R:If you want to make a fresh Windows installation with Optane H10/H20 hybrid function, please refer to the following steps:

Step 1.
Make sure that H10/H20 Optane memory is installed in an M.2 socket which supports Optane. You can find the info by checking the storage section of the motherboard specifications page on ASRock's website.

Step 2.
Enable the Hybrid Storage Detection and Configuration Mode in BIOS and press "F10” to save the settings.



Advanced\Storage Configuration\Hybrid Storage Detection and Configuration Mode

Step 3.
Go to Advanced\Storage Configuration\VMD Configuration and set Enable VMD controller to [Enabled].
Then set Enable VMD Global Mapping to [Enabled]. Press F10 to save the changes and exit setup.



Installing Windows® on a VMD platform
After the BIOS setup, please follow the steps below.

Step 1.
Please download the "SATA Floppy Image” driver from ASRock's website (https://www.asrock.com/index.asp). Unzip the file to a USB flash drive or copy the files from ASRock's motherboard support CD.

Step 2.
Press at system POST to launch the boot menu and choose the item "UEFI: installation media>” to install Windows® 10 64-bit / 11 64-bit OS

” to install Windows® 10 64-bit / 11 64-bit OS">

Step 3.
If during the Windows installation process the target drive is not available, please click .

Step 4.
Click and locate the driver on your USB flash drive.




Step 5.
Select "Intel RST VMD Controller” and then click .

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Step 6.
Select unallocated space and then click .



Step 7.
Please follow Windows' installation instructions to finish the process.



Step 8.
After the Windows installation is finished, please install the "Intel Rapid Storage Technology driver and utility” from ASRock's website. https://www.asrock.com/index.asp

Step 9.
Launch the Intel® Optane™ Memory and Storage Management tool from the Microsoft store.



Step 10.
Select the drive which you want to accelerate. Enable Intel® Optane™ Memory. (One restart is required)



Step 11.
Erase all data on the Intel® Optane™ memory module and click




Step 12.
After the system has restarted, the Optane Management tool will show that Optane memory is enabled.