Silicon Image SiI 3112 SATARaid Controller Driver

[Jrod3]

When I attempt to install the "Silicon Image SiI 3112
SATARaid Controller Driver" form "Microsoft" or "Silicon
Image" the device manager recognizes the driver
(eliminating the question mark)but when asked to reboot --
Windows XP Freezes on start up.

Motherboard -- Asus A7N8X Deluxe, with Silicon Image
3112A conroller

OS -- Windows XP Home Edition

Hard drive -- Maxtor 120 GB SATA 7200

 

[Pete Baker]

Hi

If you are referring to the Microsoft Update that has been releaseed through
the update site then you are probably better off not installing it.

Although it is a general update to the SI SATA controller and should be
compatible with most mainboards, the reality is that some mainboard
manufacturers (and Asus are a particular example) will insist on particular
versions of the Silicon Image Controller. It has to do with how the rest of
the hardware interacts with the BIOS and a simple rule of thumb to follow is
that if you don't have a problem then don't install any update unless it
comes from the mainboard manufacturer.

Hope that helps
Pete

 

[Jrod3]

Pete,

I hear what you are saying but I even tried the driver
from the software that came with the motherboard. I
emailed ASUS but there refering me to the installation
process for windows XP and installing the driver that way.

I need to find a driver to install using windows device
manager there is no way I am going to reinstall windows
unless I have to.

If you have any ideas please let me know?

Thanks
John

 

[Pete Baker]

John

If XP is freezing during reboot your best option would appear to be to
follow the procedure for a Repair Installation and re-introduce the drivers
supplied by Asus from a floppy disk by pressing F6 when prompted during XP
set-up.

See following Knowledge Base article for details. Pay careful attention to
the possible loss of data links in the MS article and read all instructions
carefully. You should follow the 'Boot from XP CD' procedure.

How to Perform an In-Place Upgrade (Reinstallation) of Windows XP
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=KB;EN-US;Q315341

After doing this you may need to re-activate your installation of XP. If it
has been more than 120 days since you last re-activated you should be able
to activate over the internet, otherwise it will require a short phonecall.

After the repair install you will need to re-install any XP service packs
and updates that are not included on your XP Installation CD, but you will
not need to re-install any applications.

Hope that helps
Pete

 

[Jon_Hildrum]

Hook something up to the SATA before installing the drivers.
If you do not have any SATA device then don't install the drivers - leave it
disabled

 

[Guest]

FYI

Solution -- I started from scratch by formating the drive
and installing the "Silicon Image Raid Driver for the
SiI3112A SATA Controller chip" version 10032 from the
silicon image web site.

Procedure -- 1) Boot from either floopy or CD

2)Upon setup press F6 for third party SCSI or driver
installation.

3)Pres "S" when setup asks if you want to specify and
additional device, and insert the driver noted above --
Hit enter.

Note: Thanks for the assistance. Anyone having a similar
problem can email me if the istructions are not clear.
The exact instructions can be found on the read me file
on the driver from silicon image. Good Luck

 

[Pete Baker]

Well I'm glad you resolved your problem. I am familiar with the F6
procedure.

It's probably worth pointing out that a non-RAID SATA drive will *normally*
use the SATALink driver for the Silicon Image controller - but Asus prefers
to do things their own way - I have seen Asus recommend the SATARaid driver
in similar circumstances before.

In your case, I hope the Asus BIOS doesn't have a problem with the driver
from the Silicon Image website.

And, in general, the mainboard manufacturer (even Asus) remains the
recommended source for updates to integrated components.

Pete