mjswooosh

Congratulations, this is totally correct. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Everyone...THANKS SO MUCH FOR YOUR HELP!!! I'm not sure why this latest method works without all the other files in the OEMDIR folder, any ideas? But it does work, so that's the important part!

Ok, got it working! WOO HOO! Wow, that only took 3 days! The only thing I changed was the following: 1) The only files I left intact in the OEMDIR folder are: nvatabus.sys, nvatabus.inf, idecoi.dll. I deleted the rest. 2) I modified the WINNT.SIF file to read: OemDriverPathName = "%SystemRoot%\OemDir" OemInfName = "nvatabus.inf" I'm not exactly sure why it didn't need the nvraid.inf/nvraid.sys files in the OEMDIR folder...but for whatever reason it seems to be working correctly now. Anyone have any idea why this works & why the other other method (including all of the other files) didn't? Maybe it has something to do with the fact I integrated the sata_ide file as well? I'd guess Dale is onto something that somehow it created a weird hybrid driver file and WinXP didn't know where to look for the RAID drivers... SO, I guess if this is true then you can EITHER integrate the sata_ide file OR include the rest of the files in the OEMDIR folder, but not both? Can anyone else verify what their Device Manager entries look like so I can compare mine? I now have the following 2 entries in my DM: NVIDIA Network Bus Enumerator NVIDIA Network Bus Enumerator SCSI and RAID Controllers NVIDIA nForce RAID Class Controller **************************** EDIT: The only remaining problem was that for some odd reason the nForce4 ethernet drivers did not load up despite the fact I integrated them every time. I thought this very odd. It turns out the default setting in the latest BFG bios is MAC LAN: "OFF". I re-checked it twice just to make sure I'm not an even bigger i*d*i*o*t than I already thought! haha When I load "optimized defaults" in the BIOS it turns the mac lan *OFF*. Is this normal for the nFORCE4 chipset? I've never ran across a BIOS that turns the built-in LAN off by default...

ok, I'm starting to think I must be doing something wrong during the nLite creation phase. Here's the process I've used: 1. nLite 1.06b --> int. RyanVM's hotfixes, int. nFORCE4 6.66 / ATI Catalyst 5.8 / Netgear WG311T wi-fi drivers, remove WINDOWS SCSI/RAID & IDE drivers (& a bunch of other stuff. Final nLited WindowsXP size = 295MB). I add all 4 "patches" and several of the tweaks. I use "FullUnattended" and "Oem Preinstall". During the integrate section I point directly to the nFORCE .inf files in the AudioDrv, Ethernet, SATARAID, sata_ide, and SMBus sub-folders. 2. Here is the relevant file structure for my finished nLite XP cd: X2PVOL_EN\$OEM$\$$\OEMDIR 3. OEMDIR Folder Contents: idecoi.dll, nvatabus.inf, nvatabus.sys, nvcoi.dll, nvide.nvu, nvraid.inf, nvraid.sys, nvraidco.dll (all files copied directly from the 6.66 SATARAID sub-folder except the nvatabus.inf which was copied from PATARAID sub-folder) 4. Then I go to the X2PVOL_EN\I386 sub-folder and modify the WINNT.SIF file as instructed with the following 2 lines as shown: OemDriverPathName = "%SystemRoot%\OemDir" OemInfName = "nvraid.inf","nvatabus.inf" 5. I don't use nLite to create an ISO. I use the Microsoft Corporation.img file and burn the CD in Mode 1 in NERO. ****************************** I honestly don't see what I'm doing differently than the rest of you guys so am a bit of a loss here! Thoughts: am I somehow creating a faulty folder/sub-folder structure? Does my CD directory structure somehow look differently than it should? Do I need to copy the files from PATARAID folder instead of the SATARAID folder into the OEMDIR? Does it make a difference if you use the files from the SATARAID folder or the PATARAID folder? I wouldn't think it should matter as long as you make sure to copy the nvatabus.inf file as well. Do I need to modify and/or rename any of the .inf files? Once I get into Windows I continue to have the "Unknown Device" in the SCSI and RAID Controllers section as well as missing an ethernet/lan device entry. I feel like I must somehow be mis-directing the .inf file during the nLite creation phase so that when windows looks for these driver files it is looking in the wrong place. Ahhh...fun, fun, fun with nVIDIA RAID!!! EDIT: I just noticed that for some reason when windows first starts it actually identifies it as a "SCSI Device" down in the System Tray. When I try to use the Update Driver section it also identifies it as a "SCSIAdapter". Then, after manually trying to install the 6.66 driver package it identifies it as NVIDIA RAID CLASS device in the system tray (but still "SCSIAdapter" in Device Manager when I try to use update driver). Not sure if this is significant, but I thought I should mention it.

