SUPER MICRO Computer X6DHE-G2 Appendix B Installing Software Drivers and Windows Operating System

Appendix B: Software Installation Instructions

Appendix B

Installing Software Drivers and Windows

Operating System

After all the hardware has been installed, you must first configure the

Adaptec Embedded Serial ATA RAID Driver before you install the Windows

operating system. The necessary drivers are all included on the Supermicro

bootable CDs that came packaged with your motherboard. (*The following section provides information on Adaptec's SATA RAID Driver based on the Intel ICH5R Controller. For detailed information on Adaptec's SCSI SATA HostRAID Utility, please refer to the CDs included in the shipping package)

B-1 Introduction to the Adaptec Embedded Serial ATA RAID Controller Driver

Serial ATA (SATA)

Serial ATA(SATA) is a physical storage interface. It uses a single cable with

aminimum of four wires to create a point-to-point connection between devices. It is a serial link which supports SATA Transfer rates from 150MBps. Because the serial cables used in SATA are thinner than the

traditional cables used in Parallel ATA(PATA), SATA systems have better airflow and can be installed in smaller chassis than Parallel ATA. In addition, the cables used in PATA can only extend to 40cm long, while Serial ATA cables can extend up to one meter. Overall, Serial ATA provides better functionality than Parallel ATA.

Introduction to the Intel ICH5R I/O Controller Hub

Located in the South Bridge of the Intel E7520 (Lindenhurst)Chipset, the ICH5R I/O Controller Hub provides the I/O subsystem with access to the rest of the system. It supports 2-channel Ultra ATA/100 Bus Master IDE controller (PATA) and two Serial ATA (SATA) Host Controllers, which support up to two Serial ATA ports and up to two RAID drives. The ICH5R I/O Controller Hub supports the following Parallel ATA (PATA) and Serial (SATA) device configu- rations:

B-1