Gigabyte nForce Series Quick guide

Table of Contents
Configuring SATA Hard Drive(s) (Controller: nVIDIA nForce4-4X; nVIDIA nForce3 250/Ultra; nVIDIA
nForce2 MCP RAID) ..................................................................................................................... 2
(1) Installing SATA hard drive(s) in your computer .......................................................................... 2
(2) Configuring SATA controller mode and boot sequence in BIOS Setup .................................... 3
(3) Configuring RAID set in RAID BIOS ............................................................................................. 5
(4) Making a SATA controller driver disk .......................................................................................... 8
(5) Installing SATA controller driver during OS installation ............................................................ 10
(6) Configuring a bootable RAID array with Microsoft Windows 2000 ........................................ 13

SATA Hard Drive Configurations (nForce series) - 2 -
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Configuring SATA Hard Drive(s) (Controller: nVIDIA nForce4-4X;
nVIDIA nForce3 250/Ultra; nVIDIA nForce2 MCP RAID)
"*" Skip this step if you do not want to create RAID array on the SATA controller.
To configure SATA hard drive(s), follow the steps below:
(1) Install SATA hard drive(s) in your system.
(2) Configure SATA controller mode and boot sequence in BIOS Setup.
(3)* Configure RAID set in RAID BIOS.
(4) Make a floppy disk containing the SATA controller driver.
(5) Install the SATA controller driver during OS installation.
Before you begin
Please prepare:
(a) Two SATA hard drives (to ensure optimal performance, it is recommended that you use two hard
drives with identical model and capacity). If you do not want to create RAID with the SATA
controller, you may prepare only one hard drive.
(b) An empty formatted floppy disk.
(c) Windows XP/2000 setup disk.
(d) Driver CD for your motherboard.
(1) Installing SATA hard drive(s) in your computer
Attach one end of the SATA signal cable to the rear of the SATA hard drive and the other end to available
SATA port(s) on the motherboard. (If there are more than one SATA controller on your motherboard, you
may check the name of the SATA connector to identify the SATA controller for the connector. For example,
SATA0_SB/SATA_SB is controlled by the SATA controller on South-Bridge.) Then connect the power
connector from your power supply to the hard drive.

SATAHardDriveConfigurations(nForceseries)- 3-
(2)Configuring SATAcontrollermodeand bootsequence inBIOSSetup
You havetomakesurewhetherthe SATAcontrollerisconfigured correctlyinsystemBIOSSetup and
setBIOSbootsequenceforthe SATAharddrive(s).
Step 1:
Turnon yourcomputerand press DeltoenterBIOSSetup during POST(Power-OnSelfTest).If you want
tocreateRAID,selectIDEFunction Setup underthe IntegratedPeripheralsmenu and then press
ENTER(Figure1).Change the SATAPrimaryMasterRAIDand SATASecondaryMasterRAIDitems
toEnabled(Disabledbydefault)(Figure2).Skipthisstep and leavethe twoitemstoDisabledbydefault
ifyou do notwanttocreateRAID.
Figure1(ThisBIOSsetup screen iscaptured fromGA-K8NSNXP-939,BIOSver.: D24)
CMOSSetup Utility-Copyright(C)1984-2004 AwardSoftware
IntegratedPeripherals
IDEFunction Setup [Press Enter]
On-ChipPrimaryPCIIDE[Enabled]
On-ChipSecondaryPCIIDE[Enabled]
USBHostController [V1.1+V2.0]
USBKeyboardSupport[Disabled]
USBMouseSupport[Disabled]
Serial-ATA2(InternalPHY) [Enabled]
AC97 Audio[Auto]
On-ChipLAN(nVIDIA) [Auto]
OnboardSerialATA[Enabled]
SerialATAFunction [RAID]
Onboard1394 [Enabled]
OnboardLAN Control[Enabled]
OnboardLAN BootROM[Disabled]
OnboardSerialPort1[3F8/IRQ4]
OnboardSerialPort2[2F8/IRQ3]
OnboardParallelPort[378/IRQ7]
ParallelPortMode[SPP]
xECPModeUseDMA3
higf:MoveEnter:Select+/-/PU/PD:ValueF10:SaveESC:Exit F1:GeneralHelp
F5:PreviousValuesF6:Fail-SafeDefaultsF7:OptimizedDefaults
ItemHelp
Menu Level}
Figure2
CMOSSetup Utility-Copyright(C)1984-2004 AwardSoftware
IDEFunction Setup
IDERAID[Enabled]
IDEChannel0MasterRAID[Disabled]
IDEChannel0SlaveRAID[Disabled]
IDEChannel1MasterRAID[Disabled]
IDEChannel1SlaveRAID[Disabled]
SATAPrimaryMasterRAID[Enabled]
SATASecndryMasterRAID[Enabled]
higf:MoveEnter:Select+/-/PU/PD:ValueF10:SaveESC:Exit F1:GeneralHelp
F5:PreviousValuesF6:Fail-SafeDefaultsF7:OptimizedDefaults
ItemHelp
Menu Level}
The BIOSSetup menusdescribed inthissection maynotshowthe exactsettingsforyour
motherboard.The actualBIOSSetup menu optionsyou will see shall depend on the motherboard
you haveand the BIOSversion.

