RAID0 trim and SRT seems possible on 6-series and 5-Series

[Engineer]

I disagree about "proper validation" being needed or EVER being released.
This is driver DRM to encourage people to upgrade.

I agree with this statement 100% and that's exactly the reason that I didn't go out and buy a new system even though I wanted to.

 

[Fernando 1]

The issue I am having is that mmtool nor aptio are recognizing any of the gigabyte bioses that my board uses (ga-p67x-ud3-b3 board). I get an error when trying to load the rom

I had no problem to open the newest BIOS U1a for your GA-P67X-UD3-B3 with the Aptio MMTool and to replace the original Intel RAID ROM v11.0.0.1339 by the modded v11.6.0.1702. You can download this already modified BIOS from >here<.

Good luck!
Fernando

 

[Brahmzy]

UDAMAN Fernando. I'll be testing tomorrow night hopefully. I'll let you know how it goes!

 

[Sunburn74]

I had no problem to open the newest BIOS U1a for your GA-P67X-UD3-B3 with the Aptio MMTool and to replace the original Intel RAID ROM v11.0.0.1339 by the modded v11.6.0.1702. You can download this already modified BIOS from >here<.

Good luck!
Fernando

I really appreciate it, but here's the issue. The UEFI bios for the p67x-ud3 board cannot be flashed on the board (don't ask me why, but it can't and its well reported on the net). All of the non uefi bioses are not being recognized by either mmtool or aptio. If you can get a non uefi bios to work for the p67x-ud3-b3 board I'm super appreciate it. However, i couldn't get either to be recognized though I was able to successfully mod the uefi bios (i just couldn't actually flash it)

 

[Fernando 1]

The UEFI bios for the p67x-ud3 board cannot be flashed on the board (don't ask me why, but it can't and its well reported on the net).

So you mean, that the mainboard manufacturer GIGABYTE is offering a BIOS (U1a) for their GA-P67X-UD3-B3, but this BIOS cannot be flashed into the mainboard's BIOS chip at all?
That is hard to believe. Did you already contact the GIGABYTE support?

 

[Dufus]

Acceleration is go...

After adding support in the main BIOS it seems SRT is possible for the P67, I think there is a good chance it might also work on the P55 5-series too, will try to check it out when I have the time.

Enhanced mode accelerating C: drive partition on WD 5400RPM 250GB drive.

Change mode

SRT is not for me I think, while it does offer a nice speed up I think I'll stick to my RAID0

As a consequence I will remodify the Intel RAID ROM v11.6.0.1702 just for the 6-Series chipset Desktop PCs (Device ID 1C06 and 1C07).

Hey have you updated your field for the p67 series? and what do we are we supposed to do with the file once you have it?

Fernando, maybe Sunburn74 is asking because you did not mention 1C04, a typo perhaps?

I disagree about "proper validation" being needed or EVER being released.

Surely you jest? Software / firmware needs some sort of validation, you can not expect some update to be made and thrown out to the public with out any type of assurance. Intel and the manufacturers have huge resources to do this, I do not.

Update to X79 testing post #20, it's possible that the this was tested with SSD's having broken trim firmware. Given Fernando's excellence in finding a tester, snout, to confirm working trim on X79 I'd be inclined to say the Asrock X79 and BIOS 1.70 should have working trim too.

 

[taltamir]

Surely you jest? Software / firmware needs some sort of validation, you can not expect some update to be made and thrown out to the public with out any type of assurance. Intel and the manufacturers have huge resources to do this, I do not.

That assumes changes were made. Adding a key for a DRM check is not such a change.

 

[Fernando 1]

The 11.6 OROM appears to have a look up table.

It seems the first word lists the RAID controller Alternate ID (AI) to identify the controller, the second word lists the LPC ID to identify sub groups that utilize the RAID controller and a byte follows to indicate set flags.

For instance alternate ID 1C05 (8086:1C05) is a 6 series mobile RAID controller. This has two LPC sub groups, 1C4B (HM67) and 1C4F (QM67). Bit 0 of the flag byte is set to 1 which I think means SRT support. Where the LPC ID is 0000 I guess this means all sub groups. Alternate ID 1C05 is for the Z68 which has only bit 0 set in the flag byte, meaning support for SRT but not trim. Alternate ID's are a way of identifying controllers that normally use a common ID, i.e. 2822 (8086:2822).

