Installing RAID drives

I'm trying to install 2 Western Digital 250gb hard drives in a RAID 1 setup.
I get it setup fine in the BIOS and RAID setup utility (nVidia RAID on a
Gigabyte GA-K8NXP-SLI mobo), but Windows doesn't show the drive. What do I
need to do to get them setup in Windows???

Dennis
Wed Dec 06 21:51:57 CST 2006

When installing XP or XP x64 you need to use F6 to install the raid drivers
from a floppy.


"RomeoJ" <trailzman7@hotmail.com*n0_5pam*> wrote in message
news:E31E66AF-3BE9-4D4A-88B0-513024A4A332@microsoft.com...
> I'm trying to install 2 Western Digital 250gb hard drives in a RAID 1
> setup.
> I get it setup fine in the BIOS and RAID setup utility (nVidia RAID on a
> Gigabyte GA-K8NXP-SLI mobo), but Windows doesn't show the drive. What do I
> need to do to get them setup in Windows???
>

trailzman7
Wed Dec 06 22:04:10 CST 2006

I've already got x64 installed on a separate drive. I'm going to copy my old
160gb onto the new 500gb RAID array, but I need Windows to recognize it first!

"Dennis Pack" wrote:

> When installing XP or XP x64 you need to use F6 to install the raid drivers
> from a floppy.
>
>
> "RomeoJ" <trailzman7@hotmail.com*n0_5pam*> wrote in message
> news:E31E66AF-3BE9-4D4A-88B0-513024A4A332@microsoft.com...
> > I'm trying to install 2 Western Digital 250gb hard drives in a RAID 1
> > setup.
> > I get it setup fine in the BIOS and RAID setup utility (nVidia RAID on a
> > Gigabyte GA-K8NXP-SLI mobo), but Windows doesn't show the drive. What do I
> > need to do to get them setup in Windows???
> >
>

Tony
Thu Dec 07 02:51:27 CST 2006

I would say: You have to do a 'Repair Install' to get to the Floppy Stage.

You should be able to do that on your old system, then when it reaches the
Partition Manager Stage, your new drives will become visible. I think you
should probably finish the normal installation and leave the transfer of the
system until later, since your RAID is configured and ready, they should all
behave like normal HD's after that.

The Repair Install will require that you have all system drivers ready, but
it will not affect your personal files or installed app's.

Tony. . .


"RomeoJ" <trailzman7@hotmail.com*n0_5pam*> wrote in message
news:9903BAE0-8587-4054-9A81-B94A8699605E@microsoft.com...
> I've already got x64 installed on a separate drive. I'm going to copy my
old
> 160gb onto the new 500gb RAID array, but I need Windows to recognize it
first!
>
> "Dennis Pack" wrote:
>
> > When installing XP or XP x64 you need to use F6 to install the raid
drivers
> > from a floppy.
> >
> >
> > "RomeoJ" <trailzman7@hotmail.com*n0_5pam*> wrote in message
> > news:E31E66AF-3BE9-4D4A-88B0-513024A4A332@microsoft.com...
> > > I'm trying to install 2 Western Digital 250gb hard drives in a RAID 1
> > > setup.
> > > I get it setup fine in the BIOS and RAID setup utility (nVidia RAID on
a
> > > Gigabyte GA-K8NXP-SLI mobo), but Windows doesn't show the drive. What
do I
> > > need to do to get them setup in Windows???
> > >
> >

Steve
Thu Dec 07 04:52:30 CST 2006

RomeoJ wrote:

>I'm trying to install 2 Western Digital 250gb hard drives in a RAID 1
>setup.
>I get it setup fine in the BIOS and RAID setup utility (nVidia RAID on a
>Gigabyte GA-K8NXP-SLI mobo), but Windows doesn't show the drive. What do I
>need to do to get them setup in Windows???

If this is during Windows installation, you need a driver floppy and F6.

If it's for an existing Windows installation on another drive in the same
machine, Install a driver for the RAID hardware. You should find that
Device Manager has either an "Unknown Device", or a named device that
matches your RAID hardware with a yellow exclamation (ie it's been
identified, but is non-functional or has no driver).

--
Steve Foster [SBS MVP]
---------------------------------------
MVPs do not work for Microsoft. Please reply only to the newsgroups.

Dominic
Thu Dec 07 10:03:45 CST 2006

Assign a drive letter and format the drive in Disk Management.



