Adaptec's 1205SA users, here's what I sent to Adaptec

[DragonMaster]

Adaptec 1205SA new drivers and BIOS here.

Here's the new stuff in case you don't want to read the old topic :

-Adaptec support doesn't understand that Silicon Image is the maker of the chipset and drivers, and therefore reply me that there are no new drivers. Silicon Image has everything you need to update the card.

-The 1205SA should work with Vista(There's still a driver problem, even though the latest are compatible), and can be flashed to RAID, it's going to be the same card as the more expensive 2 port SATA 1 model Adaptec makes, but at half the price.

The BIOSes can be found here:
http://www.siliconimage.com/support/supportsearchresults.aspx?pid=63&cid=15&ctid=2&osid=0&

The Drivers here(Every OSes listed):
http://www.siliconimage.com/support/supportsearchresults.aspx?pid=63&cid=3&ctid=2

Instructions(Pretty basic, but still):
-Get and install the new drivers first(make sure you select the good one between RAID and non-RAID), they contain a flash utility in the "Silicon Image SATA Controllers" control panel and the device settings in the device manager, which the original driver doesn't have.

To install the drivers without modifying the files every time they are updated, manually update them : Click Update Drivers, click no when it asks to look on Windows Update, chose to specify the place where the drivers are, click that you'll choose the drivers to install, click "Have Disk...", select the drivers, uncheck "show compatible drivers", choose SiI 3112 SATALink, select that you want to use the drivers anyways. Adaptec use their own device ID strings, and Silicon Image doesn't include them, hence why I posted modified INF files in the past.

-If you want the card BIOS screen to look like the original, click the 3rd download link in the BIOS page, it contains the UPDBIOS utility to use as in the 2nd post.

-Go in the control panel mentioned before, there's a tab to allow you to flash the card. Browse and use the b????.bin file for the non-RAID BIOS, and the r????.bin for the RAID BIOS. (For other SiI3112 cards: Some people report that the control panel flash utility is not always available. In this case, use the UPDFLASH utility.)



*******************************************
Original message:
*******************************************
Here's the message I sent to Adaptec, hoping they release the latest drivers and BIOS, which will make everything faster with this card.

The only thing that could happen if you use the new drivers from SiI instead of Adaptec is that the name in the "System" control panel will be Silicon Image SATALink instead of Adaptec SATA Host Controller 1205SA.

****************

The Adaptec 1205SA is a powerful card, but most of it's power is hidden.

I searched on Silicon Image Customer Resource Center and here are some suggestions :

- Update drivers, latest are 1.2.0.57 and on the site these are 1.0.0.41. The drivers history + download link is http://12.24.47.40/display/2n/kb/article.asp?aid=10471

- Latest drivers(I use them) provide a BIOS flashing utility. That means that you can provide the latest BIOS on your site. Do you worry about the title when the card is booting? there is the UPDBIOS tool that is meant to change the title and substring PCI IDs. Also, the latest BIOS is not doing the 10 seconds self-test. Positive point that would make more people buy the card.

Latest BIOS FileUse the second link, for the 3112A)
http://12.24.47.40/display/2n/kb/article.asp?aid=10443

Tools to modify the BIOS(Change title, etc.):
http://12.24.47.40/display/2n/kb/article.asp?aid=10479

- Also, one of the A.S.K. on your site is telling that the card can't work with optical drives, http://12.24.47.40/display/2n/kb/article.asp?aid=10813 is telling the opposite. An other point for more buyers.

- The card can work in Linux and Win64 too. SiI provide some drivers for this :
http://12.24.47.40/display/2n/kb/articleList.asp?cid=358&r=0.3895115

Here are some other links:

SiI Customer Resource Center home page:
http://12.24.47.40/display/2n/index.asp

You could have installed a LED connector:
http://12.24.47.40/display/2n/kb/article.asp?aid=10064

Finally, I found that the 1205SA can be RAID too. If I decide to flash my 1205SA with the RAID BIOS and to use the RAID drivers, I will get a 1210SA.

****************

I don't recommend you to play with the BIOS or try to make your 1205SA a 1210SA. I'm 99% sure it will work, but you might ruin your warranty by doing this.