Now you can hopefully see why it appears Intel have made it easy to add other chipsets, they just need to be added to the LUT. For testing however I just overwrote one of the ones in the list. For the P67 which has an alternate ID of 1C04 I simply used "1C04 0000 07" and like wise for the P55 which has an alternate ID of 3B25 I used "3B25 0000 07".

The last sentence, which obviously has been added today by Dufus, lets me think, that I have modified the Intel RAID ROM module v11.6.0.1702 the wrong way regarding the TRIM in RAID0 support for P67 and some other 6-series chipset desktop systems except Z68. There is no DeviceID 1C04 within the pictures you had posted previously. That is why I thought, that IC07 is the DeviceID for all 6-Series Desktop Intel SATA RAID Controllers except Z68.

If the SATA RAID Controller of an Intel P67 chipset has the DeviceID 1C04 instead of 1C07, my previously modded ROM will not enable the TRIM in RAID0 support for P67 chipset systems.
Thank you for clearing this up.
As a consequence I have modified the Intel RAID ROM module v11.6.0.1702 again by just replacing the hex code pair "07 1C" by "04 1C" hoping, that this RAID ROM version will enable TRIM in RAID0 for all P67 chipset systems.
Users can find the download link to the specially modified Intel RAID ROM v11.6.0.1702 within the start post of >this< thread. It should enable TRIM in RAID0 for Intel P67 and Z68 chipset systems.

 

[kulica]

The last sentence, which obviously has been added today by Dufus, lets me think, that I have modified the Intel RAID ROM module v11.6.0.1702 the wrong way regarding the TRIM in RAID0 support for P67 and some other 6-series chipset desktop systems except Z68. There is no DeviceID 1C04 within the pictures you had posted previously. That is why I thought, that IC07 is the DeviceID for all 6-Series Desktop Intel SATA RAID Controllers except Z68.

If the SATA RAID Controller of an Intel P67 chipset has the DeviceID 1C04 instead of 1C07, my modded ROM will not enable the TRIM in RAID0 support for P67 chipset systems.
Thank you for clearing this up.
As a consequence I will modify the Intel RAID ROM module v11.6.0.1702 again by just replacing the hex code pair "07 1C" by "04 1C" hoping, that this RAID ROM version will enable TRIM in RAID0 for all P67 chipset systems.

Side note: Please reread your last sentence of the text I have quoted.
Are you sure, that you posted the correct hex codes? Shouldn't it be "04 C1" instead of "1C 04" and "25 B3" instead of "3B 25"?

It's plain simple endian shift.



And the file: http://www.4shared.com/archive/39nuBtnk/TRIM-6_series.html

A don't have time to format my two SSDs into RAID0 array, I have like a ton of coding to do :S But I will post results for my P67 and 2x Crucial SSDs. I hope the Crucial will put together a working FW by then. Script kiddies :S

 

[Fernando 1]

It's plain simple endian shift.

That may be simple for you, but not for everyone.
Myself I had 2 typos within the last sentence of my last post, but meanwhile I have corrected them. Since you have quoted it before my correction, it would be very kind, if you correct them too (just to prevent any irritations).

And the file: http://www.4shared.com/archive/39nuBtnk/TRIM-6_series.html

Thank you for your special customization and the upload of the modded file.
Maybe your version will support the TRIM in RAID feature for more Intel 6-Series chipsets than the version I have linked within my last post. On the other hand a user has written, that setting a lot of DeviceIDs to FLAG "07" didn't work, whereas he succeeded with a specific modification just for his RAID Controller.

UDAMAN Fernando. I'll be testing tomorrow night hopefully. I'll let you know how it goes!

Since you have a P67 system, I recommend to insert one of the modded Intel RAID ROM files, which were uploaded today by kulika and me.
Here is the download link to the freshly modified P8P67-DELUXE BIOS 3509, which may support TRIM in RAID0 for your Intel SATA RAID Controller (provided it's DEV_1C04):
>ASUS P8P67 BIOS 3509 mod by Fernando<

Good luck!
Fernando

 

[Dufus]

The last sentence, which obviously has been added today by Dufus

No, that was in there from day one. The only thing I updated was about X79 support. You can see the difference if you look at MaxICH's quoted post which follows it.

