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28252
May 5th, 2012 08:00
xps 8300 ctrl-i does not work
Hi,
Just received a xps 8300. Added a second drive to create raid 1. In BIOS, changed AHCI (?) to RAID. Now at power up, the screen briefly shows the intel raid config screen, but just briefly. I can see that it asks for ctrl-i, but no matter how much I press ctrl-i during the power on process I never am given the opportunity to make changes in the raid config screen. The boot process just continues on as if I hadn't pressed a thing.
It's a wired USB keyboard that seems to work in all other regards. I've tried pressing ctrl-i only when the intel config screen is present. I've tried pressing repeatedly beginning as soon as I press the power switch. I've tried just holding ctrl-i constantly. Nothing.
Any suggestions?
Steve
jackshack
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May 5th, 2012 13:00
Use System Setup (F2 during the Dell screen after starting the computer) to make certain that both hard drives are properly detected. The most obvious reason to have this problem is that the RAID ROM doesn't think you have two eligible hard drives.
What ports are being used for the prospective RAID drives?
EDIT: Must be getting old, and definitely forgetful; if you manage to get the CTRL-i to work, be sure you get an option to make a RAID from an existing drive. Usually you would use the Intel Rapid Storage Technology application commonly found in All Programs to perform this migration. If the Intel RAID ROM doesn't have an option to migrate to RAID from an existing drive you will wind up wiping out your OS and all your data when you create the RAID.
jackshack
6.4K Posts
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May 5th, 2012 14:00
I usually find that it is helpful to tap the CTRL and i keys at the same time, several times, during the RAID status message. Timing can be critical on some computers.
If you continue to get no joy with the Option ROM setup, you might try the Intel Rapid Storage application I mentioned earlier. You should find a drop-down menu having a migration to RAID as one of its options.
One additional note: If you are willing to take a bit more trouble in your setup, you could image your existing system drive, move the two hard drives to the third and fourth ports (SATA 2 and 3), create the RAID on those ports, and restore the image to the new RAID. That would leave your first two ports open for future configurations, such as putting a system drive back on the first port and leaving your RAID available for data only. The optical drive should work well on the second port in this configuration.
jackshack
6.4K Posts
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May 5th, 2012 14:00
It appears you are on your way; good work!
The RAID option ROM is generally used for configuring blank disks, and I seem to recall that the manuals for the older systems contained a caution that use of the option ROM to configure RAID would delete any data contained on the drives.
Best of luck to you!
usersjg
4 Posts
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May 5th, 2012 14:00
Thanks for the suggestion.
Yes, both drives do appear correctly in the BIOS. Additionally, I'm almost certain they both appear in the intel raid config screen. When win 7 does boot, it also shows both drives (of course as two distinct drives).
What ports? sata 0 and 1. (or is it 1 and 2?. I'm definitely using the two lowest numbered ports.
Steve
usersjg
4 Posts
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May 5th, 2012 14:00
Well, all the instructions I've seen on this say to do this bios intel thing first, and only then run the Intel Rapid Storage app you mentioned.
Having said that, I actually started that app just after seeing your first reply. Enough time has passed that I can report that it appears to have worked. The Intel app let me configure the raid and started the migration. Now, when I restart the system I am pretty sure I read "migration" or something similar in the raid status screen that flashes by. Additionally, windows now sees only one of the two drives. All taken together, I think I may have it configured.
Thank you very much!
I wish there were a way to make the raid status screen slow down.
I'm still a bit worried about the keyboard, but I'll deal with that elsewhere. I suspect I can find a keyboard test program somewhere.
Steve
usersjg
4 Posts
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May 5th, 2012 14:00
Also, thanks for the suggested configuration. For me, there are so many vendor supplied tools to download and install that it's worth it to me to protect my system drive as much as my data. The time lost should the single system drive fail is too much to handle.
Steve