[The Glimmerman]

@Fernando 1

Maybe a stupid question, but 'm trying to understand it.
If I integrate the nvsata and nvraid drivers, the necessary changes
will be applied to txtsetup.sif.
nvatabus.sys and nvraid.sys will be copied to the I386 dir.
Untill this I understand. What I don't understand is the following.

A dir is created in I386 with the nForce drivers.
In the txtsetup.sif nLite is making extra "dirs" (1883,1884)
which point to the driver-dir in the I386 Folder.
Then under the file section i see this.
nvcoi.dll = 1883,,,,,,,,1883,,,,0,0
This means that nvcoi.dll is in the dir 1883 and copied to 1883.
My question is.
Is the extra directory in the I386 folder with the integrated drivers necessary?
I didn't find any connections to this folder and it's file

Thx

[Fernando 1]

The Glimmerman, on May 5 2006, 02:27 PM, said:

Maybe a stupid question, but 'm trying to understand it.
If I integrate the nvsata and nvraid drivers, the necessary changes
will be applied to txtsetup.sif.
nvatabus.sys and nvraid.sys will be copied to the I386 dir.
Untill this I understand. What I don't understand is the following.

A dir is created in I386 with the nForce drivers.
In the txtsetup.sif nLite is making extra "dirs" (1883,1884)
which point to the driver-dir in the I386 Folder.
Then under the file section i see this.
nvcoi.dll = 1883,,,,,,,,1883,,,,0,0
This means that nvcoi.dll is in the dir 1883 and copied to 1883.
My question is.
Is the extra directory in the I386 folder with the integrated drivers necessary?
I didn't find any connections to this folder and it's file

As I am not an expert in TXTSETUP.SIF, I am not sure, that I can give you a satisfactory answer.
The first step during the Windows Setup is the detection of the mass storage devices. If you want do avoid F6/floppy method, you have to integrate these unknown drivers (in this case the drivers NVATABUS.SYS and NVRAID.SYS) as textmode drivers. During the first (=TEXTMODE) part of the installation Windows Setup does not look into the driver folders (i386\NLDRV subfolders), but only into the TXTSETUP.OEM and some entries of the TXTSETUP.SIF (not the one you mentioned). The needed mass storage controller drivers (only the SYS files) have to be in the root of i386. Otherwise Setup would not find them.
During the second (=GUIMODE) part Windows Setup looks again into TXTSETUP.SIF, but now it uses all NLDRV driver subfolders.
That is the reason, why you find the compressed drivers NVATABUS.SY_ and NVRAID.SY_ twice within your nLited CD (within the i386 root and within one of the i386\NLDRV subfolders).
The files IDECOI.DLL and NVCOI.DLL are necessary Co-Installer files for the driver NVATABUS.SYS. You will find these entries within the NVATABUS.INF. All these files (SYS=drivers, INF=information files and DLL=coinstallers) have to be within the same folder. Otherwise the driver would not be installed during GUIMODE part of the Setup.
In earlier versions of nLite all PnP and textmode drivers were put into one folder (named NLDRV or OEMDIR). Since nLite RC7 each driver is stored within a separate subfolder. Other CD creating tools store the drivers within the $OEM$\§1\drivers folder.
So the answer to your question, if a separate folder for the integrated drivers is necessary, must be a "Yes!", but only for the GUIMODE part of the installation. The separation of each driver within the driver folder is not really necessary, but more clearly laid out for the user.

Is this answer satisfying for you?

This post has been edited by Fernando 1: 05 May 2006 - 07:23 AM

[The Glimmerman]

@Fernando

Fernando your'e the best.
Thanx for the quick reply.

[Tamerz]

Excellent guide Fernando. I have a question that may have been answered already (I didn't find it). Is there any reason not to use the newest drivers? I have an Intel nForce4 SLI chipset and there are 7.15 drivers now.

[Fernando 1]

Tamerz, on May 6 2006, 10:12 PM, said:

I have a question that may have been answered already (I didn't find it). Is there any reason not to use the newest drivers? I have an Intel nForce4 SLI chipset and there are 7.15 drivers now.

You can take them, because they have a LEGACY subfolder. Just integrate this folder as TEXTMODE driver.

Thank you for the post. As a consequence I have just added these drivers to my guide (first post of this thread).

