GA-MA770-UD3 and RAID

[MacBurp]

My system runs XP right now with 2 x 500GB sata disks. These are configured as separate drives right now, want to create a RAID-1 array and run Windows 7 on that.

1st step - in the BIOS; initial settings -
- 'Onboard SATA controller' is enabled
- 'Onchip SATA type' is IDE
- 'Onchip SATA port 4/5 type' is IDE

As per the manual, changed the onchip settings to 'SATA' and 'As SATA type', save and reboot

the system gives me the option to create the array - which I pass on, as I'm not yet ready to install new operating system. Manual says this is OK

The system would normally go through a number of DMI checks on screen, give option to boot from CD/DVD, and then boot into XP

Problem - the system does not give option to boot from DVD and does not boot XP, system restarts and goes through cycle again.

Questions -
1. is this normal? I have not installed the RAID driver in XP (I wasn't running RAID when I installed it)
2. nothing boots. Will the system boot if I put the Windows 7 install disk in? I have downloaded latest RAID driver for W7 and have that now on a USB stick.
3. Is there anything else I should be doing?

thanks

 

[jedimasterben]

Did you possibly change the boot order to go straight to the XP drive?

I'd reset everything in the BIOS to defaults, then try it again.

Just remember to write down any settings you'll need to set again, like overclocking! I can't tell you how many times I've had to re-figure out how exactly I got my overclocks!

If resetting it doesn't work, maybe try a BIOS update. [strike]What hardware are you running?[/strike] Duh.

I looked on Gigabyte's site, and it looks like the latest BIOS is version F9A. It also says that the only major changes are the new CPU codes, but they probably also added little compatibility updates here and there, so I would still give it a shot if resetting doesn't work.

 

[bilbat]

I need to get clarified what, exactly, you are trying to do... If you want to prepare for a fresh win7 install (and that's the only option you have - there is no 'upgrade' path from Xp to 7; back-up your data, find all your program install disks, etc.); I can walk you through that; if you're looking for an 'interim' step, with your on-board controller configured for RAID, but booting off your existing Xp - there really isn't one (having a useable RAID array requires a reformat); if you've simply 'lost' the path to boot from your win7 installer, we can fix that, too - but, so far, there's not enough description for me to determine what to tell you...

 

[MacBurp]

If you want to prepare for a fresh win7 install (and that's the only option you have - there is no 'upgrade' path from Xp to 7; back-up your data, find all your program install disks, etc.); I can walk you through that;

This is what I'm doing - 99% of my data has already been backed up to one or other of my servers, and a copy of the OS backed up using Acronis is on the server too.

if you're looking for an 'interim' step, with your on-board controller configured for RAID, but booting off your existing Xp - there really isn't one (having a useable RAID array requires a reformat);

Well, I didn't know that. If I need to do the upgrade to W7 in one step I'll do that. What is not clear from what I have done so far is if its possible - under the original settings I could clearly see an option to boot from the DVDROM, which was not there once I had switched to the SATA settings.

I have already downloaded the SATA Drivers and have these waiting on a USB stick.

if you've simply 'lost' the path to boot from your win7 installer, we can fix that, too

This is the part I'm not sure about - and I need to be sure about it before I destroy the existing OS by setting up the RAID drive.

A clue - with the SATA settings in place, the system reboots and tries again. On the second attempt I get the option to load windows in safe mode from the OS. This doesn't work of course - but the system does seem to be trying to load XP.

Thoughts welcome. TIA