 

[DragonMaster]

I succefully updated the BIOS on my card(It boots faster now). Here's what I've done:

using UPDBIOS utility, I typed "Adaptec SATA Host Controller 1205SA" after selecting 2 lines title and changed subsystem vendor to 9005 and Subsystem Product Id to 0250, what seem to be the Adaptec IDs from the original driver INF file.

For the driver, I modified the INF files a bit.

To update your BIOS, you will need the latest driver. I still got no news from Adaptec(I post the mail 4 hours ago) letting me know that they'll post the new BIOS on their site, so flash it only if you're REALLY sure you want to because if they don't, you will ruin your warranty.

For the driver, download this :
http://12.24.47.40/display/2n/kb/article.asp?aid=10471 (In the right frame)
and extract the content of driver-custom over it. Also, you will have to copy si3112.sys and name the copy si3112.mpd for win9x/me. I haven't had time to correct this bug from the older version INF file, which isn't in the new one.

BIOS is in the ZIP file. Flash it from the control panel SiliconImage ATA Controllers.

 

[bnz]

hi,

i want to flash my bios that way, but the url's don't seem to work anymore. i got your attached file and used the driver from the 3112 silicon image site for the other files. everything basically works fine, but the flash tool doesn't recognize the chipset etc. and won't allow me to flash it. are the driver files from the sites that is not working anymore any different?

 

[DragonMaster]

Silicon Image redesigned the site. The link I provided was the exact same thing.

So, you've installed the latest drivers and the flashing utility doesn't recognize the card? The same thing happened to me. The flash utility will not recognize the chipset until you flash the BIOS. It doesn't seem safe to do so, but I tried it, and my card is upgraded. The biggest changes you'll see are in the boot screen, it takes half the time to load and the devices are not listed the same way.

You will need to reconfigure the card if I remember correctly.

 

[bnz]

so you updated the bios with the dos utility?

just to clarify: i cannot update with the control panel as the controls are greyed and not accessible.

 

[DragonMaster]

Well I used the control panel. Only the "Flash image file:" box was not greyed.
You can go in the system panel and go in the proprieties of the controller too to flash it.

Silicon Image just updated the drivers to 4.2.70. You can now boot from SATA CDROMs.

Download the first file here
http://www.siliconimage.com/support/supportsearchresults.aspx?pid=63&cid=15&ctid=2&osid=0&
And in the ZIP there is a readme with the list of changes.

The changes for the RAID BIOS are in the non-raid BIOS ZIP only.

They also have new non-RAID drivers.
Win2k/XP here:
http://www.siliconimage.com/support/supportsearchresults.aspx?pid=63&cid=3&ctid=2&osid=4&


I recommend to change the drivers before the BIOS.

If you need other drivers, go here:
http://www.siliconimage.com/
Click support,
select SiI3112,
select drivers,
select OS,
click OK.

In the attached file is a custom INF file so that windows can detect the 1205SA correctly.

The other file is a custom BIOS that just changes the string to
"Adaptec SATA Host Controller 1205SA" like with the factory BIOS.

Both are for non-RAID.

I think you can turn the 1205 in a 1210SA by putting the RAID drivers and RAID BIOS as the controller can do both.

If you're not sure about upgrading from the factory BIOS, here's one thing:

It goes faster,
it's rock stable. (I didn't have to reinstall win2k since I've upgraded)
Before I had to re-install windows 12 times in a month before thinking about this.

 

[babaroga]

new driver and BIOS

http://www.siliconimage.com/support/supportsearchresults.aspx?pid=63&cid=15&ctid=2&osid=0&

Have you seen this link.

there is apparent native 3112 RAID bios released.

can you send me your comments ?

regards

 

[Eyedoctor2]

Dragonmaster, any updates?

Hi, I noticed that there are new drivers and a new Bios posted on the SI site.

Have you updated and do any changes need to be made to the inf file?

Thanks!

Note: these drivers are Vista compatible whereas the Adaptec drivers are not. Adaptec lists this unit as one they are NOT planning to upgrade to Vista compatiblility.

