Integration of NVIDIA's nForce RAID and AHCI drivers

[liqnit]

Thanks for all the help

just a small update i am using Tyan S2915-E with NVRaid BIOS 9.83 version.

In order for Win XP SP2 x64 to work i needed to work with 9.24 release , older driers are not working

Thanks for posting the working nForce chipset driver package version, which might help other users with the same mainboard.

Which is the exact nForce chipset name of your mainboard? Is it the nForce Professional 3000 series?

The board is Tyan S2915 which is Nforce 3600 + Nforce 3050

http://www.tyan.com/product_board_detail.aspx?pid=541

[Fernando 1]

The board is Tyan S2915 which is Nforce 3600 + Nforce 3050.

Thanks for the response and the link to the details of your mainboard (I already found this page before).

My question had another background. Future users with the same nForce chipset mainboard should know where they can download the suitable nForce chipset drivers as mentioned within my guide.

Is it possible to get the 9.24 package from NVIDIA? If yes, which chipset series and chipset will the user have to choose at NVIDIA's download homepage to be leaded at least to these drivers?

EDIT:

Meanwhile I found the chipset driver package v.9.24, which has successfully been used for Windows XP x64 by liqnit. If you are at NVIDIA's driver homepage, you have to choose "nForce", "nForce Professional 3000 Series", "driver" and then "Windows Server 2003 x64" as OS. So you won't get them, if you are searching for Windows XP x64 nForce chipset drivers!

Edited January 3, 2008 by Fernando 1

[deanm]

Hi!

I have an Nforce2 motherboard MSI K7N2-ILSR with Promise pdc20376 chip (which can also be called "Promise 376" or "Promise FastTrak"). I did not find a solution in this topic to install Windows XP without floppy, BUT it did help me to try different things which led to a successful floppy-free installation! And the solution is very simple.

MSI offers a package for my motherboard on their website called "nVidia nForce2 SATA RAID Driver (For floppy driver)" which seems like the right one, given that it is listed on the driver page for this motherboard model, but this driver does not work.

So I started looking for a different package and noticed that there was one more driver package which sounded right located on the bottom of the drivers list. This package was "Promise Serial-ATA RAID Drivers".

The guidance in this post told me that I should add the drivers as PNP, which I did try, but the right choice was TEXT mode. By clicking on add -> single driver -> pointing to the WinXP folder and fasttx2k and clicking ok gave me a list which had "WinXP Promise FastTrak 376 Controller" on it. Seemed correct so I selected it and continued.

Burned the image on the cd and finally it worked.

I am not sure if this post would have been the correct post for my system, since as far as I now understand, I don't have an NVIDIA nForce SATA raid chip although I have NVIDIA nForce chipset.

Anyways, thought I'd post this here for people with the same motherboard or same SATA chip, so that they can find help more easily than I did.

Thanks to Fernando for the help your post and testing has provided me with!

[Fernando 1]

I have an Nforce2 motherboard MSI K7N2-ILSR with Promise pdc20376 chip (which can also be called "Promise 376" or "Promise FastTrak"). I did not find a solution in this topic to install Windows XP without floppy, BUT it did help me to try different things which led to a successful floppy-free installation! And the solution is very simple.

MSI offers a package for my motherboard on their website called "nVidia nForce2 SATA RAID Driver (For floppy driver)" which seems like the right one, given that it is listed on the driver page for this motherboard model, but this driver does not work.

So I started looking for a different package and noticed that there was one more driver package which sounded right located on the bottom of the drivers list. This package was "Promise Serial-ATA RAID Drivers".

The guidance in this post told me that I should add the drivers as PNP, which I did try, but the right choice was TEXT mode.

Storage Controller drivers with a file named TXTSETUP.OEM always have to be integrated as TEXTMODE. You won't find anything else within my guide.

By clicking on add -> single driver -> pointing to the WinXP folder and fasttx2k and clicking ok gave me a list which had "WinXP Promise FastTrak 376 Controller" on it. Seemed correct so I selected it and continued.

