Re: I would like to connect a third SATA Hard Drive WITHOUT using RAID.
- From: nospam@xxxxxxxxxx (Paul)
- Date: Sun, 05 Feb 2006 10:20:14 GMT
In article <1139128090.367034.289000@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>,
sc10000@xxxxxxxxxxx wrote:
KEYWORDS:
Promise 20378, non-raid, SATA, ATA378, RAID378.
MY OBJECTIVE:
I would like to connect a third hard drive to the SATA_RAID1 interface
of my motherboard WITHOUT using RAID. I have been told by Asus that
this is possible, but that's where the help ends! I already have two
hard drives connected successfully to the SATA1 and SATA2 (Southbridge)
interfaces.
MY HARDWARE AND SOFTWARE:
- Asus P4C800-E Deluxe Motherboard running BIOS 1021
- 2x Maxtor SATA Hard Drives connected successfully to SATA1 and SATA2
- 1x Maxtor SATA Hard Drive connected to SATA_RAID1.
- Windows XP Professional, Service Pack 2
- I believe that the two SATA_RAID interfaces are supported by the
onboard Promise PDC 20378 controller.
MY BIOS SETTINGS:
- The Promise Controller is "Enabled"
- The Operating Mode is "IDE". Choices are "IDE" or "RAID"
- Configure SATA as RAID is set to "No"
WHAT HAPPENS:
My third drive is recognised during boot up with the message something
like "SATA378 Tx2plus BIOS Version... Detecting.... IDE BUS ENABLED.".
My third drive also appears as a 3rd drive in the BIOS under the "Boot"
menu. However, it is not recognised by Windows.
PROBLEM:
In Device Manager, under "SCSI and RAID controllers", I get the yellow
exclamation mark against "WinXP Promise FastTrak 378(tm) Controller".
When I double click this, it states "This device cannot start. (Code
10)". It is currently using the driver files "Fasttx2k.sys" and
"ptipbmf.dll". It states file version "1.00.1.37".
WHAT I HAVE TRIED:
1. I have tried to update this driver with the ones on the ASUS Support
CD and ones I have downloaded from the ASUS website (both ATA378 and
RAID 378). However, Windows XP rejects these stating that XP "...could
not find a better match for your hardware then the software currently
installed".
2. I uninstall the driver and boot from the Windows XP CD ROM. I press
F6 and select the drivers provided by ASUS (by using the MakeDisk
facility and putting the drivers on a Floppy Disk). The drivers are
copied across. However, I still get the problem described in "PROBLEM"
above.
CONCLUSION:
I know I can connect a third party PCI card wih SATA interfaces on it,
but that would be giving up! What I am trying here is possible, so I'd
prefer to use the MB's own SATA interfaces. Installing a PCI card is
my last resort IF I do not get any help here.
If I find a solution, I will post it here for all to see (together with
credits!). PLEASE HELP!
Well, someone did find an answer. His name is Bob.
http://groups.google.ca/group/alt.comp.periphs.mainboard.asus/msg/f88d630b0469710c?dmode=source
The problem is, the clever lads at Promise, did not design any
removal capability for the RAID and IDE driver package for
the 20378. That means, if you install the RAID drivers, then
decide later to go IDE, there is no entry in Add/Remove to
click to get rid of them. Some RAID controllers actually
change their enumeration, when you change modes, and that
triggers Windows to install new drivers. I get the impression
(but have not checked) that the 20378 looks the same to
Windows whether in RAID or IDE mode, from an enumeration
perspective. But, when the driver attempts to load, the
driver soon figures out it is the wrong flavor of driver
and it gives you the finger. (The damn driver could have
integrated the RAID and IDE features into the same driver,
which would have been another solution for the guys at
Promise.)
So, in the posting above, Bob manually removed files and
fixed the registry. You'd have to look at the .INF file
used to install the files, to try and figure out what needs
to be removed. It would either be that, or redesign the
..INF file itself, and add the necessary entries to
make the driver appear in Add/Remove.
Either you'll be doing brain surgery, or doing a system
reinstall. Punting and getting another card, is also
an option :-)
Paul
.
- References:
- Prev by Date: Re: P4P800SE & USB Problem
- Next by Date: cusl2 tualatin bios microcode
- Previous by thread: I would like to connect a third SATA Hard Drive WITHOUT using RAID.
- Next by thread: Re: I would like to connect a third SATA Hard Drive WITHOUT using RAID.
- Index(es):
Relevant Pages
|
|
