Modern arrays have many drive bays to store vast amounts of data
The Asus P4P800-Deluxe motherboard was a popular Intel socket 478 product that is still in use today. While its specifications do not match current processing powerhouses, the architecture is still relevant for data farms and media servers. The P4P800-Deluxe's ability to create RAID0, RAID1, and RAID0+1 arrays is especially relevant for its modern applications. For maximum data security, you can use the P4P800-Deluxe to create a RAID1 array that will mirror your stored data across two drives.
Instructions
Create the RAID Driver Floppy Disk
1. Insert the blank, formatted floppy disk into your floppy drive. Launch Windows Explorer. Navigate to the Fastrak "\378RAID" directory on your hard drive.
2. Double-click MakeDisk.exe to launch the RAID disk creator. The Asus File Image Extractor runs. The "Drive" defaults to the A: drive.
3. Click "Extract." The floppy is created. When it is complete, click "Quit."
4. Eject the floppy and label it "Promise RAID driver" for later use.
Attach the Drives and Configure the BIOS
5. Power down the computer. When the computer is off, pull the power cord and wait 15 seconds to make sure all power is off, including standby power.
6. Open your case. Mount the the 2 SATA drives in the open 3.5" hard drive bays. Connect the drives to the 2 SATA ports on the lower end of the motherboard using the SATA data cables. Connect the SATA power cables from your power supply to the hard disks. Close the case.
7. Enter the BIOS. Reattach the power cable and press the power button on the computer. Wait 2 seconds and press the "Delete" key to enter the BIOS setup.
8. Enable Promise RAID in BIOS. Navigate to "Advanced" then down to "Onboard Devices Configuration" and press "Enter." Set the Onboard Promise Controller to "Enabled" and the Operating Mode to "RAID." Hit F10 to save and exit the BIOS settings. Press "Enter" to confirm. The PC will reboot.
Create the Array
9. While the computer is rebooting, it will ask you to press "CTRL+F" to activate the RAID configuration utility. Press "CTRL+F" as soon as you see the message. The "FastBuild" offline Promise RAID Configuration Utility begins.
10. Use the FastBuild utility to create a RAID array. Press "1" to choose Auto Setup.
11. Press the up arrow to get to the "Optimize Array for" field at the top, and press the spacebar until it says the utility shows "Security." This will create a mirrored array (RAID1).
12. Choose "Create Only." When it is complete, it will respond with the message, "Array has been created." Press "ESC" to reboot the PC again.
Driver installation
13. Boot the system to Windows.
14. If Windows XP does not install the drivers by default, perform the following:
In the Hardware Wizard, choose "Install from a specific location" and click "Next."
Select "Include this location" and ensure any other choices are not selected. In the window, enter "A:"
Insert the Promise RAID driver floppy disk.
Click "Next."
The RAID drivers are installed
Click "Finish."
Skip to the next Section.
15. If Windows XP did install the drivers by default, you must replace them with the Fastrak 378 drivers. Perform the following steps:
Open the Windows Device Manager.
Click the "View" menu and choose "Devices by connection." Expand the "PC" and "PCI bus" items. Find the first "Standard PCI Bridge" or "Intel(R) 82801BA/CA PCI Bridge."
Under the bridge will be a "RAID Controller" or "WinXP Promise FastTrak" device. Right-click the controller device and click "Update Driver." The "Hardware Update Wizard" will launch.
Select "Install from a list or specific location (Advanced)" and click "Next."
Select "Don't search, I will choose the driver to install" and click "Next."
Click "Have Disk"
Insert the Promise RAID driver floppy disk.
Under "Copy manufacturer's files from", choose the "A:" drive. Click "Browse" and navigate to the driver folder. Navigate down the tree into the "378RAID\WinXP" subfolder and select the fasttx2k.INF file. Click "Open" then click "OK." Click "Next." When the drivers are installed, click "Finish."
Reboot the computer.
16. Your 2 SATA drives are now installed and configured as a single drive that will mirror the data for best protection. If one drive fails, the second drive will still contain all the data.
If you used brand-new drives to create your array, your array will not appear in the My Computer window until you partition and format it.
Open the Control Panel and access the Administrative Tools. Select Computer Management and click "Disk Management" to identify the new drive. Now format and partition the drive to your own specifications.
Tags: Promise RAID, floppy disk, Promise RAID driver, click Next Select, Disk Insert