The use of mSATA

hummer7

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I have a new Dell 7800 Win 8 desktop computer with 2TB HD.
I found that it also came with a mSATA drive (32 GB: Samsung SSD).
I have no idea what is mSATA for.
I have a plenty of space in my hard drives.
Please advise me the use of mSATA.
I see that its smaller size :(32 Gb) is not that useful either.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Dell 8700
Could you please elaborate more on IRST acceleration cache?
Should I get a software for it or is it pre-installed in the computer?
My computer is Dell XPS 8700.
I am interesting in trying this interesting program.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Dell 8700
Pre-installed by DELL.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    ME, XP,Vista,Win7,Win8,Win8.1
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Other Info
    Notebooks x 3

    Desktops x 5

    Towers x 4
It is just a buffer that tries to overcome the inherent HDD access delays.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Vista and Win7
    System Manufacturer/Model
    2xHP, 2xGateway, 1xDell, 1xSony
    Hard Drives
    5 SSDs and 12 HDs
Pre-installed by DELL.

My computer is less than 2-month old. I scanned Program Files folders and also "Uninstall or change a program" folder. I don't see the listing of "IRST acceleration cache" but I see "Intel rapid storage program". Is this the same program?
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Dell 8700
It appears from the below quote from the Dell site, your mSATA is used for the Intel Smart Response Technology, and works as WHS describes by helping to speed up access to large HDDs.

2TB 7200 RPM SATA Hard Drive + Intel® SRT 32GB SSD Cache

If you want to check, you should have in the hidden section of the System Tray, an IRST utility. If you open it, there should be a tab which allows configuration of the Accelleration (mSATA or SSD) drive. From there you can enable or disable accelleration and handle other configuratiion functions.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 x64
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Home Grown
    CPU
    i7 3770K
    Motherboard
    ASUS P8Z77 -v Pro, Z87-Expert
    Memory
    16 G
    Graphics Card(s)
    EVGA GTX 680 Classified (2)
    Hard Drives
    Kingston SSD 240 GB
I checked the system tray just now. There was an unusual icon, which is found to be IRST icon. In the past, I did not know what this is about but I ignored.

On the other hand, when I opened DATAPART I drive (i.e., mSATA drive), it is empty. 31.1 GB is available. It seems that that its empty space can be used to store files up to 31 gb. Is that space untouchable because of IRST function?
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Dell 8700
That space is not really available seperately. It is used for the operation of the device. Copy some data to that device, then the space should be used - somehow. Don't know though how long it will linger in there.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Vista and Win7
    System Manufacturer/Model
    2xHP, 2xGateway, 1xDell, 1xSony
    Hard Drives
    5 SSDs and 12 HDs
On the other hand, when I opened DATAPART I drive (i.e., mSATA drive), it is empty. 31.1 GB is available. It seems that that its empty space can be used to store files up to 31 gb. Is that space untouchable because of IRST function?

I am not sure what you mean by DATAPART, unless you are referring to a label for a DATA Partition. If you are running the Intel Smart Response Technology, in Disk Management, the SSD should not show as a separate drive, but as one drive since it would be in a RAID array with the larger drive.

If you do show it as a separate drive, then perhaps some of the links Theog posted would be more appropriate to explain how it works.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 x64
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Home Grown
    CPU
    i7 3770K
    Motherboard
    ASUS P8Z77 -v Pro, Z87-Expert
    Memory
    16 G
    Graphics Card(s)
    EVGA GTX 680 Classified (2)
    Hard Drives
    Kingston SSD 240 GB
On the other hand, when I opened DATAPART I drive (i.e., mSATA drive), it is empty. 31.1 GB is available. It seems that that its empty space can be used to store files up to 31 gb. Is that space untouchable because of IRST function?

I am not sure what you mean by DATAPART, unless you are referring to a label for a DATA Partition. If you are running the Intel Smart Response Technology, in Disk Management, the SSD should not show as a separate drive, but as one drive since it would be in a RAID array with the larger drive.

If you do show it as a separate drive, then perhaps some of the links Theog posted would be more appropriate to explain how it works.

When I looked at the BIOS setup, I see "mSATA: Samsunng SSD 32 GB " as a separate drive. Under disk management and also windows explorer), I see a separate disk as DATAPART I. Datapart drive, it is just empty. That is the reason why I posted this question.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Dell 8700
Maybe a picture of your Disk Management window and a couple of the IRST utility from the Acceleration tab showing how the system is set up, would help.

