Assigning HD In Fast Build Promise Utility

Hi, this is following on from Thread in "Other Software ".
Can someone give me detailed instructions on how the
"Define Array Menu ", and "Drives Assignment" should look like (same page) for an single SATA Drive System and (or) second drive to IDE Boot. The SATA Controller is PCI Controller Card.

 

Hi Hawk,

I expect you got a CD with the PCI Controller card. You should find a manual on it.

I expect "array" will relate to RAID. You won't want, or need to make settings for RAID if you are using a single drive on the controller card.

The only setting you may need to change in the BIOS is the Boot Sequence. The BIOS might see the card as a "SCSI Controller ", which were the main add-in drive cards in the past.

Look for the instructions to install an OS on a single drive.
If you are trying to install Windows on a drive connected to the Controller Card, you may need to watch carefully when you boot to the Windows CD (2000, XP) for the instruction "Press F6 to install SCSI...controller drivers ". [Which are installed using a Floppy Disk Drive]

You shouldn't need to configure anything described as an "array" unless you are trying to run RAID.

Matt

 

Yo - Hawk & Matt - Aussie double trouble.

First the prelude - this will be confusing and is in no way an answer to your question. For informational purposes only........

Some of the Promise SATA controllers had two options and two distinctively different sets of drivers which were dependent on how one wanted to set up a drive(s). If memory serves me correctly the first was for a "family of drives" which meant JBOD (just a bunch of discs) and the other was for an actual RAID configuration (at the time, 0, 1 or 0+1). One could install both sets of drivers even if only one of the two options would ever be used.

Unfortunately, I can't tell you how that menu is going to look and Promise has made some changes during the last few years. My FX53 board has both a Promise SATA controller and a VIA SATA controller. The Promise menu actually has a 378 IDE configuration for single or individual HDDs and its a far cry different than the way they used to handle a "family" of drives.

Excuse the rambling non-answer but I thought it might give you a little insight to help you navigate uncharted waters.

Regards,

 

Hi there Matt, and Rockster, good to hear from you’s and thanks for giving your time. This is very frustrating indeed.
Matt, no I didn’t get a CD with the SATA PCI card, but I have the Promise 376 & 378 drivers integrated into my XP CD and they have been loaded during the Windows install they are listed in device manager under SCSI and raid controllers as Promise Fast Build 376 controller.
I have as yet not tried to load windows onto the SATA drive, I have merely tried to have windows detect the drive to use as a simple second drive, but somehow I have to do a setup in the Promise Fast Build (track) utility as you say I do not want an array as such.
In "Drives Assignment" below the Define Array Menu I have Channel: ID "“ 1: Mas Drive Model ST380815AS that is the model number of the 80 Gig SATA that is connected to the controller then there is Capacity (MB) 80026 and Assignment YES "“ NO.
In the Define Array Menu in Total Drv 1 is listed, I don’t know if this section would automatically be excluded as you can not have an array with only 1 drive.
I have read through the online manual from Promise and all the configurations like Rockster mentions are always 2 or more drives.
In the Promise manual there is no example display of what I am trying to do except a single Boot to install the OS like you have described as well and it recommends to check and see if the Promise drivers are listed in device manager as they are.
As I am experimenting around here I am using a spare PC and an older Seagate 40Gig HD with no data on it just Win XP Pro Slipstreamed SP3 and nLite integrated SATA drivers so no valuables are to be lost due to slip ups (stuff up more likely).
What is the worst that can happen if I enter the Drives Assignment as it is will a Format of the HD get me back to start again. As you mention Rockster in earlier versions of Promise there must have been options for what I need because in some other Forum I have been searching a guy writes, you will need to form one array with one disk, the new SATA disk. Be careful not to form a mirror array involving one of your IDE disks and the SATA disk. As I recall the default options were for mirror or stripe, but I had to use the custom/advanced options to make the array contain just one disk.
Mirror and Stripe are still default but no more options for custom/advanced so maybe what I can see now Total Drv 1 might be ok.
Sorry about the long winded story, Matt I am trying to keep our Yankee Friend from gloating to much about their Olympic success.
Thanks
hawk22

 

Don't worry about a bunch of Yanks, its the Jamaican's who have earned the right to gloat.

That is correct. That card must also have some whiskers on it as my old 940 board (ASUS SK8V) uses 378s.

 

I might be completely wrong and it was quite a while ago that I did my last setup, but I think I looked at the "utility" and summed up that it was for making an array. I did not use the utility, I just ran the Windows installation onto the SATA drive.

Matt

 

Thank you Rock and Matt,
well I decided to bite the bullet and went ahead with the drive assignment as I described and did the save.
The SATA drive is now showing up in disk manager as a Dynamic Unallocated drive I guess that means that if I was to allocate the drive I would be able to use it as a slave drive.
I have decided that I will change the existing mobo from a micro ATX to full size, with the AGP card and the SATA controller it is a bit cramped in there.
I will then mount that drive into a SATA Mobile Rack and attempt to load XP onto it. You must think I like fiddling around with stuff, believe me I do I drive my wife nuts.
The end project that I would like to achieve is to have two mobile racks one with XP loaded and the second with Vista and one internal fixed drive as backup for both XP and Vista. I am not a fan of dual boot I did have one for a while 98 SE and XP the HD got sick and both 98 and XP where gone.
hawk22

 

Yeah, I think a lot of us like to tinker. Good news on the drive recognition. Enjoy your "fiddling ".

