Anyway to avoid a windows reinstall toggling (in bios) VMD enabled to disabled ?


Astrakan

Member
Local time
8:30 PM
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Windows 11 Pro
Hi,
My laptop (Asus Intel i5 11th gen) came with an Intel NVMe SSD and I replaced it with a bigger samsung 980. Doing that, I missed the VMD controller (enabled) in bios so my Samsung is working with Intel RST VMD driver (I had to manualy install vmd drivers during windows install in order to detect the ssd), which is not supported by Samsung Magician software. It's not clear for me if it's better to use the standard microsoft nvme driver with a samsung SSD, but in this case it seems I will have to reinstall the OS. Or maybe there is a trick to avoid that ?
Magician does not support RST drivers but it allowed me to flash a ssd firmware update...and it caused a malfunction for a few hours (write speed of only 4MB/s with consequently system hangs...). It's ok since two weeks and samsung support was not able to explain this strange behavior which disapeared for some reason. As it may be linked to the unsupported VMD driver by Magician, I wonder if it's better to disable VMD in Bios. But I'd like to not reinstall my system ...
Thank you!
 
Windows Build/Version
Windows 11 21H2 22000.778

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Asus K3500PH
    CPU
    i5 11th gen
    Memory
    16
    Graphics Card(s)
    1650
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Oled
    Screen Resolution
    full hd
    Hard Drives
    NVMe SSD Samsung 980 1TB
You should be able to add Samsung NVME driver to driverstore to avoid a reinstall.

However, tools like Samsung Magician are over rated - after all they only work in Samsung NVMEs. I have a WD NVME and use IRST (also need it for Optane drive anyway), and no issues.

So called claims about extending life are largely nonsense - my Wd drive is about a year old and 1% through its life and I thrash that drive.

The drive will last longer than me LOL.

A good tool for adding drivers is DriverExplorer (RAPR.exe) from github.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 10 Pro + others in VHDs
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    ASUS Vivobook 14
    CPU
    I7
    Motherboard
    Yep, Laptop has one.
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    16 GB
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    Integrated Intel Iris XE
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    Realtek built in
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    1 TB Optane NVME SSD, 1 TB NVME SSD
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    Built in
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    Bluetooth , wired
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    Browser
    Edge mostly
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    Other Info
    TPM 2.0
Thanks! Good to know about this tool.
But the Samsung 980 does not have a specific driver. From what I read on the forums if I disable VMD in bios windows won't boot (won't be capable to load it's default driver)
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Asus K3500PH
    CPU
    i5 11th gen
    Memory
    16
    Graphics Card(s)
    1650
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Oled
    Screen Resolution
    full hd
    Hard Drives
    NVMe SSD Samsung 980 1TB
To "toggle" (VMD Enable to Disable) you need to remove the existing VMD storage controller devices in device manager first. Only uninstall the VMS controller device, not the device driver. Set Windows to boot into safe mode. Boot into BIOS and toggle VMD either on or off. Boot into safe mode.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    CPU
    i9-12900K
    Motherboard
    Asus Apex Z690
    Memory
    Corsair DDR5 5600MHz
    Graphics Card(s)
    Asus 3080
    Sound Card
    Creativelabs ZxR
    Hard Drives
    Firecuda 530 NVMe
    PSU
    Corsair AX1600i
    Cooling
    Corsair H170i
    Antivirus
    Norton
Thanks! Good to know about this tool.
But the Samsung 980 does not have a specific driver. From what I read on the forums if I disable VMD in bios windows won't boot (won't be capable to load it's default driver)
That is correct the 980's, unlike the 970's DO NOT require an NVMe driver (there isn't one available). The Windows driver is all that's needed.

I disagree about Samsung Magician being over-rated, but to each his own. And if you don't use Samsung drives, well...

BTW, have you looked to see if the 980 was compatible with the Asus laptop? After all it did come with an "Intel" NVMe drive, which the BIOS was configured for.

As to needing Magician, if you want to update the firmware, it's needed, outside of that, it may not be required. However, if you find the NVMe drive underperforming, it may be required. I have it installed but I'm on a desktop with five Samsung NVMe/SSD drives (2 NVMe, 3 SATA SSDs) installed.
 

