KK266+Raid+xp=Can't find hard drive

[dave-jb]

I am trying to install a Windows X. P. pro. (On raid strip)
Enabled raid jumper on motherboard. Having raid as second boot device.

Have set up AMI raid BIOS setup.
Strip size 64k bootable.

Run Fdisk setup primary partition to active.
Formatting.
Format c: /z:64

I can setup Windows ME to raid setup and everything is fine.
I can also install Windows X. P. pro to a single hard drive system and this also is okay.
But when I tried to install X. P. to a raid setup as below, I get the blue screen after the first restart.
If I do a complete new install, using six floppy disks to setup install, when it starts to read the CD,I get message saying cannot find hard drive.

I would appreciate any help on this matter. Many thanks Dave.


I WILL KK266R ( latest BIOS 31 October)
AMD 1GHz AXIA "Y"
GeForce 2 MX400 64MB AGP (installed latest BIOS)
2x DiamondMax+ D740X 20GB UDMA133
512Mb Crucial PC133 CL 2
CD-ROM
Floppy:(

[redduc900]

During WinXP setup, you'll be asked if you want to install drivers for any SCSI devices on your system, and if so...press the F6 key to install them. If you don't install the latest AMI drivers at this point, and let the setup program install them for you...you'll get a bluescreen. The drivers that XP installs are the incorrect ones for the AMI controller on the KK266-R. You can download the newest MegaRAID 100 drivers off the Iwill support site here:

http://support.iwill.net/index_e.html

A direct link to the download site is here...

http://support.iwill.net/download.asp?path=drivers&file=signed0818.zip

...the file name is "Signed0818.zip". Extract the files contained within and copy the "Whistler", "WinNT", "Win9x", and "Win2k" folders; and "MegaIDE", and "TXTSETUP.OEM" files to a floppy (you should have the four folders and two files on the disk).

When Setup asks for SCSI drivers...press F6. Press the "S" key when asked to load the drivers, install the RAID driver disk and hit "Enter". You should now have four OS options to choose from...select Win2k (these drivers are digitally signed, whereas the XP drivers aren't) and you should be all set.

If you instead install the XP drivers, the setup program will later inform you that the RAID drivers you're planning to install aren't digitally signed, and ask if you want to continue with the installation...click "Yes" in the dialog that appears. Both the W2K and XP drivers will work, but as I said...the W2k are digitally signed and the XP drivers aren't.

[dave-jb]

redduc900

Thanks for your reply.
Each time I have pressed F6 and install the drivers Signed0818, but have install the X. P. drivers, I have not tried the W2k driver yet.

[redduc900]

Also, instead of formatting the partition using the "Format c: /Z"64" command (as used when formatting a RAID array on a FAT32 volume)...I would let XP (during the setup process) do a "Quick Format" of the volume using the NTFS file system. Using the /Z:64 switch formats the FAT partition using 32K clusters...I've tried it that way in the past using PM7.0, but found that formatting the array using NTFS was the preferrable way to go (4K cluster size on a much more secure file system, as compared to FAT or FAT32).

Instead of using floppies to install XP, you can do a clean install off the XP CD...just set the boot order in the BIOS as the "CDROM " being the first boot device (under "Advanced BIOS Features). Disable the IDE controller that the CDROM isn't connected to (under "Integrated Peripherals"), and under "Standard CMOS Features"...disable everything except for the CDROM (change the settings to "Off").

After the first reboot of the setup program, go back into the BIOS and re-enable everything that you disabled previously. Change the boot order back to...

1. Floppy
2. RAID-100
3. CDROM

[dave-jb]

redduc900

Thanks again


So I would reformat again, format C: then install xp, using NTFS file system then installing Win2k on F. 6

[redduc900]

There's no need to do a "Format c:", when installing XP...you will be asked if you want to do a "Complete format using NTFS", a "Quick format using NTFS", or leave the partion as is (the volume that you will be installing XP to). Just choose to do a quick format using NTFS and the setup program will then format the volume for you. Leave the floppy in the drive (the one that contains the RAID drivers) until the setup program installs the drivers (the RAID drivers are the first things that XP installs), and don't forget to remove it afterwards (before Windows reboots).

Then like I said, go back into the BIOS and change all your settings back to the way they were previously...F10 to save and XP will then boot off the RAID array.

[dave-jb]

redduc900

Okay I think I understand what you are telling me to do and I am going to give it a try thanks again for all your trouble. Dave

[dave-jb]

redduc900

I still could not get XP to install,
I couldn't manage to get it to install from CD so used six floppy disk to install.
But once it gets on to the CD first blue screen, I think it says repair or install and the next screen says that it cannot find any hard drives on this system, although I have M.E. working on it
(raid strip) so I don't get far enough to be able to choose file system.
Dave

[redduc900]

When you see.."Press any key to boot from the CD", you press the spacebar and nothing happens?
Are you trying to set up a dual boot with WinMe?
What is the exact error message(s) your receiving?
This is after setting the CDROM as the first boot device in the BIOS, and disabling the IDE controller that your CDROM isn't connected to?
If say your CDROM is connected as Primary Master on IDE0, did you disable IDE Primary Slave, IDE Secondary Master, and IDE Secondary Slave in the "Standard CMOS Features" screen?

[dave-jb]

[QUOTE]Originally posted by redduc900
[B]When you see.."Press any key to boot from the CD", you press the spacebar and nothing happens?
Are you trying to set up a dual boot with WinMe?
What is the exact error message(s) your receiving?


The error message I am receiving is (disks boot failure, insert system disk and press enter) in the first 2 screen when I boot my computer up the only drive showing is the CD drive. Anyway that is not really the problem I still have the original problem, I cannot install X. P. into raid setup, although I can install ME into the same setup. Dave

[redduc900]

That error message means that the system has failed in attempting to find a drive to boot the operating system. Did you set up the CDROM as the first boot device, and disable everything else except for the CDROM like I suggested? Could you be specific AFA your BIOS settings, and what you have connected to the standard IDE controllers? Also note whether the drive is Master or Slave on each particular controller.

BTW...you can also install XP without booting off the CD or the set of floppies. Here's how...

1. Boot the computer to a command prompt using Windows 95/98/ME boot disk

2. Navigate to CD drive

3. Change to \i386\ directory on the CD by typing 'cd i386'

4. Execute winnt.exe by typing 'winnt' and pressing enter ;)

[dave-jb]

redduc900


Thank you for your reply I have managed to boot from CD using command prompt.
I did manage to get error/or message (boot from CD.)
IDA primary master none
IDE primary slave none
IDE secondary master CDRW
IDA secondary slave CD-ROM

First boot floppy
second boot 100 raid
third boot CD-ROM
I am not sure what other BIOS settings you require.

[dave-jb]

After over two weeks I have now solved the original problem:
when pressing F. 6 you have to immediately hold F.7 to disable something called ACPI.
Which now allows me to load XP on to my RAID set up.