[Fernando 1]

piloteer, on May 20 2006, 06:58 PM, said:

I've managed to install windows and gte it to detect my RAID array but at the final stages of loading the files needed for the installation, it says it can't find any of the RAID drivers and proceeds to list them all giving the option of quitting, ignoring or retry. I try ignoring and when the installation is finished it reboots every time at the same point.

If the XP setup cannot find the necessary nForce SataRaid drivers although you have integrated them by nLite, you have either a CD problem (not correctly burned CD / not correctly working CD drive) or you did not exactly what I have written in the first post of this thread. If the XP setup only misses some CAT files (NVATA.CAT and NVRAID.CAT), there is nothing to warry about if you skip the install of these files, because they are useless.

Quote

I've tried using 6.53 and 6.70 but I am confused over a few things. In the initial guide and a few posts after the PATA folder is mentioned, in particular copying the nvatabus.sys from this folder into the SATA folder. I don't have a PATA folder????? I only have RAID tool. legacy, sata_ide and sataraid.

The LEGACY is nothing else as the former PATARAID subfolder. NVIDIA has just renamed this folder to LEGACY.

Quote

There are lots of identical files in the SATA_ide and SATA raid, should I be replacing some with others? All I know is that I followed the beginning guide to the letter and it hasn't worked for me, and I don't relish the task of going through 40+ pages! Am I doing something wrong or is there another method I can try?

You won't get your problem fixed by a mixture of files of several IDE\WinXP subfolders.

Make sure, that
a ) your hardware is OK (RAM, PSU and cables),
b ) your mainboard BIOS contains an actual nVRaid BIOS (v. 4.84 or higher),
c ) you have integrated the content of the IDE\WinXP\LEGACY subfolder of the 6.70 chipset driver package as TEXTMODE and have chosen both required drivers.
Then burn a new bootable XP CD with lower speed (8x or 16x) and retry the installation.

[hkccc]

hello~

i finally can solve my problem simply using the latest unofficial 9.16 WHQL driver

link:
http://www.station-d...ia%20nforce.htm

thanks very much

[Fernando 1]

hkccc, on May 21 2006, 01:06 PM, said:

i finally can solve my problem simply using the latest unofficial 9.16 WHQL driver

That is very interesting for all of us, because the chipset driver package 9.16 is designed for nForce5 and nForce430_410 chipsets.
How did you manage the integration? Which IDE\WinXP subfolder and which files did you integrate?

[calderstrake]

-- I realize that this is probably not the correct place to post this information, so please forgive me in advance. --

I am trying to install the nvRaid drivers using nLite, but nLite is crashing my windows install.

I have:

Asus A8N-SLI Deluxe
BIOS 1016
nvRaid 4.84
Windows XP Pro SP2 and patches up to May 06
nForce 6.70

I tried for over 8 hours using every method described in post 1 (Legacy, combo sataraid splicing); nothing worked. At this point, I decded to try using just the chipset drivers to test if it was nLite causing the problem. Guess what, it is.

Here is what happens:

Windows boots to txtsetup. When it reaches the point of 'Loading Windows Executive', it halts to a screen that reads "Setup could not determine what type of computer you have..." with the only option in the middle as 'Other'. When you press Enter and select this, the following screen says: "The file txtsetup.oem could not be found..."

Any ideas?

This post has been edited by calderstrake: 22 May 2006 - 01:17 AM

[nowinscenario]

Just a stab in the dark: did you change the nLite entry concerning the type of computer (you know single processor, Advanced Power Management Interface, et al)? I scrolled too far by mistake once without noticing, and it took me forever to discover the error, but I seem to remember it causing an setup failure in the same ballpark as yours.

Also what mode did you answer the drivers as being?

[calderstrake]

nowinscenario, on May 22 2006, 04:32 PM, said:

Just a stab in the dark: did you change the nLite entry concerning the type of computer (you know single processor, Advanced Power Management Interface, et al)? I scrolled too far by mistake once without noticing, and it took me forever to discover the error, but I seem to remember it causing an setup failure in the same ballpark as yours.