CU
Fernando

This post has been edited by Fernando 1: 06 May 2006 - 05:01 PM

[Lou Jacob]

Hello -

I have an ASUS A8N-SLI DELUXE and have ensured the latest BIOS release has been flashed, as well as verified that the NVRAID BIOS is at 4.78 or higher.

I have followed the instructions in the first post of this thread, and tried each of the methods listed in section 1, 2, and 4 of that post (recommendation: please number these methods) and each time have gotten the same results when attempting to boot windows install CD creating from the resulting ISO:

When the CD boots, I get the normal "blue screen" that shows that the CD is booting and that the windows installation is being started. After all the drivers are loaded/reviewed at the bottom of the screen, the very last message displayed is "running windows" and what typically follows is another blue screen that has a license agreement/disclaimer before proceeding with the installation.

Instead, what is displayed, after 10 minutes of what appears to be "loading" is just a bunch of === characters, not many. It almost appears that the standard input from the keyboard might work, if one knew what to type, but instead, it is just a blank screen.

I have meticulously followed the instructions, ensured that no other devices are plugged into the PC (all other hard drives are disconnected except for the 2 WD SATA drives configured on the NVRAID controller.

I have kept the nlite installation to a bare minimum - I've slipstreamed SP2 and incorporated the aforementioned drivers as documented. And with each attempt, I've started from scratch with a fresh copy of the XP CD in a new subdirectory on my hard drive (which I also disconnected prior to attempting the installation).

Any thoughts on what I might be overlooking here?

[Fernando 1]

Lou Jacob, on May 9 2006, 01:26 AM, said:

I have an ASUS A8N-SLI DELUXE and have ensured the latest BIOS release has been flashed, as well as verified that the NVRAID BIOS is at 4.78 or higher.

What you probably need, if you want to integrate the newest nForce Raid drivers, is a RAID BIOS version 4.84 or higher.

Quote

I have followed the instructions in the first post of this thread, and tried each of the methods listed in section 1, 2, and 4 of that post (recommendation: please number these methods)

There is only one single method used by nLite (it's the "Driver suppression method"). If you want to test the other method (called "OemInfFiles method") you should use the tool CD Creator. What you certainly mean are the different ways to integrate the needed driver files. If you have an nVRaid BIOS v. 4.84 or higher, I recommend the easiest way by integrating the LEGACY subfolder of the nForce chipset package v. 6.70.

Quote

When the CD boots, I get the normal "blue screen" that shows that the CD is booting and that the windows installation is being started. After all the drivers are loaded/reviewed at the bottom of the screen, the very last message displayed is "running windows" and what typically follows is another blue screen that has a license agreement/disclaimer before proceeding with the installation.
Instead, what is displayed, after 10 minutes of what appears to be "loading" is just a bunch of === characters, not many. It almost appears that the standard input from the keyboard might work, if one knew what to type, but instead, it is just a blank screen.
I have meticulously followed the instructions, ensured that no other devices are plugged into the PC (all other hard drives are disconnected except for the 2 WD SATA drives configured on the NVRAID controller.
I have kept the nlite installation to a bare minimum - I've slipstreamed SP2 and incorporated the aforementioned drivers as documented. And with each attempt, I've started from scratch with a fresh copy of the XP CD in a new subdirectory on my hard drive (which I also disconnected prior to attempting the installation).

The nForce SataRaid driver integration method I have desribed in my first post is approved on nearly every mainboard with an nForce Raid controller. If users have problems with my guide unless they have all done what I have written, this is mostly due to a hardware problem which has to be solved first.

My suggestion:
Try to install Windows XP by F6/floppy method. Before you do that, copy the content of the IDE\WinXP folder of the old nForce chipset driver package v. 6.53 onto a formatted floppy disk. If you don't have a floppy drive, create a new nLited CD and do nothing else but integrate the just mentioned SataRaid driver files as TEXTMODE driver. Burn the ISO and try to install XP this way.
If the installation fails even by doing this safe way, you have a hardware problem.

Good luck!
Fernando

[hip]

Greetings Fernando,

I performed the nLite nVRaid as clearly stated at the begining of this thread and I believe it worked as intended. Since I haven't installed all my hard drives yet I am not completely sure if it worked as I only installed with minimum hardware (video, ram, dvd, memory).

However, I did notice after booting into WinXP the device manager indicated several items with yellow exclamation marks next to them. I didn't write them down but as I recall there were about 4, one had "bridge" in it and another one may have had "smbus" and one with an "unknown device."

