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Problem with two SATA HDD dives on Sil 3512 controller.


Sfor

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I think you'll have to flash to a non-RAID BIOS, or at least change the device ID the driver looks for, to be able to install the non-RAID drivers.

Well, I've tried installing the non-RAID drivers forcefuly, already. The driver was not working and all the partition from the drive were in DOS compatibility mode. So, changing the device ID in the .inf file will not do, I think.

I have no idea how can I reflash the BIOS in the controller. Unitek does not seem to provide any BIOS upgrades for their PCI-SATA-2R controller.

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I think you'll have to flash to a non-RAID BIOS, or at least change the device ID the driver looks for, to be able to install the non-RAID drivers.

Well, I've tried installing the non-RAID drivers forcefuly, already. The driver was not working and all the partition from the drive were in DOS compatibility mode. So, changing the device ID in the .inf file will not do, I think.

I have no idea how can I reflash the BIOS in the controller. Unitek does not seem to provide any BIOS upgrades for their PCI-SATA-2R controller.

Many Vendor supplied Drivers hard code the PCI IDs in their code, so changing the INF Files isn't sufficient.

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Guest wsxedcrfv

I can not force the 1.5GBit transfer rate on the ST31000524AS. The other drive is WD10EARS, so it does have the jumpers to force the 1.5GBit transfer rate.

As a workaround I'm using a IDE to SATA adapter in order to connect the ST31000524AS through the mainboard IDE port.

I'm seeing references to a "Mod15Write" problem on sil3112/3114 controllers in conjunction with many Seagate hard drives (7200.7), most or perhaps all of which include drives with model numbers starting with "ST3".

At this point I'm trying to figure out what the difference is between 3512 and 3112. Seems that some people are flashing the 3512 bios onto their 3112 controller cards...

Also - you might want to see what you can do with the Sil Sata/Raid control panel applet that you should have in your control panel. Possibly change some settings might get your hard drives working properly.

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Guest wsxedcrfv

I think the topic of the compatibility or usability of the Sil 3112 and 3114 SATA controller chips with Windows 98 might need a bit of exploration and clarification, and I'll try to do that in the future. I know this thread is dealing with a problem with 3112, but I think I've hit upon something that pertains to both types of controllers.

First, controller cards that have either the 3112 (2-port) and 3114 (4-port) SiL Sata controllers seem to have two different types of BIOS or firmware: One is Raid, and the other is non-raid (I think is also known as "Base"). This is also true for motherboards with integrated 3112 or 3114 controllers.

(side note: I have no idea if 3512 / 3514 are different chips than the 3112 / 3114, or just a different package, and / or if they have different drivers).

In most or all cases, whether integrated onto the motherboard or add-on card, the firmware will be the RAID type. There are firmware files available from Silicon Image for both add-on cards and motherboards (128 kb and 64 kb in size I believe) for both types of applications (raid and non-raid/base).

When it comes to the driver files, the important file is si3114.mpd (or si3112.mpd). What I've been seeing in my bootlog.txt is "Init Failure si3114.mpd" while trying to install the drivers for my 3114 card. So on a hunch, I took the raid version (si3114r.mpd) and renamed it to si3114.mpd and copied it into my \windows\system\iosubsys directory (renamed the existing si3114.mpd) and bingo - I get "init success si3114.mpd" and the card shows up with no (!) issues in device manager.

I don't have time right now to plug in any SATA drives and see if it's working - I'll do that later tonight.

I might even try to flash the non-raid firmware onto my card and see how that works.

So to recap, I think we need to understand or get more info about:

- 3512 / 3514 vs 3112 / 3114 (hardware? drivers? Cross-usage between them?)

- Raid vs non-raid (base?) firmware (does non-raid firmware give better SATA speed/performance?)

- "SataLink" vs "Softraid 5" identification / driver

- Control panel SATA applet / functionality / files

- What are the "best" files (best versions) to use for win-98:

-- Si3114.inf / Si3114r.inf / Si3114r5.inf

-- SI3114.cat / Si3114r.cat / Si3114r5.cat

-- Si3114.sys / Si3114r.sys

-- Si3114.mpd / Si3114r.mpd

-- SIISupp.vxd

-- SilSupp.cpl

I haven't acquired too many files (yet) for the 3112 chip or sata cards, but what I have so far seem to be just "r" files, as in si3112r.inf, si3112r.mpd, etc. I have no 3512 / 3514 files of any sort (not sure if the reason is they don't exist or I just haven't looked specifically for any of them yet).

