Archived from groups: alt.comp.periphs.mainboard.gigabyte (More info?)

PROBLEM:

When I install Service Pack 3 or 4 (both exhibit problem), the RAID
controller read performance drops to 1/10th of normal and the system pauses
for long periods while data is attempting to be read from the array.

I have a RAID 0 striped array of two drives.

Under SP2, the read/write performance is 47/47MB/sec and CPU use is 2-4%.

Under SP3 and SP4 (tried individually), Write is 47 and read is 3.5MB/sec
and the mouse pointer freezes for 20 seconds every 3-4 seconds.

The RAID is basically unusable under SP3 or SP4.

I MUST upgrade for two reasons:

A new software package update won't install without at least SP3.
My primary boot drive is over 137GB and uses 48 bit LBA.

I have the latest drivers for the RAID. They are the the same ones that have
been on the Gigabyte web site for two years now.

I have several web form tech support submissions into Gigabyte tech support
but it is extremely hard to communicate with them and they have not provided
a solution.

Surely there must be someone here who has the 7DXR and needs to upgrade to
SP4 on Windows 2000 and is dealing with this same issue.

I had to roll back to SP2 because I could not edit video with the system
freezing for such long periods with CPU hitting 100% during the freezes.

Has anyone found a solution?


--
Take care,

Mark & Mary Ann Weiss

VIDEO PRODUCTION . FILM SCANNING . AUDIO RESTORATION
Hear my Kurzweil Creations at: http://www.dv-clips.com/theater.htm
Business sites at:
www.dv-clips.com
www.mwcomms.com
www.adventuresinanimemusic.com
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--
Take care,

Mark & Mary Ann Weiss

VIDEO PRODUCTION . FILM SCANNING . AUDIO RESTORATION
Hear my Kurzweil Creations at: http://www.dv-clips.com/theater.htm
Business sites at:
www.dv-clips.com
www.mwcomms.com
www.adventuresinanimemusic.com
-

Archived from groups: alt.comp.periphs.mainboard.gigabyte (More info?)

Mark & Mary Ann Weiss wrote:

(snip)

> I have the latest drivers for the RAID. They are the the same ones that have
> been on the Gigabyte web site for two years now.
>

If you're talking about these ones:
http://www.giga-byte.com/Motherboa [...] A-7DXR.htm
then they are not the latest ones, they are the last Gigabyte cared to
publish.

These are the latest *RAID* ones:
http://www.promise.com/support/dow [...] river&os=0
But they also require *RAID* BIOS 2.00.0.24
http://www.promise.com/support/dow [...] =bios&os=0

Accordingly, these are the latest *non-RAID* ones:
http://www.promise.com/support/dow [...] river&os=0
(with, incidentally, a note about SP3)
And this is the latest *non-RAID* BIOS
http://www.promise.com/support/dow [...] =bios&os=0

The F10 GA-7DXR BIOS at
http://www.giga-byte.com/Motherboa [...] A-7DXR.htm
includes both RAID and non-RAID BIOS for the PDC20265R RAID controller
found on the motherboard, but those are earlier versions.

So you should kickout those outdated BIOSes and inject the newer ones.
Then you will be able to use the latest drivers too. You can use the
tool CBROM to do that.
You will also need to perform an OS reinstall according to Promise.
Which implies also creating a suitable driver installation floppy disk
of the newer drivers for win2000, if having access to the array right
after the OS reinstall is required.
Furthermore, in case the Vendor_ID and Device_ID for the onboard Promise
chip are customised to something different than what reported by
Promise's standalone PCI cards, you should also edit the INF files for
both the RAID and non-RAID drivers to match those IDs (by taking a quick
look at both INF files it seems gigabyte uses a 0d30 device ID while
promise uses 4d30 for the RAID stuff. Also the subsys is different).
You can skip the non-RAID steps above since you probably only use the
chip under RAID functionality, but if you bother doing all this I see no
reason not to update the non-RAID side of things as well.

This is not a guaranteed solution and certainly not a trivial one but
it's probably the best shot you can take at it without buying an
equivalent IDE RAID PCI card.

Regards
Nikos


(snip)

Archived from groups: alt.comp.periphs.mainboard.gigabyte (More info?)

>
> I had to roll back to SP2 because I could not edit video with the system
> freezing for such long periods with CPU hitting 100% during the freezes.
>
> Has anyone found a solution?
>
>
> --
> Take care,

Is Event Viewer showing any timeout errors on the RAID controller? If so,
I've had a similar problem with a Promise 20267 RAID controller on a
GA-7DPXDW under XP Pro SP1. I have one drive on each channel of the RAID
controller, both jumpered as masters; I was getting freezes of several
seconds. I corrected it by ensuring that each hard disk was attached to the
last connector on the IDE cable. Could this be the problem here?

