It looks like that (some?) folks are having problems with Intel RST 11.6. After a post by SaphireX I looked at the Intel forum link they gave: http://communities.intel.com/thread/31847 I post this to make folks aware of it. I don't know whether it affects everyone using Intel RST.
also here: http://forums.mydigitallife.info/threads/23092-Intel-Driver-Updates/page22 and in the French forum at StationDrivers (where Fernando hangs out these days since nVidia chipsets are obsolete) http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=fr&u=http://www.station-drivers.com/forum/viewtopic.php%3Ff%3D32%26t%3D4058%26start%3D15&prev=/search%3Fq%3DFaulting%2Bapplication%2Bname:%2BIAStorDataMgrSvc.exe,%2Bversion:%2B11.6.0.1030%26hl%3Den%26biw%3D1920%26bih%3D962%26prmd%3Dimvns&sa=X&ei=uHxqUOHbIsSx0AGxxYAg&ved=0CC4Q7gEwAg
What I do is download the f6.zip instead of the iata.exe and install the driver manually. iaAHCIC.inf if running AHCI or iaStorAC.inf if running RAID. No service, no GUI, no problem.
That was also suggested at the StationDrivers Forum but without the Service or GUI running to tip you off if something is going bad...regardless if you are AHCI mode or perhaps RAID mode it would actually seem pointless in even installing the drivers manually and instead just use the native Standard AHCI 1.0 Serial ATA controller
Sorry to dig a thread out of the trash can but... Did anyone have any performance issues with the 11.6 version drivers? Why I ask is that my machine has been being plagued with an issue in which when the system is first booted programs load fine but then as time goes on, the system starts loading apps slower and slower. Only a reboot can fix the issue but that's only a temporary fix until I have to reboot again. My machine has an Intel SSD 520 Series in it.