I think this method makes the most sense to me, to make sure I have the right drivers ... it is just doesn't seem optimal to be using the legacy drivers!?

However, why does this not work when using the floppy? I had tried copying the contents of the sata_ide folder onto my F6 floppy with the contents of the sataraid folder and then installing from a standard non-slipstreamed WinXP Pro w/SP2 .. and I got the same symptom ...reboot loop after the GUI install portion.


Another note ... have you tried pulling in the nvata.inf and nvata.sys from sata_ide into the sataraid folder then modifying the txtsetup.oem file in sataraid to refer to these files instead of nvatabus.inf and nvatabus.sys? Then we can delete the nvatabus.sys from sataraid folder.
The reason I suggest this is I did an MD5 checksum on nvata.sys and nvatabus.sys and they are identical!!

As you have already realized, both folders contain exactly the same SataRaid drivers!
The NVIDIA nForce SataRaid drivers are not easy to install - you are right. But after several weeks of intensive tests and hundreds of failed installations I found an easy and safe way to integrate them into a bootable XP CD (see post No 1). Why do you make it even more complicated than it is? Thousands of owners of a pc with an nForce SataRaid system got Windows XP installed by using my guide within this thread. Take the LEGACY folder or the SATARAID folder (with the 3 added files) and just do it. If you have an nForce Raid system, this method should work for you too. Between the methods "LEGACY pure" and "SATARAID plus 3 files" there is only a small difference in the way , but no difference in the result.
The answer is given within my first post of this thread:
Additional I should mention, that my guide only works this easy way, when you do it with nLite v. 1.0 RC1 or higher. Nuhi has implementated a method into nLite, which prevents the installation of the wrong MS drivers during the GUIMODE part of the installation.
You may try it, but why? It is much more complicated than the way I propose. If you have a SataRaid system, there is no cause to replace the "normal" Sata/Pata driver NVATABUS.SYS by the non-Raid driver NVATA.SYS.
They are not totally identical, because they have different names and this has a good reason: the file NVATABUS.INF contains the install informations for the NVATABUS.SYS, while the NVATA.INF is specially designed for the NVATA.SYS. So both files need each other and may not be replaced crossover.

Everything clear now?
CU
Fernando

This is absolutely correct ... I did the SATARAID plus 3 files method in conjuction with nLite last night and it worked flawlessly!!

I would like to thank Fernando1 and the authors of nLite for making this possible ... you are digital saints and may you have uptimes of a 1000 years!

thanks a lot Fernando i spent 2 days trying to get windows xp to work with my nv raid and read about a dozen people telling me what to do and your idea is the only one that works thatnks a lot !!!

You are welcome!

CU
Fernando

Omg Fernando I'm reading this post and hoping that this is what will work for me.

I just put together the following system this morning: DFI NF4 SLI-DR Expert, 4400+ Toledo, 2 gig OCZ dual chan ram, 2 x 74 gig Raptor HDD, and some other fun stuff. Anyway, after i got it to boot up I tried to set up RAID for the hdd's using this manual, http://www.angrygames.com/nf4raid-1.htm but when i got to the part where you put in the floppy that came with the DFI board to install the SATA raid drivers, i got a message saying the oeminf.txt file (or something like that) was corrupt. So i got another copy of an updated set of drivers and a different file in that set was corrupt.

So then I came across this and I hope this is what my problem is. I'm going to try it in the morning. As I understand it I just need a copy of winxp (i have it), nlite (i'll get it) and the up-to-date drivers (i'll get them). And them burn an .iso using nlite and the first post instructions.

My only question is, will your method be a substitute for the initial process which requires the sata raid drivers on a floppy?

Thanks so much and keep your fingers crossed for me.

Yes - no need of pressing F6 and no need for any floppy!
I will do it for the next 24 hours.
Please give a message, if you succeeded or not ,

CU
Fernando

Sorry, wrong thread.

