Can single serial ATA hd be used as non-RAID boot drive in A7V880 mb (VIA VT8237)

  • Thread starter Thread starter Nymascot
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Nymascot

WD1200JD serial ATA is attached properly and recognized in BIOS. During
setup of Windows server 2003 standard/enterprise edition, it fails to format
the newly created partition. So the question is as the subject suggest. Any
advice? I can't find any relevant setup information in ASUS and VIA sites.
 
There's some sort of procedure to load the serial ata drivers from a floppy
at the start of the os install, I think.
I think there's a readme on the asus cd.
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"Nymascot" said:
WD1200JD serial ATA is attached properly and recognized in BIOS. During
setup of Windows server 2003 standard/enterprise edition, it fails to format
the newly created partition. So the question is as the subject suggest. Any
advice? I can't find any relevant setup information in ASUS and VIA sites.
Click to expand...

I think this poster is installing a single drive on a VT8237.
He used the VT6420 driver (as the RAID hardware inside the
8237 is the same as a separate chip that Via makes).

http://groups.google.com/[email protected]

On some controllers, a single drive can become a "stripe of one",
and so a controller that is basically RAID only, can still
support an individual drive. The only caution about this, is
whether the drive will be transportable, between the VT8237
and another kind of SATA controller. Usually disks on a RAID have
a "hidden sector", with identity information necessary for the
RAID BIOS to do its thing. You will definitely be able to
move the drive to another motherboard with a VT8237 on it,
or a VT6410/6420. But whether it would work on an Intel
ICH5 or ICH6 port would be an interesting question. That is
my biggest fear when using a disk on a RAID chip, is whether
the info on the disk can be properly accessed when plugged
into another computer.

You may not care about this too much if you have a good backup
strategy, or if your critical data is stored on a server
somewhere.

HTH,
Paul
 
There's some sort of procedure to load the serial ata drivers from a floppy
at the start of the os install, I think.
I think there's a readme on the asus cd.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the reminder. I just read it and found the procedure is the same
as mine that failed. After pressing F6, "VIA RAID 2003 IA 32" being loaded,
the hard disk was recognized properly as it seemed (the hd also appeared in
BIOS menu so that I set it as 1st drive). Only formatting failed to complete
(format progressing bar reached 100% in less than 10 sec for 32 GB
partition). My question is whether VIA VT8237 allows non-RAID usage for
single serial ATA hard disk as boot drive and how, if yes. I can't find a
word about it in ASUS and VIA official sites.

Lorenz
 
Paul said:
sites.

I think this poster is installing a single drive on a VT8237.
He used the VT6420 driver (as the RAID hardware inside the
8237 is the same as a separate chip that Via makes).
Click to expand...

Precisely! Allow me to reiterate what being said in reply to Ed light. After
pressing F6, "VIA RAID 2003 IA 32" being loaded, the hard disk was
recognized properly as it seemed (the hd also appeared in BIOS menu so that
I set it as 1st drive). Only formatting failed to complete (format
progressing bar reached 100% in less than 10 sec for 32 GB partition). My
question is whether VIA VT8237 allows non-RAID usage for single serial ATA
hard disk as boot drive and how, if yes. I can't find a word about it in
ASUS and VIA official sites.

http://groups.google.com/[email protected]

My VIA RAID driver is 2.20E, newer than what mentioned in above link.
On some controllers, a single drive can become a "stripe of one",
and so a controller that is basically RAID only, can still
support an individual drive.
Click to expand...

Probably not the case for integrated VT6420 in VT8237. RAID BIOS menu list
the hd as serial channel 0 but all functions appear to be diabled.
The only caution about this, is
whether the drive will be transportable, between the VT8237
and another kind of SATA controller. Usually disks on a RAID have
a "hidden sector", with identity information necessary for the
RAID BIOS to do its thing. You will definitely be able to
move the drive to another motherboard with a VT8237 on it,
or a VT6410/6420. But whether it would work on an Intel
ICH5 or ICH6 port would be an interesting question.
Click to expand...

AFAIK, not portable.
That is
my biggest fear when using a disk on a RAID chip, is whether
the info on the disk can be properly accessed when plugged
into another computer.
You may not care about this too much if you have a good backup
strategy, or if your critical data is stored on a server
somewhere.
Click to expand...

I care but what can we do? :)

Lorenz
 
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