Integration of NVIDIA's nForce RAID and AHCI drivers

**douirc** · December 12, 2006

douirc, to make mine work I had to also add the nvatabus.inf driver from the legacy folder (using the most recent chipset driver from nvidia, not sure which). Once I did that my driver problems were solved.

hmm...so first i did single driver and pointed to IDE\WinXP\legacy and chose nvatabus.inf, which nlite returned nForce Storage Controller (required) and RAID Class Driver (required). I chose only the first (nForce Storage Controller) in textmode driver and hit ok. This then filled the driver window with a single entry called Mode: TXT - BUSDRV with Type: HDC. Then I chose single driver again, this time going to IDE\WinXP\sataraid and chose nvraid.inf, which nlite returned the same two options: nForce Storage Controller (required) and RAID Class Driver (required). I chose only RAID Class Driver (required), which updated my driver list to include two more entries: Mode: PNP Type: HDC and Mode: TXT-RAIDCLASS Type: SCSI Adapter. Is that right?

If you look at my previous post you'll note that there is another issue, and that involves disabling some of the drivers in the bios. With at least the Asus A8N32 board, and possibly other nforce4 boards, if you disable the parallel port because it’s not going to be used it messes up the USB. Mine was so bad it caused a brief BSOD and then reboot on the first windows boot after all the driver loads, and each subsequent boot attempt. If there is nothing plugged into ANY USB ports then you’re fine. All it took to crash mine was a single USB mouse.

I have two device plugged into USB: My external CD-ROM and my USB Hub in my MSFT keyboard (that my mouse plugs into). I can definately try unplugging the hub and mouse for installation purposes.

If yours is working with an F6 floppy load why are you attempting this method?

Ever since I've put watercooling in my system I've lost all room for devices like CD-ROM and Floppy. The CD-ROM was easy since it's sitting on my desk and connected via USB, but my floppy is hanging out of the case while i'm trying to get raid working. i'd rather put it back in the closet and just use a CD every time i need to reinstall the OS (which happens often with me).

**douirc** · December 12, 2006

sadly, it didn't work .

quick question...anyone able to make this work using a USB CD-ROM? I'm wondering if this only works with an IDE drive, not USB?!?

Edited December 12, 2006 by douirc

**douirc** · December 13, 2006

i FINALLY figured it out! unlike what the instructions say, i didn't slipstream SP2 and it finally worked! i made a copy of the floppy that came with the mobo, ran nlite and skipped the service pack option. i then pointed to the nvidia folder on the floppy using the 'single driver' option and choose the nvatabus.inf file, which listed every raid driver on the floppy. i only chose the first two: NVIDIA NForce Storage Controller and NVIDIA RAID CLASS DRIVER. I created the iso file, burned it to disk and everything worked fine.

so...what can't i get it to work with SP2? I know my SP2 file is good 'cause i use it all the time when upgrading my XP to XP-SP2. The filename is WindowsXP-KB835935-SP2-ENU.exe. I'd love to know how to make this work WITH sp2 instead of without it.

**Fernando 1** · December 13, 2006

so first i did single driver and pointed to IDE\WinXP\legacy and chose nvatabus.inf, which nlite returned nForce Storage Controller (required) and RAID Class Driver (required). I chose only the first (nForce Storage Controller) in textmode driver and hit ok.

This was not correct. You should have taken both required Controller drivers.

**douirc** · December 13, 2006

so first i did single driver and pointed to IDE\WinXP\legacy and chose nvatabus.inf, which nlite returned nForce Storage Controller (required) and RAID Class Driver (required). I chose only the first (nForce Storage Controller) in textmode driver and hit ok.
This was not correct. You should have taken both required Controller drivers.

well, i took both the first time and it failed. then i read above someone suggesting to take the nvatabus.inf from IDE\WinXP\legacy and take nvraid.inf from the IDE\WinXP\sataraid directory, which also failed. i've tried numerous combinations, all of which failed.

what's shocking to me is the method that worked without sp2 doesn't work with sp2. you would think it shouldn't matter, but somehow sp2 is throwing off my slipstream and crashing my installation. next i was going to try using an already slipstreamed sp2 disk and adding the raid drivers to that, instead of starting with a bare xp disk and adding sp2 followed by the drivers. maybe that will do the trick. i'm quickly running out of combinations, so any suggestions on how to do this to include sp2 using the method mentioned above that worked for me is greatly appreciated.

