Fernando 1

As Vista does not use the TXTSETUP.OEM file, it is useless to delete it. In my case (nForce4 chipset with nVRaid and 2 S-ATA hard device disks) I did not find any chance to install Vista Beta1 on my system, neither the 32-bit nor the 64-bit version. What be need is a new nForce SataRaid driver, that works with Vista!

You are right: Our BIOS is nearly similar (I have the new official version 6-23), but our mainboard is different, because you have 2 RAID controllers (NVIDIA and Silicon Image). So there should be a possibility to enable/disable the NVIDIA or Silicon Image Raid controller within the BIOS. But I don't know where, because I don't have the SLI version of the DFI NF4 board.

@ jarky: Did you enable NCQ (for Sata2 hard disk drives)? Is it possible, that you stress your RAM and CPU too much by overclocking your system (a 64-bit system needs more resources than a 32-bit system)? What is the reason for your problem with your floppy disk drive? I think, that you have a problem with your board. Try to unplug the floppy cable and disable the floppy controller in the BIOS.

As I have nearly the same hardware as you (DFI Lanparty NF4 Ultra-D as mainboard and 2 Samsung Sata2 hard disk drives), I am sure, that the [OemInfFiles] method is suitable for your system too. Please have a look on your bootable CD and check, if you really have 1. a root folder named $OEM$ with a subfolder named $$ and a subsubfolder named OEMDIR, 2. the correct files within the subsubfolder OEMDIR and 3. the exactly correct changes of the WINNT.SIF file as I described in post No 1. Only a little mistake can be the reason for the issue you have described. To help you, I need some more informations: Did you integrate the files from the nForce SATARAID folder as TEXTMODE drivers? Did you integrate other drivers than the nForce SataRaid ones? If yes, which drivers did you integrate by nLite? Which NVIDIA chipset driver version did you use? Did you disable the Silicon Image Raid controller? Do you use any other problematic hardware devices? Did you unplugg all USB devices during installation of the OS? CU Fernando

The reason for this behaviour of Windows XP x64 is, that the OS does not trust the correct NVIDIA driver (nvatax64.sys) and - as a consequence of that - installs the wrong MS driver (Standard PCI-IDE-Controller driver) during the GUIMODE part of the installation. If you really want to install the newest nVRaid drivers from the packages v. 6.66 or 7.13, you have to make an unattended install with nLite v. 1.0 beta4. Here is the description of that method: http://www.msfn.org/board/index.php?showto...ndpost&p=352404 CU Fernando

Look here: http://www.msfn.org/board/index.php?showto...ndpost&p=343023 CU Fernando

It seems to me, that Microsoft and NVIDIA don't like and don't trust each other. Maybe all our problems will be solved, when NVIDIA will present their first WHQL-certified 64bit SataRaid drivers for all nForce chipsets, that support 64 Bit.

The problem has nothing to do with nLite. It is due to the fact, that some important nForce drivers still are not WHQL-certified, especially the nvatabus.sys. Windows XP and XP x64 do not trust this driver and installs the wrong Standard IDE PCI controller driver. I believe, that this is the reason for our endless reboots...... Good luck! Fernando

Have a look at this thread: http://www.msfn.org/board/index.php?showto...ndpost&p=354576 We certainly have the same problem. You will find a solution within the nLite Forum. CU Fernando

You did not mention your mainboard and chipset, but only the BIOS version. But as I am an owner of a DFI UT Lanparty Ultra-D, I think, that we both have the same chipset (nForce4 Ultra). It is clear, that you can install Windows XP x64 by F6/floppy method, when you use the NVIDIA chipset driver package 6.56 or older, the problems began with the drivers from version 6.66 and higher. As I made my tests only with my Sata Raid board, I cannot give you a safe solution for your BSOD problem. It's maybe caused by other hardware (did you turned off all USB devices during setup?).

@ Sucka: What kind of hardware do you have (nForce3 or nForce4, Sata Raid or Pata Raid) and which nForce driver version did you use?

@ Metalljens: Thank you very much for your important correction. I did not realize the other changes in txtsetup.oem. According to your suggestion I changed this point in post 1. @ RickSteele: Thank you for your information. I don't have any idea, why you succeeded with the driver integration using nLite 1.0 b5 and others not. Did you really take the original versions of the driver package 6.66 without any changes in one of the txtsetup.oem files?

@ Metalljens: Please have a look an post 1 with the description of the driver integration. I added your experience as nForce3 user. Is it correct and easy to understand, what I have written? AFAIK it's easier for many users to copy a file than to edit something into a file.

Thank you, Metalljens. You helped us finding a resolution for the owners of nForce3 mainboards. I will mention this special way for nForce3 users within my first post. To make it clear for everyone: Metalljens meant nvatabus.inf (instead of nvata.inf) and txtsetup.oem (instead of oemsetup.txt). @ Metalljens: If I am not right, please correct me. By the way: It will not be necessary to copy the txtsetup.oem file into the OEMDIR folder, because this file is only usefull during TEXTMODE part of installation.

I don't think, that your problem is due to the files of the MBR (boot.ini, ntldr ans ntdetect.com), but to your Sata Raid array. What sort of chipset do you have on your mainboard? Did you take the correct 32-bit Sata Raid drivers (by F6), when you tried to install Windows XP (32-bit version)? Did the install routine of XP32 recognise your Raid array shortly after the begin of the installion correctly as 1 hard drive disk? By the way: When you install an older OS after a newer OS, the newer OS may not boot any more, because it cannot use the old files from boot sector (MBR). Easy resolution: Start your working OS and copy the files NTLDR and NTDETECT.COM from the CD of the newer OS (you find the files within the I386 folder of the CD) into the root of your drive C. That will overwrite the old files. After a reboot you can boot from both partitions.

