RAID setup problem

[BetlegeuseKC]

Current System:
MB: Gigabyte GA-EP45T-UD3P V1.0
Processor: Intel Quad Core2 Q9400 2.66GHz
RAM: Corsair 2GB DDR3 1600 (x2)
HD: Seagate Barracuda ST3500320AS 500GB 7200RPM SATA (x6)
Video: Gigabyte GV-N98XPZL-1GH GeForce 9800 GTX+
Power Supply: Seasonic M12D SS-850 850W
OS: None, yet

Not my first System build, but I'm more of a hobbyist than a tweaker. I'm really building this one for work, and I'd like to get 3 RAID arrays set up. I set everything up, turned the unit on for the first time, I went into BIOS and did my set-up in there, only changing things minimally: I set boot order, I set the SATA mode to RAID, and set the outboard SATA control mode to RAID. I monitored the PC hardware for a about 15 minutes using the Health section of the BIOS, confirmed stability, I then saved CMOS to BIOS, and exited saving the changes. Computer rebooted, giving me a single beep indicating that everything is posting fine, and detected all 6 SATA drives appropriately. I did the CTRL+I to configure arrays, and successfully configured 3 separate RAID Arrays. I exited, rebooted again, and finally got to a point where I was installing the OS. Before I could get the RAID drivers installed using the f6 method, I the computer shut down, and re-started. When it went through the boot sequence this time it found that the device connected to RAID port 4 was No Device Detected, and registered my RAID array as "Degraded". As I was attempting to discover the source of this, it would randomly shut down and reboot itself. Finally I manually shut the system down, and re-started it. It then correctly detected my missing HD, but listed it in the RAID array listing as "Rebuild". What is going on?

Other observable info: During the initial boot, it finds the first 4 drives, then hangs before it finds the 5th drive. I did check to make sure that connections are secure, and they all seem to be.

 

[jitpublisher]

Bad drive? Have you tried moving the drive to one of the other arrays to see if the problem moves with the drive, or is specific to the controller it is plugged into?

 

[vegettonox]

They are all the same drives. Use the companies bootable hard drive utilities that they offer and run diagnostics on your drives. See if they are malfunctioning.

 

[BetlegeuseKC]

would that make the system sporadically reboot?

 

[BetlegeuseKC]

So, I disconnected that Hard-Drive that was giving me problems, and it does seem to boot faster, I do think there's a problem with that drive, but the primary problem of sporadic rebooting seems to persist. I turned it on this morning and it ran for 15-20 minutes, reset itself, before it was through the post sequence, it rebooted itself again, and now has been running for about an hour just in BIOS. I've been monitoring Temperature and voltage, both of which have remained constant. Suggestions as to why it would be rebooting initially?

Update: I started working on it, installing OS, and it shut down again, at about 1 Hr. 25 Minutes of runtime, all temps and voltages seem constant. It shut-down during HD format, now HD's are recognized within their RAID configurations, but the windows setup will not recognize that there are drives installed.

 

[BetlegeuseKC]

I updated to the latest MB BIOS, and I'm running stress tests, to see if I can localize the problem. So far, nothing repeatable.

 

[BetlegeuseKC]

I've finished my RAM tests with the following results: I placed a single DDR3 in DIMM1 slot, and ran it overnight. It ran stable for 4 and a half hours that I monitored, but reset itself at some point during the night. It did receive no errors on the Memtest86+ results however. I then Tested the second DDR3 by itself in DIMM3 slot. It ran stable for 8 hours that I monitored, and again reset itself during the night, again receiving no errors. Finally I tested both sticks together in DIMM2 & 4 slots, again the system ran for 9 hours monitored, reset itself during the night. I can definitely say that the resets appear to not be as frequent. When I first turned it on it was about every 15-30 minutes. I think I can safely eliminate the RAM as a possible cause. I've also fully disconnected all hard-drives from the system. It's running the optical drive, two sticks of ram, CPU, GPU, and a floppy drive. Other than pulling the system and running it outside the box, any other suggestions for the next step in trouble-shooting this?

 

[BetlegeuseKC]

Figured it out, faulty power supply.