Disable RAID to utilize two separate drives

Question

(originally posted in BIOS forum) I am trying to disable the RAID configuration on my new 9100 and have not been able to figure out how to do so.  I added a WD Raptor 36GB (SATA1) and installed XP Pro on it and would like to use this as my boot drive.  The factory installed 160GB (SATA0) drive (which had XP Media Center installed) is going to be a separate (Non-RAID) drive used for storage of.  The problem I am having is that I can't seem to operate these as separate drives.  I have changed settings in the BIOS numerous times and tried a number of different configurations, all to no avail.  If I disconnect the 160GB drive, I get an error message (NTDLR missing) when I try to boot from the WD.  If I disconnect the 36gb drive, I can boot just fine to XP media center.  If I have both drives connected, I can boot to either Pro or Media center.  I would like to format the 160gb drive and remove all data on it, but I can't boot without it being connected, and can't format with it connected.  I'm pretty sure this system is running in RAID mode, and that this is what is causing these problems.  I have tried to enter the utility to disable RAID by pressing CTRL+I when the Dell flash screen comes up during POST, but all I get is a beep and then the system continues to load.  Does anybody out there have any ideas or advice? Appreciate any help!   Theinkman

Theinkman · Answer

When I disconnect the SATA0 drive and reboot, I get an error message stating:

"Drive 0 not found: Serial ATA, SATA0 Press F1 to continue, F2 to run setup. When I pressed F1, same error message. When I press F2, I went into the BIOS and changed SATA Operation from "Combiation" to RAID Autodetect/AHCI. Still am not able to boot up without SATA0 drive connected. Now I get an error message stating "NTLDR is missing, Press CTRL,ALT, DELETE to restart. Doing so just keeps bringing up the same error message. Once I connect it (SATA0), the I have the option to boot to either drive. For some reason, the SATA0 drive has to be connected for the system to recognize the SATA1 drive. I don't know where to go from here, but I believe the problem stems from my system being setup in a RAID configuration and I don't know how to change it.

Message Edited by Theinkman on 10-19-2005 10:00 AM

ejn63 · Answer

The boot sector is still on the RAID array. The cleanest way to do this is to disconnect all but the Raptor drive, load Windows, and then set up the other drives when you're done.

RoHe · Answer

Guess you have to put new drive on SATA0, disconnect the old one, and do a reformat and install of XPpro on the new drive from scratch. When that's up and running then you can connect the old drive to SATA1 and reformat it.

Just make sure you backup your files and you have all the latest drivers (including chipset) and desktop software for your system downloaded and ready to be installed.

Ron

RoHe · Answer

You need to reverse the drive connections so the new one is on SATA0 and the old one is on SATA1. It won't boot if nothing is connected to SATA0. Basically, do what ejn63 told you.

Ron

Message Edited by RoHe on 10-19-2005 10:08 AM

Theinkman · Answer

Ron-when I switch the SATA0 cable to the SATA1 drive and vice versa, I get the following message during boot:

"NTLDR is missing, Press CTRL, ALT, DELETE to restart"

Of course, doing this just brings me back to the same error message. I am unable to boot to either hard drive unless the SATA0 hard drive is connected to the SATA0 hookup on the board. Any other configuration will not allow to boot up. The system does not recognize the new drive as a possible boot drive, and when it does not find the old drive, the boot process stops. How do I get the system to recognize these as two separate drives. It seems to me right now it only sees the two together as one drive. Help!

Theinkman · Answer

Ron-that is exactly what I tried to do when I installed xp. I disconnected SATA0, connected the new drive to the SATA0 port, and began to install. I immediately got a message stating that xp could not find a bootable hard drive. I had to reconnect the SATA0 drive to the SATA0 port in order to install xp on the new drive. For some reason, the system does not recognize the new drive as being bootable.

Also, I contacted Intel and asked if I needed to install the Intel Matrix Storage Manager Utility if I were not going to be using a RAID configuration. They told me that, no, I did not need to install this utility if I weren't planning on creating a RAID. They did say I needed to disable RAID in the BIOS before installing the new o/s. This I have not been able to do.

