Integration of NVIDIA's nForce RAID and AHCI drivers

[acemoab]

I apologize for posting yet another message on this huge thread, but I seem to be having a different problem related to nVidia chipsets and nLite.

SUMMARY: F6 AND FLOPPY INSTALL OF nVIDIA RAID DRIVERS NO LONGER WORKS ON AN nLITE PROCESSED WINXP PRO X86 VLK CD.

DETAILS:

I need to make a universal install disk for all the machines in my company that I can keep in my possession (or that of my assistant) to install/reinstall Windows XP Pro X86 VLK to all our diverse machines, and any new ones which might be bought by the lunatics in purchasing. I wish to prevent people copying this disk to (hopefully) prevent them from stealing our very expensive Volume License. (I hope they don't know the easy method of finding this!)

So far, on machines with nVidia nForce chipsets and a bootable RAID array I have observed the following problem which seems different from other people's experiences:

I can EASILY install WinXP Pro X86 VLK to nVidia RAID volumes with the original SP0 disk, the F6 thingy, and a floppy with the drivers on it. I can use old or new drivers, and have had no problems.

When I use nLite to ONLY slipstream SP2, the 120 odd post-SP2 updates, and our precious CD key into the installation, the F6/floppy procedure fails as follows:

Windows install can easily recoginze, format, and copy a few folders onto the new nVidia RAID volume, but when it tries to read the files from the floppy the SECOND time (after saying "Making a list of the files to be copied...") it cannot read nvraid.sys (or whatever the first file in the list is) from the floppy.

I have not had time to see if slipstreaming the nVidia drivers onto the disk solves this, nor have I been able to verify if this problem happens when trying to install, say Intel or VIA RAID drivers. We have all of these here!!

Is this a separate or new problem from the one in this thread? Does anyone else know about this? Does anyone have a solution (other than the horrible time wasting solution of not using nLite or slipstreaming?) Is this a problem with Windows or nLite?

I have tried every version of the nVidia drivers out there, with the same result. Thanks!

[AgiHammerklau]

Interesting prob, but :

I need to make a universal install disk for all the machines in my company

...

Agi Hammerklau

[Fernando 1]

SUMMARY: F6 AND FLOPPY INSTALL OF nVIDIA RAID DRIVERS NO LONGER WORKS ON AN nLITE PROCESSED WINXP PRO X86 VLK CD.

DETAILS:

I need to make a universal install disk for all the machines in my company that I can keep in my possession (or that of my assistant) to install/reinstall Windows XP Pro X86 VLK to all our diverse machines, and any new ones which might be bought by the lunatics in purchasing. I wish to prevent people copying this disk to (hopefully) prevent them from stealing our very expensive Volume License. (I hope they don't know the easy method of finding this!)

So far, on machines with nVidia nForce chipsets and a bootable RAID array I have observed the following problem which seems different from other people's experiences:

I can EASILY install WinXP Pro X86 VLK to nVidia RAID volumes with the original SP0 disk, the F6 thingy, and a floppy with the drivers on it. I can use old or new drivers, and have had no problems.

When I use nLite to ONLY slipstream SP2, the 120 odd post-SP2 updates, and our precious CD key into the installation, the F6/floppy procedure fails as follows:

Windows install can easily recoginze, format, and copy a few folders onto the new nVidia RAID volume, but when it tries to read the files from the floppy the SECOND time (after saying "Making a list of the files to be copied...") it cannot read nvraid.sys (or whatever the first file in the list is) from the floppy.

This is not an issue of nLite, but an issue of the Windows Setup routine! If the Windows Setup routine finds a file named WINNT.SIF (contains instructions for the unattended install) within the i386 directory, it will not find the textmode drivers you will load via F6/floppy.

As you have created a WINNT.SIF file by putting the CD key into the nLited CD, the F6 method will not work.

You have 2 options to solve the problem:

1. Create a new nLited CD without implementing the CD key.

2. Create a new nLited CD with integrated nForce SataRaid drivers.

[acemoab]

Thanks Fernando 1. You may have saved my job, and my sanity too! I lost an entire weekend at home on my own time to this problem.

My problem:

"SUMMARY: F6 AND FLOPPY INSTALL OF nVIDIA RAID DRIVERS NO LONGER WORKS ON AN nLITE PROCESSED WINXP PRO X86 VLK CD."

Your simple solution:

"You have 2 options to solve the problem:

1. Create a new nLited CD without implementing the CD key.

2. Create a new nLited CD with integrated nForce SataRaid drivers."

Physically controlling the CD will just have to do, concerning the security of our Volume License Key! Saving the time of having to install SP2 and all the updates every time I do a re-install of Windows will make me look much better in the eyes of my (id***) boss. Now I will be able to do two or three a day instead of one.

Thanks again!