I cannot find a special option to remove the IDE drivers by nLite. There was only a combination of SCSI drivers and something else and I removed that combination. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> The IDE drivers can be removed individually in nLite's HARDWARE section (not in the DRIVERS section). So I guess I'm the only one with this "Unknown Device" issue in Device Manager, huh? WTF am I doing wrong? <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Wooosh, what board have you got. I believe you've posted it somewhere, and I think it may have been an A8N-sli deluxe, but I may just be making that up... If so, is that the only unknown device that you have in the system. If you right click, properties etc. and go to the device ID, what's the string that it gives you there? My current train of thought is that it's nothing to do with the RAID array, and it's the ATK 0110 Acpi Utility, the driver for which is part of Asus's AI overclock software (you don't have to install it all, just extract it and point windows to the driver). However, I may have got this all wrong, and just gone off on another of my ramblings... BTW, I'm well aware that this has nothing to do with SATA, RAID, or any serious device issues for that matter. Do you have any 'known' devices showing in device manager, namely Nvidia nForce RAID Class Controller and Nvidia nForce4 Serial ATA RAID Controller. If so, that should be your lot and it wouldn't surprise me if windows has placed the Acpi Utility there just to play silly b*ggers with you. Hope this is of some help <{POST_SNAPBACK}> I'm using the BFG nFORCE4 Ultra board. The "unknown device" appears underneath the SCSI & RAID DEVICE section. It is the only unknown device in the Device Manager. The ID string for it is: ACPI\_NVRAIDBUS\3&2411E6FE&0 So, it appears that the system at least knows it is an nVIDIA RAID device! (can u detect my sarcasm?) What I don't understand is why I cannot use the Update Driver option to successfully load the drivers? I also tried loading the drivers using the 6.66 package within Windows but that didn't work either. Basically, it's as if Device Manager knows there is an NVIDIA RAID controller but something is preventing it from letting me load the correct drivers. This makes me think that I am somehow doing something wrong with one of the .inf files during the nLite CD creation phase and this is causing some kind of error telling the system that the drivers are actually located somewhere where they are actually NOT located (or something like that). But, then, even that wouldn't explain why I can't just use the 6.66 driver package within windows, would it? The relevant known devices as they appear in my Device Manager: Disk drives: NVIDIA STRIPE 372.61G IDE/ATA ATAPI CONTROLLERS: NVIDIA nFORCE4 Parallel ATA Controller NVIDIA nFORCE4 Serial ATA Controller NVIDIA nFORCE4 Serial ATA Controller SCSI and RAID Controllers: ***Unknown Device*** with ID string of ACPI\_NVRAIDBUS\3&2411E6FE&0 Sound, Video, and Game Controllers: NVIDIA® nFORCE Audio Codec Interface System Devices: nForce4 Hypertransport Bridge nForce4 PCI-Express PCI Root Port nForce4 PCI-Express PCI Root Port nForce4 PCI-Express PCI Root Port nForce4 PCI-Express PCI Root Port NVIDIA nForce PCI System Management ********************************** Unless I'm mistaken there should be more than one nVIDIA entry under the Sound, Video, & Game Controller section. I'm also missing an ethernet/lan adapter entry even though I have repeatedly tried to integrate it. On the plus side, the drivers for my Gigabyte Radeon X800 XL successfully integrated and installed and DO appear in the Display Adapters section. ********************************** Thanks for all the input! I'm a little frustrated but am actually having a little fun with this. It's certainly providing a few laughs at nVIDIA's expense, even if I'm the one that's dumb enough to spend this much time beta testing their hardware for 'em!

