Does Adaptec 2120S muck with cylinder zero, head zero (first track)?
- From: alan-spiderman@xxxxxxxxxx
- Date: 10 Jan 2006 11:01:16 -0800
Short version:
Does the Adaptec 2120S RAID controller |write to/block access to/muck
with| cylinder zero, head zero (first track) of the first logical
drive?
Long version follows:
Below is an ongoing thread I'm having with the people at TeraByte,
authors of BootIt, a boot and partition management utility. (And one
that I love dearly). It all centers around my inability to install the
BootIt software on a RAID array using the Adaptec controller. TeraByte
thinks the problem is because something is preventing updating of the
first track. But, I'm at a lose as to why/how. The Adaptec people won't
take my support call because I purchased the 2120S thru HP as an OEM
product, and the HP support people don't seem to know much about how
the Adaptec works inside.
Background -
Windows XP SP2 system connected to a set of 7 Compaq 18GB Ultra SCSI
hard drives, through an old Compaq SMART-2DH RAID controller (RAID 5 +
Hot Spare). BootIt installed and working fine for more than two years
through numerous BootIt upgrades, hard drive replacements, etc.
Decided to upgrade the RAID controller to an Adaptec 2120S. Same
machine, same hard drives, just pulled the SMART-2D, put in the Adaptec
and created a new RAID logical drive (using the Adaptec BIOS setup).
Before doing anything else (restoring partitions, etc) attempted to
install BootIt to a dedicated partition on the new logical drive.
Failed with "Unable to install EMBRI/EMBRL". But, other than BootIt,
everything else runs just fine.
Latest -
Because of a problem with the Adpatec, I switched back to the *same*
SMART-2D contoller I had originally. Used the Compaq Drive Array
Utility to create a new RAID logical drive and attempted to install
BootIt. Failed with "Unable to install EMBRI/EMBRL". And, other than
BootIt, everything else runs fine. In other words, I'm now back to
exactly the same setup that *used* to work OK, but now BootIt won't
install.
Is there anything that will let me examine/modify the first track of
the RAID array, or something that will help me figure out exactly why
BootIt can't install?
Any help would be greatly appreciated.
- Alan G -
"TeraByte Support" wrote:
>cylinder zero, head zero (first track) .... You may also have a bad sector
>in that region (be on the first drive (most likely)).
>
>"Alan Glassman"
>>
>>>>Do you have any virus protection option
>>>> enabled on the controller
>>
>> It does not have any virus protection settings (that I can find). Nor can
>> I find anything in the Adaptec doc that indicates that it does.
>>
>>>> it's preventing updating of the first track.
>>
>> Yeah. I guessed as much, but I can't figure out how to stop it.
>>
>> It don't think it's the RAID configuration info. The Adaptec doc says "The
>> Adaptec SCSI RAID 2100S, 3200S and 3400S stores all RAID information on
>> the
>> last track of the drive." But their doc is severly lacking in low-level
>> details
>> so it is hard to be sure that they are not blocking writes to the first
>> tracks
>> as well.
>>
>> Is there a simple utility/diag program I could run that would verify that
>> the controller is definately stopping the write?
>>
>> Just for my info - Does BING try write to track zero or track one?
>>
>> Thanks for the help. I'll understand if you don't have any magic answers
>> to this. I realize that it is most probably a problem with the controller
>> and not BING.
>>
>> - Alan G -
>>
>>
>> "TeraByte Support" wrote:
>>>Do you have any virus protection option enabled on the controller if it
>> has
>>>one? It sounds like it's preventing updating of the first track.
>>>
>>>"Alan Glassman"
>>>>
>>>> BING (both Bing 1.75a and 1.61e) fail to install with the error "Unable
>> to
>>>> install EMBRI/EMBRL".
>>>>
>>>> Clean hard drive, all install defaults (Seperate partition, no more than
>>>> 4 logicals, ...).
>>>>
>>>> I tried building the HD0 array as both a type 1+0 and a type 5.
>>>>
>>>> BING was working fine on the Compaq SMART-2 RAID controller that I
>>>> replaced
>>>> with the Adaptec so it's probably not anything else in my configuration.
>>>>
>>>> Anyone have any "did you try ..." suggestion?
>>>>
>>>> - Alan G -
>>>
>>>
>>
>
>
.
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