Update to Windows 10 1903 requires updated Intel Rapid Storage Technologies

Anonymous
2019-07-27T03:09:50+00:00

After receiving the notification, I updated my Dell Inspiron 5000 series with an update from Dell.  This update installed successfully as indicated:

However, the file that is blocking the Windows update, iasota.sys, is the old version that was present before I updated RST (note that other iasot*.sys files are newer):

Any idea on what can be done to workaround the problem?

Is the iaStorA.sys file obsolete and no longer needed now that the RST driver has been updated?  If yes, should I simply rename the file to iaStorA.old and attempt to update Windows again?

Do newer versions of Intel RST still use the older iaStorA.sys file resulting in the Windows Setup not recognizing that a compatible version of RST has been installed?  If yes, then do I have to wait for Microsoft to modify the Setup program so that it assesses RST compatibility by looking at something other than the iaStorA.sys version (e.g., the iaStorAC.sys version, which is the file that serves as the driver for the I/O SATA AHCI Controller?

Windows for home | Windows 10 | Windows update

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  1. Anonymous
    2019-08-01T15:33:37+00:00

    Hi JohnD,

    When the most recent (or next most recent) version of RST is installed, the SATA controller uses the iaStorAC.sys driver.

    When you install RST, the SATA controller uses the iaStorA.sys file.  This is why it is important to restart the computer after uninstalling RST BEFORE you rename the iaStorA.sys file.  Once the computer has restarted and loaded Windows, you can rename the iaStorA.sys file without causing a problem, provided you do not shut down and restart your computer before upgrading Windows.

    When you install the Windows upgrade, the iaStorA.sys file is reinstalled (the one you renamed is also still there) and, as I pointed out earlier in this post, the reinstalled file is the same version as the one that blocked the Windows update.

    When you reinstall the latest RST version, the SATA Controller driver switches to iaStorAC.sys and the iaStorA.sys file is still in the Drivers folder on the hard drive.  The other iaStor*.sys files are also installed but the iaStorA.sys version remains the same.

    As Saltgrass pointed out, the problem is that iaStorA.sys is not upgraded when you do an RST upgrade and may not even be being used.  Unfortunately, the Windows update installation program queries the version of iaStorA.sys to determine if RST is up-to-date.  An obvious bug fix would be to have the install program query the version of iaStorAC.sys.

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  2. Anonymous
    2019-08-01T15:26:16+00:00

    @johnptd, do you have any devices using the iastora.sys driver?  It appears this version was abandoned in recent versions of the Intel controller install...  Just check your system. 

    There may be some older systems still using it but none of mine are.

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  3. Anonymous
    2019-08-01T13:45:11+00:00

    This is really a confusing mess. The iaStorA.sys driver is associated with SATA controllers. A number of suggestions here recommend renaming all iaStor*.sys files. What problems can that cause? Does the driver update change the driver being used by the SATA controller to one of the other iaStor*.sys files?

    JohnD

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  4. Anonymous
    2019-08-01T13:19:22+00:00

    There is a sticky on this now at the top of this forum and it seems renaming the iastora.sys file to iastora.old should help.  It appears Intel has not been updating that particular file and an the older version, even if not being used, is messing up some upgrades.

    I would check the msinfo32.exe utility and look at Software Environment-System Drivers to see if that driver is running or stopped.

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  5. Anonymous
    2019-08-01T13:08:38+00:00

    Thanks, Maurice.  I'll wait for a while until MS fixes this RST issue.  Then I'll try to upgrade to v1903, and post whether I undergo the black screen issue again.  Thanks again.

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