I guess I'll start out by saying that I'm fully aware that this isn't an ROG notebook. I already posted this in the ASUS support forum, but I figured I'd get some good answers if I copied it over here as well. So, as I said in the original post, forgive me if I'm breaking any community rules (I'm new here).
I have an S56CA-DH51 ultrabook - i5, Windows 8.1, 16GB memory - that I upgraded to a 120GB SSD with a fresh copy of Windows 7 a few months ago. The unit came stock with a 750GB HDD (Windows 8 with Intel RST software) + 24GB mSATA SSD (for Intel RST caching, from what I've read). Since swapping the HDD out for the Win 7 SSD, however, the mSATA has just kind of been hanging out not really doing much. What I had ultimately hoped to do was format the mSATA and use it for a Linux Mint installation so I could boot between the two operating systems, but the only thing that's stopping me is that I sometimes like to pop the Win 8.1 HDD back in to use certain programs that I am no longer able to acquire. What I've found through some intensive Googling is that if I were to format the mSATA SSD (which many sources say is in RAID with the original Win 8.1 HDD), I may not be able to boot to the original HDD at all. If there is any truth to this, how would I go about disabling Intel RST and/or keeping/making the Win 8.1 HDD bootable without completely reinstalling the OS? I know I'll have to change the boot settings every time I switch from the Win 7 SSD to the Win 8.1 HDD, but will this cause any issues with UEFI or the MBR/GPT disk formats?
TL;DR Version:
1. S56CA ultrabook - Came stock with 750GB HDD (Win 8 - updated to 8.1 - with Intel RST) + 24GB mSATA SSD (for Intel RST caching from what I know).
2. Swapped stock HDD for new SSD with Win 7 (no Intel RST).
3. mSATA feeling neglected and sad 😞 So I want to format it and install Linux Mint.
4. But I also want to be able to put Win 8.1 HDD back in and boot to it.
5. Win 8.1 HDD (with Intel RST) and mSATA are supposedly in RAID (not sure if this is accurate).
6. Will formatting mSATA keep me from booting into the Win 8.1 HDD?
7. If so, how can I safely disable/uninstall Intel RST, and/or keep/make the Win 8.1 HDD bootable without reinstalling the OS?
8. Will something like this cause issues with UEFI and/or the MBR/GPT disk formats?
*Also (forgetting the Linux Mint idea): Would there be any benefit to setting up the same kind of RST system between the 24GB mSATA and the Win 7 SSD instead?