SATAHardDriveConfigurations(nForceseries) - 4-
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Step 2:
Later,selectHardDisk BootPriorityunderthe AdvancedBIOSFeatures menu.Inthe HardDisk
BootPrioritysubmenu,selectthe modelofthe SATAharddriveontowhichyou intenttoinstall Microsoft
Windows2000/XP (Figure3).
Figure3
CMOSSetup Utility-Copyright(C)1984-2004 AwardSoftware
HardDiskBootPriority
1.CH2M.:S_ATA1-ST3120026AS
2.CH3M.:S_ATA2-ST3120026AS
3.BootableAdd-inCards
hi: Move PU/PD/+/-: Change Priority F10: Save ESC: Exit
ItemHelp
Menu Level}}
Use<h>or<i>to
selectadevice,then
press <+> tomoveit
up,or<->tomoveit
downthelist.Press
<ESC>toexit this
menu.
Step 3:
SetFirstBootDevice underthe AdvancedBIOSFeatures menu toCDROMtobootfromCD-ROM
driveaftersystemrestarts(Figure4).
CMOSSetup Utility-Copyright(C)1984-2004 AwardSoftware
AdvancedBIOSFeatures
}HardDiskBootPriority[Press Enter]
FirstBootDevice [CDROM]
Second BootDevice [HardDisk]
ThirdBootDevice [CDROM]
BootUpFloopy Seek[Disabled]
PasswordCheck[Setup]
FlexibleAGP8X[Auto]
Init DisplayFirst[AGP]
higf:MoveEnter:Select+/-/PU/PD:ValueF10:SaveESC:Exit F1:GeneralHelp
F5:PreviousValuesF6:Fail-SafeDefaultsF7:OptimizedDefaults
ItemHelp
Menu Level}
Step 4:
Saveand exitBIOSSetup.
Figure4

