Since Intel now primarily provides these drivers as an .exe installer, you must manually extract the driver files into a folder (or "zip" equivalent) to use them during the Windows setup. 1. Download the Correct Driver

is a driver and software suite that:

The humble "Intel RST VMD Driver Zip File" is no longer just a workaround for fresh installs; it is the foundation of next-generation storage management. Microsoft has even started bundling a basic VMD driver into Windows 11 version 24H2, but the Intel-specific zip file remains superior for performance and RAID support.

No. Only if VMD is enabled in your BIOS. If you disable VMD in the BIOS, standard NVMe drivers will work. However, disabling VMD may prevent you from using Intel Optane or certain power management features.