I Challenge you to solve my problem - Ill send you a free cookie if you succeed

This is impossible!

I refer you my posts made on Tthe Tom's Hardware.com forums.

http://www.community.tomshardware.co...&part=all&vc=1


By the way, I'm not joking about that cookie. I'll really send you a chocolate chip cookie.

Aren't RAID boards fun?

Here is the procedure:

1. Connect your 20GB HD to the 80 conductor cable and connect it to the no. 1 IDE controller on the board. Be sure to plug the Blue end of the cable into the board. Set the jumper to MASTER.

2. Connect your Burner to another IDE cable (doesn't need to be an 80 conductor cable) and set the jumper to Master. Plug this cable into the no. 2 IDE controller. Connect your CD-ROM or DVD-ROM to this cable and set the jumper to Slave.

3. If there is a jumper on the motherboard to disable the RAID controller use it to disable the RAID controller. If there is no jumper, immediately on boot up, enter the bios and disable the RAID controller.

4. Boot your system and immediately enter the bios. Load the optimized defaulte since you have flashed the bios. Your bios should recognize the HD. If it doesn't enter the autodetect section of the bios and ask it to detect the HD. Set the Bios to AUTO for the Master on IDE 1 and the bios will find the drive. Save the changes and exit the bios.

5. The bios will also find both devices on IDE 2.

6. Put your XP disk into the CD-ROM/DVD-ROM and boot the system.
You must set up the first boot device in the BIOS to CD or the system may not boot from the CD. Use the setup feature on the XP disk to format the HD. Load XP.

7. After you have XP loaded you need to install the RAID controller driver off of the Setup disk that came with the motherboard. This will allow you to use the RAID controller if you want to set up a RAID system.

8. After you have the system up and running you can fine tune the bios settings. You can then add the 60GB drive as Slave on the no. 1 IDE cable. (Note: You can save the data in the programs on the 60GB drive but you must reload all the software so that it will integrate into the XP system. You cannot utilize applications loaded on the 60GB drive until they have been setup through the Setup utility in XP. You cannot have a second OS on the 60GB drive unless you set up a dual boot system and select the OS you want to use at boot up. You coule have all manner of compatability problems if the data on the 60GB drive is in a FAT32 format and the 20GB drive in NTFS)

If your system will not boot initially or will not allow you to enter the bios to make the needed adjustments you probably have a hardware problem. It is likely a motherboard issue.

Good Luck! :)

Thanks so much, man!

I just installed Windows98 successfully. So I don't think its that serious of a hardaware problem. Just so I don't mess it up, could you re-update that guide you just wrote me from the point where I have Win98SE installed?

Also, someone told me about booting off of the 98 boot disk and typing "Fdisk /mbr" - wouldn't the format utilitiy on the XP cd do that anyway?

Thanks!

Take a look at the update to the previous post.

One last question before I try this again.

90% of the stuff on the 60 Gig is just data (mp3s, videos). If i convert to NTFS, which I had planned on doing anyway, will I loose it?

Quote:

---

Originally posted by Pring4
One last question before I try this again.

90% of the stuff on the 60 Gig is just data (mp3s, videos). If i convert to NTFS, which I had planned on doing anyway, will I loose it?

---

not if you use convert X: /fs:ntfs where X is the drive you want to convert

If you have WIN98 loaded you don't want to format to NTFS. I use Fat 32 for my XP sustem because I interface with so many Win98 systems.

I suggest that you save the data portions of your applications on the 20GB drive. I would remove that drive from the system and connect the 60GB drive as noted in my previous post. Use a Win98 boot disk to format the 60GB drive after you have removed the data you want to save or the Maxtor web site and doynload MAX Blast 2. Boot from the floppy and use the utility to set up three 20GB partitions. You can use F Disk to set up the partitions if you are familure with the procedure.
3. Load XP by booting from the CD. Remember to set up the bios to boot from the CD. Do not re-ormat the HD when asked by the XP setup file. XP should load with no problem.
4. After you setup XP load your applications. Hook up the 20GB drive as a slave (change the jumpers). Transfer the saved data to the appropriate Applications in XP. After you have transfered the data, format the 20GB drive to erase the crap that is there. Some people want to retain Win98 but since the support from microsoft will be gone soon I don't see any reason to keep it.

MUISEJT is right on the money!

The bottom line is that you need to put all the files you want to keep on one drive as an Archive and then decide what format you want to use. Convert everything to that format.

Load the OS and Apps on the other drive and you can then access the archive on the second drive in the same format.

Oh boy... I don't know where to start...

XP is not friendly to newer hardware, it was designed to work with what was fast in the summer of 2001, and doesn't have the driver support needed to work well with some of the newer hardware out of the box. So if you are trying to install using the promise RAID controller and you've never done it before I'd suggest stopping before you hurt yourself...

disconnect everything from the mobo except the video card, memory, processor, CD-ROM, and boot HDD. Try the reinstall again, formatting the drive NTFS (NOT the quick format). If you still get that error, make sure your BIOS is loaded to its defaults, and turn chaching and shadowing OFF. (It is there, you may have to hunt for it)

Other then that, I'd reccomend trying a win2k install, with an XP upgrade.

Thanks everyone...

Right now, it is at 50% format for NTFS on the 20 gig drive. Once it finishes and reboots, should I enter the BIOS again and change the boot device back to the hard drive?

Im sure its yes, but I want to be positive on this.

Nevermind, who cares??

IT WORKS!!!!

THANK you SO MUCH mechanic!

I will send you a cookie if you want.

Sometimes your the windshield and sometimes your the bug! Glad you worked it out. You can keep the cookie, just glad we all could help!:D :D

Just one LAST question.

I want to put in my 60 gig HD and convert it to NTFS.

1. Plug in IDE and power cable (its already set as slave)

2. Boot up

3. Convert to NTFS (How?)

Start -> Run -> cmd and hit Enter
type in the convert command and hit Enter, and away she goes, it may ask you to reboot before it can start the conversion

Thank you all!