P4C800 + SX6000 = $3000 load of crap

[oustedone]

I just got this machine up and running. Pissed off is a light term for the utter disgust I am feeling. From the first post I was hanging and the "artificial UN-intelligent" voice would say system failure due to CPU overclock. Problem is I wasn't overclocking. I would hit the F2 key to load defaults and it would run fine until I changed the BIOS or restarted. Then it was back to the same thing. I tried RAM, PS, Finally I removed my supertrak SX6000, low and behold all is well with the world minus my 0+1 array. I think it's because the promise card delays the post and the board is seeing this as an overclock failure and halts with only two things you can do, hit F1 to enter setup or F2 to load BIOS defaults and continue. Either way it's a endless cycle of CRAP!!!!! I am way dissapointed that this board isn't compatible with a Raid card that's been around for a few years now and during all this "trouble shooting", one of my four brand new 60 gig drives decided it was time to stop spinning! Don't waste your time with this board if you've got a PCI RAID card you'd like to use. I've got alot of time and money wrapped up in a fu**ing machine that won't run. Thank you ASUS for the big let down!!!!!!!!!

www.anandtech.com/mysystemrig.html?rigid=23800:disgust::evil::|

 

[oustedone]

No Comments? Please help me vent!:brokenheart:

 

[mechBgon]

Aaack!

Have you tried your card in several PCI slots yet? Wouldn't be very hard to try that if you haven't already. Looking at the IRQ chart on page 2-15 of the manual, it looks like all the PCI slots share with something, but as a fact-finding step, try disabling the onboard FireWire in the BIOS and then use your SX6000 in PCI slot #4, which would share only with the onboard FireWire. Good luck oustedone, don't give up yet

 

[Peter]

It'd be pretty surprising if a high profile PCI card like this RAID thing had any problem in complying to the PCI specification (IRQ sharing being a mandatory part thereof).

I rather suspect some BIOS incompatibility in the area of 3rd party extension ROM handling or boot device ordering. Possible cures include BIOS updates on the RAID controller and system.

You might be right with the timeout suspicion there ... time to tell the board maker that there ARE some PCI cards whose bootup can take minutes.

 

[oustedone]

Update! Got ahold of Asus today and it seems as though others are having the same problem as myself. I thought I was crazy but there is some kind of BIOS incompatibilty problem when you install a PCI RAID controller card. Now the bad news: How long will it be before Asus fixes this issue in a new bios release? Could be weeks or months. should I stay with the Asus or return it and get an Abit IC7?:clock:

 

[snidy1]

Return it and get the Abit. Only my opimion

 

[acemcmac]

wow, that really does suck Oustedone...

this is why I am scared shitless of SATA migration... mabye i'll get a Serillel type hookup to experiment on the IC7 i've almost commited myself to... :-?

good luck with the rma ;-)

 

[oustedone]

bump

 

[Dethedrus]

Well, it's nice to know I'm not alone... I've been litterally going through the ringer with a SX6000 and an A7N8X Deluxe board!

If I boot the system with the SX6000 plugged in , but wth no drives attached, my system boots just fine. Granted I never see the SX6000 BIOS nor any visual confirmation that it's even being recognized. *BUT*, if I make the mistake of plugging in even one drive and Win2K SP3 goes apeshit and takes upwards of *FIVE MINUTES* to boot!

I've updated the SX6000 BIOS to the most recent (4/28/03) and am currently looking at doing the same for the A7N8X, but I'm pretty sure that no matter how much I smack this thing around I'm pretty well screwed.

Oh and as a nice little aside, according to Promise (in a relatively well buried FAQ on their site... not in the FAQ section, mind you), 180gb and 200gb WD drives are currently unstable on the SX6000, but a fix is expected in a few weeks. This is rather disheartening since I was planning on attaching five of 'em... and the fact that this little gem was first posted in January, and there's still no fix!!!

Can anyone suggest a reasonable alternative that's somewhere in the < $350 price range?