The good news is I manually installed the "nForce4_amd_6.70_winxp2k_english.exe" driver along with the "84.21_forceware_winxp2k_english_whql.exe" and all the exclamation marks disappeared.

At the end of your Driver-Integration-Method process you state; "Then you can integrate the other nForce drivers (SMBus, Ethernet etc.) as "normal drivers". Only users with an nForce4 system may take them out of the same NVIDIA chipset package they used for the integration of the SataRaid drivers."

Question, would the integration of these other nForce drivers eliminate the exclamation marks and the need for manual installation of the drivers?

If so, could you either list the directories and the proper nLite integration procedure, such as integrate drivers using the "multiple or single driver folder" option or possibly point me where I can find it?

I would guess one sub folder should include the \LAN\Ethernet but since some files were pulled from the Legacy and SATA_IDE subfolders (as stated in the procedure) I am not sure to include them?

Grateful for your help.

This post has been edited by hip: 10 May 2006 - 05:38 PM

[PVU]

Fernando, this maybe slightly off topic, but when I'm using the Windows Unattended CD Creator to add the Intel iaStor storage driver, the program asks me to pick one. Does it matter? Because the $OEM$ file that is created shows all of them, and the WINNT.SIF just makes reference to the file name.

I ask this because I have 2 machines I want the install disk to be good for. Both machines would pull from the same storage file, but one is a ICH6R - 82801FR, and the other is a ICH7R/DH - 82801GR/GH.

nLite would pull them all in. You would just have to pick one. Does the Windows Unattended CD Creator work the same way?

Thanks again

[Fernando 1]

hip, on May 11 2006, 01:36 AM, said:

At the end of your Driver-Integration-Method process you state; "Then you can integrate the other nForce drivers (SMBus, Ethernet etc.) as "normal drivers". Only users with an nForce4 system may take them out of the same NVIDIA chipset package they used for the integration of the SataRaid drivers."
Question, would the integration of these other nForce drivers eliminate the exclamation marks and the need for manual installation of the drivers?

Yes! You should integrate all needed nForce chipset drivers and - if you use a NVIDIA graphic adapter - the last WHQL-certified Forceware driver at once.

hip, on May 11 2006, 01:36 AM, said:

If so, could you either list the directories and the proper nLite integration procedure, such as integrate drivers using the "multiple or single driver folder" option or possibly point me where I can find it?

When you have unzipped the 6.70 chipset driver package, you have the following folders: AudioDrv, AudioUtl, Ethernet, IDE and SMBus. After having integrated the IDE\WinXP\LEGACY subfolder (or the SATARAID + extra files) as textmode, you should integrate the other nForce4 chipset drivers as PnP. Not the easiest, but the safest method to integrate the different chipset drivers is the "single driver" option. Just point nLite - one after the other - to the AudioDrv, Ethernet and SMBus folder and integrate in each case any (doesn't matter which) INF file of the different folders. If you have done it this way, you get automaticly all needed nForce4 chipset drivers installed by your nLited XP CD.
Additionally you should integrate the NVIDIA Forceware driver 84.21. Before you can do it, you have to unzip the EXE file by using WinRar or WinZip.

hip, on May 11 2006, 01:36 AM, said:

I would guess one sub folder should include the \LAN\Ethernet but since some files were pulled from the Legacy and SATA_IDE subfolders (as stated in the procedure) I am not sure to include them?

As I have written above, you should integrate the Ethernet folder to get the nVLAN drivers installed by using the nLited CD. Don't do any file or folder mixture! The sequence of my guide concerning the transfer of some files into the SATARAID subfolder instead of just taking the LEGACY subfolder is only for purists or people, who had problems with the easy LEGACY subfolder integration of the nForce SataRaid drivers.

PVU, on May 11 2006, 08:31 AM, said:

Fernando, this maybe slightly off topic, but when I'm using the Windows Unattended CD Creator to add the Intel iaStor storage driver, the program asks me to pick one. Does it matter? Because the $OEM$ file that is created shows all of them, and the WINNT.SIF just makes reference to the file name.
I ask this because I have 2 machines I want the install disk to be good for. Both machines would pull from the same storage file, but one is a ICH6R - 82801FR, and the other is a ICH7R/DH - 82801GR/GH.
nLite would pull them all in. You would just have to pick one. Does the Windows Unattended CD Creator work the same way?