"RomeoJ" <trailzman7@hotmail.com*n0_5pam*> wrote in message
news:3739DFF6-5342-4B66-B03C-45DF9DCE1718@microsoft.com...
> To set everything straight, I am trying to install two drives as a RAID
> array
> on an existing system with x64 installed on my original hard drive. One
> original drive w/Windows, two new ones.
>
> Problem: New drives do not show up (either as the RAID array or individual
> drives)under My Computer.
>
> New twist: Both drives show up individually in Device Manager-Disk Drives.
>
> I also show "SCSI/RAID Host Controller" and "Silicon Image SiI 3114
> SoftRaid
> 5 Controller" under SCSI/RAID controllers. My motherboard has both Silicon
> Image and nVidia RAID controllers, and I'm using the nVidia one.

NuTCrAcKeR
Thu Dec 07 11:25:20 CST 2006

did you say ...500GB array?

You said you have 2 250GB drives that you are trying to setup with RAID1
(mirroring) ... this will not yield 500G, just 250GB. Search this group for
several impassioned discussions as to the pro's and con's of RAID0.

Does the device manager show the proper RAID controller device?

if yes, then you need to go into device manager, and see if there is an
"unrecognised disk" in there. if yes, give it a signature, then partition
and format to your liking. Only after you do that will the drive "appear" in
Explorer and be available to the system for use.

- NuTs


"RomeoJ" <trailzman7@hotmail.com*n0_5pam*> wrote in message
news:9903BAE0-8587-4054-9A81-B94A8699605E@microsoft.com...
> I've already got x64 installed on a separate drive. I'm going to copy my
> old
> 160gb onto the new 500gb RAID array, but I need Windows to recognize it
> first!
>
> "Dennis Pack" wrote:
>
>> When installing XP or XP x64 you need to use F6 to install the raid
>> drivers
>> from a floppy.
>>
>>
>> "RomeoJ" <trailzman7@hotmail.com*n0_5pam*> wrote in message
>> news:E31E66AF-3BE9-4D4A-88B0-513024A4A332@microsoft.com...
>> > I'm trying to install 2 Western Digital 250gb hard drives in a RAID 1
>> > setup.
>> > I get it setup fine in the BIOS and RAID setup utility (nVidia RAID on
>> > a
>> > Gigabyte GA-K8NXP-SLI mobo), but Windows doesn't show the drive. What
>> > do I
>> > need to do to get them setup in Windows???
>> >
>>

Larry
Thu Dec 07 14:42:05 CST 2006

He shouldn't have to do that Tony. He should be able to set up and
configure raid drivers after XP is installed. You only need to install them
from floppy at the beginning of the installation if you intend on installing
the OS on that array. In this case he's simply adding it as a second drive.



-Larry



"Tony Sperling" <tony.sperling@dbREMOVEmail.dk> wrote in message
news:u%23R67zdGHHA.420@TK2MSFTNGP02.phx.gbl...
>I would say: You have to do a 'Repair Install' to get to the Floppy Stage.
>
> You should be able to do that on your old system, then when it reaches the
> Partition Manager Stage, your new drives will become visible. I think you
> should probably finish the normal installation and leave the transfer of
> the
> system until later, since your RAID is configured and ready, they should
> all
> behave like normal HD's after that.
>
> The Repair Install will require that you have all system drivers ready,
> but
> it will not affect your personal files or installed app's.
>
> Tony. . .
>
>
> "RomeoJ" <trailzman7@hotmail.com*n0_5pam*> wrote in message
> news:9903BAE0-8587-4054-9A81-B94A8699605E@microsoft.com...
>> I've already got x64 installed on a separate drive. I'm going to copy my
> old
>> 160gb onto the new 500gb RAID array, but I need Windows to recognize it
> first!
>>
>> "Dennis Pack" wrote:
>>
>> > When installing XP or XP x64 you need to use F6 to install the raid
> drivers
>> > from a floppy.
>> >
>> >
>> > "RomeoJ" <trailzman7@hotmail.com*n0_5pam*> wrote in message
>> > news:E31E66AF-3BE9-4D4A-88B0-513024A4A332@microsoft.com...
>> > > I'm trying to install 2 Western Digital 250gb hard drives in a RAID 1
>> > > setup.
>> > > I get it setup fine in the BIOS and RAID setup utility (nVidia RAID
>> > > on
> a
>> > > Gigabyte GA-K8NXP-SLI mobo), but Windows doesn't show the drive. What
> do I
>> > > need to do to get them setup in Windows???
>> > >
>> >
>
>

Tom
Thu Dec 07 17:33:33 CST 2006

Classic View, Control Panel Administrative Tools Computer
Management Disk Management

Does it show up there?

