BSOD referencing iaStor.sys. Running Win 7, 64-bit.

Bill, the driver is under storage devices and is the Intel Raid driver. In bios Intel Rapid Start is enabled. I think Raid has to be enabled and the SSD is used as a cache for the mechanical drive.

As I said, this is an interesting issue. The mSATA 32 GB drive must be configured as cache, not a drive.

The Service manual calls it a drive, but Disk Mgr doesn't see it as a drive. It is a separate device, not a component of the HD.

So the question remains: Why or How does the Intel Mobile Express Chipset SATA RAID Controller come into play.
essenbe identified iaStor / IRST as the probable possible cause of the BSOD (there is the secondary issue of AC power), determining if there is a RAID requirement for the SSD cache is the next thing.

back to reading.

Bill
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essenbe said:

Bill, the driver is under storage devices and is the Intel Raid driver. In bios Intel Rapid Start is enabled. I think Raid has to be enabled and the SSD is used as a cache for the mechanical drive.

Thanks Steve, you posted while I was typing. I think we think alike.

I'm also interested in what shows up under Other devices when hidden devices are selected. I suspect that might be where the IDE ATA devices are - don't know for sure.

I want to find out more before I can say I know we know alike Because I don't know enough about mSATA or how it is configured for cache.

Bill
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More references:

HP Intel Rapid Start Technology (FFS) Guide

IRST User Guide

Superuser discussion on a Dell with similar configuration

Search results - site:communities.intel.com intel rapid start required for mSATA HDD cache

This is interesting, but does not apply in this case (Rapid Storage Technology 18.5 GB + 8 GB Rapid Start Technology (hibernation) only equals 26.5 GB, which less than the 32 GB on the SSD.
https://communities.intel.com/thread/50806

kevin_intel said:

Apr 9, 2014 1:17 PM ... Based on your description I have to point something you said and that where the issue lies.

Intel® Rapid Storage Technology requires 18.5 GB as minimum capacity of a SSD to cache the system and the
Intel® Rapid Start Technology requires a hibernation partition with equal to or larger than the amount of system memory.
This means that the total should be 34.5 GB of the SSD while your system has a SSD with 32 GB capacity.
.....

---

I'm beginning to come to the conclusion that IRST cannot be disabled. A configuration change perhaps, but since reading the IRST user manual, it is needed for the system (mSATA + HDD). I'll need to keep reading to see how much IRST can be configured.

I wonder if turning off hibernation (cripples Rapid Start) and trimming the SSD (if possible as it's cache, not drive) would bear any fruit.

I'll post again after reading a lot more - my apologies for free association posting, it's the way I think - out loud.

Bill
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Thanks K,

Not what I anticipated in the Other Devices - oh well, it was a guess.

Ok, AC only causes a BSOD - post the dump, please.
That rules out the battery, but makes the AC jack or power block more suspect.
The fact that you also get a BSOD on battery only (less frequent) indicates a possible short.

The iaStor / IRST issue perplexes me. AHCI and RAID are there (per Intel), RAID shows up indirectly. HP locks down the BIOS, so we can't get to the deeper settings.

Both IRST and Rapid start are controlled by Intel software (start menu - Intel?). After all of that reading, I still don't have a solution to IRST. I do, but it's an unknown and it's a bit of work on your part - and it isn't certain to solve the BSODs.

Let me talk it over with some other members, then we can discuss it with you. It involves a reinstall of Windows, without IRST - but hold on, it's only any idea (could be a bad idea )

Let's see if essenbe sees anything new in the dump after you post the newest one.

Thanks for all of the feedback and your patience. You're really helping members on this side of your monitor.

Bill
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Hi Kenin,

essenbe tested my idea and found that it's not going to affect the issue. It looked promising at first, but he discovered that while the IDE ATA controllers were present, IRST still controlled the drive. That means that iaStor is still an issue.

I checked Intel and found a newer IRST release than the one offered by HP. OEMs, especially HP, seem to slow down, even stop offering newer updates after a year. New models come out and you have to really look hard to find updates for a 1 year old machine.

I've pretty much exhausted what I can offer.
I'll go back over some things I have questions about to see if I missed anything by sped reding :)

Most of the BSOD team was included in my PM discussing the reinstall idea, so they're aware of this thread.

Ever the optimist, hopefully the 13.1.0.1058 IRST driver will help.

edit: I told essenbe that I didn't forget about the AC power issue.... but I guess I did. I didn't mention the increase of BSODs when the AC power brick was connected. Now I didn't forget

https://downloadcenter.intel.com/Det...adType=Drivers
Download SetupRST.exe
The other two ZIP files are specific to 32 and 64 bit F6 floppy installs

Bill
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All of the most recent dumps were from 7-15. No surprises here

Code:

 lmvm iaStorA
start             end                 module name
fffff880`01431000 fffff880`016e7000   iaStorA  T (no symbols)           
    Loaded symbol image file: iaStorA.sys
    Image path: \SystemRoot\system32\DRIVERS\iaStorA.sys
    Image name: iaStorA.sys
    Timestamp:        Mon Oct 28 16:15:26 2013 (526ED3EE)
    CheckSum:         0009FA1B
    ImageSize:        002B6000
    Translations:     0000.04b0 0000.04e4 0409.04b0 0409.04e4

Code:

lmvm iaStorA
start             end                 module name
fffff880`016d5000 fffff880`0198b000   iaStorA  T (no symbols)           
    Loaded symbol image file: iaStorA.sys
    Image path: \SystemRoot\system32\DRIVERS\iaStorA.sys
    Image name: iaStorA.sys
    Timestamp:        Mon Oct 28 16:15:26 2013 (526ED3EE)
    CheckSum:         0009FA1B
    ImageSize:        002B6000
    Translations:     0000.04b0 0000.04e4 0409.04b0 0409.04e4