One other thing-after I installed and formatted the new drive, I went into BIOS setup to designate that as a bootable drive. But there was no option available to do so. The only options available (other than floppy and CD-ROM) were SATA hard drive (not 2 different drives, only one) and IDE hard drive. So maybe I should have realized that setup would not see the new drive as bootable. But I still don't know how to change it.

Message Edited by Theinkman on 10-19-2005 01:08 PM

Message Edited by Theinkman on 10-19-2005 01:24 PM

RoHe · Answer

The message there was no bootable drive when the new one was connected to SATA0 sounds like your original install was faulty. When you did that install, did you set BIOS so CD drive was the first in the boot sequence? If you didn't that's why you got that error. If it looked for a bootable XP CD you shouldn't have gotten that message.

I think you need to start over from the very beginning. Connect the new drive to SATA0. Go into BIOS and set CD to be first in the boot sequence. Put the XP CD in drive and close it. Exit BIOS and allow it to reboot to start the install again. It should immediately find the XP CD and start the sequence.

Search Dell's knowledge base. There are useful articles on how to install XP on a new HD that will guide you through this step-by-step.

Ron

Message Edited by RoHe on 10-19-2005 01:03 PM

Theinkman · Answer

This is something I have been trying to find out since I first started this post-how do I turn off RAID in the setup program?  Can you tell me?

Theinkman · Answer

Ron-the original install of Windows Media Center was done by Dell-I have only had the computer for about a week and a half. And yes, I did set up the CD as the first boot device in the BIOS before I installed Pro. I did connect the new drive to SATA0, and disconnected the old drive during the install. Do you know why the new drive does not show up in the BIOS as a bootable drive?

Also wanted to add that I found something in the Knowledge Base concerning disabling a RAID configuration on a Dim 8400. This article advised to go into BIOS, and under SATA OPERATIONS, change the setting to RAID AUTODETECT/ATA rather than the default which is RAID AUTODETECT/AHCI. But Intel says some functionality of SATA will be lost by not operating in AHCI mode.

Message Edited by Theinkman on 10-19-2005 03:17 PM

Message Edited by Theinkman on 10-19-2005 03:20 PM

RoHe · Answer

Bev,
I don't think that's the problem. It's a new drive so the master file table shouldn't be so fragmented that it won't work. I think the install just failed because BIOS looked at SATA0 first, which wasn't bootable, instead of finding and booting from the XP CD.

But what the heck do I know..?

Ron

ronss · Answer

the factory installed drive ,sata 0,, is the drive that has your operating system on it from dell.. when you added the new drive, that is not the drive that windows is looking for to boot the operating system. you cannot have 2 operating systems on 2 drives at the same time. the ntldr is part of the operating systems boot record , which would be on your sata 0 drive.. if you want to use the 2 drives.. format the sata 0 drive, that will get rid of dells operating sytem. unhook it from the mother board and disconnect the power, install the wd drive,, partition , format and install operating system.  if you get this done and the computer will boot,,, also, in your setup program, make sure the raid is off.. also, make your fist boot device the wd drive...after this , install the 160gb drive, your computer should recognize it on boot.

shesagordie · Answer

Theinkman.   Check out the following about the 'NTLDR is missing, Press CTRL,ALT, DELETE to restart' error message.     http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?kbid=320397   Bev.

shesagordie · Answer

Theinkman

The only way I know to break an array is the following.

Boot the system, press CTRL+ i when indicated to go into the RAID BIOS setup, and set the drives to a non-RAID configuration.
Then if you have RAID 1, you should have 2 hard drives that are exactly the same. For a RAID 0 you would loose all data on the two drives.

Bev.

Message Edited by shesagordie on 10-19-2005 05:28 PM

Theinkman · Answer

Ron-in my BIOS under SATA OPERATIONS, I have the following options:   Raid Autodetect/AHCI Raid Autodetect/ATA Raid On Combination SATA/PATA   The only one that looks to me like it would turn RAID off is the last one.  In this combination mode, the new drive SATA1 is not found.  My head is spinning!

Theinkman · Answer

Bev-when I boot up, I am given no option to enter into the RAID BIOS.  I have tried CTRL + I at numerous stages during the boot process with no results other than a beep.  Is there a specific  point at which I should press CTRL + I?

Storage, Drives & Media

Disable RAID to utilize two separate drives

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