The integration of TEXTMODE and PnP drivers is done in a similar way. The difference is the method to enforce the installation of not or not correctly digitally signed mass storage controller drivers. If you are using the CD Creator, all files of the driver subfolder are copied and usable for Windows setup (as with nLite), but additionally you have the possibility to enhance the installation of a critical textmode driver by flag him as "bad" controller driver. After having done this, the "bad" controller driver is something like "privileged" during the later OS install.

This post has been edited by Fernando 1: 11 May 2006 - 02:58 AM

[PVU]

Quote

PVU, on May 11 2006, 08:31 AM, said:

Fernando, this maybe slightly off topic, but when I'm using the Windows Unattended CD Creator to add the Intel iaStor storage driver, the program asks me to pick one. Does it matter? Because the $OEM$ file that is created shows all of them, and the WINNT.SIF just makes reference to the file name.
I ask this because I have 2 machines I want the install disk to be good for. Both machines would pull from the same storage file, but one is a ICH6R - 82801FR, and the other is a ICH7R/DH - 82801GR/GH.
nLite would pull them all in. You would just have to pick one. Does the Windows Unattended CD Creator work the same way?

The integration of TEXTMODE and PnP drivers is done in a similar way. The difference is the method to enforce the installation of not or not correctly digitally signed mass storage controller drivers. If you are using the CD Creator, all files of the driver subfolder are copied and usable for Windows setup (as with nLite), but additionally you have the possibility to enhance the installation of a critical textmode driver by flag him as "bad" controller driver. After having done this, the "bad" controller driver is something like "privileged" during the later OS install.

Fernando, the Windows Unattended CD Creator funtionally only "embedded" the one TEXTMODE storage driver that I selected, and, based on what you've said, that is probably the intent. Even though the $OEM$ file shows all the drivers, it only picks up the one at install time. To verify, I re-did it selecting the other TEXTMODE driver, and, sure enough, the 2nd disk worked like a charm on my other machine, but wouldn't work on the original.

Are you aware of any simple program (besides nLite that's having problems in this area right now) that will TEXTMODE embed all of the storage drivers?

If not, I'm assuming the the CD Creator modifies the TXTSETUP.SIF - I can see the one driver. Can I add another line under [SCSI] for the other specific driver?

Thanks again

[Fernando 1]

PVU, on May 12 2006, 06:36 PM, said:

Fernando, the Windows Unattended CD Creator funtionally only "embedded" the one TEXTMODE storage driver that I selected, and, based on what you've said, that is probably the intent. Even though the $OEM$ file shows all the drivers, it only picks up the one at install time. To verify, I re-did it selecting the other TEXTMODE driver, and, sure enough, the 2nd disk worked like a charm on my other machine, but wouldn't work on the original.

Did you try to flag both TEXTMODE drivers as "bad" controller driver?
After the CD Creator has done its processing, but before you create the ISO image file, have a look into the WINNT.SIF of the CD Creator processing folder. You find a section which looks like this:

[OemInfFiles]
OemDriverFlags=1
OemDriverPathName="%SystemRoot%\OEMDIR"
OemInfName="DRIVER1.inf","DRIVER2.inf","DRIVER3.inf"

Within the last line you can see all INF files of the embedded OEMDIR drivers. If there is an INF file missing, you may try to add it, but precondition is, that
- all driver files (SYS, INF and DLL) have to be within the OEMDIR folder and
- the TEXTMODE drivers themselves have to be copied into the \i386 root.
The TXTSETUP.SIF entries are made by the CD Creator, when you have integrated them within the "driver integration" section.

Quote

Are you aware of any simple program (besides nLite that's having problems in this area right now) that will TEXTMODE embed all of the storage drivers?

Maybe you find something here: http://www.msfn.org/...p?showforum=107

[LostGhost]

@PVU:
do you have the same floppy for both machines? or different floppies ?
Can you send the content of this floppy(floppies) to me?

I will test it with Creator.

[PVU]

Fernando and LG, this may not mean a thing, but until Fernando asked about flagging both TEXTMODE drivers, I was not aware that you could flag more than one. So, I just created a disk by flagging both Intel SATA drivers (in the Intel TXTSETUP.OEM: iaAHCI_ICH7R = "Intel® 82801GR/GH SATA AHCI Controller (Desktop ICH7R/DH)", and iaAHCI_ICH6R = "Intel® 82801FR SATA AHCI Controller (Desktop ICH6R)") which are both contained within the latest Intel Matrix Storage Manager, IATA55.EXE. I thought it was very much like nLite where you could only flag one. My mistake.

