raid 0 + XP installation !! HELP !

[Guest]

hello... i have a problem... .. well.. i´ve build a RAID 0 setup with two identical WD , its functional as repoted by my Promise Fasttrack 100 onboard controller ( my mainboard is a Gigabyte 7DXR) . The array can be formatted under pure DOS mode, i can create and delete partitions with Fdisk, and its recognized as a 38 GB disk. This is good, doesnt ? , ok... here is where the problem starts... with... WINDOWS XP !! ( or 2000 ) ... the setup proccess doesnt recognize my RAID 0 !! windows has an built in driver for the promise, and I also tried the driver that is provided by gigabyte ( downloaded from the website).


my question is... WHY can I format the RAID 0 setup in DOS , and NOT in Windows XP ?? ... when i select " F6 " during the XP setup, it ask me for the drivers disk, the setup load the drivers , and says its all ok ... so, what the hell is going on ??

please, help me... im getting sligthy mad---


tanks !

 

[unoc]

Win/2K/XP can install from CD-Rom but it needs a DOS partition (FAT or FAT32) to copy the installation file.
Moreover it needs to recognize the raid controller with its own driver.
First of all you need two floppy disk. One must be bootable and should be able to support the CD-Rom (the boot disk of win98 is perfect).
The other floppy disk must contain in the root the Promise driver including the file txtsetup.oem. Unfortunately not all Promise driver fit Win2K and probably you must try more then one version. The drivers actually on the Promise support site sometimes have problems and may cause problems during installation. Possibly use the driver you have together the card.
Now insert the bootable diskette and power on the computer.
Select to boot with CD-Rom support (win98 boot disk allows this choice).
Execute a:/smartdrv.
Execute winnt.exe on the I386 directory of the Win2K/XP installation CD.
After the first phase the system will ask you if you want to install a SCSI card. type F6 for yes.
Insert the Promise drivers floppy and then continue following the instructions on the screen to allow the system to read the driver on the floppy.
The system will show you one or more promise card to install.
Select the yours.
Continue with the installation.
That's all.
I hope you'll have a nice installation even there are thousands of articles on what it is better to install on a RAID array. The OS, the applications, the page file (possibly not important documents), etc..
Good works !

 

[kief]

If you boot from the CD (instead of starting from a boot disk then running install manually) you should not need a partition of any type before you start. If you start maually you do need fat32 space.

Jesus saves, but Mario scores!!!

 

[jlanka]

one other thing. XP has the drivers for the popular RAID controllers so it is not necessary to do the "Press F6" thing with XP.

<i>It's always the one thing you never suspected.</i>