Which Sata Drivers to use with Asus p4s800d-x?

[gshumway25]

The quick of it is that I am trying to setup an Asus p4s800d-x mobo with a WD raptor 36gb HD and I can't seem to get things to work. I have tried the Raid drivers from the cd that came with the mobo and the makedisk feature. I also tried downloading the raid drivers from Asus' site and also using that makedisk feature. I hit f6 during windows install, then pop in the floppy when told. It gave me options to install from the disk, for sis964 and sis180. I tried the 964 first and got a message that

sisraid.sys caused an unexpected error (4103) AT LINE 2113 in d:\xpsprtmlbase\boot\setup\oemdisk.c

I tried the sis180 one, it worked fine, but then Windows still came up unable to locate a hard drive. I tried downloading directly from Sys but am not sure exaclty what to put on the floppy. There are 3 folders in the floppy image folder 965-965L, 964plus180(181) and 964_180. I tried making a disk with the 964_180 but I got the same 4103 error. (Edited this last sentence. When I first tried it I got no read of the disk because my floppy cable was backwards )

I'm also not sure if there is some conflict because I am not using a raid config, but just one sata drive. I have the other larger IDE drives I use for media storage and such disconnected at the moment. I tried looking on Asus' site to figure out exaclty what sata controller it uses but I could not find it. If anyone could offer me some pointers as to what exactly I should put on the disk, or if I need to change some mobo setting, that would be very helpful. I had the same setup running fine on a different mobo but that mobo decided to up and quit on me. thanks for any advice.
adam

 

[helpmeout]

In your BIOS settings, make sure RAID is not enabled. You should also have an option in your BIOS for IDE/enhanced. What chip does the BIOS have? Many of the Asus mobo's don't require drivers at the F6 prompt, and installing drivers could hurt the performance.

Check the MOBO out at this Asus help site:

http://www.techsupportforum.com/forum87/

 

[boomerang]

I've just put this board in a system to replace a board with bad caps.

In the Main screen of the BIOS Setup Utility, make sure the OnChip SATA Controller is set to Enabled.

There are no drivers required for running a single SATA drive.

Make sure the drive is detected by the BIOS. If it is, install XP. I'm making an assumption it's XP.

If you still have problems, reset the CMOS and try again.

Edit: After installing XP, you will need to install the SiS RAID Driver from the CD. This will give you a SCSI and RAID controllers entry in Device Manager in place of the yellow unknown device.

 

[gshumway25]

The only option at all in the bios pertaining to sata or raid is an option to enable or disable the SATA controller. When I disable it, the bios obviously does not recognize the raptor and no hd is located by windows. There is no mention of any enhanced ide that I could find in the bios or the mobo manual. The only other thing dealing with raid happens when I enter the raid setup utility by hitting ctrl + S when it shows the sata drives after the first page of bios info shows up.

It lists the current created RAID which shows the Location: Disk 1, The model :WD..., The capacity: 34gb The Mode UDMA 6 and the Raid Type: Single If I press R to enter the raid setup utility it gives me the message "Not enough disk can be created raid"

I'm really at a loss of what to try. I have now tried the drivers from the ASUS CD, the ones I downloaded from the ASUS website, and from the SIS website. I am always getting an "unexpected Error" alhough the drivers from the ASUS site's Makedisk program give me error (18) instead of the other one.

From searching all kinds of forums, it seems like people usually are using the wrong drivers or they make their disk in the wrong way and they get a txtsetup error. I feel like I am doing the correct thing and I have tried all the different drivers I can find. Any other suggestions?

 

[boomerang]

Read my previous post.

You've got RAID and SATA all rolled into one in your mind. They can exist separately.

Your chipset, SiS964, natively supports SATA. This means that you DO NOT need drivers to run a single SATA drive. You DO NOT need drivers to run two SATA drives. You only need drivers for RAID.

So, for what you're doing;
Installing drivers at F6 = wrong!
Entering RAID BIOS setup = wrong!

Now, please answer these questions.

1) What OS are you using?

2) Is this OS already installed on one of your IDE drives?
2a) Is this the drive you intend to boot from when you're all done?

3) Are you attempting to install your OS on the Raptor drive?

I ask these questions because you made a statement in your second post that confuses me;

When I disable it, the bios obviously does not recognize the raptor and no hd is located by windows.

I would like to help you, but I can't without you answering the above questions.

Edit: For spelling errors, as usual!!!!!!!!

 

[corkyg]

Originally posted by: boomerang
You've got RAID and SATA all rolled into one in your mind. They can exist separately.[/i][/b]

Not always true. My Asus P4PE integrates them and they can't be separated. To turn on the 2 SATA ports, RAID must be turned on. This is covered in FAQs on the Asus website.

