RAID setup Asus P4C800-E deluxe

[Roberthansjorg]

:wave:

I'm trying to configure my second RAID(0) with the Intel ICH5R chipset connectors (2) I've already got the first RAID(0) set with the Promise Smart Technology chipset connectors as drive C:\ (boot-up) working fine.

Whenever I connect the two new SATA hdd's to the ICH5R connectors and boot-up POST prompts me to enter a "system disk" and press any key.

What I'm expecting- since I've disconected the configured C:\ RAID drive now, is a prompt to press (Ctrl-l). This should start the Intel Raid configuration process. I don't get this prompt.

If I check the Device Manager SCSI & RAID controllers The Promise drivers are there-as I would expect-as I said the C:\ drive RAID(0) bootup hdd's work fine. There are no Intel drivers there because they havn't been installed.
These are the ones that operate the ICH5R chipset.

To summarise: I want one RAID setup for drive C:\ - got that
and the other RAID setup working off Intel ICH5R for drive D:\- not got that yet.

Does all this make sense to any one on TechSpot?

Advice appreciated.

regards

roberthansjorg
:approve:

 

[zephead]

have you adjusted your bios settings accordingly?

 

[Roberthansjorg]

Asus P4C800-E Deluxe/RAID settings

Hi!
Yes I did, SATA RAID, BOOTROM etc-yes did all that.
In fact yesterday I managed to configure the 2nd set of SATA hdd's conected to the ICH5R connections by first disconnecting the SATA_RAID1/2 hdd's (Promise chipset) which had been successfully configured as my RAID(0) C:\ drive.
I did this by installing Win XP onto them using F6 function with the Intel SATA_Raid drivers. It all worked fine. I could then boot-up into Win XP on these two new SATA hdd's.
Trouble was when I re-connected the original two SATA hdd's on the Promise Technology chipset and then booted up, my system ignored the ICH5R hd's totally and booted into the original Promise Tech hdd's connected to the SATA_RAID1/2 connections.

I'm now wondering if you can only use RAID configs with one chipset or the other but not both.

Asus does not indicate this and I'm still waiting for a response from their help-desk. :hotbounce

regards

roberthansjorg

 

[zephead]

your board documentation should tell you how many and what type of arrays are supproted

 

[Roberthansjorg]

P4C800-E Deluxe/RAID configs

Hi! :approve:

Yes it certainly does! But what is missing is guidance for the buyer who only wants to use SATA hdd's on both the two sets of SATA connections. 2 SATA RAID(0) hdd's on SATA_RAID1/2 and 2 SATA RAID(0) hdd's on SATA1/2 connections.
This makes 2 sets of SATA RAID(0) using four individual hdd's.

2 of the mobo connections are controlled by an Intel RAID chipset and the other two connections are controlled by a Promise Fast Technology chipset. This is the one incidentally that I've sucessfully configured as the boot-up C:\ drive.

The documentation clearly states that you can set up RAID configurations on either chipset connections.
BUT - what do you have to do to configure what I want- RAID C:\ drive as boot-up on the Promise chipset connections AND the D:\ drive on the Intel chipset connections???

Any advice on this would be appreciated.

regards

roberthansjorg
:giddy:

 

[zephead]

an interesting problem...i'd try setting it up the other way around, the preexisting drives on the intel controller and the newer ones on the promise. they asre matching drives, right?

But what is missing is guidance for the buyer who only wants to use SATA hdd's on both the two sets of SATA connections.But what is missing is guidance for the buyer who only wants to use SATA hdd's on both the two sets of SATA connections.

then does your board really support it?

 

[Roberthansjorg]

:approve:
Hi,

Yes the hdd's do "match" . 2 Seagate Barracuda's 160gig each RAID(0) on the two Promise Tech chipset connectors

& 2 Seagate Barrracuda's 300gig each RAID(0) on the Intel SATA Raid chipset connectors.

The Promise chipset hdd's bootup fine as Drive C:\ I've installed OS Win XP sp2.
When I check Device Manager under SCSI & RAID controllers there are two entries for the Promise controllers ie the drivers have been installed.
That's why the OS recognises this RAID setup.

The POST text also recognises this hardware with the FastTrack Promise Tech prompts with the offer to go into config if I wanted (Ctrl-F).

When I connect the new SATA hdd's to the Intel SATA_RAID1/2 connections-I mean the 2 300gig ones, the trouble starts.

At this time/stage there are no drivers present in Device Manager under SCSI & RAID controllers- This is why the OS doesn't "see" the new hdd's yet.
Also there is no mention of Intel SATA RAID controllers in the POST prompts.

Had both sets of SATA hdd's been successfully configured I would have expected the POST prompts at start-up to show this ie the system recognises that two SATA configs exist on two chipsets. The OS would then recognise this setup too with the proper drivers for both chipsets installed and identified in Device Manager.

So-how do I install my new SATA hdd's on the Intel chipset connections so that they end up as Drive D:\ ?

The usual way is to install the OS on it and use F6 to install third party drivers for SCSI hardware. But my OS is already on the first RAID I've created.
Don't really want to install the same OS twice.

Still waiting for a response from Asus helpdesk.

regards

roberthansjorg
:suspiciou

 

[Roberthansjorg]

Asus P4C800-E Deluxe-Answer

:wave:
Hi all!

Funny when you answer your own question isn't it!


Just thought I'd let you know that I successfully configured the second RAID (0) hdd's on the Intel ICH5R chipset on the Asus P4C800-E Deluxe.

Since I messed around with the new hdd's so much I ended up removing the RAID config from them and started from scratch. Converting them to NON-RAID disks which BIOS recognised without a hitch. I disconected the system disks, connected both new disks to the Intel connectors and booted up. A RAID config program allowed me to convert them to non-raid.
I booted up again AFTER reconnecting system disks to the Promise connectors.

All hdd's are connected now and I boot up- XP recognises new hdd's on the system and prompts me to setup. I manually install the Intel SATA drivers which I've got on a floppy.

The Intel SATA drivers are added to the Promise drivers in Device Manager.

I go to disk management and the two new drives are there as well as the RAID bootup system C:\ drive. They are unallocated.

I go back to the support cd and install Intel Chipset Inf Update program - can't remember now whether this was before or after para 3. Anyway windows and BIOS see all hdd's attached to the system.

I then install and use the Intel Application Accelerator Driver from the support cd which allows me to configure the two new hdd's as a RAID(0) configuration. It goes through the process of formatting after I select the type of drive. I chose dynamic/Simple.

All goes well and at last Disk Management tells me I've got a System disk C:\ and another F:\ drive, the second SATA RAID set.

I change the drive letters about in Win-XP Disk Management and end up with boot-up C:\ (RAID 0) (System) and drive D:\ (RAID 0) plus the dvdrom drives I also have on board.

Having created the initial RAID (0) on the Promise chipset through installing the OS and using F6 to install the Promise drivers setting up the system disk was easy enough.

Had I then installed Intel Chipset Inf Update program and rebooted I think the OS would have discovered the newly attached hdd's on the Intel connectors and prompted me to install the ICH5R SATA drivers.

Once that was done then the BIOS and windows would "see" the new hdd's easily. The Intel Application Accelerator Driver from the support cd would have done the rest - creating and setting up the RAID(0).

Not so easy eh?- a lot to know and remember. I think the manual isn't clear enough on setting up a second RAID. POST doesn't prompt to configure Intel chipset with Ctrl-I for instance. Even now.

However- having said that- all the info about the chipsets and RAID is in the manual. You just have to know what you're looking for.

And maybe having the latest BIOS installed might help as well.

regards

roberthansjorg