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15189
October 24th, 2006 23:00
How to switch XPS 410 controller back to RAID without reinstalling
Just wanted to share my successful experience switching back to RAID mode on the onboard controller without reinstalling the OS.
Some of you may be aware that if you change the SATA mode from "RAID On" To "Autodetect" or vice versa, your OS will no longer boot because the two modes use different drivers.
So I had installed XP Pro using the non-raid option to get rid of the boot message that slowed down the boot process. Later on I got a matching data drive and wanted to create a RAID 1 mirror.
Here is the process that worked for me to switch back to RAID mode without reinstalling:
1) Get a add-in SATA controller from a friend (even a cheap $20 SATA controller will work)
2) Install add-in controller without changing anything else and boot to XP (do not attach drives to the new controller yet)
3) XP detects new SATA controller and you install drivers so it is accepted (no drives attached yet).
4) Shutdown system and move boot drive over to the add-in SATA controller
5) Power on PC and go into BIOS to change the mode of the onboard controller and make sure the boot device order is now set to use the add-in SATA controller instead of onboard but dont disable the onboard controller
6) Boot into XP with your boot drive still connected to the add-in. XP will now detect the new onboard controller and you can install the drivers for (ie: Intel Matrix Storage Manager or non-raid driver).
7) Once the new drivers are accepted, power the system down and move the boot drive back to the onboard controller.
8) Remove the add-in card
9) Power on, go back into BIOS and set the onboard to be the boot controller again.
10) Now you can boot from the onboard controller and since XP already has the driver installed for the new onboard controller mode, it will work fine. At this point, since drivers for both onboard controller modes are installed, you can switch back and forth without any other changes. (Keep in mind if you still have RAID volumes created and you try to switch to the other option, the "autodetect" may turn RAID mode on)
-David
Some of you may be aware that if you change the SATA mode from "RAID On" To "Autodetect" or vice versa, your OS will no longer boot because the two modes use different drivers.
So I had installed XP Pro using the non-raid option to get rid of the boot message that slowed down the boot process. Later on I got a matching data drive and wanted to create a RAID 1 mirror.
Here is the process that worked for me to switch back to RAID mode without reinstalling:
1) Get a add-in SATA controller from a friend (even a cheap $20 SATA controller will work)
2) Install add-in controller without changing anything else and boot to XP (do not attach drives to the new controller yet)
3) XP detects new SATA controller and you install drivers so it is accepted (no drives attached yet).
4) Shutdown system and move boot drive over to the add-in SATA controller
5) Power on PC and go into BIOS to change the mode of the onboard controller and make sure the boot device order is now set to use the add-in SATA controller instead of onboard but dont disable the onboard controller
6) Boot into XP with your boot drive still connected to the add-in. XP will now detect the new onboard controller and you can install the drivers for (ie: Intel Matrix Storage Manager or non-raid driver).
7) Once the new drivers are accepted, power the system down and move the boot drive back to the onboard controller.
8) Remove the add-in card
9) Power on, go back into BIOS and set the onboard to be the boot controller again.
10) Now you can boot from the onboard controller and since XP already has the driver installed for the new onboard controller mode, it will work fine. At this point, since drivers for both onboard controller modes are installed, you can switch back and forth without any other changes. (Keep in mind if you still have RAID volumes created and you try to switch to the other option, the "autodetect" may turn RAID mode on)
-David
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Cystum
69 Posts
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October 24th, 2006 23:00
Cystum
69 Posts
0
October 24th, 2006 23:00
Did you know that XPS 410 comes with a Raid Controller? why would you want to add one to your current system?
Cystum
69 Posts
0
October 25th, 2006 01:00
dwlovell
196 Posts
0
October 25th, 2006 01:00
-David
Cystum
69 Posts
0
October 25th, 2006 02:00
Message Edited by Cystum on 10-24-2006 10:09 PM
dwlovell
196 Posts
0
October 25th, 2006 03:00
1) You *can* create a mirror from an existing drive using the Intel Matrix Storage Manager in Windows. It has an option on the Actions menu that says "Create RAID Volume from Existing Hard Drive". This will allow you to create a RAID array without losing the data on your drive.
2) If you have no arrays defined and you change you BIOS option from "RAID On" to "Autodetect" and then try to reboot your system, you will get a blue screen. It wont hurt your data, you just have to switch it back in BIOS. The procedure I gave allows you to save your current installation while switching the BIOS option if you choose.
-David