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Integration of NVIDIA's nForce RAID and AHCI drivers


Fernando 1

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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!

Ok. I will proceed with your recommendations but then I need to address the fact that this set does not have a video driver. My motherboard has integrated video and therefore I need the driver for it. Perphaps I can get the driver from somewhere else? Since the PC is a Dell, I can certainly grab the driver from them. Do you think that is ok?

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Ok. I will proceed with your recommendations but then I need to address the fact that this set does not have a video driver. My motherboard has integrated video and therefore I need the driver for it. Perphaps I can get the driver from somewhere else? Since the PC is a Dell, I can certainly grab the driver from them. Do you think that is ok?
There is no essential need to integrate any special graphics driver into your bootable XP CD, because the integrated graphic chip will work with the Windows standard graphics driver.

Nevertheless you should integrate or install (after the successful XP Setup) the latest NVIDIA Forceware driver. You will find it at NVIDIA's download home page. I think, that this driver will be the best one for you.

Edited by Fernando 1
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Ok. I will proceed with your recommendations but then I need to address the fact that this set does not have a video driver. My motherboard has integrated video and therefore I need the driver for it. Perphaps I can get the driver from somewhere else? Since the PC is a Dell, I can certainly grab the driver from them. Do you think that is ok?
There is no essential need to integrate any special graphics driver into your bootable XP CD, because the integrated graphic chip will work with the Windows standard graphics driver.

Nevertheless you should integrate or install (after the successful XP Setup) the latest NVIDIA Forceware driver. You will find it at NVIDIA's download home page. I think, that this driver will be the best one for you.

Ok, here is the status.

First of all, it worked! Created a bootable CD with Windows XP Pro did an OS wipe on my Dell 531s that had Vista on it with a nForce 430 chipset.

Second, there was some points that still confuses me, maybe you can clear it up. When loading the SATARAID driver (nvraid.inf), I was offered two line items-- nVidia nForce Storage Controller (required) and nVidia Raid Class Driver (required). Since you instructions where not specifc on what to do with these, I added them both but I was uneasy. However, it worked.

Third and last, it seems that XP Pro did not have sound/audio drivers so I got not sound. I did a few quick searches found a couple of drivers, loaded them but didnt work. The nVidia nForce 430 chipset also does not include audio drivers. So at this point I have to reseach some more about this but if you can point me at the right direction, it would be great. Also, let me know if I can possibly create another bootable disk and include the audio driver in as well.

Overall, thanks a lot that you go me through my most challenging part of doing an OS wipe on m y Dell 531s.

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Second, there was some points that still confuses me, maybe you can clear it up. When loading the SATARAID driver (nvraid.inf), I was offered two line items-- nVidia nForce Storage Controller (required) and nVidia Raid Class Driver (required). Since you instructions where not specifc on what to do with these, I added them both but I was uneasy.
Here is the text of my guide:

During the "Integrate Drivers" part of nLite you have to integrate your just prepared nVRaid driver subfolder (LEGACY or SATARAID depending on the driver integration method you are going to use) as textmode drivers. You have to take both of the nForce Sata/Raid Controller drivers nLite proposes. To make it easier for you, nLite has already enabled both needed drivers.

Third and last, it seems that XP Pro did not have sound/audio drivers so I got not sound. I did a few quick searches found a couple of drivers, loaded them but didnt work. The nVidia nForce 430 chipset also does not include audio drivers. So at this point I have to reseach some more about this but if you can point me at the right direction, it would be great. Also, let me know if I can possibly create another bootable disk and include the audio driver in as well.
The choice of the suitable sound driver depends on the sound chip of your motherboard.

Look into your manual to find the exact type of sound chipset and then you will find here the correct driver.

EDIT: If you have downloaded and unzipped the suitable sound driver, it will be no problem at all to integrate it into a bootable XP CD by using nLite.

Edited by Fernando 1
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Second, there was some points that still confuses me, maybe you can clear it up. When loading the SATARAID driver (nvraid.inf), I was offered two line items-- nVidia nForce Storage Controller (required) and nVidia Raid Class Driver (required). Since you instructions where not specifc on what to do with these, I added them both but I was uneasy.
Here is the text of my guide:

During the "Integrate Drivers" part of nLite you have to integrate your just prepared nVRaid driver subfolder (LEGACY or SATARAID depending on the driver integration method you are going to use) as textmode drivers. You have to take both of the nForce Sata/Raid Controller drivers nLite proposes. To make it easier for you, nLite has already enabled both needed drivers.

