Setting up RAID with ICH5R

[Black_Cat]

I have an MSI 875P Neo-LSR and I'm trying to set up a RAID array with my new 160GB Deskstars. According to the supplemental ICH5R "Quick User's Guide" I should see a message regarding the RAID configuration utility stored with the Intel RAID option ROM during the POST and I should hit <CTRL> and <I> simultaneously. However, this message doesn't appear. What the hell?



You've tried and failed. The lesson here is, never try again. -- Homer Simpson.

 

[Black_Cat]

I'm not playing with any Matrix anything, just the onboard ICH5R. During POST I only have the following options:

Del: Setup
F11: Boot Menu
F12: Network Boot
Tab: Logo
Esc: Skip Memory Test
F10: Flash Recovery



You've tried and failed. The lesson here is, never try again. -- Homer Simpson.

 

[Crashman]

Do you have the RAID option for the ICH5R controller enabled?

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<font color=red>Only a place as big as the internet could be home to an ego as large as Crashman's!</font color=red>

 

[Black_Cat]

Okay. In the "On-Chip IDE Configuration" menu I have it setup as follows:

On-Chip ATA Operate Mode: Native Mode
ATA Configuration: P-ATA + S-ATA
S-ATA Keep Enabled: Yes
P-ATA Keep Enabled: Yes
P-ATA Channel Selection: Both
Configure S-ATA as RAID

I've tried several different combinations just to see what happens but ultimately I don't get the RAID screen during POST. I've read through the manual pretty thoroughly. Did I miss a jumper setting or something? If I attempt to install Windows XP it'll recognize my drives as a RAID 1 and will proceed with formatting.




You've tried and failed. The lesson here is, never try again. -- Homer Simpson.

 

[Unolocogringo]

During the very first screen of the XP install you will need to press F6. to install the raid drivers before Windowsxp will recognise the raid setup.
You need to make a floppy disk with the drivers on it and install them from it.

I aint signing nothing!!!

 

[Black_Cat]

I understand all that and as I stated before I can go ahead and install WinXP. However, I cannot set up the array the way I'd like. It's default is obviously RAID 1 and there's no way I can seem to change it. I'm sure it's something stupid but I can't seem to get to those options.



You've tried and failed. The lesson here is, never try again. -- Homer Simpson.

 

[jammydodger]

That is very odd, do you not see the RAID setup screen at all? Or can you just not get into it? I prolly wont automatically setup any RAID arrays, you need to define the type (0,1) and the stripe size. So basically you need to get to that setup screen some how. How many SATA ports does your motherboard have? (I know some of the 875 boards came with a Sil3112a controller as well as the ICH5r, if this is the case make sure that your drive are plugged into the correct ports).

 

[Black_Cat]

You've summed up my problem exactly. Why this screen is not showing up, I don't know. There are only 2 S-ATA ports on the Neo-LSR board so it would be hard to screw that up.

Anyway, I solved the problem. I took the Neo-LSR out and put my P4C800 Deluxe back in my case. I'm through farting with this, but if you can come up with any ideas as to why I've never seen the RAID setup screen I'm all ears.



You've tried and failed. The lesson here is, never try again. -- Homer Simpson.

 

[Black_Cat]

Yeah, I was thinking about doing that, but then I had a flashback. The last BIOS upgrade I tried went bad, so I just swapped mobos. Done.




You've tried and failed. The lesson here is, never try again. -- Homer Simpson.

 

[Crashman]

You don't need the same mobo to flash, just the same size and voltage chip, and Uniflash or some other flash utility that doesn't care that the wrong BIOS is being used.

<font color=blue>Only a place as big as the internet could be home to a hero as big as Crashman!</font color=blue>
<font color=red>Only a place as big as the internet could be home to an ego as large as Crashman's!</font color=red>