My Computers

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    Windows 11 Pro 23H2 (Build 22631.3296)
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    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Custom built
    CPU
    Intel i9-9900K
    Motherboard
    Gigabyte Aorus Z390 Xtreme
    Memory
    32G (4x8) DDR4 Corsair RGB Dominator Platinum (3600Mhz)
    Graphics Card(s)
    Radeon VII
    Sound Card
    Onboard (ESS Sabre HiFi using Realtek drivers)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    NEC PA242w (24 inch)
    Screen Resolution
    1920 x 1200
    Hard Drives
    5 Samsung SSD drives: 2X 970 NVME (512 & 1TB), 3X EVO SATA (2X 2TB, 1X 1TB)
    PSU
    EVGA Super Nova I000 G2 (1000 watt)
    Case
    Cooler Master H500M
    Cooling
    Corsair H115i RGB Platinum
    Keyboard
    Logitech Craft
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master 3
    Internet Speed
    500mb Download. 11mb Upload
    Browser
    Microsoft Edge Chromium
    Antivirus
    Windows Security
    Other Info
    System used for gaming, photography, music, school.
  • Operating System
    Win 10 Pro 22H2 (build 19045.2130)
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Custom Built
    CPU
    Intel i7-7700K
    Motherboard
    Gigabyte GA-Z270X-GAMING 8
    Memory
    32G (4x8) DDR4 Corsair Dominator Platinum (3333Mhz)
    Graphics card(s)
    AMD Radeon R9 Fury
    Sound Card
    Onboard (Creative Sound Blaster certified ZxRi)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Dell U2415 (24 inch)
    Screen Resolution
    1920 x 1200
    Hard Drives
    3 Samsung SSD drives: 1x 512gig 950 NVMe drive (OS drive), 1 x 512gig 850 Pro, 1x 256gig 840 Pro.
    PSU
    EVGA Super Nova 1000 P2 (1000 watt)
    Case
    Phantek Enthoo Luxe
    Cooling
    Corsair H100i
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master
    Keyboard
    Logitech MK 710
    Internet Speed
    100MB
    Browser
    Edge Chromium
    Antivirus
    Windows Security
    Other Info
    This is my backup system.
Ditto what catch36 posted!
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Homebuilt
    CPU
    AMD Ryzen 7 3800XT
    Motherboard
    ASUS ROG Crosshair VII Hero (WiFi)
    Memory
    32GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    EVGA GeForce GTX 1080 Ti
  • Operating System
    Windows 11 Education
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Inspiron 7773
    CPU
    Intel i7-8550U
    Memory
    32GB
    Graphics card(s)
    Nvidia Geforce MX150
    Sound Card
    Realtek
    Monitor(s) Displays
    17"
    Screen Resolution
    1920 x 1080
    Hard Drives
    Toshiba 512GB NVMe SSD
    SK Hynix 512GB SATA SSD
    Internet Speed
    Fast!
To "toggle" (VMD Enable to Disable) you need to remove the existing VMD storage controller devices in device manager first. Only uninstall the VMS controller device, not the device driver. Set Windows to boot into safe mode. Boot into BIOS and toggle VMD either on or off. Boot into safe mode.
Thanks, I found a tutorial for that. I will try in the next few days (or weeks) and I'll give a feedback here.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Asus K3500PH
    CPU
    i5 11th gen
    Memory
    16
    Graphics Card(s)
    1650
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Oled
    Screen Resolution
    full hd
    Hard Drives
    NVMe SSD Samsung 980 1TB
BTW, have you looked to see if the 980 was compatible with the Asus laptop? After all it did come with an "Intel" NVMe drive, which the BIOS was configured for.
Nope... There was no reason for me; in my mind nvme interface is the same for any brand. Maybe I'm wrong.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Asus K3500PH
    CPU
    i5 11th gen
    Memory
    16
    Graphics Card(s)
    1650
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Oled
    Screen Resolution
    full hd
    Hard Drives
    NVMe SSD Samsung 980 1TB
Nope... There was no reason for me; in my mind nvme interface is the same for any brand. Maybe I'm wrong.
You are correct about the interface. I was just curious.
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro 23H2 (Build 22631.3296)
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Custom built
    CPU
    Intel i9-9900K
    Motherboard
    Gigabyte Aorus Z390 Xtreme
    Memory
    32G (4x8) DDR4 Corsair RGB Dominator Platinum (3600Mhz)
    Graphics Card(s)
    Radeon VII
    Sound Card
    Onboard (ESS Sabre HiFi using Realtek drivers)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    NEC PA242w (24 inch)
    Screen Resolution
    1920 x 1200
    Hard Drives
    5 Samsung SSD drives: 2X 970 NVME (512 & 1TB), 3X EVO SATA (2X 2TB, 1X 1TB)
    PSU
    EVGA Super Nova I000 G2 (1000 watt)
    Case
    Cooler Master H500M
    Cooling
    Corsair H115i RGB Platinum
    Keyboard
    Logitech Craft
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master 3
    Internet Speed
    500mb Download. 11mb Upload
    Browser
    Microsoft Edge Chromium
    Antivirus
    Windows Security
    Other Info
    System used for gaming, photography, music, school.
  • Operating System
    Win 10 Pro 22H2 (build 19045.2130)
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Custom Built
    CPU
    Intel i7-7700K
    Motherboard
    Gigabyte GA-Z270X-GAMING 8
    Memory
    32G (4x8) DDR4 Corsair Dominator Platinum (3333Mhz)
    Graphics card(s)
    AMD Radeon R9 Fury
    Sound Card
    Onboard (Creative Sound Blaster certified ZxRi)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Dell U2415 (24 inch)
    Screen Resolution
    1920 x 1200
    Hard Drives
    3 Samsung SSD drives: 1x 512gig 950 NVMe drive (OS drive), 1 x 512gig 850 Pro, 1x 256gig 840 Pro.
    PSU
    EVGA Super Nova 1000 P2 (1000 watt)
    Case
    Phantek Enthoo Luxe
    Cooling
    Corsair H100i
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master
    Keyboard
    Logitech MK 710
    Internet Speed
    100MB
    Browser
    Edge Chromium
    Antivirus
    Windows Security
    Other Info
    This is my backup system.
Toggle VMD enabled to disabled done following this tuto: Switch Windows 10 from RAID/IDE to AHCI - Knowledgebase / Microsoft Windows - Critical Technology Solutions - Helpdesk
I ran "bcedit /set safeboot minimal", then reboot and enter bios to set VMD disabled, then reboot. Then, once in windows safe mode I was not able to run windows terminal (write access problem), so I disabled the safeboot mode using msconfig.

