Promise Technology S150 user manual Appendix a FAQs

Appendix A: FAQs

Q:Can I take a drive used in a FastTrak S150 TX4 array and access it directly with a different controller, such as the one integrated on the motherboard?

A:Only Single-drive striped (RAID 0) and Mirrored (RAID 1) array configurations allow the drive(s) to be accessed individually on another controller. Multiple-drive striped (RAID 0) will not work.

Q:If I have a problem with one of the drives on the FastTrak S150 TX4, how can I low-level format it to correct the problem?

A:Do NOT do this. Low-level formatting IDE drives is unnecessary and generally does not correct problems commonly experienced during use.

Errors such as bad sectors or ECC/CRC failure are best remedied by completely replacing the drive. For this reason, do NOT low-level format the drives attached to the FastTrak S150 TX4 controller.

Q:Do I have to install disk management software on my array in order to access the full storage capacity of drives?

A:No! Disk management software will only complicate things. The array should be fully addressable by your OS as it is. Remember that some operating systems have varying limits on the sizes of partitions and logical drives that can be defined. Consult your OS documentation about partitioning larger drives.

Q:What system BIOS setup settings do I use for the drives on the FastTrak S150 TX4 controller?

A:None. The drives on the FastTrak S150 TX4 controller are supported by the FastTrak S150 TX4 BIOS and/or OS drivers, not by your system BIOS.

Q: How do I partition/format my FastTrak S150 TX4 RAID array?

A:The FastTrak S150 TX4 represents the array as a single HDD to your system. Therefore, anything that you can do to a single HDD you can do to a FastTrak S150 TX4 array. For example, you should use the FDISK and FORMAT utilities to partition/format the array. You can partition the array as you see fit. You can format the array with any file system you wish.

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