WinXP won't install on RAID array. Please help.

[Rob00GT]

I've rebuilt my pc and want to take advantage of my motherboard's built in Silicon Image 3114 SATA RAID controller. I've attached 4 identical SATA hard drives and used the SiI BIOS setup to create a RAID5 array. The RAID array looks good. Now I'm trying to load Windows XP using my unattended install DVD.

When loading Windows I press F6 to load my RAID drivers from a floppy disk. I'm not sure if that works or not because it keeps going and asks to press F2 for the recovery console. A few seconds later Windows prompts me for the drivers to access the hard drives. The drivers I'm using are right off the Asus web site. They load successfully and I make it to the setup screen where it asks how big my primary partition should be. I select all available drive space as my primary partition and then choose a quick NTFS format. Windows formats the RAID drive and just when it's about to start loading the Windows files it takes an error and says it can't find the RAID drivers. I hit enter to retry and the light comes on on the floppy drive but it craps out again. None of the driver files on the floppy will load at this point. If I choose to ignore it loads all Windows files from the DVD but when it reboots to begin installation I get a BSOD that says I have a drive problem.

I really want to install WindowsXP on the RAID5 array, especially after spending so much money of 4 identical hard drives. My unattended install DVD has worked literally dozens of times on "normal" Windows installations so I know it's good, this is just the first time I've tried to load it on a RAID array.

I'm stumped. Please help!

Here's my hardware:

Mobo: Asus A8N-SLI Deluxe

Drives: 4 Western Digial WD2500KS SATA

RAID controller: Silicon Image 3114 built into mobo.

CPU: AMD Athlon64 X2 4800+ (Socket 939)

Memory: 4GB Corsair DDR400 (1GB x 4)

Optical: Samsung IDE dual layer DVD burner

Video: ATI All-In-Wonder X800XL

Power Supply: Enermax Liberty 500W

[clarkbox]

When loading Windows I press F6 to load my RAID drivers from a floppy disk. I'm not sure if that works or not because it keeps going and asks to press F2 for the recovery console

Its normal for setup to continue once you have hit f6.

Be sure you have the proper driver for your windows version. x32/x64 win2k3/vista etc... I had this board when it was first released, and remember having difficulty getting the correct driver. You may have to just guess and check till you find the right one. It sounds like the driver you have is good for the textmode setup, but when windows attempts to boot, its not getting what it wants.