Sorry for the confusion but it is stated correctly, 2 words and a byte. That is the correct format for a word that contains 2 bytes and as kulika pointed out is in little endian format which is used on x86.

For instance a double-word such as 56789ABC which contains 4 bytes would appear in bytes starting with the LSB and finishing with the MSB, BC 9A 78 56. FYI if I show bytes they will be shown separated. 1C04 0000 07 word-word-byte. Hope that helps.

 

[Fernando 1]

No, that was in there from day one. The only thing I updated was about X79 support. You can see the difference if you look at MaxICH's quoted post which follows it.

Ok, then I haven't read the related post correctly - my bad.

By the way:
Do you know the 6-series chipsets, which have an Intel SATA RAID Controller with the DeviceID 1C07 ("Desktop 6 Premium")?

 

[Dufus]

(i just couldn't actually flash it)

Sunburn74, did you boot to DOS and use the FLASHEFI.EXE application that comes with the Gigabyte EFI BIOS download? They were quite late to the EFI party so it would not be surprising if there were problems.

By the way:
Do you know the 6-series chipsets, which have an Intel SATA RAID Controller with the DeviceID 1C07 ("Desktop 6 Premium")?

Post 48

and 6 series 1c04, 1c05, 1c06, 1c07?. I don't know what 1c07 is for, maybe used on servers .

 

[Fernando 1]

@ Dufus:
Thanks for answering my question.

@ Sunburn74:
If you should be able to flash the new UEFI BIOS U1a by using the FLASHEFI.EXE, you should not use the BIOS file, which has been updated and uploaded by me previously (TRIM in RAID0 may not work for you due to the missing DeviceID IC04 for P67 SATA RAID Controllers).
If you want, I will modify your BIOS again and put the missing Device ID into the Intel RAID ROM hex code. Please let me know it.

 

[Hellhammer]

What's the current verdict on what chipsets are supported? I flashed my AsRock Z68 Pro3 with Fernando's modified OROM and I'm currently testing if TRIM works. Will write something up for the main page if this works.

 

[ney2x]

What's the current verdict on what chipsets are supported? I flashed my AsRock Z68 Pro3 with Fernando's modified OROM and I'm currently testing if TRIM works. Will write something up for the main page if this works.

In regards to modified OROM, only P67 and Z68 are tested as of now.

If TRIM (RAID-0) don't worked for you, try recreating RAID Array/Volume using RAID OROM 11.6.x.xxxx. My 6 units ASUS P8Z68-V and Pro and 8 units ASUS P8P67 B3 has an existing RAID Volume which was created from 10.x.x.xxxx OROM. I flashed newer BIOS with modified RAID OROM 11.6.0.1702 without recreating RAID Volume and TRIM didn't worked. I read at Intel Community forum (I forgot the link) to recreate the RAID Volume and then voila! TRIM (RAID-0) works now

Anyways, I hope it worked for you so that you'll write on the main page and Intel will noticed it and probably release an official OROM for this. Thanks.

 

[Fernando 1]

What's the current verdict on what chipsets are supported?

1. Intel 7-Series and C600-Series (X79) SATA RAID Controllers get full "TRIM in RAID0" support by the original Intel RAID ROM v11.6.x.xxxx (no modding required).
2. It seems, that Intel 6-Series RAID Controllers do support the TRIM in RAID0 feature too, but it has to be unlocked by a slight modification of the RAID ROM hex code.
What we yet not know is,

• if all 6-Series chipsets will get TRIM into their RAID by this manipulation and
• if the TRIM in RAID feature can be enabled within 1 ROM module for all 6-Series chipsets at once or if it is needed to unlock the feature in a special way (separate ROM modules for different sorts of Controllers).

3. Regarding the "TRIM in RAID" support of 5-Series RAID Controllers we need more test results. Dufus means, that it may work too.
4. Other Intel Chipset are not supported by the TRIM in RAID0 feature tesp. have not been tested.

I flashed my AsRock Z68 Pro3 with Fernando's modified OROM and I'm currently testing if TRIM works.