Edited by wsxedcrfv
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I think the topic of the compatibility or usability of the Sil 3112 and 3114 SATA controller chips with Windows 98 might need a bit of exploration and clarification, and I'll try to do that in the future. I know this thread is dealing with a problem with 3112, but I think I've hit upon something that pertains to both types of controllers.

First, controller cards that have either the 3112 (2-port) and 3114 (4-port) SiL Sata controllers seem to have two different types of BIOS or firmware: One is Raid, and the other is non-raid (I think is also known as "Base"). This is also true for motherboards with integrated 3112 or 3114 controllers.

(side note: I have no idea if 3512 / 3514 are different chips than the 3112 / 3114, or just a different package, and / or if they have different drivers).

In most or all cases, whether integrated onto the motherboard or add-on card, the firmware will be the RAID type. There are firmware files available from Silicon Image for both add-on cards and motherboards (128 kb and 64 kb in size I believe) for both types of applications (raid and non-raid/base).

When it comes to the driver files, the important file is si3114.mpd (or si3112.mpd). What I've been seeing in my bootlog.txt is "Init Failure si3114.mpd" while trying to install the drivers for my 3114 card. So on a hunch, I took the raid version (si3114r.mpd) and renamed it to si3114.mpd and copied it into my \windows\system\iosubsys directory (renamed the existing si3114.mpd) and bingo - I get "init success si3114.mpd" and the card shows up with no (!) issues in device manager.

I don't have time right now to plug in any SATA drives and see if it's working - I'll do that later tonight.

I might even try to flash the non-raid firmware onto my card and see how that works.

So to recap, I think we need to understand or get more info about:

- 3512 / 3514 vs 3112 / 3114 (hardware? drivers? Cross-usage between them?)

- Raid vs non-raid (base?) firmware (does non-raid firmware give better SATA speed/performance?)

- "SataLink" vs "Softraid 5" identification / driver

- Control panel SATA applet / functionality / files

- What are the "best" files (best versions) to use for win-98:

-- Si3114.inf / Si3114r.inf / Si3114r5.inf

-- SI3114.cat / Si3114r.cat / Si3114r5.cat

-- Si3114.sys / Si3114r.sys

-- Si3114.mpd / Si3114r.mpd

-- SIISupp.vxd

-- SilSupp.cpl

I haven't acquired too many files (yet) for the 3112 chip or sata cards, but what I have so far seem to be just "r" files, as in si3112r.inf, si3112r.mpd, etc. I have no 3512 / 3514 files of any sort (not sure if the reason is they don't exist or I just haven't looked specifically for any of them yet).

There are driver sets available for both RAID and non-RAID controler versions. The problem is the compatibility with Windows 98 got dropped in both driver sets, quite a few years ago. So, the newer controller versions are no longer covered by the drivers for Windows 98. I do not know if reflashing the controller BIOS to older version can affect the driver compatibility problem.

The description of the 3512 chip has got ilustrations from the 3112. The driver sets are the same, as well. So, basicaly, it is the same design. Also, file names in driver sets for 3512 are clearly 3112. There are no files for just the 3512, then.

A wile ago, I was playing with a 3114 controller. While the driver was reported as working correctly, the drives were still in DOS compatibility mode. So, no exclamation mark in device manager does not mean, the driver is working correcly.

If the non-RAID is AHCI, it won't work with Win 9x/ME, while if it is " IDE-mode" it'll do OK, but probably be slower than RAID, provided their .mpd for it works OK. This <link> also may be of interest.

Since there are driver sets available, it can not be the problem with the AHCI interface. This problem is only valid, when using generic drivers for SATA controllers.

Edited by Sfor
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Guest wsxedcrfv

There are driver sets available for both RAID and non-RAID controler versions. The problem is the compatibility with Windows 98 got dropped in both driver sets, quite a few years ago. So, the newer controller versions are no longer covered by the drivers for Windows 98. I do not know if reflashing the controller BIOS to older version can affect the driver compatibility problem.

