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XPS410 2nd HDD
I recently added a 2nd hard drive to my machine. I am running Vista Home Premium. The new disk is online and working. However when it boots before loading the OS the sequence pauses for over a minute at a point where it shows "CTRL-I" Configuration Utility. I have my disks set as non-raid and do not want to change. Is there a way to change the boot up so there is no pause?
Thanks....John
keithg2
935 Posts
1
January 24th, 2009 15:00
No. That's just how the Intel RAID controller functions. You will always see that text to show you the status of your hard drives (RAID or non-RAID) and pause to allow the user to enter the utility to make changes.
Davet50
14.4K Posts
1
January 24th, 2009 15:00
Is this something unique to a 410? I have not heard that before with any raid capabale system. I have added three extra drive to my system and do not see that at bootup.
What is your SATA setting in the bios set to?
50pence
166 Posts
1
January 26th, 2009 13:00
I had a 9200 / XPS410 with two hard drives non-raid and it certainly did not pause for a minute on boot, I think a RAID controller message may have flashed up during boot though that was all.
Air1855
7 Posts
1
January 26th, 2009 13:00
The SATA settings are as follows:
SATA 0 320GB HDD with OS
SATA 1 CD-RW/DVD ROM drive
SATA 2 DVD+/- RW drive
SATA 3 Off
SATA 4 320 GB HDD (new drive)
SATA 5 Off
I used the SATA plug on the board because it was easier to reach, No other reason
John
Davet50
14.4K Posts
1
January 26th, 2009 14:00
Air1855
there should be an overall SATA setting as per HERE See the setting under the Drives secton SATA Operation. With a non raid setup it should be set to Raid autodetect/ATA
50pence
166 Posts
1
January 26th, 2009 14:00
Just noticed the SATA settings posted above, the h/ds should be SATA 0 and 1, the RAID related delay could be because the controller is trying to read a CD-RW/DVD ROM drive so try changing to the following by moving the SATA cable connectors on the mobo and reflect the changes in the setup.
SATA 0 320GB HDD with OS
SATA 1 320 GB HDD (new drive)
SATA 2 CD-RW/DVD ROM drive
SATA 3 DVD+/- RW drive
SATA 4 Off
SATA 5 Off
Air1855
7 Posts
1
January 27th, 2009 11:00
Okay, here is what I have done or tried based on the various suggestions.
I changed the SATA Setup as shown here
SATA 0 320GB HDD with OS
SATA 1 320 GB HDD (new drive)
SATA 2 CD-RW/DVD ROM drive
SATA 3 DVD+/- RW drive
SATA 4 Off
SATA 5 Off
No change in pause
I changed the the Raid Operation to a non raid setup and set it Raid autodetect/ATA. Does Not work. System would not boot, ran through a lengthy problem diagnostic and finally shut down. Had to change back to Raid On.
Tried the Dell Tech support chat and that was a total waste of time. They end up sending me all the setup options. I could tell the person was stumped..
Appreciate everyones help. This phenominan seems to be the nature of the beast.
Davet50
14.4K Posts
1
January 27th, 2009 13:00
Well since it won't boot with the raid autodetect that is why it is showing up. it is trying to set up a raid array. unfortunatly the only way for you to correct this would be to do a complete reinstall.
whtabtxps
24 Posts
1
January 27th, 2009 13:00
whtabt
POST Behavior
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None
50pence
166 Posts
1
January 28th, 2009 01:00
It is hard to beleive that a reinstall is required because the machine was running OK with one h/d so could not have been configured as RAID at the first install.
Click Start > Run then type in compmgmt.msc and click OK, you are in Computer Management (that is for XP, I think Vista is the same) then look under Storage > Disk Managment, does that tell you anything about the disc set up?
Air1855
7 Posts
1
January 28th, 2009 04:00
Using Disk Management does not show anything relating to RAID/NON-RAID setup. It gives you stauts of drives:
Layout - Simple
Type - Basic
File System - NTFS
Status - Healthy ( Primary or System)
Disk Capacity and any partitions.
Davet50
14.4K Posts
1
January 28th, 2009 05:00
The system was not setup as Raid but the SATA option in the bios was set to Raid not Raid autodetect/ATA.
So with one drive it did not try to setup a raid array, with the addition of the second drive the controller has sensed the second drive and now wants to try to create the array.
Why the bios was set this way is unknown. And as the OP has experienced he cannot change the SATA setting as the system will not boot.
So therefore the only recourse is to do a reinstall with the bios set to Raid autodetec/ATA.
No I am not sure if when one presses the CTRL-I what options will pop up. There may be a possibility that one can disable the message from inside the options screen.
Not being a user nor fan of a Raid this is only conjuncture on my part. Perhaps someone who is familur with the settings when pressing the CTRL-I will chime in and list the settings.
Davet50
14.4K Posts
0
January 28th, 2009 06:00
Well we know what the first and second option would do. :emotion-1:
IF you feel a bit gammey, you could make an image of your current drive and try the third option. I would strongly recommend that if you feel like trying the 3rd option.
The way I read the option it will just create a regular volume.
Air1855
7 Posts
1
January 28th, 2009 06:00
The system was set to RAID ON by Dell when shipped.
When you press CTRL-I you have 3 optiions:
Create RAID Volume
Delete RAID Volume
Create Non-RAID Volume
or Exit
No way to hide message
50pence
166 Posts
0
January 28th, 2009 15:00
I Ordered a 9200/410 about 18 months ago, I specified 2 x 250GB h/d's non RAID and it came as such, why they set the BIOS to RAID when building a single h/d machine I really dont know.
Now I would have thought that with a single h/d the system would have tried to build a RAID array though would not have been able to do so because of the absence of the second drive so the Windows install should be as per non RAID and that it should boot with the BIOS switched to RAID off - though I cant answer how.
I reckon I would give Dell a hard time for building the machine with RAID on and single h/d thus making the perfectly normal installation of a 2nd h/d (probably) impossible without an OS reinstall.