Problems adding raid support with P55-ud3r and win7

[JayRs47]

I have a P55-ud3r that I have been running with Window7 (64bit) using the ide setting for my sata drives. I decided to add some more hard drives using Raid 1. I followed the direction to set up the intel chipset for Raid support under the "Integrated Peripherals" tab. Rebooted and tried to start Windows (I didn't setup any raid drives yet). Windows started to boot, then quickly blue screened and died.

OK, I figured there are no Raid Windows drivers instaled. When back into bios and disabled raid support and when to Gigabyte's web site and got the latest drivers for the intel raid controller and Windows 7/64bit. Ran the drivers and it stop with the message:"This computer does not meet the minimum requirements for installing the software"…presumably because raid support was not enabled?

Any thought on how to resolve or am I missing something.

Thanks,

Jay

 

[Crashman]

I have a P55-ud3r that I have been running with Window7 (64bit) using the ide setting for my sata drives. I decided to add some more hard drives using Raid 1. I followed the direction to set up the intel chipset for Raid support under the "Integrated Peripherals" tab. Rebooted and tried to start Windows (I didn't setup any raid drives yet). Windows started to boot, then quickly blue screened and died.

OK, I figured there are no Raid Windows drivers instaled. When back into bios and disabled raid support and when to Gigabyte's web site and got the latest drivers for the intel raid controller and Windows 7/64bit. Ran the drivers and it stop with the message:"This computer does not meet the minimum requirements for installing the software"…presumably because raid support was not enabled?

Any thought on how to resolve or am I missing something.

Thanks,

Jay

It's complicated, but basically your OS is using the generic IDE driver. I know a way to fix it!

Assuming your operating system is still bootable with the controller in IDE mode and attached to a blue port, set the white ports to IDE mode as well, then move your boot drive to the IDE port. Set your BIOS to boot off that controller...

Go into Windows and make sure everything is working right with your drive on the "wrong" controller...

Go into BIOS and set the Intel controller to RAID, make sure your boot drive is still set to boot in BIOS and in IDE mode...

Go into Windows and set up the RAID controller, along with the Intel RAID application...

Now that you have a working RAID controller, a working drive, and the OS has both sets of drivers loaded...try changing the single drive to the Intel RAID controller, configure it as bootable in the Intel RAID BIOS program, etc.

I've done this with AHCI and it works for me.

 

[JayRs47]

Nice solution. Took me a minute to realize Gigabyte nicely color codes everything. Now booting fine, Intel RAID drivers loaded and everybody is back on the Intel controller.

As a more general question, I have always assumed it is better to use the intel sata controller than Gigabytes, even if I max it out with six drive?

Thanks for your quick help

 

[Crashman]

Nice solution. Took me a minute to realize Gigabyte nicely color codes everything. Now booting fine, Intel RAID drivers loaded and everybody is back on the Intel controller.

As a more general question, I have always assumed it is better to use the intel sata controller than Gigabytes, even if I max it out with six drive?

Thanks for your quick help

Well, all six ports are sharing a larger pipeline. Gigabyte's controller is bottlenecked by a PCIe x1 interface, and then it STILL has to go through the chipset's bottleneck.

BTW, I think you got lucky on this response since there are probably only a few people in the forum who know that trick. Usually you'll get a half-dozen "can't be done" responses before anyone tells you how it can be, and a lot of people give up in frustration before they see the solution.

 

[JayRs47]

It took me 2 problem motherboard boards and three bad memory sticks to get this system going, but I stuck with Gigabyte. The extra cripled controller turn out to be a lifesaver (or maybe its a system re-instal saver). I like to think I might have come up with the trick is I chewed on it some and got a good night sleep, but this worked out even better. Ah, the power of the internet. Now on to stripping the two drives.

Thanks again

 

[Crashman]

Now on to stripping the two drives.

What? I thought you were mirroring the drives? You did say RAID 1 😱

 

[bilbat]

The ICHs, in IDE compatibility mode, act as two physical controllers, one for ports 0-3, and one for 4 & 5, until you 'toggle' 'em to AHCI or RAID - then they are one physical with six ports. Some advantage, if you are only using two drives, to putting 'em on 0 and 4. Some day, if I can manage some support directly from GB, would love to do some intensive testing to find out whether 2 x AHCI or 2 x IDE (using 'split' controllers') is actually faster?