A8V - SATA - Non-Raid Setup - Procedure

[John Smith]

In contrast to my last motherboard, it would appear that if you do are not
using a RAID configuation, just a single drive, you need only change the
Onboard Promise Controller Operating Mode from Raid to IDE.

Is that correct?

It appears there is a choice of SATA controller, Promise and VIA 8237. If
so, are there any advantages to using VIA vs Promise in a non-RAID
environment? For example, is installing Windows XP more complicated? Do you
need a special driver for either or both?

What is the purpose of the Onboard SATA Boot rom?

Thank you.

Richard

 

[John Smith]

--

 

[Rila]

In contrast to my last motherboard, it would appear that if you do are not
using a RAID configuation, just a single drive, you need only change the
Onboard Promise Controller Operating Mode from Raid to IDE.

Is that correct?

It appears there is a choice of SATA controller, Promise and VIA 8237. If
so, are there any advantages to using VIA vs Promise in a non-RAID
environment? For example, is installing Windows XP more complicated? Do
you
need a special driver for either or both?

What is the purpose of the Onboard SATA Boot rom?

Thank you.

Richard

Yes, if you are using a single drive on the Promise controller, you need to
change the BIOS to non RAID mode. The Promise controller requires different
drivers for RAID and non-RAID modes, so you need to make sure you press F6
when installing XP or Win 2000 and have the correct driver available on
floppy. The VIA controller uses the same driver for RAID and non-RAID
modes. You need that driver when installing Windows just like you do for
the Promise controller. Monarch says the VIA controller is ot connected to
the PCI bus so is faster. I don't know if that is true. The onboard boot
SATA must be enabled in order to boot from an SATA drive. Disable it to
boot from an IDE drive.