Dell Dimension 8300: Startech RAID card Install Gives Error Code 10

[nicole]

Honestly, my next desktop will be a custom built Xeon Comet Lake or newer with ECC memory. Meanwhile, I’ve spent hours trying to get a Dell Dimension 8300 with Intel 875p motherboard running Windows XP Pro SP1 to install this SATA controller card for JBOD use. https://www.startech.com/en-us/cards-adapters/pcisata4r1

The install was going well until Device Manager and Hardware Wizard gave Error Code 10.

Startech Support said the last hope is that the chipset may need updating so they suggested that I install this. https://www.dell.com/support/home/e...d=y4njd&oscode=ww1&productcode=dimension-8300

But as shown, Dell recommends doing MD5 and SHA1 checksums to verify file integrity. I’ve never done any checksum tasks before and wouldn’t even know the easiest to use utility, much less one that would work well on Windows XP.

Assuming this 875p motherboard chipset update was never installed, would this most likely get this RAID controller card installed error free?

If yes, please suggest a checksum utility that’s Windows XP compatible and for newbies so that I can verify the exe file’s integrity.

 

[neeyik]

Startech Support said the last hope is that the chipset may need updating so they suggested that I install this. https://www.dell.com/support/home/e...d=y4njd&oscode=ww1&productcode=dimension-8300

But as shown, Dell recommends doing MD5 and SHA1 checksums to verify file integrity. I’ve never done any checksum tasks before and wouldn’t even know the easiest to use utility, much less one that would work well on Windows XP.

You don't really need to do a checksum on those particular files, you'll be fine just downloading them and installing them as they are. If you really want to do it, then you can see how to do it this article:

What is a Checksum, and What Can You Do With It?

A checksum is a number, in the form of a binary or hexadecimal value, that's been derived from a data source. The important bits to know are...

www.techspot.com

Or you can use this little program to do it:

Hasher

Program emerged as a result of a BackUp Utility project break-up. Basic idea for this part of the project is to calculate hash/checksum for a file.

www.techspot.com

Extract the files from the zip file, double-click on the Hasher file, and then wait a few seconds for the Accept button to appear. Click this and then you can drag any files you want to check the checksum value of into the program.

Assuming this 875p motherboard chipset update was never installed, would this most likely get this RAID controller card installed error free?

Quite possibly, yes. The 875 chipset is 15 years old now, so there will have been numerous updates released for it during that time.

Edit: Also noticed that you're using Windows XP SP1 - there have been two further Service Packs released:

Service Pack 2 - https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/Download/confirmation.aspx?id=18242

Service Pack 3 - https://www.catalog.update.microsoft.com/Search.aspx?q=windows+xp+service+pack+3

 

[nicole]

Thanks so much for this info. About the service packs, are they critically important even if the pc is always kept off the internet? If so, are any special precautions to take prior to installation? Not that it would much matter but are the install periods especially long? Hours?

 

[neeyik]

About the service packs, are they critically important even if the pc is always kept off the internet

Service Packs contain all manner of fixes and improvements, but if the machine is never used on the internet (I.e. any updates like the ones you've been looking at will be installed via a USB memory stick) and everything works all okay, then there isn't much need to install them.

If so, are any special precautions to take prior to installation? Not that it would much matter but are the install periods especially long? Hours?

Not a lot - just back up every important file on the machine. The updates can take a long time, but it depends on how fast the PC is and how many files need to be amended, installed, etc. It's been a good while since I've done a Windows XP service pack update, but I don't recall it being a particularly quick process.