Burned the image on the cd and finally it worked.

I am not sure if this post would have been the correct post for my system, since as far as I now understand, I don't have an NVIDIA nForce SATA raid chip although I have NVIDIA nForce chipset.

Anyways, thought I'd post this here for people with the same motherboard or same SATA chip, so that they can find help more easily than I did.

Thanks for this report about the intagration of the Promise FastTrak Controller drivers.

Hopefully other users with the same Controller will find your post here.

CU

Fernando

EDIT: More than 500.000 views now - I am overwhelmed with emotions!

Edited February 14, 2008 by Fernando 1

[Olograph]

That sexy ride :

Asus M2N32-SLI Deluxe

AMD Athlon 64 X2 6000+

4 x 1gb Crucial Ballistix PC6400 4-4-4-12

2 x Western Digital Caviar SE16 500GB, 7200rpm, 16MB, SATA-300

1 x EVGA GeForce 8800 GTS

is having a lot of problem with its Windows Xp 64 bit installation

I tried with out of the box drivers pressing f6 during windows installation initialisation.

But each time I get the message Starting Windows (Before the 1st interactive menu in the installation)

it shows an evil BSOD.

I tried to make a nLight disk with the nForce 590 drivers from nVidia site but no luck. I've put SATARAID textmodes and the othe in PNP. (Should I try to make one with drivers form the chipset driver package from the Asus site?)

I'm having an healty RAID 0 setup on the two disks!

Can someone troubleshoot this?

Thanks a lot!!

Edited February 19, 2008 by Olograph

[Fernando 1]

That sexy ride :

Really fine system, but obviously no luck with the OS installation.

Asus M2N32-SLI Deluxe

AMD Athlon 64 X2 6000+

4 x 1gb Crucial Ballistix PC6400 4-4-4-12

2 x Western Digital Caviar SE16 500GB, 7200rpm, 16MB, SATA-300

1 x EVGA GeForce 8800 GTS

is having a lot of problem with its Windows Xp 64 bit installation

Have you tried to remove 1 or better 2 of the memory sticks during the installation?

I am nearly sure, that this will solve your problem.

I tried with out of the box drivers pressing f6 during windows installation initialisation.

But each time I get the message Starting Windows (Before the 1st interactive menu in the installation)

it shows an evil BSOD.

It would have been a good idea to take a picture from that BSOD. Did you get any error message? If, yes, which one?

I tried to make a nLight disk with the nForce 590 drivers from nVidia site but no luck. I've put SATARAID textmodes and the othe in PNP.

You probably should only integrate the SATARAID folder as textmode and nothing else.

(Should I try to make one with drivers form the chipset driver package from the Asus site?)

You may try it, if the removal of the memory sticks doesn't help.

I'm having an healty RAID 0 setup on the two disks!

That is not enough. You need a rock stable system (no overclocking and rock stable memory sticks).

[Olograph]

It would have been a good idea to take a picture from that BSOD. Did you get any error message? If, yes, which one?

I got a 0x0000007B error that tells me to run chkdsk. It is a storage device error. Need precision?

Have you tried to remove 1 or better 2 of the memory sticks during the installation?

I am nearly sure, that this will solve your problem.

Seriously, I already installed WinXp 64 bit and even 32 bit on the same system without any issue. When I say Installed, I mean, tested with benchmarks. I had a lot of problem in the past with memory with another system and I don't think it's the case....Also, the error I get is about HDD anyway....I'll do it if it is the last available solution......man changing a ram bracket in that monster is insane !!!

You probably should only integrate the SATARAID folder as textmode and nothing else.

Should the extra drivers cause interference?

You need a rock stable system (no overclocking and rock stable memory sticks).

What do you mean? Because overclocking mess up the southbridge? (I did no overclocking)

Additionnal informations :

I got a DVD Burner plugged in another SATA controller.

My Hard Drives are healty, I used the Western Digital diagnostic tool.