Well my situation is different from others who have posted here so far (and I'm glad!). It turns out that I had a bad floppy that came NF4 SLI Expert. So while I was waiting for nLite to finalize, a buddy sent me his copy, and it worked!

But I've read this post front and back, and actually understand some of it now. Sorry for the false alarm and for wasting space/time. Keep up the great work!

Still keeping my fingers crossed (just in case),

Arli

Hiya guys/girls

Im haven a few problems with this nlite.Well i dont really know if its nlite that is the problem.
Ive managed to use nlite and intergrate the nvidia drivers and create a iso xp disc.But when i use that disc to run install nothing happens at the boot from cd/dvd prompt.whats up?.Im not all that clued up on computers so basic english/simple terms would be great.

Thanks Mike

You have to set the CD drive as first bootable device within BIOS. After having done that, boot and when you are prompted to press any key of your keyboard, do it. Then you are able to install the OS.
If you can't see "press any key ...." during the booting, you did something wrong during burning your bootable CD. When you take Nero, just go to "Recorder", choose "burn image" and point to the nLited ISO file.

Hiya Fernando 1

Thanks heaps!!!

Ive got it sorted now.I was doing everything right intergrating nvidia drivers and creating the bootable cd.My problem been i was using the windows wizard to burn my cd ,as i dont have nero and apparently my dvd writer isnt supported by Nero.Anyway i ended up downloading Imgburn program and using that,very cool.
I also made sure that the cd was first bootable devce like you said.Im so pleased.

Thankyou so much "You DA the MAN"!!

Nlite ROCKS

Hi,

My hardware is:
motherboard: asus A8N-VM CSM
processor: AMD 64x2 4400+
memory: crucial 1GBx2 DDRAM
hd: western digital WD2500KS (250GB SATA300) x2
dvd: plextor PX-716SA

I've been trying to install WindowsXP Pro onto the HDs in a RAID1 configuration.
I've got the nvidia raid settings in BIOS, and i've configured it in the boot setup.
When I don't install any extra drivers, the system finds no drives to install on (makes sense).
When I try to install after shutting off the RAID controller, I can install onto any one drive (not what I want, but I'm almost ready to take it).
When I try installing the nvidia drivers during setup, I always get a STOP: message (blue screen, no other text BUT the STOP code).
When I try installing the nvidia drivers by following your instructions at the top of this thread (6.70 drivers, grabbing the Legacy Folder, WinXP PRO no service packs) I get a stop message, but with the full "Windows has stopped to protect your system ... yadda ... yadda ... yadda" and a different stop code.

I'm getting a bit frustrated by this, and have recieved no help from ASUS (although I did notice they decided to use a different chip for RAID controller on their new A8N32 board).

My current choices are:
1) boot from a spare PATA drive I have around.
2) use the SATA drives a single units (then why did I bother buying two?)
3) buy a SATA RAID controller to sit in a PCI or the PCIex1 slot (so I can leave the PCIex16 slot open for a graphics bump in the future).
4) pull my hair out getting this to install the way I want it to (and the way it should).

Help and suggestions would be most appreciated.

Hi Mpastreich,
before you can start with the install of an OS onto a Raid array, you have to ensure, that
a. both Hdd's have not been used before (brandnew) or made "totally clean" by low level formatting,
b. the Raid has been built as it should (Raid activation in BIOS, configuration of the RAID via F10 inclusive activating as boot disk) and
c. that the RAID is the first bootable hard disk device (to do within BIOS).
First sign of a successful configurated RAID is, when you see, that it is "healthy" on the second boot display.
If you have a floppy drive, you can test the TEXTMODE part of the XP install via F6 (if you have a Raid BIOS version 4.84, you can take the files from the SATARAID subfolder of the 6.70 package, but you have to add the following 3 files: NVATABUS.INF, NVCOI.DLL and NVATA.CAT, you find them in one of the other 2 IDE\WinXP subfolders).
If Windows Setup detects your Raid system as 1 disk, you can nearly be sure, that the driver integration method (post 1 of this thread) will work on your system too.