I have only ever seen two different BIOS versions (5.0.7.3 and 5.4.0.3) for the 3114 controller chips, and both of those are claimed to be fully supported under Windows 98 (primarily because they date to 2006 time-frame). The 3114 card I just bought at retail has 5.4.0.3 bios.

The description of the 3512 chip has got ilustrations from the 3112. The driver sets are the same, as well. So, basicaly, it is the same design. Also, file names in driver sets for 3512 are clearly 3112. There are no files for just the 3512, then.

I have looked at the data sheets for the 3112, 3114 and 3512, and based on that I can say:

3112:

- Rev "0" date and package type is unknown

- Rev "A" seems to date to August 2002

- Rev A is 144 TQFP package

- Rev B date is January 2003

- 144 TQFP package

- PCI 2.2 compliant

- Two-channel SATA controller

3114:

- Original data sheet dated September 2003

- Data sheet becomes public (no NDA) November 2006

- 176 TQFP package

- PCI 2.3 compliant

3512:

- Original data sheet dated January 2004

- Data sheet becomes public (no NDA) November 2006

- 128 TQFP package

- PCI 2.3 compliant

- Two-channel SATA controller

There is no reference on any of the data sheets to each-other, other than this sentence from the 3114 data sheet (page 74):

-------------

The programming sequence for the SiI3114 is about the same as for the SiI3112 or SiI3512. However, SiI3114 supports up to four SATA devices (instead of two for the others).

--------------

Other than a change in the number of pins on the chip, and the slight difference in PCI version compatibility (2.2 vs 2.3), the 3112 and 3512 are identical in every way that I can see from the data sheets. The pinout is different, but internally they are functionally and probably structurally identical (same micron process type).

A while ago, I was playing with a 3114 controller. While the driver was reported as working correctly, the drives were still in DOS compatibility mode. So, no exclamation mark in device manager does not mean, the driver is working correcly.

But if it was working in DOS compatibility mode, I would see that in the Performance tab in System Properties. I don't see that - I see "your system is configured for optimal performance". File System: 32-bit.

If the non-RAID is AHCI, it won't work with Win 9x/ME, while if it is " IDE-mode" it'll do OK, but probably be slower than RAID, provided their .mpd for it works OK. This <link> also may be of interest.

Yes, it would seem that someone else had already noticed that the drivers needed to be swapped in the inf files. 5 years ago.

Since there are driver sets available, it can not be the problem with the AHCI interface. This problem is only valid, when using generic drivers for SATA controllers.

I think these controller chips came out way before AHCI was implimented. So yes, I can say that I have two of my SATA drives (400 and 750 gb) working on this 3114 card. However, they seem to be working in PIO mode 0 or 1 (not DMA/UDMA). A file-copy test I performed (copying 7 gb worth of files from SATA drive 1 to SATA drive 2) worked out to about 5.9 million bytes per second. There is a utility program that sits in the system tray (Configuration for SATA Raid) that is Java based that I had to find a version that runs under windows (the one that came on the CD with the 3114 board did not run properly, but I found a different one). In theory I can set many different operating modes that take effect upon next boot, but none of the settings seem to actually work. So my next issue here will be to see how to enable MDMA or UDMA.

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My SiI3512 is working fine, as long as there is just one SATA drive connected to it. But, there is no DMA checkbox available in the Device Manager. Still the performance is just a bit worse than the same drive connected through a SATA to ATA adapter with UDMA-5 working. The difference in speed is just a few percent caused by the bus mastering, probably.

I do not have the SiI3114, any more. In any case, I was not able to make it work with windows 98. I do not know the bios version, but only the Si3114r5.inf had a proper identyfication strings for it. So, ir was the Soft Raid 5 version.

I'm not using the java utility. The one provided with 3114 was not working for me.

Edited by Sfor
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  • 2 weeks later...