Congratulations, Metalljens, and thank you for your patience. How have you done it at least? Did you only change the textsetup.oem or did you copy the nvatabus.inf into the SATARAID folder too? Which chipset driver package version did you use? The answers may be important for other users with nForce3 systems. Thanx for your reply.

I know only about 3 threads opened by me and running now. It will not be easy to continue with 1 thread, because the integration of the drivers into a 32-bit OS is another thing as the integration into a 64-bit system. The 3rd thread with my experiences during the tests with nLite b5 can surely be closed, although this thread will be the most interesting for Nuhi and his team. How can I do it? Can the topic starter change the title of the thread? I just got a Junior (>50 posts), 5 minutes ago I was a Newbee.

You may try to copy the nvatabus.inf into the SATARAID folder too, but as you realized by F6 method, MS does not need this file during the first (Textmode) section of setup. Everything is okay, when your Raid array is correctly detected (as 1 hard disk drive) during this section. During the next part of installation (GUIMODE) the setup routine can grab the nvatabus.inf (necessary for installation of nvatabus.sys) from the folder X:\$OEM$\$$\OEMDIR. So it will not be necessary to put the nvatabus.inf into the SATARAID subfolder. But you can do it nevertheless.

AFAIK this tool das not make a Raid, it only shows it. So you can install this tool as every other program, when you have installed your slipstreamed OS. Thank you for your comment. When you have done such a work, it really is a good feeling, that somebody posts, that he has got it working too. Meanwhile I tested the method described in the first post once again using the NVIDIA chipset package 7.13. It worked flawless on my nForce4 Sata Raid system. Then I made another test with nLite 1.0 beta5 trying to integrate the SataRaid drivers without the [OemInfFiles] method. This time I used the 7.13 drivers from the (for Sata Raid systems wrong) PATARAID folder as Textmode drivers. Result: endless reboots! Conclusion: To take just the drivers from the PATARAID subfolder is not the solution for the problems. Maybe you have to change only the txtsetup.oem in the subfolder SATARAID and then it works? The system can grab the nvatabus.inf from the $OEM$ folder during GUIMODE section, so you do not need to put it into the SATARAID subfolder. Do you like to test this?

You are certainly right. The NVIDIA nForce drivers are making a lot of problems. I just googled a little bit and found a very interisting message for all owners of a pc with nForce3 chipset and a Sata Raid system within this page: http://www.nforcershq.com/forum/latest-dri...-3-vt60240.html In one of the posts you can read, that it is possible to install the drivers from the package 7.13 on a mainboard with an nForce3 chipset, but you have to take the ones laying in the PATARAID subfolder (they even work for Sata systems). If you use the files laying in the SATARAID subfolder, you will get a crash of your system. Would you test this using my method? The only difference would be, that you take the drivers from the PATARAID subfolder as Textmode drivers. That would be very helpfull for all owners of nForce3 chipsets. Maybe it is easier for you to test it with F6 method. Put just the files from the PATARAID subfolder of the 32-bit 7.13 onto a floppy!

You may try it and I will try to integrate the SataRaid drivers from v. 7.13 into Windows XP with nLite once more. A better help would be possible, if I knew your hardware combination (chipset of your board, Sata Raid or Pata Raid). Although I am not an expert in configurating txtsetup.oem files I will try to answer your first questions too: You cannot compare a txtsetup.oem file, which is dedicated for all chipset combinations (Sata/Pata/SataRaid/PataRaid) as in packet v. 6.53, and a txtsetup.oem file from a special subfolder (SATARAID, PATARAID and SATA IDE) as you will find it in the v. 7.13 (Question: From which subfolder did you take the 7.13 OEM-file?). The other big difference between both driver packages is the missing of the filter driver nvcchflt.sys in the newer NVIDIA chipset driver packages.

Your first question can only be answered by Nuhi. Here is what he has written about the small changes between beta4 and beta5 concerning hardware (HW) detection and the integration of chipset drivers: It may be, that nLite beta5 works fine with some old nForce Sata Raid drivers. I did not test it. NLite will definitely not work with the nForce chipset packages 6.66 and higher). So if you want to integrate the old chipset drivers (between v. 5.10 and v. 6.53), you can try nLite beta5 without making any changes I described in post 1 of this thread. But normally people want to have the newest drivers (although they are not always the best), when they build up a new system. A later upgrade of Sata Raid drivers is not so easy and maybe dangerous too in some cases.

Because NVIDIA changed the structure of the nForce drivers (for example by building seperate subfolders for PATARAID, SATARAID and so on). You find several identical files in different folders, but the content of the folders is different. See above. NVIDIA seperated the files later, because there could be some misunderstanding between the inf-files and the different drivers, when they were all together in 1 folder. You can use an already slipstreamed SP2 VLK version of Windows XP - no problem at all.. There is no WINNT.SIF within an original Windows CD. This file has to been created by the user or is automaticly done by a tool like nLite, when you create an Unattended Install CD. So if you use nLite and do not use the option "unattended Install" there will be no WINNT.SIF. It is built after the end of the processing procedure of nLite. So, if you interrupt nLite without letting finishing his work, you won't see a WINNT.SIF. The TXTSETUP.SIF exists on a normal CD, but nLite writes a lot of things into this file about the drivers. Let nLite finish, then you can see a lot of informations in this file.

Yes, let it as it is (activated).

The mixing of drivers from different packages is no problem, when you try to integrate them with nLite. You only may get difficulties, when you install them by setup. Here you can find a lot of things about nForce drivers: http://www.nforcershq.com/forum/latest-dri...-3-vt60240.html When you try to integrate your driver mix with nLite, I would not integrate any ethernet drivers. As you have written, you have difficulties to find a working driver. It will be easy to install this driver later (may be with the one from the coming nForce version 8.03?)