The only thing I added was drivers, so I didn't even get to the selection screen you mention.

nowinscenario, on May 22 2006, 04:32 PM, said:

Also what mode did you answer the drivers as being?

I installed the RAID as txt and the others as PnP.

[calderstrake]

I am working on a fresh CD using RC8 of nLite to see if I can fix the problem this way. I will let you know how it goes.

**EDIT** It looks like the 'make from scratch' method works. I recommend this to anyone who thinks their Windows CD is good. Just do it again, only takes about an hour and you will be happy with the first result instead of spending enldess hours pulling your hair out.

This post has been edited by calderstrake: 22 May 2006 - 07:04 PM

[nowinscenario]

Good simple point. Don't keep messing with likely broken or otherwise corrupt base files.

[whimsical]

All this talk of RAID is a bit confusing. Which folder / files do I need if I'm not using a RAID array (ie. just 1 single SATAII in the appropriate nvidia port).

Motherboard, Asus A8n Premium, nForce 4 (6.70) (XPO Home)

If I had to guess I would use:

IDE\WinXP\legacy\nvatabus, and

IDE\WinXP\sata_ide\nvata

Would this be correct or do I need to install the Raid files regardless of whether i'm using a Raid array (as explained at the top of the thread)

As an afterthought I have my raid devices disabled in BIOS, will I need to enable them for the nvidia drivers to install. Ive had problems in the past with installing the nvidia drivers through the exe... yes I am a bit thick!

many thanks


Somebody help me plaese I can'nt do it!

This post has been edited by whimsical: 24 May 2006 - 02:32 PM

[Fernando 1]

whimsical, on May 24 2006, 10:26 PM, said:

All this talk of RAID is a bit confusing. Which folder / files do I need if I'm not using a RAID array (ie. just 1 single SATAII in the appropriate nvidia port).
Motherboard, Asus A8n Premium, nForce 4 (6.70) (XPO Home)
If I had to guess I would use:
IDE\WinXP\legacy\nvatabus, and
IDE\WinXP\sata_ide\nvata
Would this be correct or do I need to install the Raid files regardless of whether i'm using a Raid array (as explained at the top of the thread)
As an afterthought I have my raid devices disabled in BIOS, will I need to enable them for the nvidia drivers to install. Ive had problems in the past with installing the nvidia drivers through the exe... yes I am a bit thick!

As you have no Raid, this thread and the guide for the nForce SataRaid driver integration is not useful for you.
Normally non-Raid nForce Sata systems don't need any third party drivers at all for the proper install of Windows XP. You can check this by booting off the original XP CD without hitting F6. If your Sata hdd is detected, you don't need a special nForce driver for the installation.
If you want to integrate the nForce IDE drivers (S-ATA and P-ATA) into a bootable XP CD, you should integrate the SATA_IDE subfolder of the 6.70 driver package as PnP driver.
There are some Asus boards, where the Raid ports have to be enabled within BIOS even when no Raidarray is built. So you have to check this in the user's manual of your mobo.

[nowinscenario]

The ASUS point is important: and, if I'm not mistaken, there's some that require you to have SATA enabled in the BIOS even if there are no SATA drives (I'm almost sure this was the case on recent board I worked on--which, after pulling my hair out, turned out to be a simple, but non-intuitive, BIOS setting)... User beware!

[calderstrake]

nowinscenario, on May 25 2006, 07:01 AM, said:

The ASUS point is important: and, if I'm not mistaken, there's some that require you to have SATA enabled in the BIOS even if there are no SATA drives (I'm almost sure this was the case on recent board I worked on--which, after pulling my hair out, turned out to be a simple, but non-intuitive, BIOS setting)... User beware!

This is not accurate information in regards to A8N-SLI Deluxe on BIOS 1016. nvraid does NOT need to be enabled if you are merely running SATA drives in a normal fashion. If you want to run a RAID array, then you need to a) enable the nvraid and enable the channels you want the RAID configured on.

[whimsical]

Sincere thanks for the advice folks!