 

Thanks Rockster,
my woes are not quite over yet, I created (unwillingly) a Dynamic Volume with this SATA drive and that as it is will not allow me to install XP Pro.
Is there a way to make it bootable installing a MBR or something.
hawk22

 

You did that with Windows Disc Management though didn't you? You should be able to convert it back to a Basic Disc.

 

Yes Rockster I did, this might sound a silly question to you, but I will ask it anyway.
As I can not install Windows to a Dynamic Disk can I restore to a Dynamic Disk from my Acronis XP Pro Image.
hawk22

 

Its not a silly question at all Hawk and just for the record, I think you are one of the wiser and more respected members of this community. Don't sell yourself short - You have established yourself as a most knowledgeable individual and your posts are usually right on the money.

As to your question re: restoring an Image of your system drive to a dynamic drive using Acronis, I don't think so but I'm not sure. Lets wait for someone who knows for sure and, in the meantime it wouldn't hurt to research this further. Is there a problem converting it to a Basic drive?

 

Hawk:

Read This.

 

Thank you Rockster for your kind words. In Basic, Windows told me when installing XP it can not find the drive even when it was listed in My Computer and Disc Management.
Rockster your link is not working from my end.
cheers
hawk22

 

The link has been fixed - sorry. Did you pop in a floppy with the Promise drivers after hitting the F6 prompt during your installation? Without those, Windows can't see that drive.

 

Thanks, well the mystery deepens, the drive is now listed in Computer Management as: Disk 1 Basic SCSIO_Vol 1 (H
NTFS Healthy (Active)
But if I try to install Windows XP Pro onto it it is still after installing the drivers F6 when rebooting to Load Windows telling me Windows can not find a Hard Drive.

 

I'm a little confused as it sounds like you are trying to setup a dual boot. The drive being listed as Drive 1 seemingly indicates this is the second HDD on the Promise controller or at least the second HDD in the machine but the drive H designation puts c,d,e,f,g ahead of it. Maybe you want to refresh us re: just what it is you're trying to accomplish and how you are currently setup. If Windows isn't recognizing it for the installation, we don't have the right drivers or we are missing drivers.



edit:

Excuse me for being lazy. If this is still in the removable caddy, I'd disconnect the other two drives unless you want to dual boot. You can reconnect your internal backup drive after the installation but XP is not going to co-exist with Vista this way. OK - that was the game plan. I guess it pays to read. Scratch my driver comment above.

 

Agree I should lay out fresh.
The ultimate Idea yes was 2 caddy's one for XP and one for Vista pulling out the one not in use.
Presently I can't work out why Windows will not see the SATA drive as C I did use the Seagate Utility for Windows, Seagate has no problems seeing the drive I did try to set up the drive using Seagate and the HD that I was booting off has 3 partitions on it. But when I try and load Windows XP onto the SATA drive I disconnect the IDE HD completely power and ribbon cable. No the last thing I want is a dual boot. I Formatted the SATA drive in Disk Management and I had no problem with that although the IDE drive (boot) was running the OS.
I have set the BIOS to first boot CD Rom second boot SCSI and third boot to Floppy when I try to install XP to the SATA drive.
I have taken the SATA drive out of the caddy just in case that had some effect on it but no it made no difference and it is still out.
I have downloaded the Raid SCSI drivers and installed them onto a Floppy and when installing XP I do the F6 and following the setup procedure with S it will read the drivers off the Floppy and continue to load the drivers untill it will reboot ready to install Windows then it will tell me Windows can not detect any hard drive F3 to quit
To me at the moment it is all as clear as mud, hope you can see some sense in there.
Hope this explains the position a bit better.
cheers
hawk22

 

Just came inside - taking a break from manual laor. As a thought - do you also need to load any drivers for that Promise card - I don't know but perhaps if you troll through their FAQs you might find some relief. If I get a chance later on, I'll try to investigate this as well.

 

Hi Rockster, just a update, trying to simplify I have now made a new Windows XP Pro SP3 disk on a 40 Gig drive with no other partitions just one partition and that is C: drive and I have gone through the procedure again by removing the SATA controller before installing XP rebooting then installing the Promise PDC 20376 chip card boot up again and let windows install the promise SATA 376 -378 drivers off a Floppy. They are registered in device manager.
When I boot the system Promise tells me there is no SATA drive attached, when I attach the SATA drive it tells me it is not configured but the configuration gives me no option for Raid 0 only Mirror or Stripe for Performance and on that configuration it will not allow any OS to be installed on that SATA drive.
I also do the F6 thing and S install the Nvidia SATA Raid drivers from the MSI website but no joy.
I think until I can get that Raid configuration set to No Raid it will not work for me.
I have also searched in other Forums but I get no further as to somehow set Raid to no raid.
Hope is still in the air.
Just as well Rockster I am not a Teenager otherwise I would have had to ask you what Manual Labor was, if it was the name of a Spanish Tennis Player
hawk22