R) Rapid Storage Technology driver - x64
Version : 14.7.0.1000

SSR:

Driver Name : iaStorAV.sys
Description : Intel(R) Rapid Storage Technology driver (inbox) - x64
Version : 13.2.0.1022

So my educated guess is that the 13.x driver is not working correctly and we need to load the 14.x driver that Macrium is already using. However, from my research it seems that you cannot unload an existing driver from the WinPE environment. Part of the problem here is that SSR should allow you to add a newer version of the driver if an older version already exists - this is something that I have already fed back to our engineering team and would be a good enhancement to the product.

The only workaround I can think of is to modify the boot.wim file that the SSR recovery disk uses. You would need to remove the existing driver and add the new one (in fact, just removing the existing driver should be enough). This is not a straightforward process though: https://technet.microsoft.com/en-gb/library/hh825070.aspx.

Hope this helps.

You think thats the issue? 

If you look at the zip file - SSR.Collect.with.Screenshots you will see that SSR wont let me add the F6 Floppy driver  (used when installing a new OS) as its already there? 

I can add it to the .wim image and test but I'd be suprised if thats the issue. I'll let you know how I get on. 

criley
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Yes, it is already there but it's an older version of the driver.... seems that older version is not working correctly within WinPE.

If we could unload that driver, we could test the newer driver to confirm this is indeed the reason why it's not working. However, seems there is no way to unload a driver from with WinPE (https://support.microsoft.com/en-gb/kb/2686316).

When you say 'F6 Floppy driver' - what do you mean exactly? Can you point me to the link for this driver from the hardware vendor?

The driver isnt part of the standard window 7 or 10 build so during an install (if it doesnt see your disks/Raid0 disks) you can choose to install the driver. Link is below. Not sure if you'll need to create a login. 

https://www.msi.com/Laptop/support/GT72S-6QF-Dominator-Pro-G-29th-Anniversary-Edition.html#down-driv... 64

I think its known as F6-Floppy driver install due to the old legacy systems so I think its more just a term that is used. 

So I have used that for the windows 10 install. The driver appears to be there... and SSR sees it during the SSR ISO creation so it doesnt let me re-add it ( as per SSR screenshots) so why would SSR use an older driver when its actually listed the one that I need? 

criley
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The driver appears to be there... and SSR sees it during the SSR ISO creation so it doesnt let me re-add it ( as per SSR screenshots) so why would SSR use an older driver when its actually listed the one that I need?

So what version of the driver is currently installed on the machine where you built the recovery disk? This newer version or the older version I mentioned before? My guess is that the ISO creation process is automatically grabbing the version from the installed OS and then not letting you add the newer version. Without seeing the actual ISO file and delving into it, I cannot be sure though.

 

In thoery the NEWER one... as it used the F6 driver to see my RAID0 disks. Again SSR shows the same 14.x driver during creation. As per my other screen shots from the start they show the same 14.x Driver. 

There is some software called NTLite. Let le delete in the inbuilt 13.x driver and add the 14.x and I'll run a test. 

I'll let you know how I get on. 

criley
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Could you attach the driver package for this driver so I can test something here? Thanks.

OK... It's looking better. I am unable to de-deselect/delete the built-in INTEL Raid Drivers using Nlite (only deleting as part of this testing). I used NLite to add the F6 Intel RAID 14.x as a intergrated driver addon. The Driver was added to both WINDOWS.WIM and the BOOT.WIM. It appears after an install of windows its in C:\Windows\System32\drivers\iaStorA.sys

Please see attachment zip. I will explain each screen shot.


01:
Booting from the modified windows ISO - it boots fine. No need to add drivers this time. It finds the Toshiba NVMe SSD's (the intel RAID0 setup). Perfect!

02.03:
This shows that I can select the correct disk and let windows 10 partition it as per UEFI standards.

04.05.06:
This shows that the OS drivers are present and correct (Intel Raid 14.x driver) etc. Out of curiousity I even added the Toshiba NVMe driver.

NOTE: Fom window 8.0 or 8.1 I think windows should have its own NATIVE NVMe driver built in. There should be NO NEED to find your own driver from the manufacturer of your M2.NVMe SSD's/device. Although if you check out: http://www.win-raid.com/t29f25-Recommended-AHCI-RAID-and-NVMe-Drivers.html
You will see that other people have had issued with various NVMe devices and have had to tweak things to make things work.

07:
Booted from SRD USB image. I CANNOT SEE MY NVMe SSD's in my INTEL RAID0 set! OK used the SRD GUI (UTILITIES) to manually re-add the INTEL F6 Floppy 14.x driver. SRD states driver loaded but you will see 2 screens on the far left where if you try and take the option for BACKING UP YOUR OS after manually adding the Intel Raid F6 Driver 14.x  - the screen hangs. I tried this twice which is why there are 2 stuck screens on the left hand side.

08:
This isnt a screen shot... but a txt file providing you with a link to the WIN-RAID forums where I got the TOSHIBA NVMe drivers from.

09.10:
OK... so I had nothing to lose. I manually loaded the TOSHIBA NVMe driver via the SRD GUI UTILITIES screen. SRD stated driver loaded. Went back to the BACKUP YOUR PC screen and wooohooooooo - I CAN SEE MY RAID DISKS!!!!!!! :) :) :) :) 

11.12:
These show that I was able to create a backup image and also perform a restore. Rebooted PC. All works fine :)

13:
This shows that after a restore (which in theory nothing should have changed) the restore changes the partition layout maybe?

It was... RECOVERY > SYSTEM > MSR Reserved > PRIMARY.
It's now RECOVERY > SYSTEM > PRIMARY - Where is the MSR Rservered? Unless its changed to hidden or doesnt show up after a reboot?

14:
This is the Driver-view from the booted SRD. It looks like its TOTALLY IGNORED ANY DRIVERS I'VE ADDED! and chose to use its own which is pretty f&^%$king pointless. i.e. It's used the in-built Intel Raid 13.x. I cannot see any reference to the drivers I added when I created the SRD image? (Screenshots 4.5.6)

I added the SDRCreatorUI.log if needed. 

I assume its just not using the drivers I have added and uses its own? The Intel F6 Raid driver 14.x is needed to see the raid set - but I assume this is dsependant on having a native/or other NVMe driver as well. 

criley
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This is a lot of information to take in! Thanks for your detailed response though.

Some of the screenshots are from a Windows setup so I'm a little confused about these.

One thing I want to point out; do you know that you can run a backup within Windows with SSR? You don't need to use the recovery disk to perform a backup (unless you specifically want to do a cold/offline backup).

I think this is going to require some further analysis from my side and I may need to get a copy of your recovery disk to look into this further. Can you please send me a private message (click on my name to find this option) so we can discuss offline?

With a standard WIN7 or 10 iso... the needed F6 Floppy Intel Raid Driver 14.x are included so when it get the "Where do you want to install windows" its does not list the Toshiba NVMe SSD (Intel Raid0 disks). Normally at this point you click LOAD DRIVER...

I was just providing screen shots to prove that me intergrating them into the Windows iso image worked and it saw my disks on the first boot up. I didnt have to load any drivers manually like I used to... 

I am aware that I can run a backup while Windows is running - but thats pointless if I cant get to the image to restore it. 

criley
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I was just providing screen shots to prove that me intergrating them into the Windows iso image worked and it saw my disks on the first boot up. I didnt have to load any drivers manually like I used to... 

OK, I understand now.

I am aware that I can run a backup while Windows is running - but thats pointless if I cant get to the image to restore it. 

Agreed, I just wanted to make it clear that you don't need to use the recovery disk for backup. So let's discuss further offline ..