When installing a fresh copy of Windows 11 or Windows 10 on an , you will likely encounter a frustrating issue: the installation wizard displays a blank screen stating "We couldn't find any drives. To get a storage driver, click Load driver." This occurs because the 11th Generation Intel Core processor inside the [ASUS X515EA utilizes Intel Volume Management Device (VMD) technology](1.2.16, 1.3.4) to optimize data storage and power consumption.
If you do not want to use the IRST driver, you can disable the Intel Volume Management Device (VMD) technology in the BIOS. This allows Windows to see the drive using standard NVMe drivers, though it may slightly impact storage optimization features.
Look for the (specifically the one mentioning VMD). Click Download to save the ZIP file to a working computer. Step 2: Prepare the Windows Installation USB Drive
Insert the USB flash drive containing both the Windows setup and the extracted IRST files into your laptop. asus x515ea irst driver top
If Windows installer doesn’t see your NVMe/Optane drive:
When the drive selection box appears empty, click in the bottom-left corner. Click Browse in the pop-up window.
to manage storage more efficiently. However, standard Windows installation media frequently lacks the built-in drivers to "see" storage controllers behind this VMD layer. Primary Issue: When installing a fresh copy of Windows 11
Press F10 to save your changes and reboot. Your storage drives will now be detected automatically on the Windows installation screen. If you'd like, let me know:
Look for version or V18.x (such as V19.1.0.1001 or V18.6.1.1016). Click Download .
This happens because the ASUS X515EA uses 11th Generation Intel Core processors with Intel Volume Management Device (VMD) technology, which requires a specific driver to be loaded during installation. This allows Windows to see the drive using
[Windows 11/10] Troubleshooting - Hard Disk Drive (HDD) problems
You must manually supply the Intel RST VMD Controller driver (commonly packaged as the IRST driver setup) during the OS installation phase to make your storage visible. Where to Safely Download the Top IRST Driver
Choose your Windows installation USB flash drive as the destination directory and finish the extraction. 2. Load the Driver During Windows Setup
The downloaded driver file is typically packaged as an executable installer application. The Windows setup environment cannot run an .exe file directly, so you must extract its payload folders onto your bootable USB flash drive. Extraction Using the ASUS Setup Wizard