Third and last, it seems that XP Pro did not have sound/audio drivers so I got not sound. I did a few quick searches found a couple of drivers, loaded them but didnt work. The nVidia nForce 430 chipset also does not include audio drivers. So at this point I have to reseach some more about this but if you can point me at the right direction, it would be great. Also, let me know if I can possibly create another bootable disk and include the audio driver in as well.
The choice of the suitable sound driver depends on the sound chip of your motherboard.

Look into your manual to find the exact type of sound chipset and then you will find here the correct driver.

EDIT: If you have downloaded and unzipped the suitable sound driver, it will be no problem at all to integrate it into a bootable XP CD by using nLite.

Thanks again for the tips. I have yet to try a new sound driver later tonight. I thought Windows XP would have default drivers for audio, maybe they don't beccause I do not hear any sound at all from my cards. MY Dell 531s do no come with a motherboard specifications so it is very difficult to determine the sound chp but from googling it looks like it is Realteck's ACL888. So that is what I will attempt to do tonight.

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MY Dell 531s do no come with a motherboard specifications so it is very difficult to determine the sound chp but from googling it looks like it is Realteck's ACL888.
That's what I thought too.

Good luck!

Fernando

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Ok, this is my first post, I've been trying to get my nlite CD up and running to format my computer and reinstall windows on a RAID 0 array. I've been working on integrating the NvRaid drivers in with the cd, but I'm curious, there is nothing mentioning what to do once the file is downloaded. You mention to "unpack" it, but all I get from Nvidia's website is an executable file. I can't unpack it, only run it. Since this isn't something I want to do, What do I need to do with the file? Do I need to create a file on the desktop and put the exe file in it by itself? What should the folder be called? All nlite offers during integration is a search for an ini file. Is this what the folder would be afterwords if the exe file is all that's in it? Thanks... anxiously awaiting reply... :)

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I've been working on integrating the NvRaid drivers in with the cd, but I'm curious, there is nothing mentioning what to do once the file is downloaded. You mention to "unpack" it, but all I get from Nvidia's website is an executable file. I can't unpack it, only run it. Since this isn't something I want to do, What do I need to do with the file?
If you want to unpack an EXE file, you will need a tool like WinRar or 7-zip. After having installed any (un)packing tool, you will be able to unzip the nForce chipset driver package by right clicking onto the EXE file. You can extract the package wherever you want and name the created folder with the extracted files and subfolders as you like.
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Care to update to include 680i RAID drivers?
What do you think should be updated or included?

If you follow my guide, you will download this official nForce chipset driver package v.9.53, which is designed for all nForce 680i chipset mainboards. If you integrate the included SATARAID driver folder, you should get no problems with the later XP installation.

I know, that the nForce SataRaid drivers v. 6.91 are not the newest and maybe not the best ones, but they are currently the latest official nForce IDE drivers for nForce 850i chipsets.

Do you think, that I should give a link to the nForce IDE drivers v.6.99 into my guide? I would do it, if I get the feedback, that they are better for nForce680i chipsets than the official nForce IDE drivers v.6.91.

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Care to update to include 680i RAID drivers?
What do you think should be updated or included?

If you follow my guide, you will download this official nForce chipset driver package v.9.53, which is designed for all nForce 680i chipset mainboards. If you integrate the included SATARAID driver folder, you should get no problems with the later XP installation.

I know, that the nForce SataRaid drivers v. 6.91 are not the newest and maybe not the best ones, but they are currently the latest official nForce IDE drivers for nForce 850i chipsets.

Do you think, that I should give a link to the nForce IDE drivers v.6.99 into my guide? I would do it, if I get the feedback, that they are better for nForce680i chipsets than the official nForce IDE drivers v.6.91.

I mean the very first post. It does not talk about nForce 6 RAID drivers.

I figured out how to do it, I just thought it might be a good idea to mention it.

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I mean the very first post. It does not talk about nForce 6 RAID drivers.

I figured out how to do it, I just thought it might be a good idea to mention it.

Here are the essential sentences within my guide (first post of this thread):
A. Preparation for the new WHQL driver integration method:
  • For mainboards with an nForce4 (Ultra, AMD, AMD/Intel SLI or AMD/Intel SLIx16), nForce430/410, nForce 590/570/550 and nForce 680/650 chipset: The preparation is very easy, because all you need is the actual nForce chipset driver package, which NVIDIA has designed for the specific nForce chipset of your motherboard. If you don't know the exact name of the chipset, look into your mainboard manual or google for it. Then go here, search for the nForce chipset driver package suitable for your chipset, choose the OS you want to install, download the driver package and unpack it by using a tool like WinRar or 7-zip.
    That is all you need for the later integration of the best and WHQL certified nForce SataRaid drivers.

