SUPER MICRO Computer H8QM8-2 Using the nVidia RAID Utility, Installing the OS and Drivers

Chapter 2: Installation

2.Use the arrow keys to move to Advanced > Floppy/IDE/SATA Configuration > nVidia RAID Setup and press the <Enter> key. Once in the submenu, enable the "nVidia RAID Function" setting, which will cause the SATA0/1/2 Primary/Secondary settings to appear. Enable the SATA devices and channels you will be using.

3.Hit the <F10> key to "Save Changes and Exit", then hit <Enter> to verify.

4.After exiting the BIOS Setup Utility, the system will reboot. When prompted during the startup, press the <F10> key when prompted to run the nVidia RAID Utility program.

Using the nVidia RAID Utility

The nVidia RAID Utility program is where you can define the drives you want to include in the RAID array and the mode and type of RAID. Two main windows are shown in the utility (see Figure 2-5). The "Free Disks" window on the left will list all available drives. Use the arrow keys to select and move drives to the window on the right, which lists all drives that are to become part of the RAID array.

Once you have finished selecting the drives and type of RAID you wish to use for your RAID array, press the <F7> key. You will be prompted to verify your choice; if you want to continue with your choices, select "Yes". Note that selecting "Yes" will clear all previous data from the drives you selected to be a part of the array. You are then given the choice of making the RAID array bootable by pressing the the <B> key. After you have finshed, press the <Ctrl> and <X> keys simultaneously. Figure 2-6 shows a list of arrays that have been set up with the utility.

Installing the OS and Drivers

With the Windows OS installation CD in the CD-ROM drive, restart the system. When you see the prompt, hit the <F6> key to enter Windows setup. Eventually a blue screen will appear with a message that begins "Windows could not determine the type of one or more storage devices . . ." When you see the screen, hit the <S> key to "Specify Additional Device", then insert the driver diskette you just created into the floppy drive. Highlight "Manufuacturer Supplied Hardware Support Disk" and hit the <Enter> key. Highlight the first "nVidia RAID" driver shown and press the <Enter> key to install it. Soon a similar blue screen will appear again. Again hit the <S> key, then highlight the second item, "nForce Storage Controller" and press the <Enter> key, then <Enter> again to continue with the Windows setup.

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