SATAHardDriveConfigurations(nForceseries)- 5-
(3)Configuring RAIDsetinRAIDBIOS
Enterthe RAIDBIOSsetup utilitytoconfigureaRAIDarray.Skipthisstep and proceed toSection 4if
you do notwanttocreateRAID.
Step 1:
Afterthe POSTmemorytestbeginsand beforethe operating systembootbegins,lookforamessage
whichsays "Press F10 toenterRAIDsetup utility"(Figure5).Hitthe F10 keytoenterthe RAIDBIOS
setup utility.
Figure5
NVIDIARAIDIDEROMBIOS4.22
Copyright(C)2003 NVIDIACorp.
Detecting array...
Press F10 toenterRAIDsetup utility...
NVIDIARAIDUtilityMay10 2004
-DefineaNewArray-
RAIDMode:Mirroring Striping Block:Optimal
Free Disks
LocDiskModelName
1.0.MST3120026AS
1.1.MST3120026AS
ArrayDisks
LocDiskModelName
[g]Add
[f]Del
[F6]Back[F7]Finish[TAB]Navigate[hi]Select[ENTER]Popup
Step 2：
The Define aNewArrayscreen isthe firstoption screen when you enterthe NVIDIARAIDsetup utility.
(Figure6).You can press the TAB keytohighlightthrough options.The following belowisan example
ofRAID0arraycreation.
Step 3:
Inthe RAIDMode field,usethe UPorDOWNARROWkeytoselectaRAIDmode.The supported RAID
modesinclude Mirroring (default),Striping,Stripe Mirroring,and Spanning.
Step 4:
If RAID0isselected,you can manuallysetthe striping block size.Inthe Striping Block field,usethe
UPorDOWNARROWkeytosetthe Striping Block size.The KB isthe standardunitofStriping Block
size.Werecommend you leaving ittothe defaultsetting--Optimal(64K).The sizerange isfrom4Kto
128K.
Figure6

SATAHardDriveConfigurations(nForceseries) - 6-
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Step 6:
Press F7afterselecting the targetharddisks.Amessage whichsays "Cleardisk data?"will appear.
If you aresuretoclearthe datainthe selected harddrives,press Y.(If the harddrivescontainpreviously
created RAIDarray,you need topress Ytoclearthe datafromthe harddrives.)
Figure8
NVIDIARAIDUtilityMay10 2004
-DefineaNewArray-
RAIDMode:Mirroring Striping Block:Optimal
Free Disks
LocDiskModelNameArrayDisks LocDiskModelName
[g]Add
[f]Del
[F6]Back[F7]Finish[TAB]Navigate[hi]Select[ENTER]Popup
1.0.MST3120026AS
1.1.MST3120026AS
Figure7
Step 5:
Next, selectthe harddriveswhichyou wishtobe included inthe disk array.The Free Disks section
displays the information aboutthe currentlyinstalled SATAharddrives.Press the TAB keytomoveto
the Free Disks section.Selectthe targetharddrivesand usethe RIGHTARROWkeytoadd the hard
drivestothe ArrayDisks section (Figure7).
NVIDIARAIDUtilityMay10 2004
-DefineaNewArray-
RAIDMode:Mirroring Striping Block:Optimal
Free Disks
LocDiskModelNameArrayDisks LocDiskModelName
[g]Add
[f]Del
[F6]Back[F7]Finish[TAB]Navigate[hi]Select[ENTER]Popup
1.0.MST3120026AS
1.1.MST3120026AS
Cleardiskdata?
[Y]YES[N]NO

SATAHardDriveConfigurations(nForceseries)- 7-
If you wanttoread moreinformation aboutthe RAIDarray,press ENTERtoenterthe ArrayDetail screen
(Figure10),whereyou can see detailed information aboutRAIDmode,disk block size,disk modelname,
and disk capacity,etc.
Figure10
Figure9
Afterthat, the ArrayListscreen displaying the RAIDarrayyou created will appear(Figure9).
If you wanttosetthe disk arrayasbootdevice,usethe UPorDOWNARROWkeytoselectthe array
and press B.
NVIDIARAIDUtilityMay10 2004
-ArrayList-
[Ctrl-X]Exit [hi]Select[B]SetBoot[N]NewArray[ENTER]Detail
BootIdStatusVendorArrayMo delName
BBS2He alt h y NV IDIAMIRROR111.79G
Array2:NVIDIAMIRROR111.79G
-ArrayDetail -
RAIDMode:Mirroring
Striping Width:1Striping Block:
AdaptChannelM/SIndexDiskModelNameCapac it y
1 0 Master0ST3120026AS111.79GB
1 1 Master1ST3120026AS111.79GB
[R]Rebuild[D]Delete[C]ClearDisk[ENTER]Return
If you need toclearthe datainthe harddisk,press Cinthisscreen.When the Cleardisk datascreen
appears,press YtoconfirmorNtocancel.Press ENTERtoreturntothe ArrayListscreen.
Toexitthe NvidiaRAIDutility,press CTRL+X.
Now,you can proceed toinstall the SATAcontrollerdriverand operating system.

