Win2000 setup and RAID. Help please, I'm desperate. :(

[MrGrim]

I'm trying to get Windows 2000 setup to recognise my RAID controller but it's in vain. I've formatted my HD in DOS using FDISK so the Array is working fine. When i start Windows 2000 setup I press F6 to let me use 3rd party RAID drivers. When it asks me for the drivers I insert the disk, the drivers are loaded and the setup continues. However when it's about to install it says that it didn't detect any HDs! I've wasted 2 days now on this and I'm a bit pissed off. I've tried all the latest drivers. Could ANYBODY be kind enough as to state in DETAIL how to install the damn drivers?

My motherboard is an Asus AV7133 with promise raid controller, using the 1005A BIOS.

TIA

 

[MrGrim]

Come on guys.

 

[MichaelD]

Start over from scratch. Go into the Promise bios and recreate the array, choose stripe size, etc. Restart W2K install. Hit F6 load the drivers. When you get to the format part, then set your partitions and drive letter assignments. Good luck.

 

[MrGrim]

I can't get to the part when i choose a partition. Win2000 doesn't detect ANY hard drivers.

 

[MichaelD]

Do you have the Promise controller enabled in the bios? The SYSTEM bios, that is. My Abit has a Highpoint raid controller and you have to enable it in the bios in order to use it.

Go into the bios, ensure that the Promise controller is enabled. Set your boot order CDRom/Disabled/Disabled/Disabled. Reboot WITHOUT the W2K CD in there. Go into bios. Delete, then recreate the array. Reboot with W2K CD in there. That should do it.

 

[MrGrim]

The array works fine because I can just go into DOS and format. I could install Win98 if I wanted to. The problem is getting Win2K to recognise the RAID Controller and find the Array. When it comes to selecting a partition for Win2000 the setup program says that there are no HDs installed.

 

[MichaelD]

Do you have W2K drivers for the Promise controller? Just thought I'd ask....

 

[MrGrim]

<< When i start Windows 2000 setup I press F6 to let me use 3rd party RAID drivers. When it asks me for the drivers I insert the disk, the drivers are loaded and the setup continues. However when it's about to install it says that it didn't detect any HDs! I've tried all the latest drivers. >>

 

[BreakApart]

What setting did you use for the stripe size? Maybe you really haven't created the stripe set yet...

When you used DOS to format did it show the correct TOTAL drive size, both drives? or just 1 drive?

 

[MrGrim]

Yes the array has been properly created. Before I format I get a size of 12,99.00MB but after the format in DOS I get the correct size which is 78GB.

 

[BreakApart]

In the BIOS you don't have ide-1 master/slave listed with drive info do you?

 

[hausdave]

1) remove all partitions from disks
2) create RAID array
3) attempt to re-install per instructions above.


There is no need to use DOS to format anything....Win2K does this for you...this is most likely why it cannot see HDDs.

 

[MrGrim]

The only way to get it working is to copy the Win2000 folder from the CD to a boot disk. The new drivers DON'T WORK. Copying the WHOLE directory from the CD doesn't work either. You need to copy the root files and the Win2000 folder ONLY on a floopy ... just in case somebody else has the same problem.

Thank you guys for all the help and your quick responses. Appreciate it.