 

[oustedone]

I really don't believe its a Promise controller issue with my setup rather a BIOS issue wtih the mobo. Hopefully soon ASUS will fix this problem. Ive got the 1007 beta BIOS but have not installed the SX6000 yet to see if it will work.

 

[MjoLLnER]

:| I have the same problem as you, and I have the same problem with the 3Com 3cr990-tx-97 network card. I also have the feeling that it is a bios problem (two well known cards don't work for me). Bios 1007.012 will not solve the problem, I have tried.....

 

[cmdrdredd]

Originally posted by: MjoLLnER
:| I have the same problem as you, and I have the same problem with the 3Com 3cr990-tx-97 network card. I also have the feeling that it is a bios problem (two well known cards don't work for me). Bios 1007.012 will not solve the problem, I have tried.....

the onboard LAN is great why would you need a PCi card?

 

[MjoLLnER]

That card cost me a lot of money and it's difficult to just throw i away. And as a last favor it told me that there was nothing wrong with me, it was the bios to blame. Now it's even harder to throw it away. I don't use it now, because I can't ;| I will use it in another computer instead.

 

[RideFree]

Originally posted by: acemcmac
wow, that really does suck Oustedone...

this is why I am scared shitless of SATA migration... mabye i'll get a Serillel type hookup to experiment on the IC7 i've almost commited myself to... :-?

good luck with the rma ;-)

Serillel ATA raid mirror working great for me.
HighPoint or Serillel are apparently the two trustworthy ones.

 

[Bushwicktrini]

Originally posted by: oustedone
I really don't believe its a Promise controller issue with my setup rather a BIOS issue wtih the mobo. Hopefully soon ASUS will fix this problem. Ive got the 1007 beta BIOS but have not installed the SX6000 yet to see if it will work.

what are the last three numbers on that bios? if they are lower than 1007.012 then here you go hope this helps

 

[SloppyB]

Has anyone been able to fix this problem? I have a P4C800 and the SX6000 and ASUS told me (and I swear to all that is holy this is true) "Why would you want to install another RAID card, the motherboard has RAID built in". After I took a dump in my pants I told him that I had 6 120GB drives all I got was slience.

Anyway, to top off my problem I tried to install my SX6000 in my 2003 server....NO DRIVERS. The response from Promise "Yup, not 2003 drivers".

I really hope to be able to use my array again.

/SloppyB

 

[oustedone]

Ive gotten the latest BETA BIOS 1007.013 for my P4C800 but have not had the time to retry the Promise controller as of yet. SloppyB the six 120 gig drive comment was a hoot, bet that got his goat! I only have four 60 gigs but I would still like to use the promise card for a 0+1 array. I will try again as soon as i have time to take this puppy out of service for a while. I don't hold much PROMISE for this beta bios, but we'll see. (no pun intended)

 

[oustedone]

Tried the SX6000 with the latest Beta BIOS and it still doesn't work! What does it take to get ASUS to fix these compatabilty problems!!!!!!!!!! theve been slow to come out with BIOS upgrades for this board. the 1006 was the last Final release and that was two months ago! I really wish there was a way to get rid of this board for something that is compatible with my SX6000. Any Ideas? If anyone else has the same problem you need to start slamming out the E-mails to ASUS to get this problem to the forefront so it will be addressed!!!!!!!:disgust:



I'm really starting to regret staying with ASUS!!

 

[oustedone]

No ideas anyone?

 

[oustedone]

Called ASUS yet again for an update. After three months they finally tell me that the onboard RAID and the SX6000 will not get along. The vendor I bought the board from said he would take it back (Thank God!). This has been a nightmare I care not to re-live. ASUS needs to pull their heads out of their butts and get the things sorted out a little quicker cause most vendors would have told me to pack sand in my arse after having the board for 15 days. I don't know if I'll buy ASUS again. I'm looking at the P4P800 or the Abit IS7. Leaning toward the Abit. Any reccomendations?