Do I need Intel RST?

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This is on a Lenovo X230 laptop with a single Samsung SSD that I recently upgraded to Win10.

Under Device Manager it shows:

IDE ATA/ATAPI controllers:
- Intel(R) 7 Series Chipset Family SATA AHCI Controller

Storage controllers:
- Microsoft Storage Spaces Controller
- WinCDEmu Virtual Bus


Will installing Intel RST benefit me in any way? Or should I not try to fix what's not broken?
 
No not really. It'll just give you the app and ability to see device details, status and (if you had more SATA ports) RAID options/configs.

Since Windows 10 already pulled in the controller driver, I'd leave it. If the Windows 10 driver is an incredibly old version, perhaps update to the newer .inf, but I doubt on a run of the mill SSD laptop, it'd be worthwhile.
 
Since you have a samsung SSD, I would install their drivers and get rid of Intel drivers.
Samsung has a nifty program, but I forget its name, for SSDs that easily let's you check and update to the latest drivers and firmware of Samsung drives.
Using Intel drivers will not harm anything of course, but in case of Samsung they have a better solution that will keep you up to date.

I have a Kingston SSD, and unfortunately it doesn't not have it's own drivers, so I have to use Intel.

Edit:
I just google it and the app is called Samsung Magician Software.
 
Last edited:
Originally Posted by KrisZ
Since you have a samsung SSD, I would install their drivers and get rid of Intel drivers.
Samsung has a nifty program, but I forget its name, for SSDs that easily let's you check and update to the latest drivers and firmware of Samsung drives.
Using Intel drivers will not harm anything of course, but in case of Samsung they have a better solution that will keep you up to date.

I have a Kingston SSD, and unfortunately it doesn't not have it's own drivers, so I have to use Intel.

Edit:
I just google it and the app is called Samsung Magician Software.


You still keep the controller drivers, even if you install software for the SSD itself, these are two independent things.

QP: Yes, I'd install the RST drivers, whatever the latest version for that notebook is from Lenovo. The RST software + driver suite adds the ability to view additional configuration information (though you can't do much with an AHCI setup) and I believe has some performance tweaks as part of it. Likely not really noticeable, but I always make it a point to put it on.
 
Thanks for clarification overkill
thumbsup2.gif
 
Originally Posted by KrisZ
I just google it and the app is called Samsung Magician Software.

Yeah, I already have Samsung Magician installed, but Intel RST is different.

It is actually Samsung Magician that complains that it can't display certain information unless I install the latest Intel RST software.
 
Originally Posted by OVERKILL
QP: Yes, I'd install the RST drivers, whatever the latest version for that notebook is from Lenovo.

When I use the Lenovo software update utility, it does not pull up anything related to Intel RST. The only way for me to get it would be to download it directly from Intel's website:

https://downloadcenter.intel.com/product/55005/-RST
 
Originally Posted by Quattro Pete
Originally Posted by OVERKILL
QP: Yes, I'd install the RST drivers, whatever the latest version for that notebook is from Lenovo.

When I use the Lenovo software update utility, it does not pull up anything related to Intel RST. The only way for me to get it would be to download it directly from Intel's website:

https://downloadcenter.intel.com/product/55005/-RST




Skip the Lenovo utility and grab it straight from their website. Often times they don't have a Windows 10 version listed (so it won't show up in the tool) but they'll have a recent one for 8.1 for example, that will work just fine.
 
I learn something new on this site quite often. The PC I built pulled the RST automatically I believe with windows update.

The HP laptop that I upgraded to an SSD last year I don't think ever pulled it. Now ,reading this thread I will check and try to install it manually.


Also, for what it's worth, when I did a fresh win10 install when I upgraded the drive, I skipped all the HP software that came bundled with the original drive, with the exception of HP Cool Sense to manage fan profiles.
Windows did a fantastic job of pulling everything required to get the laptop functional, like touch pad software and drivers without involvement of any HP software.
This is a mid range laptop and it has never run better. The SSD upgrade made the bulk of the difference, but getting rid of all the bloatware helped too.
 
Originally Posted by OVERKILL
Skip the Lenovo utility and grab it straight from their website. Often times they don't have a Windows 10 version listed (so it won't show up in the tool) but they'll have a recent one for 8.1 for example, that will work just fine.

Ugh... the one from Intel's page wouldn't install (system not supported).

I finally found an RST install package on Lenovo's website dedicated for my machine, dated 2015. I installed it, but when I go to device manager, I still don't see anything named Intel RST there. Things look exactly the same as listed in my original post. How can I tell if RST driver is actually installed?
 
Originally Posted by Quattro Pete
Originally Posted by OVERKILL
Skip the Lenovo utility and grab it straight from their website. Often times they don't have a Windows 10 version listed (so it won't show up in the tool) but they'll have a recent one for 8.1 for example, that will work just fine.

Ugh... the one from Intel's page wouldn't install (system not supported).

I finally found an RST install package on Lenovo's website dedicated for my machine, dated 2015. I installed it, but when I go to device manager, I still don't see anything named Intel RST there. Things look exactly the same as listed in my original post.




Check the version of the driver under storage controller, it won't be called RST in device manager, all it does is replace the AHCI driver with a specific version, usually the name of the device is almost identical.

Do you see the Intel RST Manager utility in your system tray and start menu now?

EDIT: And yes, the version(s) from Intel's website are typically incompatible with older chipsets. It's an exercise to drill back through previous versions and their release notes to find one that supports your chipset, which is why I typically just go to the OEM and use the latest version they provide.
 
Last edited:
Originally Posted by OVERKILL
Check the version of the driver under storage controller, it won't be called RST in device manager, all it does is replace the AHCI driver with a specific version, usually the name of the device is almost identical.
Thanks. It looks like I already have the driver version noted on Lenovo's website.

Quote
Do you see the Intel RST Manager utility in your system tray and start menu now?
Nope.
 
OK, just looking at the RST driver on the Lenovo site and it looks like it is only the driver, not the whole package (given it is half a meg). Looks like the version for Windows 10 is 12.8, so 12.9 from Intel should work, which you can find here:

https://downloadcenter.intel.com/downloads/eula/23496/Intel-Rapid-Storage-Technology-Intel-RST-User-Interface-and-Driver?httpDown=https%3A%2F%2Fdownloadmirror.intel.com%2F23496%2Feng%2FSetupRST.exe
 
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