Re: M2N-SLI Deluxe Raid setup questions

Thanks for the reply (again - you replied to an earlier post I had). I appreciate the help.
For #3, I'm referring to the Nvidia RAID controller on the M2N motherboard. I had assumed that since Windows recognized my array at one time that it should work (with an upgraded power supply). The thing that has me concerned is that I keep reading that I MUST install the drivers at installation, following the directions in the manual.
For #4, After I built the RAID array, I had to unplug the IDE drive (the original boot drive) for the RAID array to boot. The BIOS only gives Removable,Hard Disk, CD-ROM, and Disabled in the boot priority (or am I missing something?) Obviously, if you have more than one hard disk or an array and a separate hard disk, the term "Hard Disk" isn't very descriptive! Is there another option that allows you to choose one of many? What I'd like to do is continually keep a copy of my boot image so that if there is a problem, I can boot off that.
Any knowledge about whether the Nvidia RAID controller on the M2N mother board supports hot swapping?

Again, thanks again for the reply, old man!

Jim
old man wrote:
1) not a reason
2) not required
3) depends on the controler, some are natively recognised by win, in which case no problems, others require an installation of the sata/raid driver before win will even recognise the HD
4) setup with your boot/raid HD's connected only, amend bios as required to boot from sata/scsci
Add the other hd's once your sys is up & running.

A bad pwr supply can cause all sorts of HD problems, usually its corruption, which can often be repaired using third part tools - clicking hd is not corruption however.

"Jim" <me@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message news:47ad09df$0$16694$4c368faf@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
I have setup RAID 1 on this motherboard once. I already had Windows XP SP2 installed on my IDE drive. Then I added two WD 250 GB SATA drives and after a little futzing around I got them configured. I then used Acronis to make an image of my IDE drive and copied that to the RAID array. I had to unplug the IDE drive for the RAID array to boot, but for a couple of weeks, it worked really well. I did not use the drivers from the CD-ROM. I did not re-install Windows. After a couple of weeks, the drives started clicking and then they died. From what I was able to find out, this was probably due to a poor power supply. I've bought a new power supply and new drives and I'm ready to try this again, but I have some questions first.

1) Is there any reason to believe that not using the drivers off the CD, or not installing Windows on the array had anything to do with my drives clicking?

2) Is it absolutely necessary to install Windows on the array? If so, why did it work before? I've had this computer up for several years and I'm not anxious to rebuild it.

3) Is the method I first used (using an existing Windows installation, laying the image of my IDE drive on the array, not using the drivers, etc.) actually valid or will there be problems down the road?

4) How do I set up the array to be the boot device AND have a separate IDE and/or SATA drive that it will not boot from?

5) My new case has hot swappable drive slots, but it says that to be able to use the swapping, your controller should have the AHCI function. Does the M2N-SLI Deluxe support AHCI?

Any and all help and information would be greatly appreciated.


Thanks!

Jim


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