Hi guys!

 

I'm building a new rig with the following components:

 

AMD 64 3500+ CPU (socket 939 Rev D)

ASUS A8V Deluxe WiFi (Rev 2) mobo

2x Maxtor 160GB S-ATA HDD's

DVD RW/CD RW combo unit

2GB Geil RAM

HIS Excalibur ICEQ-II X800XT VIVO 256Mb Grafix card

Nebula DigiTV card with PVR & EPG

550W PSU

 

(Once it's up and running it should be flying like a banshee with it's arse on fire!) ;)

 

The components have all been assembled into the case and everything works nicely. I've updated the BIOS to the latest version (v.1009) and everything seems to be in order. I've set the BIOS RAID setting to "internal IDE operation" as I do not intend to use a RAID setup (one HDD will be used for applications, the other for video editing and recorded tv programmes).

 

So far so good. The POST happily reports 2 identical HDDs but when the SATA test appears it states it can't find any devices and that the BIOS is not installed (:confused:). That's problem number 1.

 

I've used MAXBLAST 4 (from the Maxtor site) to try and initiate & format the two drives but the program doesn't seem to be doing what it is supposed to do according to the instructions on the Maxtor site. It should give me the opportunity to format the drives in either FAT or NTFS. Instead all it does is create a RAM Drive (which it calls C:\) and then returns to the DOS prompt. I then reboot the system (because I can't navigate to the CD drive to start the Win XP install procedure) and, using the Windows XP pro CD, it asks me to press F6 to install third party SCSI drivers. I do so and when prompted insert the floppy containing the Promise S-ATA device drivers. Windows picks this up, displays that it is installing said driver but when the installation is about to begin Windows reports that it can't find any HDDs! This would of course be because Maxblast hasn't formatted the drives (or at least I think so).

 

Does anyone know what I'm doing wrong - this is doing my head in! I've been at this stage of the build for over two days now and have had my fill of reading conflicting information on the internet. Short of taking the lot to a PC repair shop I don't know what else I can do. Also, will I still need to install the so called Maxtor Big Size application (or whatever they call it) to get past the 137GB limit of Win XP SP1? (I'll be installing SP2).

 

Awaiting your responses with anticipation and gratitude.

 

All the best,

 

Dan

Hi guys!

 

I'm building a new rig with the following components:

 

AMD 64 3500+ CPU (socket 939 Rev D)

ASUS A8V Deluxe WiFi (Rev 2) mobo

2x Maxtor 160GB S-ATA HDD's

DVD RW/CD RW combo unit

2GB Geil RAM

HIS Excalibur ICEQ-II X800XT VIVO 256Mb Grafix card

Nebula DigiTV card with PVR & EPG

550W PSU

 

(Once it's up and running it should be flying like a banshee with it's arse on fire!) ;)

 

The components have all been assembled into the case and everything works nicely. I've updated the BIOS to the latest version (v.1009) and everything seems to be in order. I've set the BIOS RAID setting to "internal IDE operation" as I do not intend to use a RAID setup (one HDD will be used for applications, the other for video editing and recorded tv programmes).

 

So far so good. The POST happily reports 2 identical HDDs but when the SATA test appears it states it can't find any devices and that the BIOS is not installed (:confused:). That's problem number 1.

 

I've used MAXBLAST 4 (from the Maxtor site) to try and initiate & format the two drives but the program doesn't seem to be doing what it is supposed to do according to the instructions on the Maxtor site. It should give me the opportunity to format the drives in either FAT or NTFS. Instead all it does is create a RAM Drive (which it calls C:\) and then returns to the DOS prompt. I then reboot the system (because I can't navigate to the CD drive to start the Win XP install procedure) and, using the Windows XP pro CD, it asks me to press F6 to install third party SCSI drivers. I do so and when prompted insert the floppy containing the Promise S-ATA device drivers. Windows picks this up, displays that it is installing said driver but when the installation is about to begin Windows reports that it can't find any HDDs! This would of course be because Maxblast hasn't formatted the drives (or at least I think so).

 

Does anyone know what I'm doing wrong - this is doing my head in! I've been at this stage of the build for over two days now and have had my fill of reading conflicting information on the internet. Short of taking the lot to a PC repair shop I don't know what else I can do. Also, will I still need to install the so called Maxtor Big Size application (or whatever they call it) to get past the 137GB limit of Win XP SP1? (I'll be installing SP2).

 

Awaiting your responses with anticipation and gratitude.

 

All the best,

 

Dan

 

Hiya mate, Do you get the S-ATA controler BISO (boot) screen come up? it should give you the option to press something like F4 or TAB to enter setup? like the regular BIOS does. If not it sounds like your SATA controler is disabled in the BIOS.

 

I have a AMD64 with SATA and mine works fine. IF you need a hand just give us a call and i'll try and explain it over the phone.

saying no bios installed is fine, ignor that.

 

Download the latest SATA drivers for windows from your Motherboard makers website, you should have four different drivers to install for them under the F6 option, install all of them to make sure you have the right one.

Try this driver

 

http://www.asus.com.tw/support/download/selectftp.aspx?l1_id=1&l2_id=21&l3_id=1&m_id=1&f_name=378ata_100104528.zip~zaqwedc

Thanks for that guys! I'm downloading the ASUS SATA drivers now (although I believe the ones that came with the setup CD are the same) and will have another go.

 

Further question(s):

 

(1) Do the HDDs need to be formatted prior to installing WinXP or can this be done as part of the WinXP install process?

(2) When installing SP2 do I install XP (SP1) first and then SP2? Also, will SP2 "see" beyond the 137GB HDD limit?

(3) Has anyone have any experience running MaxBlast 4 and can you tell me if what I described before (ie RAM disk, etc) sounds right?

 

Thank you!

 

Dan

you can format as part of windows XP setup, with SATA drives the full format is very quick.

Right - I've been preoccupied with other things since my last posting (probably a good thing to take some distance from the friggin' PC ...) and have decided to give it another go this afternoon - still no joy :(

 

Have used the key to get into the SATA configuration screen but no matter what I do (incl. changing the BIOS setup from RAID to IDE and vice versa) the bloody thing will only want to configure the two HDDs in a RAID array! There is no option to keep them as separate, non-linked HDDs and it's really starting to piss me off now.

 

So, MTL, could you pm me your number and an idea of when would be a good time to speak with you regarding this. Thanks.

 

In the meantime - if anyone else has any other ideas as to how to tame this beast I would be much obliged.

 

Many thanks!

 

Danny

IIRC, some Motherboards have a BIOS setting for the SATA contoller to be in RAID or Non-RAID mode. A recent bunch of Dell Workstations I built an image for where just like that. I am downloading the manual for the MB in question to take a look at it (the ASUS site is just sooooo slow!) and will report back when I know more.

 

If you wish to contact me in the meantime, please feel free.

 

Phil.

Danny,

 

It appears to be the case! If you check page 5-19 of your Motherboard Manual, it show you how to enable RAID on your SATA controller. You will need to have RAID disabled to allow the controller to see these drives as stand alone.

 

Incase the manual is not to hand:

 

1. Boot the system and enter the BIOS Setup Utility (this is the Motherboard BIOS, not the RAID Controller BIOS)

2. Go to Advanced>Onboard Devices Configuration and make sure the Onboard Promise Controller Item is Enabled.

3. Set the Operationg mode to anything other than RAID.

4. Save changes and exit setup.

 

This should allow the PC to boot and see the two drives as separate entities. You will not need to enter the BIOS of the RAID controller as you do not wish to setup a RAID array.

 

Give me a bell if you need a hand (07768 065781).

 

Phil.