I use a Dawicontrol DC-150 vers 1.1 card to drive one 2TB HD. It has a SiI 3112A chip. The drivers I got from the manufacturers site at

http://www.dawicontrol.com/html/raid.shtml

Note that this is a somewhat older page, which you cannot access from their main site. If you scroll down to DC-150 RAID, you find the raid driver:

Dawicontrol RAID BIOS 3.54
32-bit RAID Treiber Windows 2000/XP/Server2003/Vista 1.0.60.0

Although it does not say "Windows 98" the dc150drv.zip includes a Win98 driver. Some of the files have later versions than what has been posted here so far. I also use the BIOS 3.54, which is included.

So far I have only one issue with this card: the computer does shut down but it does not switch off.

Regarding the question raid vs non-raid:

The manual says, that the BIOS of the card can be disabled by a jumper, but this should only be made in case of booting problems and in this case one would need the special non-raid driver.

There is also an option to deactivate the BIOS by the flash program. Is this case one has to use the raid driver.

Non-raid drivers can also be downloaded from the PCMCIA page

http://www.dawicontrol.com/html/pcmcia.shtml

May be these PCMCIA cards don't have a BIOS?

Wolfgang

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I did replace the driver with the one obtained from Dawicontrol page. It does have newer files and istalls without a problem on the Windows 98.

Everything seems to be working fine until a second SATA drive gets connected. Then Windows 98 freezes during boot. So, no change for me.

I do not know if it is safe to replace the Silicon Image BIOS with the Dawicontrol one. The chip is not exactly the same, I'm afraid.

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Guest wsxedcrfv

Everything seems to be working fine until a second SATA drive gets connected. Then Windows 98 freezes during boot. So, no change for me.

Do you have more than two SATA drives you can try to connect? Preferably not made by Seagate?

I'm wondering if it's always your Seagate drive that doesn't work as the second drive. Do you know if, say, two Western Digital drives work?

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Currently I do have just Seagate ST31000524AS and Western Digital WD10EARS. I had another Seagate 500GB SATA drive a while ago. But, the effect was exactly the same. I do not remember trying to connect both Seagate drives to the controller, at the same time. So, it is possible to say it was always a Seagate and WD pair.

So, I can not use two other than Seagate drives, I'm afraid.

Edited by Sfor
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Guest wsxedcrfv

So, I can not use two other than Seagate drives, I'm afraid.

That's assuming you don't want to obtain another WD drive so you will have two WD drives and see if that works.

As I've posted before, there does seem to have been an issue with Seagate drives and SiL controllers.

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As I've posted before, there does seem to have been an issue with Seagate drives and SiL controllers.

To avoid time-consuming problems I stay away from SATA HDDs inside my desktop computer, and stick with old expensive PATA HDDs inside my desktop.

My experience with questionable Seagate SATA HDDs with brick-risk, of which I had a basketful, made me restrict the use of SATA HDDs to external storage. When encountering hard-to-resolve Win98 problems, I'd like to have excluded the possibility that the problem could be caused by a firmware/driver issue of the SATA HDD...
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  • 7 months later...

Dear msfn forum,

please help me because I have purchased and just received the PCI card product based on the SD-SATA150R SIL3512 chipset by Syba, in order to improve the performance of my old P3 PC with the Win98 operating system and carrying only connections for PATA HD drives, to be able to use also the SATA HD drives.

I would like kindly know where to download the drivers for Win98SE because at product page

www.sybausa.com/productInfo.php?iid=507

and also as shown on the printed package received the product in question should be compatible with MS Windows operating systems 98SE/Me / Server 2000/Windows 2003/XP/NT 4.0/Vista/7 / Linux and the drivers can be downloaded at

www.sybausa.com/resource/SD-SATA150R/SD-SATA150R_Windows_98SE-Me-2000-Windows_Server_2003-XP-NT_4.0-Vista-7-_Linux.zip

.

Unfortunately, despite the file name, this file does not contain any drivers for my operating system (Win98SE), not even the CD that came with the card package contains the necessary drivers for Win98SE!

The sata HD is accessed only in slow bios compatibility mode (at 1 Mb /sec, without any drivers!).

I would like kindly to know where I can find the drivers compatible with Win98SE required to operate the SD-SATA150R PCI card that I just bought. I am in big troubles!

With my best regards from Italy and thankyou for your patience.

I41Mar

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