So, in order to have a non-RAID SATA drive active, I would disable the Promise RAID/SATA switch in BIOS and install a separate PCI card.

So, what do I do? I have a single SATA drive for data - works perfectly as RAID 0.

 

[gshumway25]

To answer your questions boomerang,

1: I am using XP Pro with SP2. I also tried installing with a friends older XP home with no SP disc and got the same error.

2: I have no OS installed on my ide drive. The ide drive is not even attached. Windows was initially only locating the ide drive so I pulled the cables out while I focused on figuring out the SATA drive. I have tried going through the install with it attached and detached though to see if somehow that would help. It hasn't.

2a: I intend to boot off the SATA drive, which is a WD 36 GB raptor. This is the same setup and components except for the MOBO that I had been running fine until my old mobo started having problems. I run the OS and some games and programs off the raptor and keep all my media storage on a larger IDE drive. Before I got a new mobo this hd was working fine and I even tested it on a friends machine and it ran fine, so I know the problem is not there.

3: Yes, I am trying to install the OS on the raptor HD.

I understand that SATA and Raid are two different things, and that is where some of my confusion is coming from. It seems like it should be able to complete a windows install fine without me having to mess with any drivers. I only started with the drivers after windows would not locate the SATA hd and after reading some on this mobo and the errors I have been getting. Like corkyg said, it seems like Raid and SATA are integrated with this MOBO. Poor design imo, and I wish I had more options coming from the bios, but I have been trying to get this going without buying anything else new.

All that is connected to the mobo right now is the
WD Raptor 36gb hd,
an agp geforce 6800 vid card,
2 ddr2100 512 Crucial ram,
p4 2.4 (533),
NEC 3540 DVD writer
floppy
antec truepower 430 PS.

I've tried switching around cables for the DVD and the hd, switching the spots they are plugged into and no change from that. I guess I am doomed to buying a PCI card if I can't figure out how to get this going. I'm still trying to figure out why I am getting this error though as it seems directly related to the drivers.

 

[boomerang]

Originally posted by: corkyg

Originally posted by: boomerang
You've got RAID and SATA all rolled into one in your mind. They can exist separately.[/i][/b]

Not always true. My Asus P4PE integrates them and they can't be separated. To turn on the 2 SATA ports, RAID must be turned on. This is covered in FAQs on the Asus website.

So, in order to have a non-RAID SATA drive active, I would disable the Promise RAID/SATA switch in BIOS and install a separate PCI card.

So, what do I do? I have a single SATA drive for data - works perfectly as RAID 0.

I have a P4PE also. You won't find a newer board that functions this way.
Yes, you are correct and yes this serves only to confuse the OP. Read my quote above. I say "can".

 

[boomerang]

Make sure the SATA controller is enabled.

With the Raptor connected, go into the BIOS under the Boot menu and then Boot Device Priority and tell me if the Raptor is listed. Post back with the results.

 

[gshumway25]

yes, it is listed in the boot devices.

 

[boomerang]

OK, so it is fully recognized by the BIOS. Good.

Now, if I understand correctly, if you attempt a fresh install of XP, installing no drivers at the F6 prompt, upon subsequent boot, no HD is seen. Correct?

Edit: Is there a previous install of XP on the Raptor?

 

[gshumway25]

When attempting a new winxp install, it gets to the screen where you can either repair by pressing R or do a new install by hitting enter. After I hit enter to begin installing Windows, it tells me Windows is unable to locate a HD. The same thing happens if i hit R, it tells me Windows is unable to locate a HD.

The last thing that happened with the hd, is that I had put winXP on it on the old mobo. If I try to boot straight to the hd it gives me an option of starting windows in Safe mode or normally. Either option just causes a system reboot.

 

[boomerang]

Everything I am seeing related to the board you are using tells me that no drivers are required for a non-RAID SATA drive. This is proven out by your results. Installing RAID drivers does not work. They are referred to everywhere as RAID drivers. The CD, the Asus site and even the SiS site.

If I were you, at this point I would blow away the existing XP install. I think the SATA drivers from your previous board are interfering with this install. They are not compatible with this chipset and Windows is just not smart enough to figure it out.

I use delpart on a 98 boot disk and blow away the partition. Delpart can be downloaded off the 'net. There are other ways to do it, but I have found delpart to come in handy from time to time and this is how I do it.

Your only other option is to contact ASUS, or hope for someone to jump in here with the right advice. Seeing as how you intend to do a fresh install of XP, you have nothing to lose by trying the delpart routine but a little time.

I'm sorry, but this is all I have to offer at this time. I have the system I repaired with the same board next to me right now, but I have no spare SATA drive to try out with it. My two Raptors are in RAID 0 in my P4PE.