**douirc** · December 13, 2006

so first i did single driver and pointed to IDE\WinXP\legacy and chose nvatabus.inf, which nlite returned nForce Storage Controller (required) and RAID Class Driver (required). I chose only the first (nForce Storage Controller) in textmode driver and hit ok.
This was not correct. You should have taken both required Controller drivers.
well, i took both the first time and it failed. then i read above someone suggesting to take the nvatabus.inf from IDE\WinXP\legacy and take nvraid.inf from the IDE\WinXP\sataraid directory, which also failed. i've tried numerous combinations, all of which failed.
what's shocking to me is the method that worked without sp2 doesn't work with sp2. you would think it shouldn't matter, but somehow sp2 is throwing off my slipstream and crashing my installation. next i was going to try using an already slipstreamed sp2 disk and adding the raid drivers to that, instead of starting with a bare xp disk and adding sp2 followed by the drivers. maybe that will do the trick. i'm quickly running out of combinations, so any suggestions on how to do this to include sp2 using the method mentioned above that worked for me is greatly appreciated.

ok, i have to apologize. you were right! i recreated the disc last night, included sp2, pointed to IDE\WinXP\legacy using 'single driver' and grabbed both NVIDIA nForce Storage Controller and NVIDIA RAID Class Driver and it worked. Not sure what I did wrong last time, but now it's working. The catch is obviously not using the \sataraid directory at all, but just using the \legacy directory. if all you need is the legacy directory, what's the \sataraid directory for, anyway?

**Fernando 1** · December 20, 2006

The catch is obviously not using the \sataraid directory at all, but just using the \legacy directory. if all you need is the legacy directory, what's the \sataraid directory for, anyway?

You will not get WHQL certified nForce SataRaid drivers by using the LEGACY subfolder drivers, but this is not really a big disadvantage unless you try to upgrade to Vista.

**BelowSky** · December 22, 2006

Fernando, in nLite, I remove all the drivers supplied by Windows XP with NO exception (cause I have my own new drivers for every hardware). My question is, do you think Windows XP installation is gonna succeed if I integrate my downloaded nForce4 RAID drivers even though I removed all Microsoft supplied drivers?

To put the question in a plain manner, Does RAID need any driver supplied by Microsoft?

**Fernando 1** · December 26, 2006

To put the question in a plain manner, Does RAID need any driver supplied by Microsoft?

nForce SataRaid systems don't need any Microsoft driver. Nevertheless I would not recommend to delete the MS Standard Dual Channel PCI IDE Controller drivers, if you are using any IDE devices (CD-ROM or DVD). Reason: Many users have reported about problems with NVIDIA's P-ATA drivers (nForce4 Parallel ATA Controller = IDE s/w) and obviously got better results with the fully compatible MS Standard Dual Channel PCI IDE drivers.

**RoachRage** · December 27, 2006

Hey guys,

Sorry I haven't touched base here in a few days. This site is supposed to notify me when messages are posted but it only does so occasionally.

douirc, sounds like you're on your way to success! Sorry I wasn't here for you man. You shouldn't have any problems with USB as long as you have NOT disabled your parallel port (and possibly some of the others but I think it's mainly the P-port).

Merry Christmas to All!

**Gamingphreek** · December 29, 2006

Ok I am having major problems with nLite right now. I integrated the drivers and installed flawlessly at college. Unfortunately I need to do a reinstall here at home and don't have the disc. I had the .ISO I made. So I burned it to a CD and attempted to install. I get the error that NVATA.SYS is missing. So I figured oh well, this probably just needs the driers re-integrated.

When trying to reintegrate drivers I now always get Access Denied to the "<REGISTRY PARAMETER>" of the driver that I am trying to integrate. This install is fast losing steam and functionality. Can someone please help me??

-Kevin

**Fernando 1** · December 29, 2006

Ok I am having major problems with nLite right now. I integrated the drivers and installed flawlessly at college. Unfortunately I need to do a reinstall here at home and don't have the disc. I had the .ISO I made. So I burned it to a CD and attempted to install. I get the error that NVATA.SYS is missing. So I figured oh well, this probably just needs the driers re-integrated.
When trying to reintegrate drivers I now always get Access Denied to the "<REGISTRY PARAMETER>" of the driver that I am trying to integrate. This install is fast losing steam and functionality. Can someone please help me??