[Fernando 1]

Thanks Fernando 1. You may have saved my job, and my sanity too! I lost an entire weekend at home on my own time to this problem.

You are welcome.

It makes me happy to possibly having saved a job of someone by just writing a little post within a forum.

CU

Fernando

[acemoab]

Attention Fernando 1:

In regards to nLite's ability to change unattended setup options (by I386\winnt.sif), there might be a way to change these, yet still allow users to use the F6/floppy option to install RAID or SCSI drivers!!

I just spent an hour studying unattended installations. A good reference of the winnt.sif file appears here http://unattended.msfn.org/unattended.xp/view/web/19/ I have never thought I needed this feature, but apparently, I do!

I have not tested this, but it seems one could change nLite's default setting of the Oempreinstall variable from "Yes" (which prevents the F6/floppy driver install) to "No" which should allow it. (In the I386\winnt.sif file).

nLite MAY HAVE A BUG HERE ACTUALLY (I could be wrong, however). The Oempreinstall option is supposedly to support automatic copying of files from directories called the "$OEM$ Distribution Folders" to the final installation, regardless of where it is on the target system. If these are not used (nLite does not seem to allow their inclusion or modification) this option can probably be turned off.

I have not tested this (I will try to and post my results), but perhaps nLite should just set this option to "No." Unless the option does something else, I think that will allow a CD Key, and other unattended options, to be integrated into the install and still allow RAID/SCSI drivers to be installed in Windows textmode using F6.

[Fernando 1]

I have not tested this, but it seems one could change nLite's default setting of the Oempreinstall variable from "Yes" (which prevents the F6/floppy driver install) to "No" which should allow it. (In the I386\winnt.sif file).

nLite MAY HAVE A BUG HERE ACTUALLY (I could be wrong, however). The Oempreinstall option is supposedly to support automatic copying of files from directories called the "$OEM$ Distribution Folders" to the final installation, regardless of where it is on the target system. If these are not used (nLite does not seem to allow their inclusion or modification) this option can probably be turned off.

I have not tested this (I will try to and post my results), but perhaps nLite should just set this option to "No." Unless the option does something else, I think that will allow a CD Key, and other unattended options, to be integrated into the install and still allow RAID/SCSI drivers to be installed in Windows textmode using F6.

You may test it, but I doubt, that you will succeed by just disabling the OEMPreinstall option.

Why don't you just integrate the nForce S-ATA and RAID drivers into your bootable XP CD's by using nLite? Even if there is no nForce RAID array, you won't get any problems, because Windows Setup will only install drivers, when it finds the associated hardware.

If you want to use the "Unattended Install" part without using the "Driver Integration" part of nLite, there is still the possibility to manually integrate the nForce S-ATA and RAID drivers into your nLited CD before creating the ISO file., but I don't see any reason for going that hard way.

Edited July 27, 2007 by Fernando 1

[To be confirmed]

I couldn't see the info for my particular setup. I just have a single ATA133 200 GB drive. I have an nforce4 ultra chipset. Do I need to carry out the special intergration process for the nvidia drivers, and which ones do I use if I dont want SATA or RAID?

If you don't need any nForce IDE (S-ATA/Raid) drivers, you can integrate the nForce Ethernet and Audio drivers as PnP drivers.

This thread was started to help users with an nForce SataRaid system. That is the reason why you didn¨t find the requested informations.

That's my exact question! Do I need any nForce SATA/RAID drivers if I have such controllers in the motherboard, but am only using the IDE controllers?

I would have thought this was the ideal thread for a question like that? I already know about the ethernet and audio integration, but I'm trying get the basics working before I touch even more drivers.

Thanks for your time.

[Fernando 1]

I couldn't see the info for my particular setup. I just have a single ATA133 200 GB drive. I have an nforce4 ultra chipset. Do I need to carry out the special intergration process for the nvidia drivers, and which ones do I use if I dont want SATA or RAID?

If you don't need any nForce IDE (S-ATA/Raid) drivers, you can integrate the nForce Ethernet and Audio drivers as PnP drivers.

This thread was started to help users with an nForce SataRaid system. That is the reason why you didn¨t find the requested informations.

That's my exact question! Do I need any nForce SATA/RAID drivers if I have such controllers in the motherboard, but am only using the IDE controllers?

No!

If you want to use NVIDIA's native IDE driver (nForce P-ATA = IDE s/w driver), you should integrate the LEGACY subfolder of the 6.86 chipset driver package as PnP driver, but many users reported, that they had less problems by using the XP in-box MS IDE drivers.

[rcflyer]

I'm using nlite to slipstream the raid drivers for the P5N32E SLI motherboard. When i integrated the drivers it didn't include the textsetup.oem file into the folder that has the raid drivers. Does that file need to be in that folder? I used the single file method. I'm using the latest drivers from nvidia's web site. The textsetup.oem file is in their raid folder after it extracted. If it needs to be on the cd why didn't it add it? If it does need that file how do I get it to add it? Also, do i need to add the serial_ata drivers as plug and play on the cd? Sorry for all the questions. Nice thread and thanks for trying to help everyone.