I cannot find a special option to remove the IDE drivers by nLite. There was only a combination of SCSI drivers and something else and I removed that combination. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> The IDE drivers can be removed individually in nLite's HARDWARE section (not in the DRIVERS section). So I guess I'm the only one with this "Unknown Device" issue in Device Manager, huh? WTF am I doing wrong?

This is the part that still has me stumped. I seem to be able to get the system to load just fine using BOTH methods, but for whatever reason Device Manager still gives me an "Unknown Device" in the SCSI & RAID DEVICE section. UGH. I keep thinking I must be doing something wrong, but I've honestly followed both methods through several times exactly as shown and continue to have this issue....

Yeah, just to clarify, I never experienced the "missing dll" problem using your method. I experienced the "missing dll" issues during my first couple attempts at using the OemInfFiles method. My last attempt, however, at using the OemInfFiles method went through perfectly. Unfortunately, Device Manager still shows the "Unknown Device" in the SCSI & RAID DEVICE section....

Why bother doing that? The missing file that is needed to do the install this way is called nvatabus.inf, right? So, I don't understand why he'd rename it...

What do you mean you "changed" the nvatabus.inf to nvraid.inf? In case DrTweak doesn't check back any time soon, does anyone else care to let me know what he meant by this?

Within the next days I will try to find out the driver or driver family which has to be removed by nLite to prevent the conflict with not WHQL-certified NVIDIA Raid drivers. But to make it clear: The removal of all or a lot of the standard drivers from the Windows CD would not be a good idea for everyone. If Mjswoosh really removed MS standard drivers, he should not be surprised, that the Windows setup routine has interrupted the installation by asking for several DLL-files and that he has seen yellow question marks in his hardware device manager. The best solution for our problem is to find an easy way for everyone to integrate the not WHQL-certified nVraid drivers into a bootable complete Windows XP CD with the option, that it contains all standard drivers and all standard features. People, who are using tools like nLite, want to be free in their decision, what they want and what they don't want, and a lot of people change their mind about these things......... CU Fernando <{POST_SNAPBACK}> My latest attempt using the OemInfFile method + removing the built-in SCSI/IDE drivers seems to work (at least on the surface). I believe the reason this attempt finally worked for me (& the last 2 attempts using the OemInfFile method did not) is because I did not use any of the SATARAID files at all...I only used PATARAID files when integrating with nLite and also in the OEMDIR directory. Since all of these files appear to be identical I am not sure why it would make any difference. However, this is the only difference in my method between the previous 2 times that did not work and this time that did finally work. I will re-test this again in my next nLite build by using the SATARAID folder files and just copying the correct nvatabus.inf over from the PATARAID folder and see if it results in the "missing .dll files" problem again. 1. The system seems to correctly identify the hard drive as NVIDIA STRIPE. I looked at the device driver in Device Manager and it appears to be WINDOWS\System32\DRIVERS\nvraid.sys. I loaded up drivers for my wi-fi PCI card and took some time to transfer various files and apps over from another PC this system. No problems with that or basic computer operation. 2. However, Device Manager shows SCSI & RAID Controllers as "Unknown Device". I tried the "Update Driver" option several times but with no luck. Regardless of which RAID driver I try to load, it tells me every time that it cannot load the driver for the device. 3. It seems that trying to load the drivers for this "Unknown Device" and/or trying to remove it from Device Manager causes the "endless re-boot" problem. This particular system load was working perfectly and I re-booted several times without incident...BUT after I tried to load the drivers for the "Unknown Device" and/or when I tried to remove the device and then re-boot it started endless re-boots again. Fernando & Dale...do either or both of your Device Managers show the SCSI & RAID Controller as "Unknown Device"? I'm wondering if removing the standard SCSI/RAID drivers with nLite causes this Device Manager issue? Or does your Device Manager correctly display NVRAID? Time to try another slipstream/re-load....

