hey Dull
got mine up and running buddy
i upgraded to the 10k rpm Raptor. i have both installed. both are running very well now.
not sure if this is the fix you need or not, but...
i reinstalled XP and this time i used the VIA raid controller driver instead of the ALI one. not sure if i used that one or not, but somehow during installation i screwed the raid configuration. you WANT to use the raid controller even if you are going to use a stand alone drive. that is why ours are lagging. mine anyway. i reinstalled with the VIA raid controller and it's smoking now.
oh yeah...
here'a an installation guide for SATA drives and our chipset.
SATA Installation w/8237 chipset
and i followed this guy's advice about the sata drivers i used during xp installation:
<QUOTE>
Hi Evil Noob (scarry name--LOL)
I recommend using the Hyperion 4in1 Pro 504A to use post-OS install as well as to use when making the floppy disk (copy the contents of the DRVDisk Sub-Directory to the floppy) for the "infamous" F6 prompt during XP's SETUP if you are installing to a SATA drive (either standalone or in a RAID Aray). The 5.04A installer will correctly check and install the applicable components for your chipset.
http://www.viaarena.com/Driver..._hyperionpro_v504a.zip
Version 5.04A includes the following components:
INF V2.50A
AGP V4.43h
RAID V4.30H
IDE Filter V1.20D
Since at least on my system, I have found "issues" with the combined VT8237/VT8251 SATA/RAID drivers ( SATA/RAID 5.20A Suite) ...that were introduced with the Hyperion 4in1 Pro 5.07A version. I would recommend since you have the VT8237 Controller to stick with what appears to be the last driver suite that does not integrate driver support for the newer VT8251 Controller---which is the 4.30H Suite.
STAY AWAY! from the "buggy/beta" IDE Accelerator unless you plan on formatting and re-installing XP once you discover that it causes more problems then its worth--
If you are installing XP to a SATA as I mentioned above you will need to create your driver disk so that XP can SEE your SATA(s) ie: "mass storage device and/or RAID Array"
Post back if you have any questions
Saphire X
</QUOTE>
youll find the 430H Suite he's talking about
HERE
if i remember right, i used the DrvDisk files he says to use from the 430 suite, and then i had the 5.04 4in1 drivers on CD ready to install after XP was done installing.
the BIOS can still be tricky even after getting the raid drivers installed and XP installed. youll have to play with it. i MEANT to get right back on here after my install and tell you what i did. but... i thought i had messed it up again and so didnt. then i kept playing with the BIOS settings until i got lucky and got everything set right or so it seems. i never ended up with the SCSI option i heard someone talking about. i dont even think the SCSI option showed up for me during installation this time. prolly due to using the VIA raid driver/s this time. first time around i think i ended up using the ALI drivers or somthing. i cant remember what i did. it seemed like the thing to do at the time, but proved to be counter-intuitive.
i hope these links and pages help you. if youll follow them i think youll get it up and running. after about 7 hours on here that day i started all this, i now hav a pretty good understanding of how to install a SATA drive and XP
good luck and i hope this helps. lemme know if yer still drawing a blank on any of this after you read those posts. i pretty much found answers for all my questions. not sure if these links will cover it all or not tho. lemme know
PS-
i think the MAIN thing i did wrong the first time around was that i THOUGHT that the raid drivers were wrong because i wasnt planning to have a raid. i still dont have a "raid" even with 2 sata drives now. but... this board and bios and chipset and SATA drive must use the raid controller. stick with the VIA raid controller driver/s and you should figure it out. the BIOS settings were pretty intuitive after the 5.04 4in1 update. i just kept fiddling and it finally started working right. after i hooked up the second one i think it even worked better. or smoother.
one problem i do still have tho and have no idea how to fix at this point is that my machine will no longer shut off by itself. i have to power it down manually. i was sort of spoiled in that department. but the fantastic performance i'm getting now, hitting the power switch is certainly a good trade
