Windows XP/RAID 0 Solution

[Bowser]

I posted a question regarding RAID 0 and a Windows XP solution. I would
follow the installation procedure "by the book" and install the correct
drivers at the correct time, but setup would create the partition, and then
tell me it wasn't compatible with XP. The culprit? A USB-connected card
reader. Apparently, the setup program placed it higher on the "food chain"
of mass storage devices, and would not allow me to install on the array. I
unplugged the card reader, and the usual 'format this partition' screen
magically appeared. Yes, I should have known better.

And, as you all know, RAID 0 with a couple of Raptors is the way to go. What
a speed increase!

 

[Matt]

A big Thank You for posting your solution!!! Good luck with the Raptors.

 

[bowser]

Yeah, could be a bug. But in the BIOS, until there's a workable drive, you
can't select the RAID array as a bootable option. It does list the card
reader, though. Honestly, it didn't make sense to me, either. When I said I
should have known better, I meant that when troubleshooting an installation,
you should first remove all the extraneous variables and reduce the system
to essentials. Then add the options in one at a time to isolate the problem.
Had I done this, it would have been pretty clear that the setup routing is
slightly flawed. The good news is that the array is really fast, even if it
did take a little effort.

You are right, though, setup shouldn't have created a paritition and then
refused to use it. And setup didn't identify the card reader as a potential
installation point, either.

Oh, well, back to software installations...

 

[Ken']

How did you install the raid drivers, floppy? There is no other option to
select a different drive other than A?
I had thought that they could be installed using a USB flash drive.
Glad to hear that it was worth the effort speed wise.
Ken'

 

[Bowser]

Yes, I used the floppy, since it's the easiest way to do it. And yes, the
array is very quick, which one again proves the "theory" that the disk
drives are the main performance bottleneck in many systems. I replaced an
80G WD with the 8M cache, and the difference is night and day.