{"id":2340,"date":"2026-03-25T18:56:40","date_gmt":"2026-03-25T13:26:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mukundasoftware.com\/blog\/?p=2340"},"modified":"2026-03-25T18:56:42","modified_gmt":"2026-03-25T13:26:42","slug":"missing-intel-rst-drivers-windows-installation-load-nvme-driver","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mukundasoftware.com\/blog\/hardware\/storage\/ssd\/missing-intel-rst-drivers-windows-installation-load-nvme-driver.html","title":{"rendered":"Missing Intel RST Drivers: How to Load NVMe Driver During Windows Installation"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Quick Summary:<\/strong> <em>Two Approaches<\/em><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table class=\"has-fixed-layout\"><thead><tr><td>Method<\/td><td>Difficulty<\/td><td>Best For<\/td><\/tr><\/thead><tbody><tr><td><strong>Load RST Driver During Setup<\/strong><\/td><td>Medium<\/td><td>Keeping VMD features active; no BIOS changes needed<\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>Disable VMD\/RST in BIOS<\/strong><\/td><td>Easy<\/td><td><strong>Highly Recommended<\/strong> for single-drive home users<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Export to Sheets<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>The Problem:<\/strong> <em>Windows Setup Shows No Drives<\/em><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">You\u2019re installing Windows 11 or 10 on a modern PC\u2014usually with an <strong>Intel 11th\u2011gen processor or newer<\/strong>. The NVMe SSD (like the WD SN770) is visible in BIOS, but when you reach the Windows installation screen, the drive list is completely empty.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This happens because the standard Windows installer does <strong>not<\/strong> include the specific <strong>Intel Rapid Storage Technology (RST)<\/strong> or <strong>VMD (Volume Management Device)<\/strong> drivers required for modern storage controllers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Why Intel RST\/VMD Causes This<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Intel VMD is a hardware logic layer that manages NVMe SSDs to provide features like RAID and enhanced power management. Because it &#8220;abstracts&#8221; the drive, the Windows installer needs a specific &#8220;map&#8221; (the driver) to find the SSD behind that layer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Step\u2011by\u2011Step Solution:<\/strong> <em>Load the Intel RST Driver During Setup<\/em><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">1. Download the Correct Driver<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Visit your motherboard manufacturer\u2019s support page.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Search for <strong>Intel Rapid Storage Technology (RST) Driver<\/strong>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Look for the <strong>&#8220;Floppy&#8221;<\/strong> or <strong>&#8220;Pre-installation&#8221;<\/strong> driver package (often referred to as the <strong>F6 driver<\/strong>).<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Important:<\/strong> Extract the ZIP file to a USB flash drive. The installer cannot read drivers inside a <code>.zip<\/code> or <code>.exe<\/code> file.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">2. Boot from Windows Installation Media<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Boot from your Windows USB.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Proceed until you reach the <strong>\u201cWhere do you want to install Windows?\u201d<\/strong> screen.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">3. Load the Driver<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Click <strong>Load Driver<\/strong> in the bottom-left corner.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Click <strong>Browse<\/strong> and select the folder on your USB drive containing the extracted driver files (often named <code>f6vmdflpy<\/code>).<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Select the <strong>Intel RST VMD Controller<\/strong> from the list and click <strong>Next<\/strong>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The driver will load, and your NVMe drive should instantly appear in the list.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">4. Proceed with Installation<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Once the drive is visible, you can create partitions and continue the installation as normal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Alternative:<\/strong> <em>Disable Intel VMD \/ RST in BIOS<\/em><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">If you aren&#8217;t using a RAID array, disabling VMD is the simplest permanent solution and often improves compatibility with third-party tools.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol start=\"1\" class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Enter BIOS (<strong>F2, Del,<\/strong> or <strong>F12<\/strong> during boot).<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Navigate to <strong>Advanced<\/strong> &gt; <strong>Storage Configuration<\/strong> (exact names vary by brand).<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Set <strong>VMD Controller<\/strong> to <strong>Disabled<\/strong>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Ensure <strong>SATA Mode<\/strong> is set to <strong>AHCI<\/strong>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Save and Exit (<strong>F10<\/strong>). Your drive will now appear in Windows Setup without any extra drivers.