I know there's a lot of RAID issues with my motherboard M2N32-SLI and Western Digital HDDs

What I'm gonna try now is to put nVidia RAID controller drivers and Silicon Image(Other sata/raid controller) sata driver on a floppy and do the f6 trick again.

Thanks a lot dude!!!

[Olograph]

Wow, it worked.

I just put the both controller drivers on an nLight disk and voila!

I've been able to install windows but see next post!!!

Edited February 20, 2008 by Olograph

[Olograph]

I talked too fast, Windows crashed during the install and now I'm stuck in a reboot loop .

It crashes always after it shows the Windows logo.

In safe mode it stuck at acpitabl.dat file.

HELP!!!!

Edited February 20, 2008 by Olograph

[Fernando 1]

It would have been a good idea to take a picture from that BSOD. Did you get any error message? If, yes, which one?

I got a 0x0000007B error that tells me to run chkdsk. It is a storage device error. Need precision?

No, not necessary. This sort of BSOD is a very common one and mostly related to a memory issue.

Have you tried to remove 1 or better 2 of the memory sticks during the installation?

I am nearly sure, that this will solve your problem.

Seriously, I already installed WinXp 64 bit and even 32 bit on the same system without any issue. When I say Installed, I mean, tested with benchmarks. I had a lot of problem in the past with memory with another system and I don't think it's the case....Also, the error I get is about HDD anyway....I'll do it if it is the last available solution......man changing a ram bracket in that monster is insane !!!

It is not a good idea to build a monster where you cannot easily remove any hardware like a memory stick.

I am still very confident that the removal of 1 or 2 sticks could be able to solve your problem.

You probably should only integrate the SATARAID folder as textmode and nothing else.

Should the extra drivers cause interference?

This is possible with nForce 5-7 RAID systems. The installation of the nForce SataRaid drivers at actual nForce systems is managed by one single INF file, which is associated with the nVRAID driver within the SATARAID folder. Only older nForce SataRaid systems additionally need the nForce S-ATA driver INF file (which you only find within the SATA_IDE folder) to get the nForce SataRaid drivers installed. The integration of the unneeded SATA_IDE driver folder might be critical with NF5-7 chipsets.

You need a rock stable system (no overclocking and rock stable memory sticks).

What do you mean? Because overclocking mess up the southbridge? (I did no overclocking)

The installation of an OS is a very complicated thing. Especially 64bit Windows Operating Systems need fully compatible memory sticks and rock stable BIOS settings.

Additionnal informations :

I got a DVD Burner plugged in another SATA controller.

My Hard Drives are healty, I used the Western Digital diagnostic tool.

I know there's a lot of RAID issues with my motherboard M2N32-SLI and Western Digital HDDs

Your S-ATA connected DVD Burner might be a problem while installing an OS onto an nForce SataRAID array. I had to remove my previously built-in S-ATA DVD Burner, because it was impossible to get any OS installed onto my RAID by booting off this device.

What I'm gonna try now is to put nVidia RAID controller drivers and Silicon Image(Other sata/raid controller) sata driver on a floppy and do the f6 trick again.

Why have you done that? Are you not sure, if you have created a NVIDIA or a Silicon Image RAID?

I talked too fast, Windows crashed during the install and now I'm stuck in a reboot loop .

It crashes always after it shows the Windows logo.

In safe mode it stuck at acpitabl.dat file.

What about your Power Management settings?

You should have enabled ACPI within your BIOS and within your nLite settings.

Good luck!

Fernando

[Olograph]

It is not a good idea to build a monster where you cannot easily remove any hardware like a memory stick

It is not that dramatic...I mean, I'm lazy to change memory sticks for any PC.....it's a pain in the a**.

I am still very confident that the removal of 1 or 2 sticks could be able to solve your problem.

I'll try it just to humiliate yourself joke...

The integration of the unneeded SATA_IDE driver folder might be critical with NF5-7 chipsets

OK

Why have you done that? Are you not sure, if you have created a NVIDIA or a Silicon Image RAID?

