Express Cache

Macky

Macky

Macky

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Just got a new laptop, Lenovo U410 which has a 500GB main drive but also comes with a 25GB SSD which from what I've read is supposed to be used for caching and speeding up general performance. However after updating to Windows 8.1 I think something has disabled this so was wondering how to get this functionality back, mind you I'm not sure if it was ever enabled properly.

I've tried downloading their 'expresscache' software but it said it could not find the correct partition or something. Then I tried with intels Rapid Storage Technology software which I think is the same thing but don't know how to set it up.

Any help would be great, if you need more details just say. Cheers!
 
You will need the latest version of the ExpressCache software for Lenovo/ThinkPad - AFAIK the stock intel drivers don't work with 3rd party versions of it.

You may need to configure it at BIOS level before using it - I know my Samsung that has its own version has BIOS options for it.
 
Could you tell me what the rest of your bios options are please regarding HDD's Lizard? Won't need to format to set it to RAID will I? Not even sure what key it is to get into bios.. Wil have a read.
 
Macky said:
Could you tell me what the rest of your bios options are please regarding HDD's Lizard? Won't need to format to set it to RAID will I? Not even sure what key it is to get into bios.. Wil have a read.
Click to expand...


No particular settings, just remember it needing to be raid for the ssd caching etc to work and yes, a reinstall :(
Theres key to enter the bios either, just hold press the button on the side of the laptop near the power key.

Nice laptop though!
 
Do you also have the U410? I am a bit confused. Can I use my windows key that is on the laptop at the moment to activate a copy of windows if I reinstall? Won't the same problem arise of 8.1 wiping the express cache thing? Wish Lenovo had it set up right to begin with!

This thread seems to have the same issue as me, I'll have a more thorough read tomorrow. Fair bit of info on the web too. Certainly seems possible to start from fresh and still have the benefit of this cache drive. Just not sure about the W8 license..
 
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yeh got the u410 as well. Though I'm using win8 ent so not sure how you'd reactivate the normal win8, think you have to install win8 and it pulls the key from the bios then update to 8.1 via the market. You'll likely need to use a proper win8 install media though rather than factory recover tools as they will likely fail when you switch to raid.

there's a huge thread about this particular laptop on the lenovo forums and some decent guides to getting it all working!
I'm with you when you say Lenovo should have it right from the factory!

tbh the amount of hassle it is, its probably better to just use the ssd as a 2nd drive to install and run apps from.
 
Shouldn't need to use RAID for ExpressCache though I've not played with that particular version of it - none of the other systems I've used that use it required RAID mode.
 
For what it's worth, I had to change it to RAID on a Dell XPS One 27 in order for the Intel RST to detect it. Needs to be formatted as HFS+ too.
 
Sorry to drag this up again but I'm planning on doing a fresh window 8 install. Am I right with these steps:

Download windows 8 iso and put on a USB stick (where to download from?)

Set the hard drives to the correct raid setting in bios so that the 25gb ssd can be used as the cache drive (not sure what settings I need in bios)

Boot from USB and install w8 to the main HDD. Probably get rid of all these recovery partitions etc as I won't use them.

Hopefully as others have said, the key will be automatically entered.

Enable the expresscache or intel rapid storage. Which one is better to use?

Get correct drivers etc and get up and running.

Lizardking or anybody else if you could shed any light on this then that would be great cheers!
 
Might be worth checking on the Lenovo website as to whether they have a specific ExpressCache driver or utility as I believe some brands do. The Dell I mentioned earlier didn't, it just uses the Intel RST utility to set up ExpressCache; a button labelled "Accelerate" appeared in the RST control panel after I changed the SATA mode from AHCI to RAID in the BIOS and it did the rest automatically. It might also ask you if you want "Maximised or Enhanced" mode, in which case go with Maximised as that provides the highest performance.
 
I found a pretty informative thread on it on the site. Just unsure where to grab a copy of Windows 8 from?
 
Tried that but my product key that I found using magic jelly bean doesn't seem to work on it. Stumped!

Meh, my guess is that I probably don't have the right license to reinstall windows. So I'll probably have to buy it.
 
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So I'm still struggling with this. I'm trying to change my ATA mode from AHCI to RAID without having to reinstall windows. A few guides have said put boot option into safe mode then change to RAID then restart however this throws up the same problem and it gets stuck in a boot loop. I read something about disabling CSM but I'm not sure what/how do to this.
 
Have a read of this
http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/faq/id-1655031/reinstalling-windows-oem-machine-factory-image.html
As long as UEFI boot is enabled the windows 8 installer should be able to pull the key from the bios, you should also be able to see the key in the bios as well, might be worth checking if its different to the one magic jelly found.
You will need official media though, if this app accepts your cd key then it should let you download the iso that you can then use the MS app that creates a bootable usb stick.
http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows-8/upgrade-product-key-only
Else use "other" sources but they have to be untouched iso's for uefi to work with them. afaik


I never got 8 to work after making the switch to raid without a reinstall but admittedly i never tried that hard either.
 
So another issue arose. I need the drives to be in RAID, yep, then upon installing windows 8 again I need to install the intel RAID driver, yep. I try this and get the message that 'no new device drivers were found' f6flpy-x64 those were the drivers I tried to use and were told to use after following a guide. I can click on them and it says intel raid drivers etc etc and it seems to install but obviously not correctly as it shows no drives after installing. So I'm stuck again! This is turning out to be a nightmare just to get this tiny thing working properly. Sorry if I seem incompetent with it all.
 
You probably need to completely wipe all the partitions off the drive for it to work, had this not long back myself.
You can either use the diskpart from command prompt in the installer tools or gparted. gparted is my favorite as its gui based!
 
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