OK, my latest attempt at using Dale's suggested method actually WORKS. Very little was different from the previous attempt, all of the settings in nLite were identical, added drivers was the same, etc.... But it caused the re-boot problem before, and this time it does not. This is about as predictable as the weather, stock-market, and my girlfriend! Dale, it's good to hear you experienced the same "missing .dll" install errors and/or the BSOD errors...as they say, misery loves company...hee hee... so at least now I know it's (probably) not a problem compounded by some of my brand-new equipment going tits up... When you say to only include the nvatabus.inf and the raidtool folder, can you clarify? I think what you must mean is to *not* add the additional files such as nvata.inf, nvata.sys, etc.... Can you list the contents of your sataraid folder just so I can compare it to mine? That way I can make sure I'm not leaving anything in there that might be causing the still-present device manager question marks/errors/wizard pop up boxes/blah blah... I took your advice and had nLite remove the SCSI/RAID drivers in nLite's "Drivers" section and the 4 separate IDE drivers in the "Hardware" section. I'm betting this has something to do with how this method seems to work (at least some of the time...am still not sure why it worked this time and not the last time...) EDIT: After all of this I just had to laugh my butt off uncontrollably for awhile. Why does it suddenly feel like my $2000+ gaming rig is being held together by gum, string, and duct tape? THANKS NVIDIA!

I am nearly sure, that your problem has nothing to do with nLite or the method how to integrate the "ugly" nForce SataRaid drivers. My suggestions: Change your cd player and create a new unattended install CD. If this doesn't change anything, there is something wrong either with your RAM (check them) or power supply (strong enough?), with the temperatures within your pc case (maybe the 2 hard disk drives are too close together) or you are an overclocker, which has reached the limits (take Bios defaults settings). <{POST_SNAPBACK}> I think you are probably correct to some extent. It crossed my mind it could be a problem with my CD-RW media (Sony 4X) or possibly the DVD burner I'm using on the other system (Pioneer), or maybe even the DVD-RW players on my new system (NEC). There are LOTS of possible problems! And since it seems "random" I thought the same thing you do. However, the only thing that doesn't make sense to me is why would the CD-RW burns of WinXP using Dale's method work just fine and get all the way through the install process without showing the same "missing .dll" errors? I used the same equipment, even the same media (I just wrote over the top of the same 3 CD-RWs for all 9 attempts so far...). If it really is a problem with my equipment you would think that the problem would occur using both the OemInfFile method -AND- Dale's integrated method, correct? But the errors only occur when using the OemInfFile method. PS: All of my equipment is running at normal spec, not overclocked.

Before I can help you, I need some informations: Are you really sure, that Windows Setup missed DLL-files? Or is it possible, that the system asked for CAT-files? Did the setup always ask for the same or for different files? What is your system (nForce3 or nForce4 chipset, PataRaid or Sataraid)? Which nForce chipset driver package version did you use? <{POST_SNAPBACK}> 1. Yes, the system asks for various "missing" .dll files, *not* cab files. 2. Setup seems to ask for different, random .dll files each time. 3. A couple of times install totally stopped due to a "missing .dll" file and hitting [enter] did nothing. Those 2 times I had to hit [esc] to abort install. However, most of the time hitting [enter] resumes install. This is very strange since most of the time it seems as if the system is saying, "I can't find this file...OH, NEVER MIND, now that you hit the [enter] key I just found it!" 4. My motherboard: BFG "BFGRNF4U" nForce4 Ultra 5. BIOS: 0719 = nVRAID 4.84 6. nFORCE drivers = 6.66 ********************** Since I last posted I have re-tried Dale's method 2 more times, adding more drivers each time. Initially, I thought this method to be successful since I could boot into WindowsXP right after finishing install. However, after re-booting the system reverts to continual re-boots. ********************** Further Information Regarding Dale's Method: My last effort successfully loaded the nForce sound drivers & ATI Catalyst 5.8 drivers in the *first* boot up sequence. However, when WinXP starts the "Found New Hardware Wizard" pops up. The message reads: "Cannot Install this hardware. There was a problem installing this hardware: NVIDIA nFORCE RAID Class Controller. An error during the installation of the device. The installation source for this product is not available. Verify that the source exists and that you can access it. Click Finish to close the wizard." There is no option to do anything but click "Finish". Since Windows seems to have successfully loaded the nForce/Ethernet drivers, Device Manager shows all of the question marks are now gone. Device Manager/Disk Drives *correctly* shows I have "NVIDIA STRIPE 372.61G" However, SCSI and RAID Controllers shows "Unknown Device", which correlates to the aforementioned "Found New Hardware Wizard". If I scan for new devices, the same wizard pops up time after time. None of the NVIDIA RAID drivers available seem to work. In short, this method does not work for me since it does the continual re-boot process.