M2N32 motherboard got 2 SATA/RAID controllers.....1st is nVidia, 2nd is silicon image. I've put both on my nLite disk nVidia RAID drivers (since that controller is on RAID mode) and Silicon Image Sata drivers (since that controller is on sata mode). (I got my DVD drive plugged into Silicon Image controller)

That is what I needed to avoid Windows install BSOD - > both controller drivers. But now I got the reboot loop sh**

What about your Power Management settings?

You should have enabled ACPI within your BIOS and within your nLite settings.

Tell me more about ACPI vs nLite and ACPI vs BIOS....I took a quick look at my BIOS and found nothing about ACPI.

Your S-ATA connected DVD Burner might be a problem while installing an OS onto an nForce SataRAID array. I had to remove my previously built-in S-ATA DVD Burner, because it was impossible to get any OS installed onto my RAID by booting off this device.

I'll try rather than to put both controller drivers on an nLite disk.....only use the nVidia SATA/RAID controller. I mean, I'll unplug the DVD Drive to the Silicon Image controller and desactivate the controller. Then I'll plus the cd drive on the nVidia controller.

I'll thy to load only nVidia drivers with f6 method since I got only one divers to insert.

"since I got only one divers to insert"....is the only advantage of nLite in this post is to be able loading several drivers at the same windows installation?

1000 Thanks

[Fernando 1]

Why have you done that? Are you not sure, if you have created a NVIDIA or a Silicon Image RAID?

M2N32 motherboard got 2 SATA/RAID controllers.....1st is nVidia, 2nd is silicon image. I've put both on my nLite disk nVidia RAID drivers (since that controller is on RAID mode) and Silicon Image Sata drivers (since that controller is on sata mode). (I got my DVD drive plugged into Silicon Image controller)

That is what I needed to avoid Windows install BSOD - > both controller drivers. But now I got the reboot loop sh**

Which Silicon Image S-ATA driver did you integrate (give me the download link) and how did you do it (as textmode or PnP)? I ask this, because Windows XP x64 shouldn't have a problem to detect the S-ATA connected DVD drive without any third party drivers.

What about your Power Management settings?

You should have enabled ACPI within your BIOS and within your nLite settings.

Tell me more about ACPI vs nLite and ACPI vs BIOS....I took a quick look at my BIOS and found nothing about ACPI.

BIOS will be no problem, if you leave the default settings untouched.

When you are working with nLite, you get the option of different "Computer type" settings. You should either choose the correct setting (depending on your processor type, but with ACPI support) or leave it at "automatic" or "default".

Your S-ATA connected DVD Burner might be a problem while installing an OS onto an nForce SataRAID array. I had to remove my previously built-in S-ATA DVD Burner, because it was impossible to get any OS installed onto my RAID by booting off this device.

I'll try rather than to put both controller drivers on an nLite disk.....only use the nVidia SATA/RAID controller. I mean, I'll unplug the DVD Drive to the Silicon Image controller and desactivate the controller. Then I'll plus the cd drive on the nVidia controller.

I'll thy to load only nVidia drivers with f6 method since I got only one divers to insert.

"since I got only one divers to insert"....is the only advantage of nLite in this post is to be able loading several drivers at the same windows installation?

If you want, you can integrate more than 1 textmode driver by using nLite.

It might be a good idea to generally connect the DVD Burner with a Silicon Image S-ATA port, because this way you get a clear separation between your SATA2 hdd's, which are working in RAID mode and your DVD drive, which is running in SATA1 mode and doesn't need any Silicon Image drivers.

One more thing: Please try to get the error message of your infinite reboot loops. It is quite easy to get it: Just hit F8 a few seconds after the reboot and choose the option "don't reboot at system failure". Then you can read the BSOD message and maybe see the driver which causes the BSOD.

[Olograph]

Which Silicon Image S-ATA driver did you integrate (give me the download link) and how did you do it (as textmode or PnP)? I ask this, because Windows XP x64 shouldn't have a problem to detect the S-ATA connected DVD drive without any third party drivers.