Good luck (fingers crossed)!

 

[Hellhammer]

Bad news, performance did not restore after TRIM pass. Here is what I did:

1. Used the special 11.6 OROM and flashed my BIOS. OROM reported as 11.6, so it worked.

2. Installed Intel RST 11.6 drivers (do I need RST(e)?).

3. Created a RAID 0 array using 120GB Corsair Neutron and 120GB Neutron GTX. Filled the array with sequential data and then tortured the array with 4KB random writes (100% LBA space, QD32) for 20 minutes. Formatted the array in Disk Management and then ran HD Tach.

Did I do everything by the book? I'm using AsRock Z68 Pro3 as my motherboard.

 

[Fernando 1]

@ Hellhammer:
Thanks for your quick feedback!

2. Installed Intel RST 11.6 drivers (do I need RST(e)?).

The Intel RST drivers v11.5 and v11.6 series are using the AHCI/RAID driver iaStorA.sys and the additional SCSI filter driver iaStorF.sys as the RSTe drivers v3.x series. That is why I name them RST(e) drivers just as an information for the users, that these v11.5/11.6 drivers have another driver structure than the conventional Intel RST driver iaStor.sys (latest Version 11.2.0.1006).
So you have chosen the correct drvers.

3. Created a RAID 0 array using 120GB Corsair Neutron and 120GB Neutron GTX. Filled the array with sequential data and then tortured the array with 4KB random writes (100% LBA space, QD32) for 20 minutes. Formatted the array in Disk Management and then ran HD Tach.

Why didn't you do just the simple TRIM test by using a hex editor (look >here<)?

 

[Hellhammer]

Why didn't you do just the simple TRIM test by using a hex editor (look >here<)?

Because I find that to be a better way to show that TRIM is working; performance is what end users think about. I tried the Hex Editor method as well, didn't work either

 

[Brahmzy]

Hmmm. Does the quick format execute trim? How long did you wait after formatting to test?

 

[Fernando 1]

@ Hellhammer:
It is a pity, that you obviously did not get TRIM support within your RAID0 after having flashed a BIOS containing the Intel RAID ROM v.11.6.0.1702, which as been customized by me today.

@ all:
This is the related part of the unmodified OROM (uploaded by Dufus):

And this pic shows the changes I have done today (red hex code pairs):

If anyone sees a mistake or has an advice how to make it better, please let me know it.

 

[Sunburn74]

@ Dufus:
Thanks for answering my question.

@ Sunburn74:
If you should be able to flash the new UEFI BIOS U1a by using the FLASHEFI.EXE, you should not use the BIOS file, which has been updated and uploaded by me previously (TRIM in RAID0 may not work for you due to the missing DeviceID IC04 for P67 SATA RAID Controllers).
If you want, I will modify your BIOS again and put the missing Device ID into the Intel RAID ROM hex code. Please let me know it.

Hey I really appreciate the help. I did not boot with the flash.exe program on a USB stick and that seems to be the way to do it (I tried the standard method with the bios quick flash which will not at all). I could try that but actually I've been reading about a ton of issues with gigabyte UEFI bioses (loss of win activation, loss of certain overclocking features, etc)

Anyway, I was able to modify the ROM for the UEFI before. However, I could not modify the ROM for the non-UEFI bioses which are the bioses I really want to have. I'm curious if one of you guys can give it a try. MMtools would not recognize them.

This is the link for the file:
http://www.gigabyte.com/products/product-page.aspx?pid=3815#dl

BIOS F9 or f10 would be great.

 

[Makaveli]

AFAIK this works, but you probably need Intel SSDs as members of the RAID0.

both SSD's are intel 160GB g2.

I've not been able to setup the array yet because I have to do a full system backup and move around alot of data before formatting. So been taking my time with it.

If the is no way to get the OROM working on the x58 then manual trim passes with the toolbox will work for me.

 

[Hellhammer]

@ Hellhammer:
It is a pity, that you obviously did not get TRIM support within your RAID0 after having flashed a BIOS containing the Intel RAID ROM v.11.6.0.1702, which as been customized by me today.

Do you have any idea what could be the reason? Does the tweak not work with all motherboards?