I don't know, if somebody could successfully integrate the nVRaid drivers into Windows XP by using nLite Beta6 without any "handmade" changes. All my tests failed at the end of the installation procedure by endless reboots of my computer, even when I rebooted in safe mode. So the answer is: The issue appears straight during the installation of the OS, there is no chance to use it. The reason for this issue is, that the Windows XP setup routine installs the wrong driver (Standard PCI IDE Controller) during the GUIMODE part of the installation. The [OemInfFiles]-method, which is able to prevent this strange behaviour, has not been completely implemented into nLite Beta6. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Hi there Fernando~ First of all, let me say THANK YOU SO MUCH for your contributions to helping all of us figure this out. I believe it is very irresponsible of nVIDIA to release such an obviously *broken* NVRAID driver, but thanks to you and other users there is a chance that many of us will actually get to use the wonderful RAID features on our nForce3/4 motherboards. Unfortunately, I must report the [OemInfFiles]-method does not work for me yet. I have tried re-doing the entire process 6 or 7 times (I've lost count now!): I re-transferred 2 different XP SP2 source CDs, re-did the nLite process multiple times, re-typed the [OemInfFiles]-method into the WINNT.SIF file many, many times just as you said to do, etc... Unfortunately, I keep getting multiple errors during the install process. The main problems occur during the initial file install phase right after the drive formats (before it gets to the WinXP GUI). The primary problems are "missing .dll" errors in which I am instructed to hit [enter] if I want to keep going or [esc] to abort the install. Of course, I always hit [enter]. In some cases the install will get "stuck" on a particular missing .dll and I am forced to abort the install. In other cases, the file install will successfully finish at 100% but then at the very end the machine will BSOD with mention of some problem with a particular file. I just tried Dale's method (no OemInfFiles) and was able to get the system to boot into windows. At first I thought the install was totally successful, but unlike Dale's personal experience my install did *not* successfully find or install the NVRAID files once WinXP loaded up. In other words, device manager shows the typical question marks for missing drivers and when I try to force the system to look for system changes it just brings up the same dialogue box that tells me the system had a problem finding the correct drivers for the nFORCE4 RAID device, blah blah. In short, the [OemInfFiles]-method does not work for me (yet). If you (or anyone else here) can give me some insight as to what might be causing the repeated "missing .dll" and BSOD errors during install I'd greatly appreciate it. Dale's method of simply integrating the files will at least let me get into windows, but for now it appears I'll have to manually install all drivers once I get there. This isn't too bad of a solution if it truly activates NVRAID (am still not there yet). I'll keep tweaking and working to see if I can get things to work. Any further help with the [OemInfFiles]-method will be greatly appreciated! Of course, it'd be nice if nVIDIA would pull their heads out of their collective butts and give us a RAID driver that actually works so we don't have to waste our time doing this kinda crap...I'm not real happy that I've had to waste TWO DAYS messing with RAID which is advertised to work as an "out-of-box" feature...