Promise Technology 150TX2 user manual Motherboard Issues, Freeing additional IRQ resources

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Chapter 6: Troubleshooting & Tips

This section is used to assist with troubleshooting conflicts and FastTrak S150 TX2plus installation problems. Also refer to the README.TXT file on the FastTrak S150 TX2plus driver and utility diskette for more recent information as well as the PromiseOnline services listed in Appendix B.

The section is divided into the following categories: Motherboard Issues, System CMOS Issues, Drive Errors, Operating System Errors, and Audio/Video Editing Tips.

Motherboard Issues

Freeing additional IRQ resources

Since the Promise card supports PCI Interrupt sharing, it is possible to use IRQs already assigned to another PCI card. Interrupt Sharing is not supported with onboard IDE controllers. If the onboard IDE controller(s) are not used, you may disable the controllers to free IRQ 14 and/or 15.

Configuring PCI IRQ resources

Setting the IRQ for a particular PCI slot will be different depending on the motherboard BIOS. This setting is usually made in the PCI Configuration and/or Plug and Play (PnP) section of the motherboard BIOS setup. There are three common methods that motherboard BIOS’s handle assignment of IRQs to PCI slots:

Specifically assigning an IRQ to a particular slot - You can tell the motherboard to use IRQ 10 for PCI slot 1, IRQ 11 for PCI slot 2, etc.

Listing which IRQs are available to be assigned to the PCI slots - This BIOS has an option where you specify 1st Available IRQ, 2nd Available IRQ, etc. The BIOS then scans the PCI slots for PCI cards and assigns these IRQs in the order that it finds the PCI cards.

Consult your motherboard manual for information that is specific to your motherboard.

Intermittent data problems

Overclocking the PCI bus may cause the system to hang or data corruption. If you experience either of these problems and you are overclocking the PCI bus, set the PCI bus back to its normal setting to see if this is causing the errors.

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Contents Fasttrak S150 TX2PLUS Trademarks CopyrightImportant Data Protection Information Contents Page FastTrak S150 TX2plus IntroductionPromise Array Management Utility PAM Features Benefits Key Features and BenefitsCompatibility Unpacking Your FastTrak Card InstallationInsert the FastTrak card into an open PCI slot Installing the FastTrak CardInstalling the Hard Drives FastTrak S150 TX2plus card Creating Your Disk Array Creating a Performance Array Creating a Security Array with New Drives Page Creating a Security Array with an Existing Data Drive Seagate S380023AS Installation Creating a Security Array with Quick Initialization Installation Page Viewing FastTrak S150 TX2plus Bios Screen Using FastBuild Configuration UtilityUsing the Main Menu Navigating the FastBuild Setup MenuOptimize Array for Creating Arrays AutomaticallyPerformance Security and Performance SecurityUsing a Hot Spare Drive Creating Multiple Arrays Viewing Drive AssignmentsManually Creating an Array Selecting Stripe Block Selecting Array TypeGigabyte Boundary Creating a Striped Array Assigning Drives to ArrayCreating a Mirrored Array Using New Drives Adding Fault Tolerance to an Existing Drive Drive Model Capacity MB Page How FastTrak S150 TX2plus Orders Arrays Creating a Hot Spare Drive for Mirrored ArraysHow FastTrak S150 TX2plus Saves Array Information Deleting an Array Array Stripe 160048 Rebuilding a Mirrored Array 80024 Page Procedure Number Installing Software DriversWindows XP Installation Confirming Windows XP Driver Installation Existing Windows XP InstallationNew Windows 2000 Installation Confirming Windows 2000 Driver Installation Existing Windows 2000 InstallationNew Windows ME Installation Confirming Windows ME Driver Installation Existing Windows ME InstallationNew Windows NT4.0 Installation Removing Driver from Windows NT4.0 Existing Windows NT4.0 InstallationNew Windows 98 Installation Confirming Windows 98 Driver Installation Existing Windows 98 InstallationPage FastBuild Auto Menu Setup About Adapter BiosAbout FastTrak S150 TX2plus Reserve SectorDisk Array Terms RAID Level Performance Fault Capacity No. Tolerance DrivesDisk Array Description Disk Array MemberStriping RAID About RAID LevelsData Mirror Disk Drives Mirroring RAIDDisk Array Concepts Striping / Mirroring RAID 0+1 Configuring PCI IRQ resources Motherboard IssuesIntermittent data problems Freeing additional IRQ resourcesUsing an Onboard IDE Card with FastTrak S150 TX2plus System Cmos IssuesCritical Array Status Error Reported during Boot Drive-Related ErrorsDrive cannot be formed into an array System Cmos displays C or D drive failure during StartupUnable to Partition or Format Array Cannot Rebuild Mirrored RAID 1 Array Promise Windows driver does not appear in Device Manager Operating System-Related IssuesTroubleshooting & Tips Optimize Array for Performance Performance TipsChange Setting of PCI Bus Utilization Page Pre-Installation Appendix a Frequently Asked QuestionsRAID 1 Mirror RAID 0 StripeRAID 0+1 Stripe + Mirror Drive Issues Page Post-Installation Installation IssuesPage USA Tech Support Center Technical Support ServicesEuropean Tech Support China Office Pacific Rim Sales OfficeDisclaimer of other warranties Limited WarrantyYour Responsibilities Returning Product for Repair