Making it work

[hbs_net]

As I was trying to find some answers, I can across this issue in my search. It is very close to my issue with couple exception. I don't care which O/S I use, but it will be XP or 2003. Getting the system to reconize any hard drive is crazy at this point. It sees the ATA hdd in the bios (which I did redo cmos), but not the SCSI. I have tried as was done by the other person and still my results are basically the same. When I try to do an O/S install..."NO HDD" is found. So who ever helped him, will you please help me...hbs

I'm trying to get XP PRO installed (as opposed to server 2003)

I slipstreamed in the drivers "IBM ServeRAID driver v7.10 for Microsoft Windows 2000 and Windows XP" from http://www-947.ibm.com/systems/support/sup...x=Y&psid=bm

And it isn't picking them up/loading them . .

When I extract the .exe the driver comes in there are three folders.. winnt win2003 and I think 2003 something else

I slipstreamed all three in when I was creating the XP Pro disk using Nlite..

What am I doing all wrong?

I've never used raid before..

When the thing boots there is an LSI config.. CTRL+C.. I went in there and told it NO on both drives for mirrored pair..

The bios doesn't see these at all

There are two 36gb SCSI drives..

Can I use raid through XP to split the drives?

Or do they have to be mirrored?

Do I have to use raid?

Edited October 27, 2009 by hbs_net

[pointertovoid]

Hi!

- It's normal that the Mobo's Bios doesn't show your Scsi disks if the Scsi host has its own Bios.

- With some Raid host Bios (Promise), you have to define a Raid array containing a single disk in order to access this disk. And for sure, you need to have some actions at the Raid host's Bios - to the very least, let it recognize the disks. The Raid Host's manual should help you.

- I would definitely use first an F6 floppy, and only later try to slipstream the driver in the install Cd.

W2k (and I guess Xp and 2k3) allows to take the F6 driver from a Cd if you don't have a floppy drive - but adding a drive would be a better idea.

- Xp has its own behaviour with uncertified drivers (I know W2k better, and Xp is more touchy here). Could it, during a Win installation, reject the driver without asking for instructions, and hence not see the disks, just because of a lack of certification? Hope other people can tell it better.

- Having to use Raid... The less easy part of your install is configure the Raid host and introduce the driver. Raid-0 isn't more complicated then. As a pair of 36GB Scsi is born for Raid-0, use them that way! They should be much faster than modern S-Ata 7200rpm drives.

- Do you discover Raid and try to install Win on it at the same time? This is the most difficult (~impossible) way!

I strongly recommend that you first install Win and boot on some P-Ata (or S-Ata) disk and build your Raid-0 array separately, install the driver, and play with the array. At least, a running Win will give you detailed answers if it doesn't swallow a driver. And you can quickly experiment the effect of varied Raid options.

Then install Win on the Raid with an F6 floppy. Later, you may slipstream the driver.

[pointertovoid]

Raid through Xp... Do you mean the Raid feature offered by dynamic volumes? I don't recommend it!

- W2k3 probably won't understand what Xp has done. Another Xp on another machine won't read your disks if this machine fails.

- Unable to boot

- Cpu load

- If reinstalling Xp on this same machine, you lose all the volumes you defined - even the data volumes you separated from the OS

-----

So Raid through W2k-Xp-2k3's dynamic volumes is rather a bad solution... The good one is to define the Raid array through the Raid host (=Lsi). After that, Win will see a single disk which you can partition as if it were a 72GB one.

By the way... No idea if Xp has similar limitations, but W2k needs to have its Sp4 (slipstreamed if needed) to install properly on a Raid array. If not, it may work with some stripe sizes and not with other sizes... (Saw it by myself)

Edited October 28, 2009 by pointertovoid