Do you think, that I should mention separately nForce 680i and nForce 680a chipsets?
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Ok, I unpacked everything, and did another nlite disk. Upon reconfiguring my system with the 2 raptors I rebooted and set the BIOS in my Asus A8N32SLI Deluxe to boot from cd. Everything was fine, but the disks were not recognized by windows as a RAID array. I rebooted, and set the Bios (version 1303) as NvRaid, with SATA 1 and 2 set for RAID. Upon rebooting again, I hit F10 and went into the RAID configuration and set it up as Striping, with 128 connectivity, and moved the 2 raptors into the array. Upon rebooting again, the POST screen displayed that everything was fine with the RAID array. I went back and started installing windows, however at the partition section, there were 2 unpartitioned sections, both at 147 gigs I believe. I went through this 2 or 3 times trying to get the partition to show all 300 gigs on one partition (was only showing half). I couldn't get it done though. I finally thought I was reading it wrong, and partitioned one of the partitions at 20 gigs and started installing windows. However after that, I ran into 2 blue screens, one with a bad spool, one with a bad sector (I think.. ) Finally I gave up on RAID, and just installed windows, however the first time it came back saying I was missing the asms file off of Service pack 2. Upon rebooting and trying again, it went through and completed. However, it would never start, This was setup on only one drive, and as soon as the windows screen would show, it would reboot. I finally hooked up my old drive, and here I am now.

Can you advise what steps to do for a fresh nlite cd? I don't know if that was my problem or what... ?

Thank you very much...

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Ok, I unpacked everything, and did another nlite disk. Upon reconfiguring my system with the 2 raptors I rebooted and set the BIOS in my Asus A8N32SLI Deluxe to boot from cd. Everything was fine, but the disks were not recognized by windows as a RAID array. I rebooted, and set the Bios (version 1303) as NvRaid, with SATA 1 and 2 set for RAID. Upon rebooting again, I hit F10 and went into the RAID configuration and set it up as Striping, with 128 connectivity, and moved the 2 raptors into the array. Upon rebooting again, the POST screen displayed that everything was fine with the RAID array. I went back and started installing windows, however at the partition section, there were 2 unpartitioned sections, both at 147 gigs I believe. I went through this 2 or 3 times trying to get the partition to show all 300 gigs on one partition (was only showing half). I couldn't get it done though. I finally thought I was reading it wrong, and partitioned one of the partitions at 20 gigs and started installing windows. However after that, I ran into 2 blue screens, one with a bad spool, one with a bad sector (I think.. ) Finally I gave up on RAID, and just installed windows, however the first time it came back saying I was missing the asms file off of Service pack 2. Upon rebooting and trying again, it went through and completed. However, it would never start, This was setup on only one drive, and as soon as the windows screen would show, it would reboot. I finally hooked up my old drive, and here I am now.

Can you advise what steps to do for a fresh nlite cd? I don't know if that was my problem or what... ?

It depends on what you want - a non-Raid or a Raid system.

If you want to rebuild the nForce Raid0 array, you should do what I have written within the first post of this thread.

Very important: After having (re)created your Raid array, you have to set it as bootable. You will not be able to do it unless you have changed the boot priority of your hard disk drives within your mainboard BIOS. The NVIDIA Raid array has to be set on the first position! Otherwise you will not be able to get any OS installed. The HARD DISK Boot Priority has nothing to do with the "normal" boot order of the storage devices (1. CD-ROM. 2. HDD etc.).

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Greetings Fernando,

Just a couple quick questions. Thanks very much for this thread btw. Excellent info!

I will be using nlite to integrate SP2 into XP home oem (no service packs) along with NVraid drivers. The RAID array will be 2 SATA drives. I am having the usual constant restart problems after installing NVRaid driver using the F6/Floppy disk method. I'm not sure what NVRaid driver version I am used....it is the version that comes with nForce version 5.11

1 - My board is an MSI K8N Neo2 Platinum (MS-7025). nForce3 ultra chipset. I have upgraded to the latest board bios available (version 1.D) however, the NVRaid bios that comes with the board bios is version 4.81. Anyway to update to raid bios only?

2 - If I'm not able to update the raid bios, I should follow the steps to use the unofficial 6.95 drivers correct.

3 - If updating the raid bios is possible, would you recommend upgrading this and using the newest drivers over staying with 4.81 and the legacy drivers?

Lastly 4 - In your experience with using nlite, have u ever removed Windows Messenger? If so, any problems afterward?

Thank you very much for your time. Your research has proven invaluable. I just got a new processor and was hoping to stretch the life of my current setup a few more years. I was beggining to think that was not possible with my raid setup not able to work.

Ryan

Edited by Smokinthunder1
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