Then you can start with the install of your nLited CD with integrated nForce SataRaid drivers.

CU
Fernando

EDIT:
1. Don't touch your healthy Raid array by shutting off the Raid Controller and trying to install something on one of your Sata disks.
2. You should integrate SP2 into your nLited CD.

First off, thanks for the speedy reply.
a. They are both brand new drives (although one of them was then used to test installing the OS without RAID)
b. F10: The array is build, and shows up as "healthy", however no matter what I do the "[B]" bootable option is greyed out, and the bootable column shows up as "N/A". I have however been able to set it as the first boot device in the BIOS boot menu.

"MediaShield IDE ROM Bios Version 5.50" (assuming this is the Nvidia RAID bios)

I tried the bootfloppy method since the machine currently has a floppy dangling out the side of it (yeah for 10 years of doing this sort of thing and having parts lying around ... even if I had to go to Radio Shack to get floppies) using both the whole of the "Legacy Directory" and the 6.70 directory with those files you listed added in from the sata_ide directory. Note: there isn't a NVATABUS.INF file in the sata_ide directory, just a nvata.inf file so I added that.
In both cases I got a BSOD when it tries to start up the GUI portion of the installation (the bottom status line reads "Starting windows..." the keyboard lights flash once, the monitor goes to black, and comes back up with a BSOD stating "A problem has been detected and Windows has been shutdown to protect your computer. ... STOP 0x0000007B ( ... )"

Suggestions?

EDIT:
tried integrating SP2 into the directory where nlite had integrated the Legacy drivers then burned the installation to an ISO. Same BSOD as above.

That might be the reason for your trouble. It seems to me, that you still have parts of the boot sector (made by your first test without Raid) on the start position of your Raid array.
Tip: Do the formatting of both hdds and then try to enable the bootable option.

Yes, that is the newest one. I have no experience with that version.

That was a mistake. You should have taken the NVATABUS.INF off the LEGACY subfolder. Athough both files are very similar, the NVATA.INF has only informations to install the - not-existant - NVATA.SYS.

Fernando,

First, thanks very much for your tremendous work to make integrated NVRAID drivers possible! I have just successfully loaded a fresh copy of Windows Server 2003 R2 32-bit on my DFI NF4-D rig running 36GB raptors in RAID 0! It took me a couple of attempts so I wanted to post here with my findings. Also, please forgive me if this info has already been mentioned/discussed but I did not come across any mention of this technique in this thread:

Attempt #1: I was a bit confused with the recommended drivers (the link to 6.66 in post #1) because it seems from inspecting the file names in the WinXP directories, that those are x64 drivers. But nevertheless I tried them anyway and setup quickly gave an error saying the drivers weren't compatible with the W2k3 x86 that I was loading.

Attempt #2: This second attempt was a success!: I used the x86 (32bit) v6.69 drivers directly from the source and followed your steps from post #1 but with a slight twist. I copied the following files into the IDE/WinXP/SATARAID directory of the 6.69 drivers:

- NVATABUS.INF from IDE/WinXP/LEGACY of the 6.70 for WinXP drivers
- NVATA.CAT & NVCOI.DLL from IDE/WinXP/SATA_IDE of the 6.69 for W2K3 drivers

Then I used nLite to integrate the drivers as usual from the prepared SATARAID directory. Here is the contents of that directory:



From Windows 2003 > Device Manger > IDE ATA/ATAPI controllers > NVIDIA nForce4 Serial ATA Controler > Properties > Driver it says Driver Version: 5.10.2600.552 so I believe this is working properly now for Windows Server 2003 R2.

- jimanny

You are right! I have just checked it. The link is correct to the 32-bit driver, but what you get is the 64-bit one (wrong link by NVIDIA). Thank you very much for your information. I will put the correct link into post No 1 within the next minutes.

That was a very good idea too! Until now I did not propose to take the 6.69 package, because it is a bit complicated to take the correct files. I will mention this way within my guide (post No 1).