First nLite DVD I tried was:

Silicon Image Drivers

I went to download : Silicon Image 3132 Serial ATA Driver V1.0.5.0 for Windows 64bit XP/2003(WHQL)

From: Motherboard/AM2/M2N32-SLI Deluxe/IDE/

http://dlsvr03.asus.com/pub/ASUS/misc/ide/..._SATA_V1050.zip

+

nVidia Drivers

http://www.nvidia.com/object/nforce_nf590_winxp64_9.35.html

Criterion: nForce, nForce 5 Series, nForce 590 SLI AMD, Driver, Windows XP 64-bit

Second was

Silicon Image SATA Drivers for x64 for 2003/Xp from Mobo CD

+

nVidia Drivers WinXp x64 from Mobo CD

Both results in the same issue....Reboot loop

One more thing: Please try to get the error message of your infinite reboot loops. It is quite easy to get it: Just hit F8 a few seconds after the reboot and choose the option "don't reboot at system failure". Then you can read the BSOD message and maybe see the driver which causes the BSOD.

Exactly same 0x0000007B error. I'll send you a picture of it tonight

BIOS will be no problem, if you leave the default settings untouched.

When you are working with nLite, you get the option of different "Computer type" settings. You should either choose the correct setting (depending on your processor type, but with ACPI support) or leave it at "automatic" or "default".

I'll take a look

doesn't need any Silicon Image drivers.

Never been able even to install Windows without Silicon Image Drivers. I mean, with x64 and that RAID 0 config

Thanks

Edited February 20, 2008 by Olograph

[Fernando 1]

Which Silicon Image S-ATA driver did you integrate (give me the download link) and how did you do it (as textmode or PnP)? I ask this, because Windows XP x64 shouldn't have a problem to detect the S-ATA connected DVD drive without any third party drivers.

First nLite DVD I tried was:

Silicon Image Drivers

I went to download : Silicon Image 3132 Serial ATA Driver V1.0.5.0 for Windows 64bit XP/2003(WHQL)

From: Motherboard/AM2/M2N32-SLI Deluxe/IDE/

http://dlsvr03.asus.com/pub/ASUS/misc/ide/..._SATA_V1050.zip

Here you can get the newest textmode SATA drivers for your Sil3132 S-ATA chips.

One more thing: Please try to get the error message of your infinite reboot loops. It is quite easy to get it: Just hit F8 a few seconds after the reboot and choose the option "don't reboot at system failure". Then you can read the BSOD message and maybe see the driver which causes the BSOD.

Exactly same 0x0000007B error. I'll send you a picture of it tonight

No file name within the message?

doesn't need any Silicon Image drivers.

Never been able even to install Windows without Silicon Image Drivers. I mean, with x64 and that RAID 0 config

I am a little bit unsure about that, because it is a long time ago when I have used a Silicon Image S-ATA port. AFAIK Windows XP (32/64bit) is able to detect and to manage all non-AHCI SATA1 devices by using the MS Standard Dual Channel PCI IDE Controller, but maybe you are right and you will need to load/integrate the Silicon Image S-ATA textmode driver.

[Olograph]

I am a little bit unsure about that

I tried twice, one without and once with the Silicon Image driver.

Without wasn't working at all! (Crash when seeing starting windows in the installation as if a driver was missing)

No file name within the message?

No, nothing that I remember. I'll still shoot you a screenshot of that BSOD.

how did you do it (as textmode or PnP)?

Sorry, old question...I selected TextMode for Silicon Image and only half of the two options....there was 1 for "Itanium" processor and 1 for x64 multi-processor. I choosed only x64 multi-processor.

For the nVidia SATA/RAID Drivers I selected both TEXTMODE rows with "required" at the end.

Do I need PNP somehow?

Here you can get the newest textmode SATA drivers for your Sil3132 S-ATA chips.

I got the latest BIOS version, maybe I need the latest Silicon Driver too in addition.

I'll try that......too!

And thanks a lot!

Edited February 20, 2008 by Olograph