setting up raid

[XxervioCSO]

i need little help setting up my raid. i have an Iwill kk400-rs and my raid array is setup with 2 western digital drives the same model. one is set to master the other is set to slave. it combines the size of both drives so it reads one. it shows up in my computer. i'm running Windows Xp pro. now is the part i am a little lost. how do i install windows to the drives to get the raid running. it won't let me install using the Winxp CD cause i guess HPT371 raid drivers are 3rd party and i don't use a floppy drive to install them. how else do i go about installing Winxp to the drives??

thankz

 

[Willoughbyva]

I'm not too sure. You might have to get a floppy. You could try burning the drivers to cd and installing them. Sorry I can't help.

 

[Kartajan]

the only way to INSTALL windows on the raid arrary without native support for the controller is by loading the drivers from a floppy disk on setup. period. what some people have done is to have their OS on a seperate drive, with programs and files on the RAID array.

bottom line- get a floppy drive.


edit: I can't spell.

 

[XxervioCSO]

man why they have to make stuff on floppy drives still LOL, i hate floppys and haven't used them for a year or more.

 

[Buzzman151]

just wondering... but why do you have both of your RAID drives set up on the same IDE controller???? Just remember when You first are installing windows, it will as you if you want to install drivers for a RAID card, you have to press F something or other. It won't ask you to install the RAId drivers right away, but it will a little later down the road.

 

[XxervioCSO]

mmm true, i will just install on the ide and then switch to the raid??

 

[Buzzman151]

You should have 4 ide "ports" on your mobo. 2 for your standart IDE controller and 2 for your RAID controller. Hook you 2 HD's on a separate channel on the 2 RAID controller IDE ports. Don't hook anything up as slave.(at least you're not suppose to)

 

[Kartajan]

it is F6, and that is where you need the 3rd party drivers on a floppy. The only time you use that is if XP does not have drivers already on the install cd.

If you install with the controller set to IDE, and then switch it to RAID you will lose everything when you configure the RAID array.

The whole point of the thing is to make the system "see" the array as a single drive.

(You could get a RAID card that is supported natively w/ XP... mucho $$$, but no need for floppy drive.)