Your post was very helpful - thanks again!

CU
Fernando

Great! I am very happy that I am able to contribute something useful and also happy with my luck that it worked after only 2 attempts!

Basically, I went from your recommendation to have the 3 extra files in the SATARAID directory. The question was where to get the files since they aren't all in 6.69.

6.69 doesn't have NVATABUS.INF so there's only one other place it can come: 6.70 in IDE/WinXP/LEGACY. NVATA.CAT and NVCOI.DLL are already in 6.69 (in SATA_IDE) so copying those into 6.69/SATARAID were the final links to make it work for W2K3 R2. It seems it works because NVATABUS.INF calls NVATA.CAT and NVATABUS.SYS but I don't know who calls NVCOI.DLL. Perhaps NVCOI.dll is called by NVATA.CAT but I don't know cause it's compressed. Anyway, W2k3 SP1 basically equals R2 so it should work the same there too.

It works, because the drivers (SYS files) of both packages have the same version 5.52.
The DLL files are coinstallers and needed for a correct installation of the drivers (NVCOI.DLL is needed for the NVATABUS.SYS and "called" by the NVATABUS.INF)
The CAT files contain only informations about the certification status of the depending driver (NVATA.CAT is responsable for the NVATABUS.SYS, NVRAID.CAT for the NVRAID.SYS). CAT files are not really necessary, but may be useful with weird drivers as the nForce SataRaid ones.

Thanks again - I have already edited my guide!

CU
Fernando

Thanks Fernando! Awesome contribution you have made

After two unsuccessful attempts, I succeeded

I think I was most confused by the early replies and different driver folder structure of the v6.70 drivers. However, after copying the 3 necessary files to the sataraid directory, success! My configuration consists of a SLI-DR motherboard, two SATA drives in a healthy raid0 array, and Windows XP Pro (32-bit).

So to future users, this is what I did:

1) Downloaded v6.70 Nvidia drivers. Extracted contents.
2) Copied Nvatabus.inf and nvcoi.dll to the "sataraid" directory FROM the "legacy" directory.
3) Copied nvata.cat from the "sata_ide" directory to the "sataraid" directory.
4) Using NLite, add the driver inf file from the sataraid directory ONLY (don't do anything with legacy, etc).
5) You can add other drivers (ethernet, etc).
6) Be sure to select an unattended setup option.
7) Burn your bootable ISO.
8) Install sit back and drink a beverage of your choice (No need to hit F6 or anything).

Good stuff!

Hi TStein,
thank you for your post.
The way you did it is not the easiest, but the safest method to get the nForce SataRaid drivers integrated.
A little correction: In step No 2 you mean the NVCOI.DLL (and not the IDECOI.DLL, this file is already in the SATARAID directory).

CU
Fernando

Yep, my mistake. I edited the correct library name in my post. Thanks!

TStein has pointed it out: It is very difficult to write a guide about the nVRaid driver integration, which is useful for everyone, easy to understand and simultaneously totally correct.

As a result of his post I have made some changes within the "Driver Preparation" part of my guide (first post of this thread). I hope, that my guide has gotten more understandable and not too complicated.

If you still find something misunderstandable or if you have a better idea for an easy guide, please let me know it - nobody is perfect!

CU
Fernando

Okay, I tried doing the formatting for both hard drives and then building the RAID array and trying to set it to bootable. No luck, still grayed out. I tried building the array, booting off a different hard drive, and then formatting the whole array. Then tried rebooting and seeing if I could make it bootable. Still no luck.

Tried pulling the drivers from the Legacy folder as you suggested and using a CD with SP2 integrated. No luck. Tried tuning that installation into an "unattended installation, no luck.

Tried pulling the files from the SATARAID folder, with the extra files you suggested, and putting them on a floppy to install during a WinXP2 install. No luck.