Nick


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Archived from groups: alt.comp.periphs.mainboard.gigabyte (More info?)

"Nick Palmer" <nichomach@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:ruCdc.49110$Id.48922@news-binary.blueyonder.co.uk...
>
> >
> > I had to roll back to SP2 because I could not edit video with the system
> > freezing for such long periods with CPU hitting 100% during the freezes.
> >
> > Has anyone found a solution?
> >
> >
> > --
> > Take care,
>
> Is Event Viewer showing any timeout errors on the RAID controller? If so,
> I've had a similar problem with a Promise 20267 RAID controller on a
> GA-7DPXDW under XP Pro SP1. I have one drive on each channel of the RAID
> controller, both jumpered as masters; I was getting freezes of several
> seconds. I corrected it by ensuring that each hard disk was attached to
the
> last connector on the IDE cable. Could this be the problem here?
>
> Nick


No, not in this case. I'm a SCSI veteran, and it's bad practice to let an
unterminated pigtail dangle. I always put the drives on the last connector.


--
Take care,

Mark & Mary Ann Weiss

VIDEO PRODUCTION . FILM SCANNING . AUDIO RESTORATION
Hear my Kurzweil Creations at: http://www.dv-clips.com/theater.htm
Business sites at:
www.dv-clips.com
www.mwcomms.com
www.adventuresinanimemusic.com
-

Archived from groups: alt.comp.periphs.mainboard.gigabyte (More info?)

Well, you had my hopes up for a few minutes with the flash BIOS for the
RAID.
I looked it over, then prepared a floppy boot disk. Unfortunately, the
process could not execute because of "Unknown flash memory type".

I suppose the RAID driver will not work without the BIOS update.

Of concern to me was the possibility that the flash MIGHT succeed, but be
the wrong code, disabling the RAID permanently. I would have no way to undo
it.

But it was a nice try.

I think I'll have to put pressure on Gigabyte to fix these drivers.


--
Take care,

Mark & Mary Ann Weiss

VIDEO PRODUCTION . FILM SCANNING . AUDIO RESTORATION
Hear my Kurzweil Creations at: http://www.dv-clips.com/theater.htm
Business sites at:
www.dv-clips.com
www.mwcomms.com
www.adventuresinanimemusic.com
-



"Nikolaos Tampakis" <ntabakis@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:1081537459.18372@athnrd02.forthnet.gr...
> Mark & Mary Ann Weiss wrote:
>
> (snip)
>
> > I have the latest drivers for the RAID. They are the the same ones that
have
> > been on the Gigabyte web site for two years now.
> >
>
> If you're talking about these ones:
> http://www.giga-byte.com/Motherboa [...] A-7DXR.htm
> then they are not the latest ones, they are the last Gigabyte cared to
> publish.
>
> These are the latest *RAID* ones:
>
http://www.promise.com/support/dow [...] d=15&categ
ory=driver&os=0
> But they also require *RAID* BIOS 2.00.0.24
>
http://www.promise.com/support/dow [...] d=15&categ
ory=bios&os=0
>
> Accordingly, these are the latest *non-RAID* ones:
>
http://www.promise.com/support/dow [...] d=18&categ
ory=driver&os=0
> (with, incidentally, a note about SP3)
> And this is the latest *non-RAID* BIOS
>
http://www.promise.com/support/dow [...] d=18&categ
ory=bios&os=0
>
> The F10 GA-7DXR BIOS at
> http://www.giga-byte.com/Motherboa [...] A-7DXR.htm
> includes both RAID and non-RAID BIOS for the PDC20265R RAID controller
> found on the motherboard, but those are earlier versions.
>
> So you should kickout those outdated BIOSes and inject the newer ones.
> Then you will be able to use the latest drivers too. You can use the
> tool CBROM to do that.
> You will also need to perform an OS reinstall according to Promise.
> Which implies also creating a suitable driver installation floppy disk
> of the newer drivers for win2000, if having access to the array right
> after the OS reinstall is required.
> Furthermore, in case the Vendor_ID and Device_ID for the onboard Promise
> chip are customised to something different than what reported by
> Promise's standalone PCI cards, you should also edit the INF files for
> both the RAID and non-RAID drivers to match those IDs (by taking a quick
> look at both INF files it seems gigabyte uses a 0d30 device ID while
> promise uses 4d30 for the RAID stuff. Also the subsys is different).
> You can skip the non-RAID steps above since you probably only use the
> chip under RAID functionality, but if you bother doing all this I see no
> reason not to update the non-RAID side of things as well.
>
> This is not a guaranteed solution and certainly not a trivial one but
> it's probably the best shot you can take at it without buying an
> equivalent IDE RAID PCI card.
>
> Regards
> Nikos
>
>
> (snip)

Archived from groups: alt.comp.periphs.mainboard.gigabyte (More info?)