No visible change or improvment for now. Magician is happy, no more warning saying that the driver is not supported.
But my reboot time continue to be slow: about 48 seconds (from desktop to desktop). The time boot after a shutdown is ok with less than 10 seconds.
My old Acer laptop with an intel i7 5th gen and a simple ssd reboots faster...
The only app to launch at startup is AVAST and Asus stuff, maybe there are the culprits ?
what are your laptop reboots time ?
 
Last edited:

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Asus K3500PH
    CPU
    i5 11th gen
    Memory
    16
    Graphics Card(s)
    1650
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Oled
    Screen Resolution
    full hd
    Hard Drives
    NVMe SSD Samsung 980 1TB
Actually, I have a long black screen of about 10 seconds after the spinning point animation (windows boot) until the logon screen appears. I have not this behavior on my old Acer laptop.
I also notice that the response time / latency in task manager is weird for an nvme disk: between 0.3 to 23ms with smalls read/write ...
During the latest windows update it jumped to 120ms !
Is this task manager latency measurement reliable ?
 

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My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Asus K3500PH
    CPU
    i5 11th gen
    Memory
    16
    Graphics Card(s)
    1650
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Oled
    Screen Resolution
    full hd
    Hard Drives
    NVMe SSD Samsung 980 1TB
And here are the CrystalDiskMark results. I selected "nvme SSD" in settings
Low iops for random writes ??
 

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My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Asus K3500PH
    CPU
    i5 11th gen
    Memory
    16
    Graphics Card(s)
    1650
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Oled
    Screen Resolution
    full hd
    Hard Drives
    NVMe SSD Samsung 980 1TB
Magician benchmark and Task manager screenshot : note the value of average response time during sequential write benchmark
 

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My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Asus K3500PH
    CPU
    i5 11th gen
    Memory
    16
    Graphics Card(s)
    1650
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Oled
    Screen Resolution
    full hd
    Hard Drives
    NVMe SSD Samsung 980 1TB

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