Next I guess I'll try a fresh nlite build of SP2, the sataraid/ide drivers (with the legacy .inf), and the unattended and see what happens

When I started making this machine last week, I was hoping to finish with it before I went on vacation. I spent 1/2 a day putting the pieces together, I didn't think I'd devote another week (or more) of my off hours time to getting the OS installed.

I can understand you - I would be angry too!
That fact, that you cannot set your Raid as bootable, is a severe thing. If you don't have done something wrong, this issue refers to a hardware problem (Raid Controller malfunction?).
By the way: Asus recommends for your board to take the new nForce driver remix package 8.22, which you can download here: http://dlsvr01.asus.com/pub/ASUS/mb/socket...32nforce822.zip
I have no experience with this driver package, but maybe it is useful for you.

CU
Fernando

I'm not agry with you. I appreciate all the work you've done and the help you've given.
I wonder if the RAID controller is having a problem with the SATA 300 disks (WD2500 Caviar SE16)? or the SATA DVDR? (plextor PX-716SA), or some combination of the two (I noticed when I loaded WindowsXP on an IDE drive and then was initializing the RAID array through the Windows interface, accessing the DVDR while the array was initializing, or synchronizing caused Windows to BSOD).

I'll do some playing with the 8.22 driver remix package tonight. I'll also try playing around with a combination of removing the DVR and seeing how the RAID controller reacts. I'll let you know how it goes, and thanks again for your help.

As I just realized your Plextor is a Sata device.
I bet, that the Plextor is the reason for your trouble.
Look here: http://www.plextor.com/english/support/PX-...y%20listing.htm

My tip: Remove the Plextor and use for the install of the OS an other CD drive device. After the successful install of Windows XP you can reinstall your Plextor.

CU
Fernando

I've followed the instructions given in this post on how to create an unattended installation of Windows XP Pro (using nlite), with the NForce4 SATA Raid drivers etc....everything was fine until windows tried to boot for the first time, It just keeps rebooting itself. When I try and boot into safe mode, the last thing on the screen is \Drivers\mup.sys which is exactly what was happening before.

Any ideas?

[Edit]
System Configuration:
N4SLI-A9
AMD64 3200
1Gb memory (dual channel mode)
2x120gb SATA Drives on Channel 1
Raid 0 Array is set as bootable, and is healthy

It looks like a hardware problem, which has nothing to do with the integration of the nForce SataRaid drivers.
Look here:
http://www.hardwareanalysis.com/content/topic/31874/
http://www.earthv.com/tips_detail.asp?TipID=63
Within another forum someone wrote, that the same problem was solved after updating the BIOS of the graphic adapter.

Hoping that you will find the reason for your problem
Fernando

This thread is the best. Got it working without using the 6.82 Nvidia Driver files. I just used the legacy drivers and the files from the 6.70 package and everything is now working fine. Didn't need to update the bios either.

Thanks Fernando for all the help

Fernando: veryyyyyyyyyy good stuff. I was tearing my hair out trying to get xp or 2k3 installed on this new nforce4 board with a raid0 setup.. how the heck can nvidia and ms allow crap like this to go on? This is some of the newest stuff out there and it doesnt even work without quite a few hours of surfing and some winbloz imaging skills...


anyways, Fernando, YOU ARE DA MAN!!!

* cracks a beer for fernando * whenever yer thirsty, and in the states.. heh

tnx

-tp0d

Be aware, maybe I am coming someday... (and I am very thirsty!)

CU
Fernando

Heh, Fernando- the beer in Australia is better than the beer in America

(But the beer in Germany beats anyone's I know...)

This thread has been very interesting to me as I am using a Shutle SN25p w/AMD-64 (Nvidia NForce4c chipset)... and hope to run RAID 0. The motherboard in this machine should not be very different from any other NF4-based mobo. I know of noone else using this combination successfully until I got onto msfn.org, and wish I could report success, or gather more of a clue from the msfn forums (pls excuse my ignorance)- I have only just started using nLite!

