Linux on Dimension 9100 with SATA RAID

I'm not sure what additional issues you may be getting into with a RAID setup, but the ICH6 controller (assuming that's what your 9100 has, same as my 8400) isn't fully supported in Linux kernels <2.6.11.

FWIW, I was able to install Debian (testing/etch) with 2.6.8 kernel on my non-RAID system by changing the bios from "RAID Autodetect/AHCI" to "RAID Autodetect/ATA", but whether or not that will work with RAID, I don't know. Afterwards I installed a newer kernel.

You might want to try one of the more bleeding-edge LiveCD distros, which have the advantage of letting you see just how they're going to work with your hardware before installing. A couple to consider are MEPIS and Kanotix, either of which, when installed to hard drive, gives a more truly Debian-compatible system than does Ubuntu.

It is possible changing first BIOS to "combined" and installing mepis and then upgrading the kernel to 2.6.12 and then resetting the BIOS back.

I did this and it seems to work ok. But you need to get your hands dirty. No out-of-the-box solution

Thank you!
Hm, but my Windows Partition will be lost if I do that I guess?

Thank you,
but I don't think it will work, because Windows is installed on a RAID array. If i set the controller to combined mode, Linux detects the drives as 2 different drives. So I can't install it on the RAID, any suggestions? I don't want to delete my windows system please help!

Linux on DELL Dimension 5150 with Dual SATA drives

Fedora Core 5 supports Intel Matrix (Raid1) with kernel 2.6.15.
smartctl also works with this kernel.
Use "-d ata".