Performance Tips - Promise Technology FastTrak SX4100 User Manual

FastTrak SX4100 User Manual
For Windows 2000, XP and 2003 Server, Promise recommends a clean
install of the Operating System. This action restores the MBR and OS boot
record. This requires repartitioning and formatting the drive.
Promise Windows driver does not appear in Device Manager
Windows may already be listing the controller under Other Devices instead
of the Hard disk controllers section. In Device Manager under Other Devices
to see if it lists a PCI Card or RAID Controller. If so, highlight this listing and
click on the Properties button then click on the Driver tab.
Depending on your version of Windows, choose either Change Driver or
Update Driver. Follow the on-screen prompts to complete installation of the
driver. If Windows asks if you want to test if the device can be removed
safely, click on CANCEL. Reboot the system to complete installation of the
driver.
"Inaccessible Boot Device" message appears during floppyless installation
of Windows
You did not press the F6 key at the appropriate time. Reboot the system, and
press the F6 key when the message Press F6 if you need to install third
party SCSI or RAID driver? appears.
"No Hard Drives Found" message appears during CD-ROM installation of
Windows
You did not press the F6 key at the appropriate time. Reboot the system,
and press the F6 key when the message Press F6 if you need to install third
party SCSI or RAID driver appears.

Performance Tips

Here are some tips that may optimize performance in a RAID 0 striped array.
If you are using an audio/video-editing card, we also recommend reviewing
your card?s documentation for additional information.
Use a FastTrak array as D: or other non-bootable drive in a Striped Array
For Audio/Video editing, keep the original system boot drive on the standard
IDE controller as C: drive. Partitioning software such as FDISK will see the
array as one physical drive, D: or later. This will prevent file fragmentation
and provide better accessibility to the array.
Re-Configure PCI Latency Setting
The PCI Latency setting appears in some Motherboard BIOS. The setting
governs how much time is allocated to service each PCI slot. Promise
recommends a value of 64. An optimal value will vary from system to
system.
50