Which (e.g., 12th gen, 13th gen) are you using?
Navigate to the , Storage , or System Configuration tab.
Click Next . The driver will load, and your SSD should now appear in the list. Proceed with the Windows installation. Summary Table Primary Usage Targeted Systems F6flpy-x64-vmd.zip Intel VMD Enabled (Modern SSDs) Laptops, Premium Desktop (11th Gen+) F6flpy-x64-non-vmd.zip Intel VMD Disabled/No VMD Older Desktops, Specific Motherboards
Copy the entire extracted folder to the root directory of the . Step 2: Load the Driver in Windows Setup
The prefix is a legacy term dating back to Windows XP and Windows Server platforms. During setup, users had to press the F6 function key to load third-party mass storage drivers from a floppy disk. Although modern Windows setups feature a graphical "Load driver" button, standalone storage drivers intended for deployment during the OS installation phase are still commonly referred to as "F6 drivers". F6flpy-x64-non-vmd.zip And F6flpy-x64-vmd.zip
During a fresh installation of , the installer utilizes generic Microsoft drivers to read storage drives. However, on many modern systems equipped with Intel Rapid Storage Technology (RST) , the storage drive (SSD or NVMe) remains completely invisible at the installation screen.
If you are currently stuck on this step of your installation, tell me: The exact Which Intel processor generation your system runs
| Problem | Likely Cause | Solution | | :--- | :--- | :--- | | "No drives found" on modern laptop | VMD enabled, used non-vmd driver | Switch to -vmd version | | Drives appear but install fails | Wrong INF selected (e.g., RAID vs AHCI) | Try both iaStorAC.inf and iaStorVD.inf | | Blue screen 0x7B (INACCESSIBLE_BOOT_DEVICE) | Driver mismatch after BIOS change | Reinstall with correct driver or disable VMD | | After BIOS update, Windows won't boot | BIOS re-enabled VMD | Boot to safe mode? Rarely works – need to re-inject driver offline | | NVMe hot-plug not working | VMD disabled or non-VMD driver | Enable VMD + use VMD driver |
Insert the bootable Windows installation USB drive into the target computer. Which (e
Extract both zip folders. A safe practice is to create a folder on your Windows installation USB drive named "Drivers" and put the extracted contents inside.
: Mandatory for almost all modern Intel laptops starting from the 11th generation onward. If you see no drives during Windows setup, extracting this .zip is usually the correct fix. 2. F6flpy-x64-Non-VMD.zip F6flpy-x64-Non-VMD.zip and F6flpy-x64-VMD.zip Removed
During a clean installation of Windows 10 or 11, users often encounter a "No drives can be found" error. This occurs because modern Intel platforms (11th Gen and later) use Intel Volume Management Device (VMD)
Now there is only the option to download the SetupRST.exe. Previously there was a F6flpy-x64-Non-VMD. zip and F6flpy-x64-VMD. zip. Intel Community The driver will load, and your SSD should
Now there is only the option to download the SetupRST.exe. Previously there was a F6flpy-x64-Non-VMD. zip and F6flpy-x64-VMD. zip. Intel Community Download:f6flpy-x64.zip(idinf:98576) - DriversCloud
Because VMD introduces a specialized layer of hardware virtualization, the standard, generic storage drivers embedded within native Windows 10 or Windows 11 installation media cannot see the storage drives behind the VMD controller. As a result, the installer displays an empty drive list. To reveal the available drives, you must manually inject the Intel Rapid Storage Technology (IRST) drivers using the appropriate ZIP package. F6flpy-x64-vmd.zip vs. F6flpy-x64-non-vmd.zip
Click and select the folder you copied to your USB drive. Click OK .
If you can tell me the , I can help you identify which driver you should try first.
This paper examines two driver packages—F6flpy-x64-non-vmd.zip and F6flpy-x64-vmd.zip—commonly used for adding mass-storage drivers during Windows installation (the "F6" method). It describes their intended use cases, technical differences, compatibility considerations, installation procedures, testing methodology, and recommendations for system administrators deploying Windows on modern Intel platforms with and without Intel Volume Management Device (VMD).