Mark & Mary Ann Weiss wrote:

> Well, you had my hopes up for a few minutes with the flash BIOS for the
> RAID.
> I looked it over, then prepared a floppy boot disk. Unfortunately, the
> process could not execute because of "Unknown flash memory type".
>

The RAID-BIOS at the Promise site are for their *PCI cards* only! And
those have their own flash memory, which is what the updater was looking
for.
In your case you have an onboard version of the card, which more or less
means the card's circuitry has been transfered onto the motherboard and
there is NO separate flash memory for the RAID chip. The RAID-BIOS is
included as part of the motherboard's BIOS.
So no surprise the flasher failed, since it was looking for something
that didn't exist in the first place.
You need to update the *motherboard's* BIOS with a version that includes
the most recent Promise RAID-BIOS!

> I suppose the RAID driver will not work without the BIOS update.
>

Correct, according to Promise. Also required is an OS reinstall (as they
say), but this may only apply if you *boot* the OS off the RAID array.
If you just use it as fast storage space, and boot off another drive, I
see no reason for an OS reinstall.

> Of concern to me was the possibility that the flash MIGHT succeed, but be
> the wrong code, disabling the RAID permanently. I would have no way to undo
> it.
>
> But it was a nice try.
>

It's a dual BIOS motherboard though so you can always undo a bad flash

> I think I'll have to put pressure on Gigabyte to fix these drivers.
>

If you want email me (with a valid reply-to address) stating your system
configuration (most importantly be clear about whether it's a 7DXR or a
7DXR+ motherboard) and I'll fix the BIOS and drivers for you.

Regards
Nikos

Archived from groups: alt.comp.periphs.mainboard.gigabyte (More info?)

> > Well, you had my hopes up for a few minutes with the flash BIOS for the
> > RAID.
> > I looked it over, then prepared a floppy boot disk. Unfortunately, the
> > process could not execute because of "Unknown flash memory type".
> >
>
> The RAID-BIOS at the Promise site are for their *PCI cards* only! And
> those have their own flash memory, which is what the updater was looking
> for.
> In your case you have an onboard version of the card, which more or less
> means the card's circuitry has been transfered onto the motherboard and
> there is NO separate flash memory for the RAID chip. The RAID-BIOS is
> included as part of the motherboard's BIOS.
> So no surprise the flasher failed, since it was looking for something
> that didn't exist in the first place.
> You need to update the *motherboard's* BIOS with a version that includes
> the most recent Promise RAID-BIOS!

Is there a newer version than F10 for the 7DXR? I'm running F10 BIOS for
about the past 2 months now.
I suspected the RAID might be included in the main BIOS, but wasn't
completely certian of this.


> > I suppose the RAID driver will not work without the BIOS update.
> >
>
> Correct, according to Promise. Also required is an OS reinstall (as they
> say), but this may only apply if you *boot* the OS off the RAID array.
> If you just use it as fast storage space, and boot off another drive, I
> see no reason for an OS reinstall.

I was unable to install those new drivers, as some error was encountered
along the way. I tried every possible approach last night, because I had the
Ghost image of the working config. So drivers I loaded, or attempted to, but
this failed, even with the edited .inf file.


> > Of concern to me was the possibility that the flash MIGHT succeed, but
be
> > the wrong code, disabling the RAID permanently. I would have no way to
undo
> > it.
> >
> > But it was a nice try.
> >
>
> It's a dual BIOS motherboard though so you can always undo a bad flash

Well, seeing that it's the same BIOS chip containing both, I see your point.


> > I think I'll have to put pressure on Gigabyte to fix these drivers.
> >
>
> If you want email me (with a valid reply-to address) stating your system
> configuration (most importantly be clear about whether it's a 7DXR or a
> 7DXR+ motherboard) and I'll fix the BIOS and drivers for you.
>
> Regards
> Nikos

I have two systems of similar build. I may have mentioned that I also have
the 7DXR+ in my other PC, which is happily running SP4 now.

The problems are with the 7DXR. One thing is for sure: the RAID doesn't work
properly at all under SP3 or SP4 (either one). I get 1-second of read, 20
seconds of frozen system. Go back to SP2 and RAID works fine again.
The only option available with a clear fix is to try to find a 7DXR+ on Ebay
and swap motherboards. What else can I do?


--
Take care,

Mark & Mary Ann Weiss

VIDEO PRODUCTION . FILM SCANNING . AUDIO RESTORATION
Hear my Kurzweil Creations at: http://www.dv-clips.com/theater.htm
Business sites at:
www.dv-clips.com
www.mwcomms.com
www.adventuresinanimemusic.com
-

Archived from groups: alt.comp.periphs.mainboard.gigabyte (More info?)