Fernando, one thing is that when I have used the CD Creator in the past, not only did I not realize that you could flag more than one TEXTMODE driver, I also didn’t realize that you could choose “bad” for more force-fitting of a stubborn driver. Unlike the nVRaid drivers, I don’t think that these Intel drivers require a “bad” selection, because they’ve worked. Since I have only chosen one in the past, it seems to have imbedded just one without issue. I’m at work right now. When I go home, I will try the new 2-driver selected disk on the other computer to see if there’s a problem. My guess is that there won’t be – I should have selected more than one. I’ll post my results no matter what.

As far as the CD Creator and PnP drivers are concerned, have you had any issues? nLite also seemed to have a tough time with my Intel NIC driver, so I’ve gotten a little skittish about trying to do too much. Your program installed the Intel chipset INF drivers without a problem. It also installed my ATI video drivers perfectly.

If all I had to do is select more than one driver, this is the $OEM$ driver install program I was asking about. It really is a nice program. I like the way it asked me to get rid of the useless folders in my (HFSLIP) Win2K installation.

Many thanks

[LostGhost]

@PVU
If I understood correctly, you integrated both drivers, Intel® 82801GR/GH SATA AHCI Controller (Desktop ICH7R/DH) and Intel® 82801FR SATA AHCI Controller (Desktop ICH6R).

Did you mark both drivers as "BAD" ? I think in your case one driver is enough!
Which files are in $OEM$\$$\OEMDIR on CD now ?

[nuhi]

What is this!?

Instead of contacting me when some driver doesn't work you promote some other tool on nLite forum.
What a nerve.

If someone is willing to test this Intel driver with upcoming nlite send me a PM.

[Fernando 1]

nuhi, on May 13 2006, 02:06 PM, said:

What is this!?
Instead of contacting me when some driver doesn't work you promote some other tool on nLite forum.
What a nerve.

I am not promoting some other tool on nLite forum, I am just helping an nLite forum member to solve his problems.
On the other hand you are right - this is not the best place to discuss details about another tool.

@ PVU:
If you want an further assistance with the use of the CD Creator, please post your problem within the Creator Board.

nuhi, on May 13 2006, 02:06 PM, said:

If someone is willing to test this Intel driver with upcoming nlite send me a PM.

@ PVU:
This is a good chance to get your problem solved within the next nLite version. I encourage you to accept Nuhi's invitation.

[nuhi]

nLite only enables for nvidia multiselection, I guess it should have it enabled for all, done for next.

[PVU]

nuhi, on May 13 2006, 02:18 PM, said:

nLite only enables for nvidia multiselection, I guess it should have it enabled for all, done for next.

nuhi, this (RC8i) must have done it, because on the initial install it picked up the Intel® 82801FR SATA AHCI Controller (Desktop ICH6R). I will load it on the Intel® 82801GR/GH SATA AHCI Controller (Desktop ICH7R/DH) machine when I go to work. I'm assuming it will work. If I run into a problem I'll let you know. But no news will be good news.

I don't need to do a full install right now, so I can't tell you about the Intel NIC drivers. But, if they had the same multi-selection issue, you should be in good shape there also. If it is still an issue, we'll see folks discuss it, I'm sure. I almost feel like formating this machine to see how it would all go - interested to see how the integration worked out for the NICs, and SigmaTel and SoundMAX audio drivers. For the Sigmatel drivers, I deleted the STHDA64.INF (64 bit files) before integration.

Many thanks for your work on this specific issue. It may not have made it easier to deal with the NVidia drivers, but it looks like it took care on the Intel storage drivers. You might be done with RC8.

[The Glimmerman]

@ Lou Jacob

Lou Jacob, on May 9 2006, 12:26 AM, said:

I have meticulously followed the instructions, ensured that no other devices are plugged into the PC (all other hard drives are disconnected except for the 2 WD SATA drives configured on the NVRAID controller.

I've read somewhere that XP cannot be installed on only a raidset.
I meant 2 drives configured as raid and no other drives (SATA/IDE) present.

Try the same setup but add one nonraid disk to the system.

Maybe that will work.