Looking for NON-BOOTABLE IDE controller

[StarTech]

My main server runs an IC7 with a good SCSI raid controller and some IDE drives. Running RH9. I would like to install a couple of IDE controllers to experiment with software raid. I just got a SYBA but it gets in the BOOT chain before the SCSI Raid. My boot drive is a non raid 18GB SCSI drive on the SCSI controller, and for now I would like to leave it that way.

What I need is a controller that can is non bootable or that can be disabled from booting. It has to be supported by RH9 out of the box.

 

[tranceport]

Can't move the controllers around in bios?

 

[akira34]

I've found some from Adaptec, Siig and Promise that list up to RH 7.x... Check with RH to see if the cards will work with 9. As for the boot order, you should be able to set that in your bios, overriding the IDE selection before it even tries. Once you put the SCSI drive before the IDE you should be all set. Unless you have a cheap/old/crap mobo that is. Of course, you might be able to fix that with a bios update too.

Why are you even going with software RAID? If you're not going to use the hardware RAID, just get some IDE controllers and use them. You'll get away cheaper and you won't feel so bad if they don't work.

 

[bacillus]

you'll have to juggle around the pci cards so that you scsi card is first in the bootup screen.
on my p4c800 putting the ide controller card in slot 5 & the scsi card in slot4 results in scsi booting ahead of the ide controller card.

 

[StarTech]

The mobo is an IC7. The BIOS may be a little dated, but I doubt it has changed much in this area. I'll look into an upgrade.

I have promoted the SCSI RAID controller all the way from what IC7 calls PCI5 slot to PCI1 with no change. At this point I have SCSI-PCI1, VID-PCI3, NIC-PCI4 and IDE-PCI5.

The Bios has a setting for
- "Harddisk Boot Priority" with three selections, 1-Bootable add-in device, 2-CH#1 Master and 2-CH#1 Slave (actual drive models listed).

Then there is subsetting for
"Bootable Add-in device" with two options, "PCI-Slot" and On Chip SATA.

So my current setting is first Bootable PCI device and PCI Slot. The problem is that the darn IDE controller always nanages to insert itself at the beguining of the boot chain and get the "DISK BOOT FAILURE, Insert System Disk and Press Enter.

 

[Zepper]

Just don't create a Primary partition on any drive you don't want to boot from - no Primary Partition = no attempt to boot period. Most PCs will try to boot from the first Primary Partition it finds on a hard drive.
.bh.

:moon:

 

[StarTech]

Originally posted by: Zepper
Just don't create a Primary partition on any drive you don't want to boot from - no Primary Partition = no attempt to boot period. Most PCs will try to boot from the first Primary Partition it finds on a hard drive.
.bh.

:moon:

I just moved the drive to the second IDE channel in the IC7 and Linux fdisk reports the drive just has a extended partition(f) with a logical Linux(83). So it is not a primary. No boot flag in the partitions.

Would it possible that it could have an old invalid /mbr pointing to the wrong place... Not sure how to verify that..