Using RAID card as IDE card?

[pseudoquasi]

Hey all,

I've got a cheapo (Koutech IOFLEX-PIR133, based on Silicon Image 0680A chip) RAID card that ive currently got at RAID 0 with two 80GB drives (160GB total). It works just fine, problem is, I run Windows 98 SE and none of my utilties (Norton Speedisk and Disk Doctor in particular) work well with it (defraging resets the hard drives and crashes me)...so I'm thinking of taking it back to just IDE and running the 2 drives independently...does anyone know if I have to flash the BIOS to the IDE bios (yes there is one) and use the specific IDE drivers -OR- can i just keep the RAID BIOS and drivers and not make any RAID sets, just keep them separate? Will that be just like having them as IDE on different channels? If anyone has any insights, it would be appreciated...thanks!

 

[Lord Evermore]

You just configure the controller's BIOS (yes we all know that a controller has a BIOS separate from the motherboard) to not create any RAID arrays on the drives, and they'll work like a normal IDE controller. Although, you'd be better off just putting them on the regular motherboard ports.

Why it crashes: could be many things, but probably due to Norton sucking, or Win98SE sucking.

 

[TheCorm]

Hey Evermore, is there specific reasons why it's better to havw them on the Motherboard IDE ports instead of a IDE ports on a Raid Card?

Jamie

 

[Lord Evermore]

Integrated IDE ports are usually not running on the PCI bus on chipsets made within the past few years, so they don't have any bandwidth or bus mastering contention with other PCI devices. If they're ATA100 ports, they'll work just as well as an ATA133 card.

 

[TheCorm]

Well...learn something new everyday!...there was me thinking they were still on the PCI bus, cheers Evermore.

Jamie

 

[pseudoquasi]

hey, thanks for the info!

In my particular case tho, I have to disagree with the onboard IDE suggestion...I have an older mobo (circa 98-99ish) that only has ATA/33, and I'm pretty sure its on the PCI bus...so it behooves me to use the RAID card.

I guess I just wonder if there will be any performance difference by flashing the RAID controller card's BIOS to straight IDE and using the Windows IDE drivers for the Silicon Image chip, or will I be just as well off using the RAID bios/RAID Windows drivers with no RAID sets created and two separate drives...

Or does anyone know a disk defrag program that will work with Windows 98 SE for RAID large drives (160GB)?? I think its both Windows 98 SE and Norton that suck simultaneously for large disks, esp. RAID. Most utilities built into Windows 98 SE won't work with large drives, and apparently Norton has RAID issues from what I've read...

 

[Zepper]

I use Mijenix/Ontrack/now Vcom SystemSuite 4. to do most of my utility work in Win98SE etc. I have not used them on a really large hard drive yet, but have found them to generally suck less than Norton's .
.bh.
:beer: time!

 

[Lord Evermore]

The suggestion to use onboard IDE depends on you having a relatively new board. Obviously an ATA133 controller is going to be better than onboard ATA33.

I still don't understand what this "IDE BIOS" is for the RAID controller. A RAID controller is just an IDE card with software to allow you to configure a RAID array. If you don't go into the BIOS and configure a RAID array on the specific drives that are in the system, it just acts as a normal IDE controller. You have to use the drivers for the chipset on the card no matter what sort of configuration you use, there isn't anything like a "RAID driver" and "IDE driver" for Windows because Windows only accesses the chipset on the card, which then tells Windows whether it has two separate drives or if it has a single driver composed of the RAID array. Windows may have a generic driver for the chipset, while the manufacturer of the card may have a specific driver for their card, and either one should work fine no matter how you configure the drives.

 

[pseudoquasi]

Thanks for suggestions...

Evermore: I think that basically the thing with the IDE/RAID BIOS is that the particular chip (Silicon Image 0680A) can be used in making OEM IDE controllers or RAID controllers...and apparently, from Silicon Image's website, there is a BIOS that just has IDE functionality, and one that has RAID functionality enabled. Some manufacturers dont have a flash chip, mine however does. Honestly, I dont know what would happen if I used flashed the controller to IDE BIOS, that is kind of what I'm curious about. But, if the RAID BIOS without any RAID sets enabled is just like IDE, with no performance differences, that will probably be fine.

And about the drivers: on Windows 98 SE anyway, the Silicon Image RAID chipset drivers/software are needed to make the system work well. If the drivers arent installed, the system runs, but ~painfully~ slow.