JMICRON RAID1 problems

[vazmutenuser]

PROBLEM DESCRIPTION:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

When starting (cold boot) MS Windows Vista from JMicron RAID1 array - NO PROBLEMS with the array

When restarting (warm boot) MS Windows Vista from JMicron RAID1 array:
It takes a long time to detect the RAID1 HDDs ( stage: Detecting drives, please wait ...) :
- a sync down & up is heard from the HDDs and finally ( after 3-5 seconds ) drive recognintion display appeared
- The HDD connected to port 1 is set to FAILURE state

NOTES:
1. I traded the SATA cables of the HDDs and again port 1 causes the problem, so it's port specific, not HDD specific
2. If after (cold boot) I press F8 and after a while Alt+Ctrl+Del (warm reboot, without entering Vista) everything is OK - no syncing
3. If I have no RAID, after a Vista warm reboot, again the syncing is happening, but none of the HDDs are set to Failure state
4. With JMicron driver from Gigabyte site ( 1.17.42.09g ) and using old JMicron driver ( R1.17.42.08 ) no such syncing events occur, but instead after a warm reboot a Blue Screen Of Death - Registry Error appeares, just like described on http://forums.techarena.in/vista-setup-install/677924.htm

QUESTION:
~~~~~~~~~
What should I do in order to fix this issue?

-----------------------------------------------------------
CONFIGURATION:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
OS: MS Windows Vista Ultimate SP1 x64 installed on JMicron RAID1 array
CPU: Pentium(R) Dual-Core CPU E5200 @ 2.50GHz
Motherboard: Gigabyte Technology EP35-DS3 BIOS: F3
RAM: 4GB = 2 x 2GB DDR2 800 (ADATA)
DVDs: LG Electronics HL-DT-ST DVDRAM GSA-4160B ATA
HDDs:
Western Digital WDC WD1200BB-00DWA0 120 GBytes ATA
Seagate ST3500320AS 500 GBytes RAID SATA-II - Firmware: SD1A (latest from Seagate)
Seagate ST3500320AS 500 GBytes RAID SATA-II - Firmware: SD1A (latest from Seagate)
PSU: 550W - Chieftec GPS-550AB-A

Configuration:
To JMICRON 36x controller are connected all IDE devices:
- DVD and Western Digital HDD
also in RAID1(mirror) are configurated 2 SATA devices:
- 2 x Seagate ST3500320AS 500 GBytes

Installed JMICRON device driver is the latest:
JMB36X_WinDrv_R1.17.47WHQL

 

[Mondoman]

JMicron controllers have problems. I'd buy an SATA RAID controller card that uses a different brand controller chip.
Alternatively, there may be a setting in the JMicron RAID BIOS that allows you to add a short delay (perhaps a few seconds) after reboot to give the drives a chance to fully reset before Vista tries to access them.

 

[bilbat]

Just move the RAID to one of the pairs of Intel SATA ports...

 

[vazmutenuser]

JMicron controllers have problems. I'd buy an SATA RAID controller card that uses a different brand controller chip.
Alternatively, there may be a setting in the JMicron RAID BIOS that allows you to add a short delay (perhaps a few seconds) after reboot to give the drives a chance to fully reset before Vista tries to access them.

I could not find any setting like this ;(

 

[vazmutenuser]

Just move the RAID to one of the pairs of Intel SATA ports...

Motherboard is "EP35-DS3" - no RAID on Intel SATA ports

 

[bilbat]

Oops! Bummer... Well, I'll dig in, try to find out what's with the JMB's, & get back - I'm sure I'll learn something useful, as I have a pair too (DS5), & god only knows, but with three RAID pair already on the Intels, I may be forced to use 'em eventually...