SATAHardDriveConfigurations(nForceseries) - 8-
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(4)Making aSATAcontrollerdriverdisk
Toinstall Windows2000/XP ontoaSATAharddriveon the nVIDIAnForce3 250/UltraornVIDIAnForce2
MCPRAIDSATAcontrollersuccessfully,you need toinstall required driverforthe SATAcontroller
during OSinstallation.Withoutthe driver,the harddrivemaynotbe recognized during the Windowssetup
process.
Firstofall,you need tocopythe driverforthe SATAcontrollerfromthe motherboarddriverCD toa
floppydisk.The instructionsbelowexplainhowtocopythe driver.
Step 1:Find an availablesystemand insertthe motherboarddriverCD intothe CD-ROMdrive.The
installation utilitywill appearautomatically.Quitthe installation utilityfirst.
Step 2:GotoMyComputerand right-click the CD-ROMdriveicon and selectOpen(Figure11).
Figure12
Figure11
Step 3:Gotothe BootDrvfolderand lookforan executableprogramnamed MENU.exe(Figure12).

SATAHardDriveConfigurations(nForceseries)- 9-
Figure14
Figure13
Step 5:
Insertan emptyfloppydisk and press EtoselectE)nVIDIASeries ATA(XP)ifyou wanttoinstall Windows
XP;press FtoselectF)nVIDIASeries ATA(2K)ifyou wanttoinstall Windows2000.Then itwill take
aboutone minutetocopythe SATAdriverfromthe motherboarddriverCD tothe floppydisk.
Step 6:
Press 0toexitwhen the procedureiscomplete(Figure14).You havecopied the SATAdriversuccessfully.
Step 4:
Double-click MENU.exe.AnMS-DOSpromptscreen similartoFigure13 belowwill appear.

SATAHardDriveConfigurations(nForceseries) - 10 -
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Figure15
WindowsSetup
Press F6ifyou needtoinstall a3rdpartySCSIorRAIDdriver.
(5)Installing SATAcontrollerdriverduring OSinstallation
Nowthatyou haveprepared the SATAdriverdisk and configured BIOSsettings,you arereadytoinstall
Windows2000/XP ontoyourSATAharddrivewiththe driver.The following isan exampleofWindows
XP installation.
Step 1:Restartyoursystemtobootfromthe Windows2000/XP Setup disk and press F6assoon as
you see the "Press F6ifyou need toinstall a3rdpartySCSIorRAIDdriver"message (Figure15).After
pressing F6,therewill be afewmomentsofsomefilesbeing loaded beforeyou see the nextscreen.
Figure16
WindowsSetup
S=SpecifyAdditionalDevice ENTER=ContinueF3=Exit
Setup couldnotdeterminethetypeofoneormoremass storagedevices
installedinyoursystem,oryou havechosentomanuallyspecifyanadapter.
Currently,Setup will loadsupportforthefollowing mass storagedevices(s)
<none>
*TospecifyadditionalSCSIadapters,CD-ROMdrives,orspecial
diskcontrollersforusewithWindows,including thosefor
whichyou haveadevice supportdiskfromamass storagedevice
manufacturer,press S.
*If you do nothaveany device supportdisksfromamass storage
device manufacturer,ordo notwanttospecifyadditional
mass storagedevicesforusewithWindows,press ENTER.
Step 2:
When ascreen similartothatbelowappears(Figure16),insertthe floppydisk containing the SATAdriver
and press S.