P.S. The driver package is 9.53

Edited August 1, 2007 by rcflyer

[Fernando 1]

I'm using nlite to slipstream the raid drivers for the P5N32E SLI motherboard. When i integrated the drivers it didn't include the textsetup.oem file into the folder that has the raid drivers. Does that file need to be in that folder? I used the single file method. I'm using the latest drivers from nvidia's web site. The textsetup.oem file is in their raid folder after it extracted. If it needs to be on the cd why didn't it add it? If it does need that file how do I get it to add it? Also, do i need to add the serial_ata drivers as plug and play on the cd? Sorry for all the questions. Nice thread and thanks for trying to help everyone.

Everything is fine as it is. There is no need for the TXTSETUP.OEM file within the nForce RAID driver folder of your nLited CD.

The TXTSETUP.OEM file contains some informations, which are needed for the correct installation of mass storage controller devices and is only needed during the very first (=TEXTMODE) part of the Windows OS installation (otherwise the OS Setup routine wouldn't be able to detect your RAID device). NLite uses the informations of this OEM file, but you don't see the file itself within your nLited CD.

[sleonardo]

Below is where I am getting stuck.

"If you are using the new SATARAID/SATA_IDE integration method, you have to integrate the SATARAID subfolder as textmode driver and additionally the SATA_IDE subfolder of the same package as PnP driver. "

I seem to be proceeding ok but when I get to this step, I do not get to control whether the SATARAID driver gets integrated as textmode or not. I have no choice, it just adds it as PnP driver. I do not know how to get it to add as textmode. I did some research and it seems I require some kind of text file in the folder to make it integrate as text mode. Please let me know what I can do.

My chipset is nForce 430.

Thanks in advance!

[Fernando 1]

Below is where I am getting stuck.

"If you are using the new SATARAID/SATA_IDE integration method, you have to integrate the SATARAID subfolder as textmode driver and additionally the SATA_IDE subfolder of the same package as PnP driver. "

I seem to be proceeding ok but when I get to this step, I do not get to control whether the SATARAID driver gets integrated as textmode or not. I have no choice, it just adds it as PnP driver. I do not know how to get it to add as textmode. I did some research and it seems I require some kind of text file in the folder to make it integrate as text mode. Please let me know what I can do.

My chipset is nForce 430.

Normally you haven't to do anything - nLite will automaticly integrate the SATARAID folder as TEXTMODE driver (because this driver folder has a file named TXTSETUP.OEM) and the SATA_IDE folder as PnP driver (PnP drivers don't have a TXTSETUP.OEM file).

There has to be a file named TXTSETUP.OEM within the SATARAID folder. If not, please post the nForce chipset driver package version you are using.

[sleonardo]

Below is where I am getting stuck.

"If you are using the new SATARAID/SATA_IDE integration method, you have to integrate the SATARAID subfolder as textmode driver and additionally the SATA_IDE subfolder of the same package as PnP driver. "

I seem to be proceeding ok but when I get to this step, I do not get to control whether the SATARAID driver gets integrated as textmode or not. I have no choice, it just adds it as PnP driver. I do not know how to get it to add as textmode. I did some research and it seems I require some kind of text file in the folder to make it integrate as text mode. Please let me know what I can do.

My chipset is nForce 430.

Normally you haven't to do anything - nLite will automaticly integrate the SATARAID folder as TEXTMODE driver (because this driver folder has a file named TXTSETUP.OEM) and the SATA_IDE folder as PnP driver (PnP drivers don't have a TXTSETUP.OEM file).

There has to be a file named TXTSETUP.OEM within the SATARAID folder. If not, please post the nForce chipset driver package version you are using.

The following is the chipset driver version I am using. First of all I assume that Vista drivers will work for XP Pro since there are non for XP Pro. I got these from the nVidia download website. This chipset is the one that fits mine because my nForce 430 board has integrated graphics.

http://www.nvidia.com/object/nforce_nf400_...sta_15.01G.html

[Fernando 1]

The following is the chipset driver version I am using. First of all I assume that Vista drivers will work for XP Pro since there are non for XP Pro. I got these from the nVidia download website. This chipset is the one that fits mine because my nForce 430 board has integrated graphics.

http://www.nvidia.com/object/nforce_nf400_...sta_15.01G.html

You cannot use Vista nForce chipset drivers for pre-Vista Operating Systems as Windows XP (it makes no difference, if you have XP Home or XP Professional).

These drivers will not work at all for you!

EDIT: Take these nForce chipset drivers!

Edited August 16, 2007 by Fernando 1