It was not a good idea to integrate drivers into an already nLited ISO file. Furthermore different nForce chipset RAID systems need different driver combinations. As you can see within the first post of this thread, it is not possible to create an "omnipotent" nLited CD usable for all nForce SataRaid systems.

You should create a new nLited CD using the original Windows XP source and integrate the special nForce SataRaid drivers I have recommended within the first post of this thread for your hardware configuration.

Edited December 29, 2006 by Fernando 1

**Gamingphreek** · December 29, 2006

Ok I am having major problems with nLite right now. I integrated the drivers and installed flawlessly at college. Unfortunately I need to do a reinstall here at home and don't have the disc. I had the .ISO I made. So I burned it to a CD and attempted to install. I get the error that NVATA.SYS is missing. So I figured oh well, this probably just needs the driers re-integrated.
When trying to reintegrate drivers I now always get Access Denied to the "<REGISTRY PARAMETER>" of the driver that I am trying to integrate. This install is fast losing steam and functionality. Can someone please help me??
It was not a good idea to integrate drivers into an already nLited ISO file. Furthermore different nForce chipset RAID systems need different driver combinations. As you can see within the first post of this thread, it is not possible to create an "omnipotent" nLited CD usable for all nForce SataRaid systems.
You should create a new nLited CD using the original Windows XP source and integrate the special nForce SataRaid drivers I have recommended within the first post of this thread for your hardware configuration.

Crap, my original XP CD was damaged. I still have my CD-Key that I use, but I use a friends CD. I don't know if I can get a CD that isn't damaged....

Ill see if my Dad or one of my friends has a CD I can borrow. If not, is there any problem you know of by integrating the drviers into 2000 and then upgrading to XP?

My problem is that my disc got scratched on the file autofmt.exe which apparently performs the formatting of the HDD. So I have no way of formatting it other than installing 2000 first and then going to XP.

As for the drivers, I am aware that different chipsets require different drivers. I have an Nforce 4 Ultra Chipset. This worked last time I did it, but all of the sudden I am running into problems

-Kevin

Edited December 29, 2006 by Gamingphreek

**Fernando 1** · December 29, 2006

Crap, my original XP CD was damaged. I still have my CD-Key that I use, but I use a friends CD. I don't know if I can get a CD that isn't damaged....
Ill see if my Dad or one of my friends has a CD I can borrow. If not, is there any problem you know of by integrating the drviers into 2000 and then upgrading to XP?
My problem is that my disc got scratched on the file autofmt.exe which apparently performs the formatting of the HDD. So I have no way of formatting it other than installing 2000 first and then going to XP.

I assume, that your nForce4 RAID array is correctly created and set as bootable.

In this case you will be able to find easier ways to get your RAID partitionated and formatted.

If neither a friend nor your father will let you create a customized nLited XP CD for you with their computer, you still have the possibility to get XP installed by F6/floppy method (provided that your pc has a floppy drive and you still have the RAID driver disk from the manufacturer of your mainboard).

A clean install of an OS is always better than an upgrade.

**WrongTurn** · January 6, 2007

hello everybody!

i'm expecting my new Abit AN8 32 SLI motherboard (Si3132+nvraid) in a few days and i've been reading posts related to the unattend installation of the nforce4 SATA drivers - i dont own a floppy and i need to install the stuff on my SATA drive. apparently there are some serious problems with the SATA controllers (found out too late, wouldnt have ordered it but oh well ). anyway i already have my viasraid set up and working on my winxp sp2 customized CD (for my old board that i'm still using) and i was wondering if anybody has the text files and folder structure for the nvraid. i prefer not to use any program to do the setup, i'm happier when i know exactly what and where to add rather than hope some utility will do the job correctly

my current/future drive config: seagate 160GB sataII (3gbps) -- using a jumper now to slow down to 1.5gbps due to motherboard limitations, seagate 120Gb IDE, NEC 8xDVD, liteon 32x cd-writer, both IDE.

here's what i set up (will test in a few days when i get the board). i'm using the latest 6.86 nforce4 drivers from their site.