 

[Nodsu]

Hum, this thread is two years old and the last post is from a year ago. I don't think anyone cares

 

[Eyedoctor2]

Anyone trying to upgrade to Vista would care as no Adaptec Vista drivers exist.

Why even take the time to respond as you did? I am sure you have better things to do.

 

[DragonMaster]

Hi Eyedoctor2, The SiliconImage drivers works without any modifications finally (Same for the BIOS.)

You only have to say that you want to use the driver when Windows is telling you that the driver is not made for that device(The 1205SA's ID strings are not present without mods to the INF file)

Hum, this thread is two years old and the last post is from a year ago. I don't think anyone cares

I still get no notifications in my mail.

 

[Eyedoctor2]

Thanks Dragonmaster!

Hey, I am grateful.

I just finished updating the Bios- much faster now!

New drivers means I will be Vista compatible when I decide to take the plunge.

Thanks again!

 

[DragonMaster]

Newer BIOSes allow you to plug in optical drives as well

New drivers means I will be Vista compatible when I decide to take the plunge.

You shouldn't have problems unless Vista only allow you to install drivers that have the vendor/product ID, which would only mean that you'll have to copy/paste two lines from one of the INF files.

Anyways... The SiI3112 SATA chip is used in so many places that Microsoft should have included them with Vista. (So, it should work w/o drivers. Maybe the system will work better WITH some drivers tho.)

 

[valDar]

Hi DragonMaster and thank you for keeping this thread alive. I also am using the Adaptec 1205sa, initially with the original drivers and Bios on a Intel D875PBZ motherboard running an HD and a SATA burner under XP Pro. Everything is working fine. XP Pro is running on an HD off a sata controller on the motherboard. I then decided to add Vista to the mix running that off a parallel drive off the main board (the sytem is now a dual boot). I came upon this site searching for Adaptec driver updates and came across your info on using the updated silicon image drivers and Bios as Adaptec do not support the 1205sa anymore. Everything works like a charm in XP Pro running driver 1.3.67.0 and bios 4.2.83 but no go in Vista, error 10 cannot load the driver. I have since upgraded the driver to 1.3.68.0 from MS but still the same Vista response. Oh well at least XP works flawlessly as my main workhorse and sees all the hardware. I'm gonna try adding that vendor/product ID info to the driver, maybe that will create some results. Thanks again for the info in trying to solve this problem.

 

[Eyedoctor2]

Valdar- links

Here are the links for the latest bios, 4.2.83 :

http://www.siliconimage.com/docs/BIO-003112-xxx-4283.zip

All: http://www.siliconimage.com/support/supportsearchresults.aspx?pid=63&cid=15&ctid=2&osid=0&

Please post if you ever get Vista to work, as that is my ultimate goal.

 

[valDar]

Thanks Eyedoctor2 for the tip on the new Bios that appeared at the beginning of March, I was actually running Bios version 4.3.79 for the 3512 and it worked fine for XP, have since dropped back to 4.2.83 for the 3114 but not before moving up to the 4.3.83 for the 3512 and doing a test.
Unfortunately still no hook into vista, but xp works with everything. It appears the 3112 and the 3512 are virtually the same, the 3512 is just a smaller package/die as I have one of those on another sata card (Sabrent) running in another one of my computers but it is a budget version of the adaptec with no flash capability from the control panel however they can be flashed using updflash v335 with a freedos floppy, but what the heck it again works fine with XP on that box. Will continue working on this and let you know if I figure it out.
Vista appears to be a fussy OS...This may also have something to do with the motherboard; the Intel D875PBZ, of course
Intel has also dropped support for this 5 year old design.

 

[DragonMaster]

If Vista doesn't work, I wonder if it's because the INF file doesn't contain the good device IDs. Would one of you two mod the INF file to see?

(Adaptec put their own device IDs, that's probably why the MS drivers don't work)

 

[Eyedoctor2]

ValDar can you help?

Dragonmaster,

I am still waiting on some other drivers before I can make the plunge to Vista so hopefully ValDar can help.

Can you provide instructions as to how to modify the inf file as ValDar may need them and I definitely would in the future.

Thanks!