Tom
MSMVP
Windows Shell/User


"RomeoJ" <trailzman7@hotmail.com*n0_5pam*> wrote in message
news:953B7C88-8916-4184-B0B9-29053B1CD092@microsoft.com...
> Did some searching, found the nVidia drivers, and installed them. Got
> the
> RAID controller and the RAID array to show up in Device Manager. The
> array
> shows up as "NVIDIA STRIPE 465.77 GB" in Disk Drives. Still a no show
> in My
> Computer.
>
> Do I need to format the drives, or do something special to actually be
> able
> to use the array? It's working properly according to Device Manager

Noone
Thu Dec 07 17:41:14 CST 2006

Yes. You have to go to disk manager and create a partition and then format
the drive before it will show up in "My Computer".
"RomeoJ" <trailzman7@hotmail.com*n0_5pam*> wrote in message
news:953B7C88-8916-4184-B0B9-29053B1CD092@microsoft.com...
> Did some searching, found the nVidia drivers, and installed them. Got the
> RAID controller and the RAID array to show up in Device Manager. The array
> shows up as "NVIDIA STRIPE 465.77 GB" in Disk Drives. Still a no show in
> My
> Computer.
>
> Do I need to format the drives, or do something special to actually be
> able
> to use the array? It's working properly according to Device Manager

Tony
Thu Dec 07 17:59:20 CST 2006

Yes, I'm begining to realize that, and that in turn makes me realize that
perhaps the only responsibility the driver has is to attach the RAID
contrroller to the OS's SCSI subsystem! Data arriving at the controller will
see an ordinary drive in all circumstances, so should the OS - why SCSI?

It's a rethorical question, unless someone feels like throwing some light on
it.

I still don't know why this is a convenient way to handle this - just as I
have always wondered why 'burner' devices was hooked up to the SCSI
subsystem, it's a curious thing, but it will not keep me awake for very
long.


Tony. . .

trailzman7
Thu Dec 07 18:49:00 CST 2006

Thanks! Wasn't aware of compmgmt.crm - did the trick! Now, please check my
new thread on how to install the RAID drivers again during Windows install
from a CD.

Larry
Thu Dec 07 20:22:42 CST 2006

Even onboard SATA controllers require the drivers. In his case, he's
probably talking SATA, not SCSI.

In my case, my Adaptec 39320 PCI controller was recognized by x64 and had
drivers on the install CD. I originally installed to a single disk. After
some time, I acquired some other drives, so I created a RAID0 array with two
Fujitsu 15k U320 drives using Adaptec's Storage Manager software from within
x64. I then used Norton Ghost to move my installation from the single drive
to the new array. Booted right up. I use the other 10k SCSI drive for data
storage and backups now.

Many here advise against RAID0 because of data loss potential. I back up to
DAT and HDD so that isn't an issue for me. And the performance increase is
striking...I'll risk it.

-Larry


"Tony Sperling" <tony.sperling@dbREMOVEmail.dk> wrote in message
news:eEAuPvlGHHA.1188@TK2MSFTNGP06.phx.gbl...
> Yes, I'm begining to realize that, and that in turn makes me realize that
> perhaps the only responsibility the driver has is to attach the RAID
> contrroller to the OS's SCSI subsystem! Data arriving at the controller
> will
> see an ordinary drive in all circumstances, so should the OS - why SCSI?
>
> It's a rethorical question, unless someone feels like throwing some light
> on
> it.
>
> I still don't know why this is a convenient way to handle this - just as I
> have always wondered why 'burner' devices was hooked up to the SCSI
> subsystem, it's a curious thing, but it will not keep me awake for very
> long.
>
>
> Tony. . .
>
>

Tony
Thu Dec 07 20:43:39 CST 2006

Probably SATA - yes, but underneath they are mimicking SCSI all the same as
soon as RAID comes into play. (Or, indeed 'burners'!)

This is much more obvious with Linux, but I think you can see it in Device
Manager as well?


Tony. . .