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Note:<\/strong> If you are using a WD SN770 and still see crashes after installation, refer to our guide on <strong><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/search?q=https:\/\/mukundasoftware.com\/blog\/software\/operating-system\/windows-11-24h2-bsod-wd-sn770-fix.html\">Fixing Windows 11 24H2 BSOD Crashes<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Additional Tips<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Verify Connections:<\/strong> If the drive is missing in BIOS too, check your physical installation. See our <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/mukundasoftware.com\/blog\/hardware\/storage\/ssd\/hdd-ssd-nvme-comparison.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">HDD, SSD, and NVMe Comparison<\/a><\/strong> for slot compatibility details.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>System Check:<\/strong> Ensure your build meets the <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/mukundasoftware.com\/blog\/software\/operating-system\/windows-11-system-minimum-requirements-cpu-tpm-guide.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Windows 11 System Minimum Requirements<\/a><\/strong> before proceeding.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Final Thoughts<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Missing Intel RST drivers are the most common hurdle in modern PC building. Whether you choose to <strong>load the driver<\/strong> or <strong>disable VMD<\/strong>, both fixes are safe and effective.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading has-text-align-center has-medium-font-size\"><strong>Suggested for You<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-8f761849 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-wp-embed is-provider-mukunda-software-updates wp-block-embed-mukunda-software-updates\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"wp-embedded-content\" data-secret=\"W3dn6g0guC\"><a href=\"https:\/\/mukundasoftware.com\/blog\/hardware\/storage\/ssd\/windows-11-24h2-bsod-wd-sn770-fix.html\">Drive Not Detected During Windows Installation: How to Fix WD SN770 &#038; NVMe SSD Visibility<\/a><\/blockquote><iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"wp-embedded-content\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts\" security=\"restricted\" style=\"position: absolute; 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visibility: hidden;\" title=\"&#8220;Fix WD SN770 &amp; NVMe Crashes \u2013 Windows 11 24H2 BSOD Fix&#8221; &#8212; Mukunda Software Updates\" src=\"https:\/\/mukundasoftware.com\/blog\/software\/operating-system\/fix-wd-sn770-nvme-crashes-windows-11-24h2-bsod-fix.html\/embed#?secret=klC33w0Ka2#?secret=lAOcMs2Cvw\" data-secret=\"lAOcMs2Cvw\" width=\"600\" height=\"338\" frameborder=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\"><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Quick Summary: Two Approaches Method Difficulty Best For Load RST Driver During Setup Medium Keeping VMD features active; no BIOS changes needed Disable VMD\/RST in BIOS Easy Highly Recommended for single-drive home users Export to Sheets The Problem: Windows Setup Shows No Drives You\u2019re installing Windows 11 or 10 on a modern PC\u2014usually with an &#8230; <a title=\"Missing Intel RST Drivers: How to Load NVMe Driver During Windows Installation\" class=\"read-more\" href=\"https:\/\/mukundasoftware.com\/blog\/hardware\/storage\/ssd\/missing-intel-rst-drivers-windows-installation-load-nvme-driver.html\" aria-label=\"Read more about Missing Intel RST Drivers: How to Load NVMe Driver During Windows Installation\">Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":2341,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[46],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2340","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-ssd"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mukundasoftware.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2340","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mukundasoftware.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mukundasoftware.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mukundasoftware.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mukundasoftware.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2340"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/mukundasoftware.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2340\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2342,"href":"https:\/\/mukundasoftware.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2340\/revisions\/2342"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mukundasoftware.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2341"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mukundasoftware.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2340"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mukundasoftware.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2340"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mukundasoftware.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2340"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}