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Integration of NVIDIA's nForce RAID and AHCI drivers


Fernando 1

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It may seem a stupid question, but i still can't figure out what driver package would be the best for my A8N-SLI Premium in Raid 0 (nForce 4 AMD SLI).
The "best" nForce chipset driverpack for your nForce4 SataRAID system probably is my "NF4-5 non-AHCI WHQL Driverpack". Contrary to the "NF4-5 Remix Pack" it contains completely WHQL certified nForce IDE drivers. Your chipset will be fully supported by them.
I know that drivers from "Fernandos_XP_32bit_NF4-5_Remix_Pack_v5.3.zip"/sataraid and sta_ide folders works, but not drivers from "Fernandos_XP_32bit_NF4-7_Performance_Pack_v5.0b.zip" folders, and from the name of it, i believed i could use it.
You should not only read the name of the package, but additionally the description of it you find within the first post of this thread.

My "NF4-7 Performance Pack" can be used with all nForce chipsets from NF4 up except nForce4 AMD RAID systems. Which name would you give that driverpack to make it clear for everyone? Please give me an advice!

Regards

Fernando

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Great thanks for your answers.

Sorry, but i never saw that part "... except nForce4 AMD RAID systems" and i spent quite some time on your threads, and i still can't see it.

Let me remind you that i'm not making any judgement on your work in any way.

I'll take your advise and use "NF4-5 non-AHCI WHQL Driverpack", but i'm still wondering what is the difference between drivers v6.99 whql from NF4-5 non-AHCI and drivers v6.99 customized by you from Remix Pack.

Thanks again.

Let me add that those drivers work perfectly on my brand new installation of windows, the integration was quite easy, and very well explained.

Edited by xyu
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Sorry, but i never saw that part "... except nForce4 AMD RAID systems" and i spent quite some time on your threads, and i still can't see it.
Here is the original text:
Informations:
  • Compatibility:
    My "Modded Performance Packs" with the customized nForce IDE drivers v9.99.09 are supporting all nForce chipsets from NF4 up. Contrary to the officially offered nForce IDE drivers v10.3.0.42 they do support nForce4 RAID systems too.
    Attention: RAID users with an nForce 4 AMD Ultra chipset mainboard may not be able to get any of the actual nForce IDE drivers installed, when they are installing or running Windows XP (32/64bit). Unless this problem will be solved by NVIDIA, affected users should take the suitable version of my "NF4-5 non-AHCI WHQL Driverpack for XP", which definitively works for all NF4 RAID systems.

I'll take your advise and use "NF4-5 non-AHCI WHQL Driverpack", but i'm still wondering what is the difference between drivers v6.99 whql from NF4-5 non-AHCI and drivers v6.99 customized by you from Remix Pack.
These are the differences:
  • As the name already says do the "NF4-5 non-AHCI WHQL Performance Packs" contain completely WHQL certified drivers, whereas the nForce IDE and Ethernet drivers of my "Remix Packs" have been customized by me.
  • The "NF4-5 non-AHCI WHQL Driverpacks" include the newest nForce Ethernet drivers v67.89, whereas my "Remix Packs" contain the older Ethernet drivers v65.65. You may try them both (but you should always remove the previous one before you install a new one) and decide yourself which is the better Ethernet driver for your special chipset. Some users prefer the older, others the newer one.

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  • 3 weeks later...

HI Fernando or anyone else who can help....),

You seem top be the man in the know on this subject as I've been forum jumping for the last week. Here's my problem. I have a Gateway gt5678 pc.

I'm attaching the specs as a .jpg.

Currently I have Vista Home Premium running & I want to create a dual boot with XP. I've followed the procedure countless times with different driver packs using NLite to slipstream & create a new boot XP cd. ( I'm using XP SP2) & still no luck. I always get to the Windows setup screen during the initial install & then get the error stop:0X0000007B (0XF78D2524, 0XC0000034, 0X00000000, 0X00000000

Which I take means that it can't find the storage medium to install onto.

Any help on this would be GREATLY appreciated as I've hit a dead end.

Cheers

Steve

post-225017-1230580724_thumb.jpg

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Hello Steve,

welcome at MSFN Forums!

I have a Gateway gt5678 pc.

I'm attaching the specs as a .jpg.

Unfortunately I cannot find the nForce chipset details, but I assume, that it has an MCP73 board with enabled nForce RAID Controller.
I've followed the procedure countless times with different driver packs using NLite to slipstream & create a new boot XP cd. ( I'm using XP SP2) & still no luck. I always get to the Windows setup screen during the initial install & then get the error stop:0X0000007B (0XF78D2524, 0XC0000034, 0X00000000, 0X00000000

Which I take means that it can't find the storage medium to install onto.

No, that is a BSOD. If it wouldn't find any hdd, you would see it.

Questions:

1. Which textmode driver (version and folder) did you integrate?

2.What did you let nLite do except the textmode driver integration?

3. Have you tried to remove 1-2 of your RAM sticks before you began to install XP?

CU

Fernando

Edited by Fernando 1
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With Great Joy Comes Great Sorrow.....

First thank you for this excellent guide!

I came upon this after searching google. I have a KN1 SL1 Lite Mobo and was out of HD space, while I was upgrading my drives it seemed only sensible to raid them. The driver CD came with a helpful folder within the RAID directory called floppyimage and contain the drivers needed. I initially got a floppy drive out of an old unused PC and connected it (I had the case open to fit the new drives so this seemed like the easiest method of installing xp onto a RAID array). Copied the drivers over to a floppy. I was ready.

