how do I put RAID drivers on flash disk

[edgar]

I am building an Asus P5E3 Deluxe:
WD1600YS Western Digital 160GB Hard Drive ( C: )
(2) WD7500AYYS Western Digital 750GB Hard Drive (as RAID1)
MS Vista Ultimate 64 bit
SABRENT 52 in 1 card reader & writer
SanDisk 2GB SD Flash Card

I have already used the SanDisk to update the BIOS so I know the device is working. I downloaded the most current JMicron drivers (JMicronJMB363_RAID_V117150_include2k.zip) (could not find Intel drivers to copy to the Flash card). I unzipped the JMicron driver package and found a setup application (which calls makedisk). When makedisk runs it looks only for a floppy (my floppy drive seems to be broken—have not used it in years and it does not power up).

How do I copy the drivers to the Flash card so that I may install them when I re-install Vista64? Where can I find Intel drivers (Intel says my system is non-compliant, but I think it is)?

 

[MrLinux]

You should only need the driver on a floppy (or USB stick) if you are intending to boot from the array; if the array is just for data, install vista first then install the driver (if it needs one).

 

[rockchalk]

Edgar, the Intel RAID drivers ship with Vista, so you should not need to install them during install, even if you ar booting to an Intel RAID volume.

Given the error message you say you received, it sounds like your ICH is set to IDE mode in the BIOS. It should support RAID, AHCI and IDE/Compatibility mode. If it is in compatibility mode, the driver will indicate that you don't have the proper hardware because it doesn't detect an AHCI or RAID deviceId. To fix that, you can go into the BIOS and change the Intel controller to RAID mode.

Also, MrLinux is right on the money-- don't bother with installing the drivers during install unless you need them for the boot device. It's easier to install the drvers after Windows in installed, when possible.

 

[edgar]

I have been trying very hard to get this RAID working! Still no success, if I set the MB SATA config to RAID (not IDE nor AHCI) Vista64 will not boot—it looks like the BIOS is not completing, the DOS prompt just keeps blinking. I have formatted both drives as single partitions and I can get into the Intel RAID configure during boot. This let me set the C drive as non-RAID and make the two big drives a RAID1 (mirror) array. When Vista64 boots (remember, it will not boot in RAID), the RAID drive does not mount (is not visible in the Computer window). I installed the JMicron drivers via the ASUS setup for them, but that did not change matters. In a different OS I work with there is a specific utility to “mount drives” which must be used to expose new drives to the file system, but I can find nothing like that in Vista64.

 

[edgar]

I finally flailed about until I got it working! I'm sure a second attempt would be child's play :> ! I ended up using all Intel services. It was a situation where I had to perform all the right steps in just the correct order. Some of those steps are not alluded to anywhere! Anyway, if anyone else is totally lost while mounting a RAID1 mirror array on an Asus P5E3 under Vista64, I would be willing to explain the steps I went through. Now that I have it working, I may just get an additional WD1600 and try a raid zero for my C: drive.