Vista Installation on New ASUS P5Q Pro

[Angrypuffin]

I'm putting together a brand new computer, with the following components:

Motherboard: ASUS P5Q Pro
CPU: Intel Q6600
Video: 2x ATI 4850 (Crossfire)
Hard Drive: 2x 500 GB Western Digital 7200RPM

(I can provide other specs if they're relevant.)

I want to set up my hard drives in a RAID0 array and install bootable Vista onto the array.

But when I get past the BIOS, the Vista CD (Windows Boot Manager, rather) gives me the frustratingly obscure message that winload.exe (in my windows directory, which doesn't exist) may be corrupted, and so I should reboot with the Vista CD in the drive (having just booted, mind you, with the Vista CD in the drive).

I've tried booting into the BIOS with the two hard drives in the SATA_E connectors, telling the BIOS to treat them as RAID drives, and using "Drive Xpert" to set them for "Super Speed" (which I think is just a RAID0).

I've tried using only one hard drive on a normal SATA (not SATA_E) connector, and having the BIOS treat them as IDE drives.

I've tried reconnecting random components (hard drives and RAM), because it worked for some other guy.

Still the same message. How can I get past this and install Vista? And does it have anything to do with trying to set up my RAID array?

 

[Billb2]

When Vista is doing it's install (i.e., copying it's files, winload.exe included) what is set as the boot device in your BIOS?

Multiple choice:
a.) One of the hard drives.
b.) The array.

That's where the files are going. Is it the RAID array? No, because the array doesn't even exist until the Vista install program reboots (and installs it's RAID drivers to actually create the array) to finish the install.

What's happening is that you are installing Vista on a HDD, then making that HDD part of an array. That won't work. The HDDs have to be in the array first, before the install.

Interrupt the Vista install reboot, enter the BIOS and set the RAID array, that now appears, as the boot device. Then reboot and Vista will continue it install, this time to the new array and the array will then be bootable (i.e. winload.exe will be on it).

 

[Fallen Kell]

As Billb2 has said, you need to create the array first before you can install onto that array. This is something of a catch 22 since in most cases you need an operating system to make the array.

 

[chizow]

Hardware controllers allow you to create the array external to the OS, however, you will need drivers for the controller in order to address the array once in Windows.

Try this:

1) Connect the 2 drives you want to RAID to the main SATA ports, not the 2 orange DriveXpert ports.

2) Set Storage Config to "RAID" in the BIOS. Save and Reboot.

3) Hit Ctrl-I or whatever it flashes on-screen to go into the Intel RAID Matrix config.

4) Set the drives to RAID 0

5) Insert Vista disc into DVD drive, set boot priority to optical drive.

6) Vista *should* have a RAID driver for ICH7/8/9/10 RAID array to at least install Vista and update to the latest. If not, there should be a driver on your Asus CD, install from there if needed.

7) Choose Array, format, partition, install.

Hope that helps.

 

[Angrypuffin]

Hey, folks, thanks for your replies.

It still isn't working. I tried using the Intel Raid configuration manager to configure them as a Raid 0, and it gave me the same message upon finishing the "Windows is loading files" stage.

I went and deleted the RAID array, so that it treats them as two separate logical drives, and it still gives me the same problem.

Is there anything else I could try? If not, what hardware is likely at fault? Should I look at sending back my motherboard? (I can't tell you how much I DON'T want to do this- a friend and I spent hours today installing a TR.U.E. 120, and it was a nightmare).

Edit: TR.U.E. = Thermalright Ultra Extreme.

 

[Angrypuffin]

Just to clarify- right now, I just want to boot up on any operating system to verify that my hardware is functional. Do you have any suggestions on what would be best to try? I have both Vista and XP.

Edit: My BIOS version is 0506.

 

[Angrypuffin]

Hey, folks, just wanted to give you the news:

I used an Ubuntu Live CD to run Memtest, and it failed spectacularly. So I'm going to send my RAM back.

So remember that, next time someone has mysterious hardware failures: run Memtest!

 

[dajeepster]

Originally posted by: Angrypuffin
Hey, folks, just wanted to give you the news:

I used an Ubuntu Live CD to run Memtest, and it failed spectacularly. So I'm going to send my RAM back.

So remember that, next time someone has mysterious hardware failures: run Memtest!

i'm glad I read the entire thread before I made a suggestion of possibly bad ram... I had the same problem... it was the ram... cause memtest told me so

at least you didn't have the system up and running for a few months before the ram went bad on you :disgust:

 

[blanketyblank]

how do you run memtest on this board?
I usually use a usb floppy drive, but for the life of me I can't figure out how to get it to boot. Do I have to install an actual floppy drive for this board?