Mark & Mary Ann Weiss wrote:
>
> Is there a newer version than F10 for the 7DXR? I'm running F10 BIOS for
> about the past 2 months now.
> I suspected the RAID might be included in the main BIOS, but wasn't
> completely certian of this.
>
>

No there is not any newer version than F10.
But the BIOS file itself consists of several modules: one core module
and some others, two of which are firmware for the onboard Promise chip
(one which is activated when the chip is set to normal ATA operation,
and another one which is activated when the chip is set to RAID mode -
there's also a VGA BIOS for the BIOS-less Gigabyte version of the Matrox
G400 as well as a SCSI BIOS for some old BIOS-less NCR-based SCSI
controllers). So what's required is to throw those outdated modules out
and insert the more recent ones from Promise. This is equivalent to
having a separate PCI ATA/RAID card and updating its RAID/ATA BIOS.
I wouldn't call such a modified BIOS a 'newer' BIOS, but that's up to
one's taste. Personally I'd reserve the term 'newer' for more
core-specific updates, not those regarding non-core BIOS modules.

(snip)

> I have two systems of similar build. I may have mentioned that I also have
> the 7DXR+ in my other PC, which is happily running SP4 now.
>

The 7DXR+ has the PDC20276 chip though, not the PDC20265, so this could
well be trouble-free under sp3+.

> The problems are with the 7DXR. One thing is for sure: the RAID doesn't work
> properly at all under SP3 or SP4 (either one). I get 1-second of read, 20
> seconds of frozen system. Go back to SP2 and RAID works fine again.
> The only option available with a clear fix is to try to find a 7DXR+ on Ebay
> and swap motherboards. What else can I do?
>

I modified the 7DXR F10 BIOS along with the Promise drivers for win2k,
if you're willing to give it a try let me know.

Regards
Nikos

Archived from groups: alt.comp.periphs.mainboard.gigabyte (More info?)

>
> No there is not any newer version than F10.
> But the BIOS file itself consists of several modules: one core module
> and some others, two of which are firmware for the onboard Promise chip
> (one which is activated when the chip is set to normal ATA operation,
> and another one which is activated when the chip is set to RAID mode -
> there's also a VGA BIOS for the BIOS-less Gigabyte version of the Matrox
> G400 as well as a SCSI BIOS for some old BIOS-less NCR-based SCSI
> controllers). So what's required is to throw those outdated modules out
> and insert the more recent ones from Promise. This is equivalent to
> having a separate PCI ATA/RAID card and updating its RAID/ATA BIOS.
> I wouldn't call such a modified BIOS a 'newer' BIOS, but that's up to
> one's taste. Personally I'd reserve the term 'newer' for more
> core-specific updates, not those regarding non-core BIOS modules.

That's what I thought. At least none are posted on Giga-byte's web site as
of this week.

From what I understand, you're talking about something like 'slipstreaming'
the RAID core drivers into the BIOS update package. Is that about correct?



> (snip)
>
> > I have two systems of similar build. I may have mentioned that I also
have
> > the 7DXR+ in my other PC, which is happily running SP4 now.
> >
>
> The 7DXR+ has the PDC20276 chip though, not the PDC20265, so this could
> well be trouble-free under sp3+.

Yup. That chip works great under SP4 since I installed SP4 two weeks ago.
I found another used 7DXR+ mainboard on Ebay. I'm thinking of snagging that
and swapping out my 7DXR.



> > The problems are with the 7DXR. One thing is for sure: the RAID doesn't
work
> > properly at all under SP3 or SP4 (either one). I get 1-second of read,
20
> > seconds of frozen system. Go back to SP2 and RAID works fine again.
> > The only option available with a clear fix is to try to find a 7DXR+ on
Ebay
> > and swap motherboards. What else can I do?
> >
>
> I modified the 7DXR F10 BIOS along with the Promise drivers for win2k,
> if you're willing to give it a try let me know.
>
> Regards
> Nikos

I suppose it's worth trying. It'd be another week before I can get a 7DXR+
in here to upgrade this anyway. I'll back everything up with Norton Ghost
first and then give the modified BIOS a shot. Have you got it working on SP4
with no performance problems on the RAID?


--
Take care,

Mark & Mary Ann Weiss

VIDEO PRODUCTION . FILM SCANNING . AUDIO RESTORATION
Hear my Kurzweil Creations at: http://www.dv-clips.com/theater.htm
Business sites at:
www.dv-clips.com
www.mwcomms.com
www.adventuresinanimemusic.com
-