The problem I have, after following the instructions (thank you *very much* Fernando) which took me through using nLite to create an XP unattended install disk, is that (trying the fresh disk out) Windows setup does not enter the second stage, it simply finishes the 'loading files' part (the first section where it prompts for additional floppy-based drivers), displays 'Starting windows' and then a few seconds later blue screens. Have not even got to the user agreement or the drive utility- so think this must be driver related.

I am using nForce 6.70, made the changes specified in Fernando's first post exactly.

Should I try using nlite RC1.05 or 1.06? I believe my version (RC1.04) is the current release as there is nothing mentioned about later versions than this I can find (but I haven't gone looking for a CVS on this yet). I am unsure if the text (txtsetup.oem) file changes discussed with Fernando and others a little way back in this thread could be part of the problem? I can't seem to find clear (to me) details, but am re-reading all that for the 3rd time...

Perhaps posters are talking about RyansVM when saying these versions?

AFAIK the only drivers reported working on my rig (as reported on this forum are the manufacturer supplied ones; v6.53 (I think) - as reported by the member Q-Fireball in this thread http://www.msfn.org/board/lofiversion/index.php/t51244.html)

Many thanks for any pointers... I'm pretty stumped trying to work out what text file changes are necessary, or if I should be using RC1.05, RC1.06 or just give up and use the old driver (which is 'reported as unstable' in the Shuttle forums)

GUI looked for nvide.nvu-"could not copy...."- available in either the SATA or Legacy Folders-6.70-when using the sataraid folder for nlite txtmode integration. In addition to nvcoi.dll, nvatabus and nvata.cat one should also copy nvide.nvu to the sataraid folder before nlite integration. Without nvide.nvu my DVD-RW's were neither recognized or assigned a drive letter by PNP and the drivers had to be installed manually.

After windows loads mup.sys it loads the registry. If one of your hives is corrupt, it may reboot at this point without an error message. I have had this happen before due to bad SATA cables causing a machine to reboot at (roughly) weekly or bi-weekly intervals, and not working out the cause before this was happened.

I'd bet your registry is not being built correctly during install. Try other options in nlite perhaps, but it could be a driver problem for all I know...

Thanks Rick, am trying this now. Your case didn't sound like BSODs though... are you using NF4 on AMD?

I like VB and XXXX!
The latest version is nLite 1.0 RC4.
Why don't you integrate them? After you have succeeded with the install, you can try to update the drivers (if you have a Raid BIOS version 4.84 or higher).
Other users had resolved their problems by deleting the file NVIDE.NVU (look here: http://www.hardwareforums.com/16279-post-5/ ).

After having googled I found this interesting link for Shuttle SN25p users (maybe it is useful for you): http://forums.sudhian.com/messageview.cfm?...&threadid=83035
One of the advices is to raise the RAM voltage to 2.8 V.

CU
Fernando

Well it worked... the bloody thing worked. Absolutely brilliant stuff; the nlite devs, fernando, Rick- you guys are absolutely unbelievable... I'll report back with my findings in terms of array reliability, etc.

I am not 100% sure it was the nvide.nu file I needed added in, but if you need to know Fernando I can try it again...

So far, I have boot, all items installed, healthy raid, disks partitioned the way I want... and very nice perfromance indeed...

These are very useful informations.
Please report about your further findings. We should know, for whom the NVIDE.NVU is important and for whom not.

EDIT: The NVIDE.NVU is neither a driver nor a coinstaller file. It contains the following informations (extracted from the 6.70 package):
As the file contains only informations about the uninstall of other files, I am really surprised, that it might be necessary for the install of the SataRaid drivers. I have very often installed the 6.70 drivers by using the SATARAID subfolder (plus 3 files, but without the NVIDE.NVU) and never got any problem or "missing NVIDE.NVU" pop-up message during the install.
Notice: The PCI device VEN_10DE is the NVIDIA Memory Controller.

Thanks Fernando, again...

