Installation Issues - Gigabyte Promise RAID Function User Manual

RAID Function
allow the drive(s) to be accessed individually on another controller: mirror (RAID 1),
single drive striped (RAID 0). Multiple drives striped will not work. Also, the control-
ler must address the drives as LBA, not CHS.
Q: If I have a problem with one of the drives on the RAID Function , 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 which might be experienced during use. Errors such as bad sectors
or ECC/CRC failure are best remedied by completely replacing the drive. For this
reason, drives attached to the RAID Function controller should NOT be low level
formatted.
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 would only complicate things. The array should be
fully addressable by your O/S 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 O/S documentation about partitioning larger drives.
Q: What system BIOS CMOS settings do I use for the drives on the RAID
Function controller?
A: None. The drives on the RAID Function controller are supported by the
RAID Function BIOS and/or an O/S drivers, not by your system BIOS.
Q: How do I partition/format my RAID Function array?
A: The RAID Function "fools" the system into thinking that it's dealing with a single
HDD. Therefore, anything that you can do to a single HDD can also be done to a
RAID Function array. You can, and should, use the FDISK and FORMAT utilities to
partition/format the array. You can partition the array however you see fit. You can
format the array with whatever file system you wish.
Installation Issues (Capacity, Booting)
Q: Why are some drives recognized by the RAID Function Array Setup utilities
with only partial capacity?
A: Some hard drive models are shipped with a jumper that reduces the addressable
capacity of the drive to prevent problems with older systems which won't support
larger drives. Consult the documentation accompanying the hard drive to set the
jumper appropriately in order to utilize the full capacity of the drive.
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