Had to backup my data. I though I'll raid two of my new discs copy everything over and then raid the other two. The two old drives were disconnected so as no to accidentially erase them. Two new drives were connected and I set up a RAID 0. I then reconnected my old HDDs and windows booted as normal. I then copied all my needed files to the new raid array. Hurray halfway there. I then raided my other 2 new drives and booted my xp install cd. I pressed F6 and a short while later loaded both the drivers from the floppy. All seemed fine and I was presented with two drives to choose form so the RAID must of been working fine at this point. I chose my newest array and it begain copying setup files. Then I got a message saying it couldn't copy some drivers, these were the raid drivers. The floppy drives access light was flashing and the drive was whirring but it apparently couldn't copy the drivers, I clicked retry a few times then gave up. I made a fresh floppy on another computer. Still the same problem. I then came across your most excellent guide and downloaded what I though were the correct drivers. Burned the disc and away I went. When it asked me where to put windows it listed 4 discs the first one being the total size of my 1st array and 3 more of random size. I checked my arrays in bios and they were fine. I was very tired and confused at this point and tried to install it on various diffrent discs and partitions before finally realising the RAID drivers couldn't be working. Back to n-lite. I used the same drivers as I did for the floppy as they were they same drivers that got my 1st array running under my initial install of xp so I knew they worked. All went fine and xp setup and booted without a hitch.

Then horror my first array showed up as a disc but I couldn't access it! In my previous tired confusion I had deleted the partition and then created a new raw unformatted partition when using the drivers that weren't working properly. :no:

Hopefully I can recover the partition Wish me luck!

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@ xenton:

Welcome at MSFN Forums!

I wish you luck, but if you want any further help, you should tell me

a ) which nForce chipset your mainboard has and

b ) which driver version and which driver folder you have integrated.

Edited by Fernando 1
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@ xenton:

Welcome at MSFN Forums!

I wish you luck, but if you want any further help, you should tell me

a ) which nForce chipset your mainboard has and

b ) which driver version and which driver folder you have integrated.

You really are a saint!

I'm pretty sure I've just deleted the partition somehow. Both RAID arrays are present and healthy and xp sees them as such, so I don't think this is a raid problem.

I'll have a little rest and then try to recover my lost partition. I'll keep you posted.

Thank you.

UPDATE: Just analysing the drive in an attemp to recover the partition. I'm not sure if I overwrote it or just deleted it, hopefully the later. Will take a while to scan fingers crossed.

ANOTHER UPDATE: I'd only deleted the partition, I have now successfully recovered it! Hurray!

Thanks again for your excellent guide!

Edited by xenton
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UPDATE: Just analysing the drive in an attemp to recover the partition. I'm not sure if I overwrote it or just deleted it, hopefully the later. Will take a while to scan fingers crossed.

ANOTHER UPDATE: I'd only deleted the partition, I have now successfully recovered it! Hurray!

So the New Year is beginning with much luck for you.
Thanks again for your excellent guide!
Thanks for your feedback!

Greetings from

Fernando

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@ Matze0027:

Welcome at MSFN Forums!

Has anybody a German Guide to enable Ahci support after installing xp_x86?
I haven't yet seen any guide about how to enable AHCI from within a running XP. If you want to read a German guide about how to integrate the NVIDIA nForce SATA AHCI driver into a bootable XP CD, you should look here.
Chipset is the enforce 630i. Which drivers i have to use?
You should use the SATA_IDE driver folder of NVIDIA's official nForce chipset driverpack 15.23/15.24.
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I was just wondering, I used the drivers that shipped with my motherboard which are version 5.10.2600.518. My motherboard is an NF4 chipset. My RAID arrays are working fine with the old driver.

Will I see a noticeable speed increase if I 1) update the drivers

2) update my motherboard bios

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I was just wondering, I used the drivers that shipped with my motherboard which are version 5.10.2600.518. My motherboard is an NF4 chipset. My RAID arrays are working fine with the old driver.

Will I see a noticeable speed increase if I 1) update the drivers

2) update my motherboard bios

1. This is a guide about how to do a fresh install of an OS like Windows XP onto an nForce RAID system by using the probably best suitable drivers and not a thread about how to get a better performance while running XP.

2. The main intention for the development and publication of new BIOS and driver versions is not the increase of the performance, but the elimination of bugs and the increase of the compatibilty and stability.

So this is my advice for you:

As long as you are satisfied with your currently running system, you should stick with the old nForce IDE drivers and BIOS version ("Never touch a running system!").

If you should get any problems or planning a fresh XP installation, you should start with the best possible BIOS and nForce chipset driver versions.

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So - is there no way to integrate the AHCI drivers and reset a working copy of XP Pro w/SP3 & BIOS to AHCI mode? Would using the REPAIR option during a slipstreamed XP install work?

I have the following system but cloned my existing harddrive(s) during a mobo upgrade.

GIGABYTE GA-M78SM-S2H GEFORCE8200 RT(BIOS: F3) | AMD Phenom X4 9600 | 2x2048 MB G.Skill DDR2-1066| 2x500 GB Seagate S-ATA II |

I really do not want to do a clean install as I have many purchased programs that may not be replaceable, so I would prefer to find a way to integrate the Nvidia AHCI drivers, then turn on this function in the BIOS.

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So - is there no way to integrate the AHCI drivers and reset a working copy of XP Pro w/SP3 & BIOS to AHCI mode?
It may be possible, but you have to do some special registry settings and I haven't yet seen a guide about how to do it from within Windows XP (guides for Vista are available).
Would using the REPAIR option during a slipstreamed XP install work?
No, because the REPAIR option is not able to do the needed registry settings and nForce SATA AHCI driver installation.
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