Creating GPT RAID volume in Windows XP Pro x64

I bought a Syba SATA II NCQ Host Controller Card with RAID support and four
Western Digital 1 TB (actually 931 GB - liars!) hard drives. I created a
RAID array according to the controller's instructions. I am unable to get
Windows XP Pro x64 to initialize the RAID array.

My hardware:
Tyan Thunder K8WE 2895 system board
Two AMD Opteron 248 2.2 GHz processors
ATI Radeon x600 graphics card
Syba SATA II NCQ Host Controller Card
Dual IDE controller card (slated for retirement)
Multiple hard drives, two optical drives

The system recognized the Syba card when inserted in any of the four PCI
slots (three PCI-X and one PCI 32 bit.) However, the card's POST utility
found the attached hard drives only when the card was installed in slot 2
(the PCI 32 bit slot) and didn't find the drives when the card was inserted
in any of the three PCI-X slots. I didn't try to troubleshoot this further
when the card appeared to work as desired in slot 2. The card's installation
instructions do not specify what type of PCI slot is required for
compatibility.

I followed the controller's instructions to create the RAID array using its
POST utility. The POST utility recognizes the four drives and creates a
2,794 GB RAID array. Windows boots and sees the array. Because Windows can't
initialize an MFS volume greater than 2 TB, my only option to initialize
this drive is to use the GUID partition table (GPT) partition style. The
FAQs I found at http://www.microsoft.com/whdc/device...e/GPT_FAQ.mspx
and http://support.microsoft.com/kb/302873/en-us don't give installation or
troubleshooting instructions. As far as I can tell, I'm doing what I should,
but Windows isn't cooperating.

In Windows' Disk Management console, I see the drive array. It reads:

Disk 5
Unknown
2794.53 GB
Not initialized

When I right-click it and select "Initialize Disk," I randomly get one of
the following two outcomes:

1) Sometimes the partition is split into two, the first being 2048.00 GB
(Unallocated) and the second 746.53 GB (Unallocated.) I can then create a
new volume in the first (2048.00 GB) partition, but it never finishes
initializing (the hourglass never ends.) I quit and restart the Disk
Management console. I go to format the partition and get an error message
that reads, "The operation was canceled due to an internal error."

2) Sometimes I get an error that reads, "The operation did not complete.
Check the System Event Log for more information on the error." When I look
in the System Event Log, I see that no error has been logged.

Regardless, I am unable to initialize my GPT volume. I am not using this
volume as my system disk. I have a dedicated single drive for that function.
I am successfully booting to that disk. This is a data drive. I have tried
Google. Searching for "GPT RAID Windows XP Pro x64" didn't provide me the
answers I sought.

Questions:
1) Does Windows XP Pro x64 support GPT volumes with Opteron processors?
2) Are there instructions for how to get my RAID array to work in Windows XP
Pro x64?
3) Could the PCI slot I'm using have something to do with the problem I'm
experiencing?
4) Do I have to change something in my system's BIOS?
5) Am I missing something else that's relevant?

Hagop wrote:

>I bought a Syba SATA II NCQ Host Controller Card with RAID support and four
>Western Digital 1 TB (actually 931 GB - liars!) hard drives. I created a
>RAID array according to the controller's instructions. I am unable to get
>Windows XP Pro x64 to initialize the RAID array.
>
>My hardware:
>Tyan Thunder K8WE 2895 system board
>Two AMD Opteron 248 2.2 GHz processors
>ATI Radeon x600 graphics card
>Syba SATA II NCQ Host Controller Card
>Dual IDE controller card (slated for retirement)
>Multiple hard drives, two optical drives
>
>The system recognized the Syba card when inserted in any of the four PCI
>slots (three PCI-X and one PCI 32 bit.) However, the card's POST utility
>found the attached hard drives only when the card was installed in slot 2
>(the PCI 32 bit slot) and didn't find the drives when the card was inserted
>in any of the three PCI-X slots. I didn't try to troubleshoot this further
>when the card appeared to work as desired in slot 2. The card's
>installation
>instructions do not specify what type of PCI slot is required for
>compatibility.
>
>I followed the controller's instructions to create the RAID array using its
>POST utility. The POST utility recognizes the four drives and creates a
>2,794 GB RAID array. Windows boots and sees the array. Because Windows
>can't
>initialize an MFS volume greater than 2 TB, my only option to initialize
>this drive is to use the GUID partition table (GPT) partition style. The
>FAQs I found at http://www.microsoft.com/whdc/device...e/GPT_FAQ.mspx
>and http://support.microsoft.com/kb/302873/en-us don't give installation or
>troubleshooting instructions. As far as I can tell, I'm doing what I
>should,
>but Windows isn't cooperating.
>
>In Windows' Disk Management console, I see the drive array. It reads:
>
>Disk 5
>Unknown
>2794.53 GB
>Not initialized
>
>When I right-click it and select "Initialize Disk," I randomly get one of
>the following two outcomes:
>
>1) Sometimes the partition is split into two, the first being 2048.00 GB
>(Unallocated) and the second 746.53 GB (Unallocated.) I can then create a
>new volume in the first (2048.00 GB) partition, but it never finishes
>initializing (the hourglass never ends.) I quit and restart the Disk
>Management console. I go to format the partition and get an error message
>that reads, "The operation was canceled due to an internal error."
>
>2) Sometimes I get an error that reads, "The operation did not complete.
>Check the System Event Log for more information on the error." When I look
>in the System Event Log, I see that no error has been logged.
>
>Regardless, I am unable to initialize my GPT volume. I am not using this
>volume as my system disk. I have a dedicated single drive for that
>function.
>I am successfully booting to that disk. This is a data drive. I have tried
>Google. Searching for "GPT RAID Windows XP Pro x64" didn't provide me the
>answers I sought.
>
>Questions:
>1) Does Windows XP Pro x64 support GPT volumes with Opteron processors?

http://www.microsoft.com/whdc/device...PT-on-x64.mspx


>2) Are there instructions for how to get my RAID array to work in Windows
>XP
>Pro x64?

Well, if it's showing up in Disk Management, then that's "working".

>3) Could the PCI slot I'm using have something to do with the problem I'm
>experiencing?
>4) Do I have to change something in my system's BIOS?
>5) Am I missing something else that's relevant?

Are you using the latest SIL BIOS/Firmware and Drivers?

http://www.siliconimage.com/support/...s=1&sataraid=0

AFAICT, you want driver v1.5.15.0 and the associated BIOS and Utilities
(links given against that driver).

--
Steve Foster [SBS MVP]
---------------------------------------
MVPs do not work for Microsoft. Please reply only to the newsgroups.

The link you provided was for the SiI3114 card. I'm using a SiI3124 card. The
latest drivers for the SiI3124 are version 1.5.11, which I am using.

http://www.siliconimage.com/support/...ctid=2&osid=8&

In Device Manager:
- SCSI and RAID controllers
Silicon Image SiI 3124 SoftRaid 5 Controller
Flash BIOS tab:
BIOS Version 6.3.18 (I've tried both 6.3.18 and 6.4.09)
Driver tab:
Si3124r5.sys file version 1.5.11.0
SiWinAcc.sys file version 1.0.0.11
SilSupp.cpl file version 1.0.11.0

Any other thoughts?

"Steve Foster [SBS MVP]" wrote:

> Hagop wrote:
>
> >I bought a Syba SATA II NCQ Host Controller Card with RAID support and four
> >Western Digital 1 TB (actually 931 GB - liars!) hard drives. I created a
> >RAID array according to the controller's instructions. I am unable to get
> >Windows XP Pro x64 to initialize the RAID array.
> >
> >My hardware:
> >Tyan Thunder K8WE 2895 system board
> >Two AMD Opteron 248 2.2 GHz processors
> >ATI Radeon x600 graphics card
> >Syba SATA II NCQ Host Controller Card
> >Dual IDE controller card (slated for retirement)
> >Multiple hard drives, two optical drives
> >
> >The system recognized the Syba card when inserted in any of the four PCI
> >slots (three PCI-X and one PCI 32 bit.) However, the card's POST utility
> >found the attached hard drives only when the card was installed in slot 2
> >(the PCI 32 bit slot) and didn't find the drives when the card was inserted
> >in any of the three PCI-X slots. I didn't try to troubleshoot this further
> >when the card appeared to work as desired in slot 2. The card's
> >installation
> >instructions do not specify what type of PCI slot is required for
> >compatibility.
> >
> >I followed the controller's instructions to create the RAID array using its
> >POST utility. The POST utility recognizes the four drives and creates a
> >2,794 GB RAID array. Windows boots and sees the array. Because Windows
> >can't
> >initialize an MFS volume greater than 2 TB, my only option to initialize
> >this drive is to use the GUID partition table (GPT) partition style. The
> >FAQs I found at http://www.microsoft.com/whdc/device...e/GPT_FAQ.mspx
> >and http://support.microsoft.com/kb/302873/en-us don't give installation or
> >troubleshooting instructions. As far as I can tell, I'm doing what I
> >should,
> >but Windows isn't cooperating.
> >
> >In Windows' Disk Management console, I see the drive array. It reads:
> >
> >Disk 5
> >Unknown
> >2794.53 GB
> >Not initialized
> >
> >When I right-click it and select "Initialize Disk," I randomly get one of
> >the following two outcomes:
> >
> >1) Sometimes the partition is split into two, the first being 2048.00 GB
> >(Unallocated) and the second 746.53 GB (Unallocated.) I can then create a
> >new volume in the first (2048.00 GB) partition, but it never finishes
> >initializing (the hourglass never ends.) I quit and restart the Disk
> >Management console. I go to format the partition and get an error message
> >that reads, "The operation was canceled due to an internal error."
> >
> >2) Sometimes I get an error that reads, "The operation did not complete.
> >Check the System Event Log for more information on the error." When I look
> >in the System Event Log, I see that no error has been logged.
> >
> >Regardless, I am unable to initialize my GPT volume. I am not using this
> >volume as my system disk. I have a dedicated single drive for that
> >function.
> >I am successfully booting to that disk. This is a data drive. I have tried
> >Google. Searching for "GPT RAID Windows XP Pro x64" didn't provide me the
> >answers I sought.
> >
> >Questions:
> >1) Does Windows XP Pro x64 support GPT volumes with Opteron processors?
>
> http://www.microsoft.com/whdc/device...PT-on-x64.mspx
>
>
> >2) Are there instructions for how to get my RAID array to work in Windows
> >XP
> >Pro x64?
>
> Well, if it's showing up in Disk Management, then that's "working".
>
> >3) Could the PCI slot I'm using have something to do with the problem I'm
> >experiencing?
> >4) Do I have to change something in my system's BIOS?
> >5) Am I missing something else that's relevant?
>
> Are you using the latest SIL BIOS/Firmware and Drivers?
>
> http://www.siliconimage.com/support/...s=1&sataraid=0
>
> AFAICT, you want driver v1.5.15.0 and the associated BIOS and Utilities
> (links given against that driver).
>
> --
> Steve Foster [SBS MVP]
> ---------------------------------------
> MVPs do not work for Microsoft. Please reply only to the newsgroups.
>

Hagop wrote:

>The link you provided was for the SiI3114 card. I'm using a SiI3124 card.
>The
>latest drivers for the SiI3124 are version 1.5.11, which I am using.

Ah, I obviously found the wrong Syba controller when doing a quick driver
hunt with Google. Hopefully, it did at least help you to be sure you were
using the right drivers.

>
>Any other thoughts?

You might try using DISKPART at the command prompt to wipe the drive
clean, and then set it to GPT.

CMD> DISKPART
DISKPART> LIST DISK
<list of physical disks>
DISKPART> SELECT DISK <number of the disk drive you want to GPT>
DISKPART> CLEAN
DISKPART> CONVERT GPT
DISKPART> EXIT

And then try to use Disk Management to make the partitions/volumes you
want (or do that with DISKPART too).

--
Steve Foster [SBS MVP]
---------------------------------------
MVPs do not work for Microsoft. Please reply only to the newsgroups.