"Larry Hodges" <2larry2@2maximizesoftware2.com> wrote in message
news:caGdnY8pQujvUeXYnZ2dnUVZ_tednZ2d@comcast.com...
> Even onboard SATA controllers require the drivers. In his case, he's
> probably talking SATA, not SCSI.
>
> In my case, my Adaptec 39320 PCI controller was recognized by x64 and had
> drivers on the install CD. I originally installed to a single disk.
After
> some time, I acquired some other drives, so I created a RAID0 array with
two
> Fujitsu 15k U320 drives using Adaptec's Storage Manager software from
within
> x64. I then used Norton Ghost to move my installation from the single
drive
> to the new array. Booted right up. I use the other 10k SCSI drive for
data
> storage and backups now.
>
> Many here advise against RAID0 because of data loss potential. I back up
to
> DAT and HDD so that isn't an issue for me. And the performance increase
is
> striking...I'll risk it.
>
> -Larry
>
>
> "Tony Sperling" <tony.sperling@dbREMOVEmail.dk> wrote in message
> news:eEAuPvlGHHA.1188@TK2MSFTNGP06.phx.gbl...
> > Yes, I'm begining to realize that, and that in turn makes me realize
that
> > perhaps the only responsibility the driver has is to attach the RAID
> > contrroller to the OS's SCSI subsystem! Data arriving at the controller
> > will
> > see an ordinary drive in all circumstances, so should the OS - why SCSI?
> >
> > It's a rethorical question, unless someone feels like throwing some
light
> > on
> > it.
> >
> > I still don't know why this is a convenient way to handle this - just as
I
> > have always wondered why 'burner' devices was hooked up to the SCSI
> > subsystem, it's a curious thing, but it will not keep me awake for very
> > long.
> >
> >
> > Tony. . .
> >
> >
>
>

Steve
Fri Dec 08 04:44:39 CST 2006

RomeoJ wrote:

>Did some searching, found the nVidia drivers, and installed them. Got the
>RAID controller and the RAID array to show up in Device Manager. The array
>shows up as "NVIDIA STRIPE 465.77 GB" in Disk Drives. Still a no show in My
>Computer.

And I'm betting that the "SCSI/RAID Host Controller" entry has disappeared
(it morphed into the nVidia RAID Controller when you installed the right
driver). The individual drives would have disappeared too, replaced by the
stripe.

>Do I need to format the drives, or do something special to actually be able
>to use the array? It's working properly according to Device Manager

Yup. Just like any other additional hard drive. Use the Disk Management
section of Computer Management (accessible in Administrative Tools, or
compmgmt.msc).

--
Steve Foster [SBS MVP]
---------------------------------------
MVPs do not work for Microsoft. Please reply only to the newsgroups.

Larry
Fri Dec 08 14:32:55 CST 2006

Don't know. I've never run SATA RAID.

-Larry

"Tony Sperling" <tony.sperling@dbREMOVEmail.dk> wrote in message
news:OSeDELnGHHA.3976@TK2MSFTNGP05.phx.gbl...
> Probably SATA - yes, but underneath they are mimicking SCSI all the same
> as
> soon as RAID comes into play. (Or, indeed 'burners'!)
>
> This is much more obvious with Linux, but I think you can see it in Device
> Manager as well?
>
>
> Tony. . .
>
>
> "Larry Hodges" <2larry2@2maximizesoftware2.com> wrote in message
> news:caGdnY8pQujvUeXYnZ2dnUVZ_tednZ2d@comcast.com...
>> Even onboard SATA controllers require the drivers. In his case, he's
>> probably talking SATA, not SCSI.
>>
>> In my case, my Adaptec 39320 PCI controller was recognized by x64 and had
>> drivers on the install CD. I originally installed to a single disk.
> After
>> some time, I acquired some other drives, so I created a RAID0 array with
> two
>> Fujitsu 15k U320 drives using Adaptec's Storage Manager software from
> within
>> x64. I then used Norton Ghost to move my installation from the single
> drive
>> to the new array. Booted right up. I use the other 10k SCSI drive for
> data
>> storage and backups now.
>>
>> Many here advise against RAID0 because of data loss potential. I back up
> to
>> DAT and HDD so that isn't an issue for me. And the performance increase
> is
>> striking...I'll risk it.
>>
>> -Larry
>>
>>
>> "Tony Sperling" <tony.sperling@dbREMOVEmail.dk> wrote in message
>> news:eEAuPvlGHHA.1188@TK2MSFTNGP06.phx.gbl...
>> > Yes, I'm begining to realize that, and that in turn makes me realize
> that
>> > perhaps the only responsibility the driver has is to attach the RAID
>> > contrroller to the OS's SCSI subsystem! Data arriving at the controller
>> > will
>> > see an ordinary drive in all circumstances, so should the OS - why
>> > SCSI?
>> >
>> > It's a rethorical question, unless someone feels like throwing some
> light
>> > on
>> > it.
>> >
>> > I still don't know why this is a convenient way to handle this - just
>> > as
> I
>> > have always wondered why 'burner' devices was hooked up to the SCSI
>> > subsystem, it's a curious thing, but it will not keep me awake for very
>> > long.
>> >
>> >
>> > Tony. . .
>> >
>> >
>>
>>
>
>