The pictures from Theog's links can guide you where to look. Maybe they set the drive up a a dual purpose configuration.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 x64
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Home Grown
    CPU
    i7 3770K
    Motherboard
    ASUS P8Z77 -v Pro, Z87-Expert
    Memory
    16 G
    Graphics Card(s)
    EVGA GTX 680 Classified (2)
    Hard Drives
    Kingston SSD 240 GB
I attached two screen shots: Boot Menu and Disk Management.
BootMenu 2.jpgDiskMang 020314.png

In BootMenu, P5 drive is mSATA, 32 gb.
In disk management picture, DATAPART I drive is clearly seen.
I also attached a partial folder of IRST folder. There were 6 exe files in the folder.

IRST folder.png

Please tell me what you think. I am eager to learn about this stuff.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Dell 8700
I guess I was wrong. That looks like a real partition. Copy some data into it and see what happens with the data after you stored something to the eSata.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Vista and Win7
    System Manufacturer/Model
    2xHP, 2xGateway, 1xDell, 1xSony
    Hard Drives
    5 SSDs and 12 HDs
I don't know what you are looking for. I added a few different type of files into the DATAPARTI (mSATA 32 GB).
See the attachment

.DAATAPART I.png

There is no modification of all files added to the mSATA drive. I can open all files without any problem and also play an mp3 file. It looks that I can add files up to 31 gb.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Dell 8700
Have a look again once you have moved files to the HDD part of the eSata. If it is used for buffering, that data may get erased. Unfortunately I do not have such a device and cannot test it.

I have a 1TB SSHD and on that the SSD part is not seperately addressable.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Vista and Win7
    System Manufacturer/Model
    2xHP, 2xGateway, 1xDell, 1xSony
    Hard Drives
    5 SSDs and 12 HDs
I will watch these files for next few days. I will post if any of files disappears or corrupted.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Dell 8700
I am not really sure what to suggest either. My only guess would be the system was not set up for some reason, possibly related to windows 8 or 8.1 or the 8.1 update.

I saw one thread on the Dell site saying the SRT had not been set up and another saying there was no SRT option in the Bios for the SATA configuration.

I would probably ask Dell, or go on their community site and ask there. Someone that has that system might know. I was looking at an XPS 2720 today and it has the 32 GB mSATA, but I did not see the configuration mentioned in the Owner's Manual.

If you can set the SSD up as an accelleration drive, I think I would be preferable to 32 GB of storage space.

Edit: I found this on the Dell site when you configure a new system and what the hard drive options are..

mSATA or mini-SATA, enables smaller form factor SSDs without compromising storage capacity, which in turn allows for smaller, thinner laptops and Ultrabooks™. Some Ultrabooks, such as the XPS 13, use an mSATA SSD as the primary hard drive. Other systems, such as select XPS and Inspiron R Special Edition laptops, offer an optional mSATA SSD paired with a traditional hard drive. These systems use the mSATA SSD as a cache and "see" the mSATA + HDD as one contiguous drive. Systems with the mSATA SSD + HDD get the benefits and performance boost of an SSD combined with the larger storage capacity of an HDD. Systems with an optional mSATA SSD also typically support Intel® Rapid Start and Smart Response Technologies.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 x64
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Home Grown
    CPU
    i7 3770K
    Motherboard
    ASUS P8Z77 -v Pro, Z87-Expert
    Memory
    16 G
    Graphics Card(s)
    EVGA GTX 680 Classified (2)
    Hard Drives
    Kingston SSD 240 GB
That's interesting. So it is either - or. Both ways work. In this case here the setup seems to be for seperate disks. The 32GBs would suffice to install the OS - if properly tuned. I have one system with a 32GB SSD and I have 13GB of free space on it. A few other systems run on 60GB SSDs but are all under 30GBs of used space.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Vista and Win7
    System Manufacturer/Model
    2xHP, 2xGateway, 1xDell, 1xSony
    Hard Drives
    5 SSDs and 12 HDs
Before leaving for work this morning, I looked at the DATAPART I drive. Five files which I copied onto it were there and intact. They were not corrupted either.

This computer is equipped with i7-4770 Processor and 24 GB RAM.
I feel this computer runs faster than my other win 7 computers.
My wife's a year old-Alienware computer runs as fast as this computer but it is not loaded many software as my computers.
I do not know whether ISRT is installed in the Alienware.

As described in an earlier post, I see ISRT icon in system tray.
I did not see the listing of ISRT in Startup programs.
I opened up the IRST by clicking ISRT icon in system tray (see the attachment).
Then I clicked the 32GB mSATA drive (see the green arrow).
It seems that ISRT is running as a default program.
The red arrow implies that the space can be used for storage.
I might be wrong on this one.

>If you can set the SSD up as an acceleration drive,
Could you please describe how to set the 32 SSD as an acceleration drive?
I am tempted to try if my computer is not on ISRT acceleration mode.

IRST.png
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Dell 8700
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