 

[DragonMaster]

Here are the lines to add in the INF file :

Under [SI_HDC] add:
%PCI\VEN_1095&DEV_3112&SUBSYS_02509005.DeviceDesc%=SI_3112, PCI\VEN_1095&DEV_3112&SUBSYS_02509005

Under [SI_HDC.NTx86.5.1] add:
%PCI\VEN_1095&DEV_3112&SUBSYS_02509005.DeviceDesc%=SI_3112_XP, PCI\VEN_1095&DEV_3112&SUBSYS_02509005

Under [SupportedSubSystemIds_AddReg] add:
HKR,SupportedSubsystemIDs,%PCI\VEN_1095&DEV_3112&SUBSYS_02509005.DeviceDesc%,0x00010001, 0x02509005

Under [Win98SupportedSubSystemIds] add:
HKLM, %Win98SupportedControllersSubKey%,%PCI\VEN_1095&DEV_3112&SUBSYS_02509005.DeviceDesc%,0x00010001, 0x02509005

Under [Strings] add:
PCI\VEN_1095&DEV_3112&SUBSYS_02509005.DeviceDesc="Adaptec Serial ATA 1205SA Host Controller"

I though about a few things that might cause the problem :

Using 32 or 64 bit driver? Which one is the Vista you try to install?
Trying to install from a floppy during the Vista setup, or are you under Vista? (If it's during the setup txtsetup.oem needs editing then.)

 

[valDar]

Hey DragonMaster,Thanks for the lines to add to the INF file, unfortunately it did not work; same result error 10 could not load driver although I did see the Adaptec 1205sa label as opposed to silicon image. I am using a 32 bit driver and a 32 bit version of Vista Business. The Vista was installed first and then I noticed that it could not see the adaptec card so I downloaded the driver and installed it but to no avail. I also installed from a floppy, same result no go. I will next try another sata card of a more generic design and see what happens. I have installed many drivers in my life but none has been more problematic then this adaptec 1205sa and Vista. Maybe there was a reason why Adaptec dumped development of the 1205sa with Vista. XP on the other works great. If you have any more thoughts on this please let me know as I'm ready to throw in the towel...

 

[DragonMaster]

Maybe there was a reason why Adaptec dumped development of the 1205sa with Vista.

They dumped development since the card's release(That's why we're stuck modifying the drivers ourselves) ;-) , no wonder there's no Vista driver!

 

[valDar]

Well I did a little light surgery and replaced the Adaptec 1205sa with a generic (Bafo 3112) 2003 vintage sata controller and low and behold it works with both Vista and XP. It has the original Bios 64KB (4.2.12) and although it is flashable non of the newer Bios will work as they are 128KB. I was however able to load the latest silicon image driver 1.3.68.0 from MS. This leads me to believe there is a proprietary quirk for lack of a better term in the design of the 1205sa and it may not have followed the Silicon Image design specification, but of course thats only speculation. I will now go into testing mode with this generic card and make sure it is fully operational. It will be running a sata DVD burner as well as a large HD. The Adaptec 1205sa will go into another box and run some HDs under XP or I may turn it into a 1210sa and experiment with it in a raid situation. Hopefully it will be able to work with Vista in the future.

 

[valDar]

OK, Adaptec 1205sa works fine now. I uninstalled the Microsoft iSCSI mass storage driver in Vista and the card works with the latest Bios and driver. I guess I overlooked the possibility of a driver conflict as my generic card worked fine.
Thanks to DragonMaster and Eyedoctor2 for keeping me focused on the details. If you need any more info let me know.

 

[Eyedoctor2]

Awesome news!

Thanks for the update ValDar! That's great news.

Do you think you could upload your final modified INF file so that I don't have to make the changes myself?

Thanks!

 

[valDar]

INF modded file

Hello Eyedoctor2

I don't know if this was used in the driver install or not as it seemed the 1205sa became alive as soon as I removed the iSCSI driver. But here is the modified INF file according to DragonMaster's details. This board does not seem to allow INF files as attachments so I coverted the INF to TXT, so make sure you use an inf container, it has the gear displayed in the file and just replace the stock file if you wish. I would first try it without this modded inf to see if it works.