W2K Server & 400GB Seagate Hard Drives

[Lawrence E. Oliver]

I have had this W2K Server disk for about 3 or 4 years since it was given to
me as a prize. I decided to install it on a new box that has just been built
around an Intel D945Pvs motherboard with an Intel D940 processor.

I have just installed the W2K Server on a Western Digital Raptor 74GB HD. It
runs well and has been updated to SP4 and the Rollup for SP4. It also has
the 48-bit LBA registry entry.

Problem: The system will not recognize my Seagate ST3400633AS 400GB hard
drives - either fresh/unformatted or formatted to NTFS on an XP (x64)
system. The formatted one is recognized in "My Computer" with 0 for a size
and it can not be handeled in any way (opened, explored, formatted, etc) -
neither the formatted one or the fresh/unformatted one can be seen in the
"Computer Management > Disk Manager".

Am not sure why not and also not sure where to go from here.

Larry

 

[DL]

What does the mobo manual say about installing a Sata hd,
Does it require drivers loaded from Floppy via F6 during the repair/or
Install of Win?
Are there any bios specfic settings to use?
Does the sata bios have to be configured in a specific way when using a
single sata hd?

 

[Lawrence E. Oliver]

(1) Yes. The system is set up using F6 as raid capable - this loaded the
drivers for the SATA drives - the Raptor is on SATA slot 0. The other is on
SATA slot 1 at the moment - eventually there will be a Raid 1 setup using
two raptors for OS (on mobo), two ST3400633AS for Network Data (on mobo) &
two ST3400633AS for Network Backup (on additional controller card). The
server will be used as a file server & a print server.

(2) Yes. The bios is set to use SATA Raid. That is the only setting - the
bios recognizes that more than one SATA HD is attached. It's just the OS
that doesn't see it or work with it.

(3) No.

I have now been able to setup the first formatted 400GB HD by attaching it
to a controller card, but, not when attaching it to the mobo.

Larry

 

[DL]

I would have suggested the sata cable, but as its working on the card.......
Did you partition/format on this sys?

Are you able to enter the raid bios on post?
Does it identify the drives on the correct ports, though since its now on a
card you would have to reconnect to the mobo - I noticed Intel stated that
on occasions the incorrect port may be identified

 

[Lawrence E. Oliver]

(1) I partioned/formatted one on this system (on the additional card) and
one on another system (XP X64) - both are recognized by the system when
connected to the mobo, they just can't be used.

(2) I am able to enter the raid bios on post - both the mobo raid (when two
drives are connected to the mobo) & the raid bios on the card when two
drives are connected to the additional card.

(3) the drives are shown on the correct port - both the mobo & the
additional card - this was when I had it on the mobo before I connected the
HDs to the additional card.

Latest 1: With all three of the drives in - the raptor/OS on port 0 of the
mobo, one of the Seagate 400GB's on port 1 of the mobo & the other of the
Seagate 400GB's on the additional card, the system accepts all of them and
shows them on the right ports (both mobo & additional card). Everything
loaded (very slowly - it took a long time to proceed from the 'Starting Up'
screen). However, the Seagate attached to the mobo still can't be used and
still does not show up in the 'Computer Management > Disk Management'.

Latest 2: With all three drive in - the raptor/OS on port 0 of the mobo, one
of the Seagate 400GB's on port 0 of the card & the other of the Seagate
400GB's on port 1 of the card, the system accepts all of them and shows them
on the right ports (both mobo & additional card). Everything loaded (very
slowly) up to the point of the 'Starting Up' screen and then it would not
proceed beyond that.

Additional comment: The system will work with the raptor on the mobo (port
0) and either one (but not both) of the Seagate 400GB's attached to the card
(port 0).
The additional card is the Creative I/O
SATA Raid Controller Card - this used the VIA VT6421 chip.

Larry

 

[DL]

Well you would seem to have covered all possibilities;
If with a drive connected to the card the sys operates correctly, and only
falls over when connected to the mobo port, either it might tend to suggest
a problem with the mobo or an incompatibility issue with the drive/mobo.
At this stage I would suggest Intel/WD tech for their thoughts.

 

[Lawrence E. Oliver]

Thanks DL for sticking with me. I'm working on Intel/WD/Seagate now.

Larry

 

[DL]

Do let us know

Thanks DL for sticking with me. I'm working on Intel/WD/Seagate now.

Larry