Re NVIDE, I am loading burning software to see what the effects are (will report). I have reloaded the 6.70 driver pack (after successful windows install) to install the NVRAID tools software, about 70 dlls and 2 exe's, as well as making sure everything else is the way it should be. During Windows setup the RAID started sychrnoising as soon as Windows setup loaded the driver; pretty neat- as I was able to do the unattended install without any hassles whilst this was happening. Having horrible experiences with sophtware RAID (silliconimage, etc.) and hacking Linux kernels prior to the newer modules, I was not so keen about this and was glad to have got down to building a CD with the appropriate drivers- now I can boot the Recovery Console and access the array should I ever need to! Without you I couldn't have done this- and unfortuantely Shuttle has been shipping bad SATA cables on my box, resulting in a lot of bad posts all over the place about the 6.53 RAID not working. Researching that led me here and now I know enough to be happier- ie not just that 6.53 was probably ok after all but that my DRP will work so that is good. Plus I don't have a floppy drive in this new box anyway, so Windows setup's ancient F6 driver load routine was a PITA to do also . More soon...

"Please report about your further findings. We should know, for whom the NVIDE.NVU is important and for whom not.

I've always included that file but missed doing so for the DVD image created for the erroneous install.

I've extracted the ASUS 6.65 F6 drivers downloaded from their website for comparison and the nvu file is included.
These drivers install and work error free also.

One other anomoly I've noticed is at the end of any successfully integrated setup I always find the nforce 4 drivers integrated enumerated in system32\ReinstallBackups; as if they were uninstalled and reinstalled again during setup; yet no errors during setup, or any setup messages, and the windows setup error log is empty. Further, if I choose "hide default" in winnt.sif "Local Area Connection" in Network Connections, and in the registry, is labelled "Local Area Connection 2". When "Provide Default" is selected this does not occur; ie: only Local Area Connection is present.

The internet works fine in both cases.

Hi RickSteele,
thank you for your interesting report.
As a reaction of the discussion about the NVIDE.NVU file I have replenished my guide in that way, that it might be useful for some users to add this file too, if they take the SATARAID instead of the LEGACY subfolder.
Concerning the ReinstallBackups directory I can affirm your discovery, but I found there even other drivers, which I had integrated by nLite too (for example the NVIDIA Forceware and the monitor drivers). So I think, that this is nothing to warry about.
The differences of the designations of the "Local Area Connections" are only cosmetic.

CU
Fernando

So I think, that this is nothing to warry about.

I agree but, just to close this up with a little footnote, I use Terabyte partition and backup software. When integrating using the Legacy folder Image for DOS performance-which translates to HDD performance-is very seriously impared until the nforce4 setup is run. This does not occur when using the sataraid folder with the files aforementioned copied.
Oh, by the by, this is a great thread-much appreciated by all; thanks

small correction to this part>


Actually the NVCOI.DLL file is already in the sataraid folder of the 6.82 drivers - same date, same size

Thank you for the information. I will check it and correct my guide regarding this point if necessary.

CU
Fernando

EDIT: I checked the nForce driver package 6.82 and found, that there is no NVCOI.DLL within the SATARAID folder. For this reason I did not change the quoted text within my guide (post No 1).

Can anyone tell me is there's a way to make a functional NVIDIA nForce™ RAID Class Controller driver diskete whitout integrating in the XP CD, I had my Windows installed since 2003, I have change my mobo several times and went from several disk subsystems, sometimes RAID 0 and others just plain IDE config. When a abandon a RAID 0 config I usually Ghost my RAID to a singe IDE drive to be recogniced by Win XP when it boots from the new mainboard, then, I make my RAID 0 from scratch and boot from the IDE drive, I install all the drivers I need for the new motherboard (including the RAID drivers) and then I Ghost back to the newly RAID 0 and unplug the IDE drive. When the RAID 0 boots, it allready have all the drivers it needs, the spare IDE drive is then deleted and used as manual backup for the files in the RAID.
This procedure was imposible with the NVidia RAID Class Controller, it keeps giving the error:

There was a problem installing this harware
NVIDIA nForce™ RAID Class Controller
An error occurred during the installation of this device

The installation source for this product is not available.
Verify that the source exists and that you can access it."

and some times the "Access Denied" one, so I must use the Sil RAID drivers that works perfectly, the problem is that since I had a couple of Hitachi SATA I 80GB I cannot complain so much, the performance is very good, but I had another MSI K8N Neo4 for my father and he had 2 WD160JS, SATA II that are conencted to the Sil controller for the obvious reazons.
Is there a way to make a valid floppy disk with the drivers?


Alejandro

My PC:
MB: MSI K8N Neo4
AMD Athlon 64 3200+ Venice
512 MB Kingston Valueram 333Mhz
2x Hitachi deskstar 80GB SATA 1
1x WD 160GB IDE
PSU: Generic 450Whatts Strong line
Video: MSI gForce NX6600GT-TD128E

My Father:
MB: MSI K8N Neo4
AMD Athlon 64 3200+ Winchester
2 x256 MB Kingston ValueRam 333Mhz (dual channel)
2x WD160JS SATA II
PSU: Generic 450Whatts Strong line
Video: generic gForce 6200 based PCI-e

Yes, it is possible to create a valid floppy disk with the nForce SataRaid drivers. But if you try to install the newest nVRaid drivers (off the package 6.66 or higher) by F6 method, you risk to get endless reboots at the end of the install (Reason: see post No 1 of this thread).
According to my experiences you have the best results, if you do this:
1. Download the nForce package v. 6.53 from here: ftp://download.nvidia.com/Windows/nForce/standalone/6.53/
2. Unzip the package and copy the whole content of the IDE\WinXP directory (without the RAIDTOOL subfolder) onto a formatted floppy disk.
3. During the install you have to integrate both required drivers.
After the completion of the install you can update all nForce drivers inclusive the SataRaid ones by just executing the setup.exe of the nForce package v. 6.70.

CU
Fernando

To WhiteWizard

"Can anyone tell me is there's a way to make a functional NVIDIA nForce™ RAID Class Controller driver diskete whitout integrating in the XP CD"

Download the 6.70 drivers from Nvidia's site, extract them and copy all of the IDE\WinXP\legacy files to an empty, freshly formatted floppy; just those in the "legacy" folder. this is your F6 diskette. After successful completion of install, reboot into Safe mode and run the setup.exe for these drivers.

What I want to do is to install the drivers for the RAID class Controller from a functional WIN XP, if I integrate I will have to do a full repair of my copy of WIN XP, form the CD.
I wish simply to install the correct driver, my Win XP SP2 is running on the Sil controller, in Device Mannager I have:

SCSI and RAID Controllers
Unknown Device (this is the nForce RAID Class Controller)
Sillicon Image Sil 3114 SoftRaid Controller (wich is functional and my 2 HD are connected to it)


My guess is that if I fix the problem and install "nForce RAID Class Controller" I will be able to unplug both disk from the Sil controller and plug them into the nVidia SATA controller, and my RAID will work ok, and perhaps, faster.
This seems "loco" but I already do it form a VIA based mainboard to nForce, aparently the info in the drives is similar in several RAID systems, I had to reconfigure the RAID controller by pressing F4 and setup the RAID in the new mainboard, by specify "Don not delete data", then it simply boot like charm.

The hard way will be: unplug both dirves form the Sil and connect them to the nVidia SATA Controller (in the same order), then boot from a Win XP integrated CD and perform a repair of the previous system.
This is complicated, and the main problem is that I cannot make a Gosth copy of my RAID 0 to the IDE drive anymore, Gosth post some error too, so I'm trapper in the Sil controller for now and I cannot do complex test becouse I risk to loose Win XP, and believe me, I had programs installed that I cannot loose.

Alejandro
P.S: I tryed the floppy with the WinXP/Legacy folder from the 6.70 but keep reciving the error.