[Fernando 1]

Good news for users, who always want the newest drivers:

NVIDIA has published a new nForce chipset driver package v. 9.34. Although this package is mainly designed for the future nForce5 chipsets, it is also usable for nForce4 chipsets.
For the integration of the nForce SataRaid drivers I do not recommend to take the "normal" 9.34 package, but the one laying here: ftp://download.nvidi...ws/vista/beta2/
The SataRaid drivers off the 32-bit package are designed for Vista Beta2, but very good usable for XP too. Important is the presence of a full compatible LEGACY subfolder with all necessary files.
I have added these drivers into my guide (first post of this thread).

CU
Fernando

This post has been edited by Fernando 1: 25 May 2006 - 04:15 PM

[marioja]

Fernando, I have a problem with stop code 7B but I have no problem installing windows server 2003 using the 6.69 drivers as is during F6. Are those instructions outdated? (doubt due to amount of repies). I have an ASUS A8N5X with nForce 4 and RAID.

I'll tell you my issue with 7B. I have a W2K3 server running on another hardware that I moved using Symantec Livestate Recovery advanced server 6.0 suite using a recover anyware option that allows to recover to dissimilar hardware. Actually, it does not work for me. Here is what I have seen:

If I use the Symantec tool I get a BSOD with 7B stop code upon reboot
If I run a repair using W2K3 SP1 slipstreamed bootable CD(lets call it CD1) without using the method described in this thread I still get the STOP code 7B upon reboot (this could be due to the cause explained in this thread)
If I run a repair using W2K3 SP1 slipstreamed bootable CD(lets call it CD2) using the method described in this thread I STILLget the STOP code 7B upon reboot.

Now, if I use CD1 and do a fresh install of W2K3 on the raid disk, all is OK and I don't get the STOP code.

Why is this happeing?
Why don't I get 7B stop code using CD1
What could I do to make W2K3 work (if you know)?

Thanks a million

This post has been edited by marioja: 25 May 2006 - 07:36 PM

[nowinscenario]

Correction: My hardware builder said this was not ASUS, but a peculiarity in a MSI board because of a faulty BIOS--flashing fixed it.

[Fernando 1]

marioja, on May 26 2006, 03:25 AM, said:

Fernando, I have a problem with stop code 7B but I have no problem installing windows server 2003 using the 6.69 drivers as is during F6. Are those instructions outdated? (doubt due to amount of repies). I have an ASUS A8N5X with nForce 4 and RAID.

If you have integrated the nForce SataRaid drivers into your W2k3 CD, you should not hit the F6 button! If you do it nevertheless, you may get a BSOD with a 7B stop message.

[marioja]

I did not hit F6 when using the integrated CD1 or CD2. Fernando, do you have any idean on the 3 questions in my last post?

Fernando 1, on May 26 2006, 04:16 AM, said:

marioja, on May 26 2006, 03:25 AM, said:

Fernando, I have a problem with stop code 7B but I have no problem installing windows server 2003 using the 6.69 drivers as is during F6. Are those instructions outdated? (doubt due to amount of repies). I have an ASUS A8N5X with nForce 4 and RAID.

If you have integrated the nForce SataRaid drivers into your W2k3 CD, you should not hit the F6 button! If you do it nevertheless, you may get a BSOD with a 7B stop message.

Actually what I was trying to say is: when doing a fresh install using a regular windows 2003 CD and the 6.69 drivers through F6, I do not get the stop code 7B

[Fernando 1]

marioja, on May 26 2006, 06:40 PM, said:

Actually what I was trying to say is: when doing a fresh install using a regular windows 2003 CD and the 6.69 drivers through F6, I do not get the stop code 7B

1. Do you have a P-ATA or a S-ATA Raid?
2. The content of which driver subfolder or which sort of mixture did you put onto the floppy for F6?

This post has been edited by Fernando 1: 26 May 2006 - 12:08 PM

[marioja]

Fernando 1, on May 26 2006, 01:04 PM, said:

Do you have a P-ATA or a S-ATA Raid?

S-ATA Raid is what I have