Win XP doesn't like RAID

[Guest]

After assembling my new computer with 2 SATA drives, and after much
difficulty in installing XP to the RAID drive, I thought I had succeded.
In addition to the RAID drives I also had installed an IDE drive from my
previous computer that I used for data in order to have access. After
transferring the data, I removed the IDE drive and discovered that XP
installed it's boot data to that drive instead of the RAID drive. When
booting, I got a boot error "NTLDR not found"

After attempting to repair windows through with the repair console
unsuccessfully, I thought I would just clear it and repartition and make a
fresh install. After XP completed it's install, on the reboot it will get to
the Loading Windows screen, think about it for awhile, then reboot itself and
repeat the same thing.
Tried loading in safe mode, it would scroll through several files, hang and
then reboot.

I figure combining SATA with RAID is more than XP can handle.

If you've found the solution, please let me in on it.

 

[Bob I]

So did you hit F6 and supply the RAID drivers as requested during the
attempt to install to the RAID drive?

 

[frodo]

it should work fine, if you do it right (no offense).

First, install XP w/ JUST the 2 SATA drives installed; leave out any other
HD's/ZIPs/etc, and have only the one Optical Drive that you're installing
from (on its final interface - don't move it after). Once XP is up and
going well install the other drives one by one on the remaining
interfaces. They should be detected and assigned drive letters just fine.

Be sure the raid array is enabled and created properly, using the bios.
Then boot from the XP CD [set bios to boot first from the CD; afterwards
you can set it back].

When XP setup starts, press F6 at the prompt for "Additional SCSI or RAID
drivers on Floppy", and have the floppy handy. It will APPEAR to ignore
the keypress, but after a bit it will finally ask for the floppy. You may
need to select more than one driver, in turn; check your mobo docs
(nForce uses 2). Once this is done you should get to the screen where it
asks which volume to install to. The only one should be your raid array.

It'll ask you to make a partition on that volume; make one. THEN DELETE
IT, AND MAKE IT AGAIN. This is to get around a small bug where that
partition may not be named C: by XP when all is said and done. It also
ensures that the MBR is of XP's making, and not one left over.

Then proceed w/ setup as normal, it should work fine.

The last step is to set the bios to boot from the raid array first, not
from the IDE HDs. Then add in your other drives one by one.