Installation Issues - Western Digital WD Serial ATA RAID Controller User Manual

WD SERIAL ATA RAID CONTROLLER
USER MANUAL
Q: If I have a problem with one of the drives on the WD SATA RAID
Controller, how can I low-level format it to correct the problem?
A: Do NOT do this. Low-level formatting 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 WD SATA RAID
Controller.
Q: Do I have to install disk management software on my array 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 WD SATA
RAID Controller?
A: None. The drives on the WD SATA RAID Controller are supported by the WD SATA
RAID Controller BIOS and/or OS drivers, not by your system BIOS.
Q: How do I partition/format my WD SATA RAID Controller RAID array?
A: The WD SATA RAID Controller represents the array as a single hard drive to your system.
Therefore, anything that you can do to a single hard drive you can do to a WD SATA RAID
Controller 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.

Installation Issues

(Capacity, Booting)
Q: Why are some drives recognized by the WD SATA RAID Controller Array
Setup utilities with only partial capacity?
A: Some hard drives ship with a jumper that reduces the addressable capacity of the drive to
prevent problems with older systems that don't support larger drives. Consult your hard drive
documentation to set the jumper so that you can use the full capacity of the drive.
Q: How can I change the system boot sequence to boot from the WD SATA
RAID Controller array?
A: The boot sequence is controlled by the system BIOS. As far as the system BIOS is
concerned, the WD SATA RAID Controller and defined arrays are categorized as a SCSI
device. This allows you to set the boot sequence in your BIOS setup utility to boot from SCSI
first, rather than IDE.
If there are multiple SCSI add-in controllers in the system, then the boot sequence among
them will be determined exclusively by their PCI slot priority. PCI slot #1 will be first, slot #2
second, etc. Put the WD SATA RAID Controller in the PCI slot where it will be accessed
ahead of other SCSI controllers if you want to boot from the array.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS - 32