My New System Build

[Brad]

I have no idea what that means. These drives aren't going to be in a RAID configuration. Does that matter?

 

[Shamus MacNoob]

Thats right Steevo , he would need to go into that and set the drive as active so to speak , then make the proper floppy disk to feed to XP as he boots hitting F6 so XP asks for the drivers ...I think it is CTRL+S let me go look

 

[Brad]

It also seems as though there is an issue between Maxtor SATAII and the nForce4 motherboards...I will have to look more into this as this sounds like my problem as well. Will not be able to look at that until tomorrow morning though

 

[Brad]

axtor SATA II Drives and nVidia nForce Compatibility
Question

I have heard or read that Maxtor drives are incompatible with nForce3 or nForce4 chipsets, or that I need a firmware update to make a Maxtor drive compatible with the nForce chipset. Is this true?

Answer


Note: This solution is only to be applied to the listed products and only when used with the nVidia© nForce3© or nForce4© chipsets. If you are unsure as to which chipset you have, please contact your motherboard manufacturer or visit your motherboard manufacturer's website for clarification.

Firmware updates are not upgrades. They offer no performance enhancements and exist only to provide specific compatibility resolutions. If you have a drive that is working properly in a computer, you do not need a firmware update.

Do not use a firmware update that is not authorized directly by Maxtor as there are variations of firmware for different revisions of drives that can render drives inoperable if applied to the wrong drive.

Applying firmware to a drive that is not authorized by Maxtor will void the warranty on the drive as this would be considered an unauthorized modification. Please see Maxtor's Limited Warranty Statement for more information.

If your drive came inside an OEM machine such as a Dell, Apple, Gateway etc., do not apply a firmware update at all as this will void the warranty which is held by that manufacturer. Please contact your OEM vendor directly.

The following issues have been identified with Maxtor SATA II drives and the nVidia nForce4 controller:

Data Corruption: If you are experiencing data corruption issues, the problem is not with the hard drive firmware. Please visit nVidia's website to update to the latest nVidia chipset drivers to resolve this issue. Make sure to be familiar with your motherboard specifications as there are several variations.

NCQ: If you are experiencing problems with NCQ (Native Command Queueing) please see nVidia's Knowledgebase ID 768 for more information with an issue nVidia is having with NCQ and the nForce4 chipset, and a forthcoming resolution. They also offer a solution to temporarily disable NCQ.

No Detection: If you are experiencing a problem with your Maxtor SATA-II drive not being detected by your nForce3 or nForce4 host controllers at bootup:

Note: This does not apply if your drive is connected to a non-nForce3 or nForce4 controller such as SIIG (Silicon Image), HighPoint, Promise etc. Many motherboards have multiple host controllers onboard so make sure you are familiar with your motherboard specifications and schematics.

The drives affected are those listed in the following table:
Model begins with:

Code (Firmware revision)



6B- or 7B-


BANC1980
BANC1B70
BANC1BM0
BANC1BY0
BANC1E00



6L- or 7L-



BANC1G00
BANC1G10
BANC1G20



6H- or 7H-




HA431BW0



6V- or 7V-


VA111610
VA101610
VA131610
VA141610

Example of a drive label:

Image



To check your current firmware revision on the drive without removing it from the system, use the Powermax diagnostic CD. Drive model, Serial and firmware Revision is displayed in the upper right hand corner after selecting the drive to test.

A firmware update to resolve this issue for Maxtor SATA II drives is available by contacting Maxtor Support. Please have the drive serial number and the Code number available, which will be listed on the top label of the drive itself.

Firmware updates will be issued for those drives experiencing this problem only, not for experimental troubleshooting. Due to the nature of a firmware code update, a drive can be potentially rendered inoperable so it is critical that data is backed up first.

 

[Shamus MacNoob]

Note: This does not apply if your drive is connected to a non-nForce3 or nForce4 controller such as SIIG (Silicon Image), HighPoint, Promise etc. Many motherboards have multiple host controllers onboard so make sure you are familiar with your motherboard specifications and schematics.


Yours is the Silicon Image , I cant seem to find the damn info but it is something like ctrl+s or ctrl+h to get into the raid configuration there you add the drives you want in your raid , even if it is just a bunch of drives you need to add them to the raid manager , then you should be able to boot off the XP cd and feed the raid controller drivers from a floppy.

 

[Brad]

Where do I press these keys?

 

[Brad]

Note: This does not apply if your drive is connected to a non-nForce3 or nForce4 controller such as SIIG (Silicon Image), HighPoint, Promise etc. Many motherboards have multiple host controllers onboard so make sure you are familiar with your motherboard specifications and schematics.


Yours is the Silicon Image , I cant seem to find the damn info but it is something like ctrl+s or ctrl+h to get into the raid configuration there you add the drives you want in your raid , even if it is just a bunch of drives you need to add them to the raid manager , then you should be able to boot off the XP cd and feed the raid controller drivers from a floppy.

I read that that it does apply (double negative)

 

[Shamus MacNoob]

No if you use the Silicon Image controller then it is not the problem your having right now , try CTRL+F to enter the RAID setup menu where you need to tell the controller what type of setup your going to use with the SATA drives

you need to hit CTRL+S or F4 right away as you boot

 

[Brad]

Cool, will try that out tonight when I get home from work.

 

[Shamus MacNoob]

On page 5-31 off your Manuel it explains how to get into the raid setup and it is CTRL+S or F4

this will let you set the drives .

 

[Brad]

kick ass. Reps to you when it works.

 

[Brad]

OK, so when I do this, it acts like it is doing nothing, and then lets me set it up in windows. However, the manager comes up, but I cannot add anything to it.

 

[Brad]

On page 5-31 off your Manuel it explains how to get into the raid setup and it is CTRL+S or F4

this will let you set the drives .

Just to let you know, this did not work. It said that I did not have enough drives to configure a RAID configuration, or something to that affect. Thanks anyways.

 

[Shamus MacNoob]

Thats right maybe you dont have enough for a raid but you do for what we call JOB just a bunch of drives you need to set your bios properly you need to boot to SCSI hard drive in the bios and then use the raid controllers as JOB

 

[Brad]

But this is not a SCSI drive. I have two hard drives in there. 1 SATA, 1 ATA. They are not in any special configuration or anything. I just want to have a C: and a D:. No RAID, No SCSI.

 

[Shamus MacNoob]

SCSI is = to SATA in this case ... if there is an option to boot to SCSI in the boot order you need set that, and you need to set SATA controllers to BASE or JOB meaning not in a RAID configuration because you do not have more then ONE drive. You need to make a floppy with the drivers for your SATA controller , and you need to get the manual and have a good read about SATA controller BIOS settings if after that you do not understand something about SATA or what not feel free to ask.

 

[Steevo]

I made a quick movie of my system and what I have set int he BIOS and what the Nvidia takes set to have independant disks. It is 5.6Mb so what is your e-mail addy?

 

[Brad]

is there an attachment limit on gmail? if not, please send to bradaparkerATgmailDOTcom

else please use xxbigeyedfishxxATyahooDOTcom

 

[Steevo]

Sent.

 

[Brad]

Steevo,

My utility looks very different from that. I will actually do the sound tomorrow. Right now the fiance is asleep in the next room and I would rather not wake her, but thank you very much for taking the effort to do that.