Gigabyte GA-8N-SLI Pro User manual

TableofContents
Configuring SATAHardDrive(s)(Controller:nVIDIAnForce4 Ultra;nVIDIAnForce4 SLI)............2
(1)Installing SATAharddrive(s)inyourcomputer...................................................................... 2
(2)Configuring SATAcontrollermode and bootsequenceinBIOSSetup .................................. 3
(3)Configuring RAIDsetinRAIDBIOS........................................................................................ 6
(4)Making aSATAcontrollerdriverdisk ..................................................................................... 9
(5)Installing SATAcontrollerdriverduring OSinstallation ......................................................... 11
(6)Configuring abootableRAIDarraywithMicrosoft Windows2000 ...................................... 14

SATAHardDriveConfigurations(nForceseries) - 2-
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Configuring SATAHardDrive(s)(Controller:nVIDIAnForce4 Ultra;
nVIDIAnForce4 SLI)
"*"Skipthisstep ifyou do notwanttocreateRAIDarrayon the SATAcontroller.
To configureSATAharddrive(s),followthestepsbelow:
(1)Install SATAharddrive(s)inyoursystem.
(2)ConfigureSATAcontrollermode and bootsequenceinBIOSSetup.
(3)*ConfigureRAIDsetinRAIDBIOS.
(4)Makeafloppydisk containing the SATAcontrollerdriver.
(5)Install the SATAcontrollerdriverduring OSinstallation.
Beforeyou begin
Pleaseprepare:
(a)AtleasttwoSATAharddrives(toensureoptimalperformance,itisrecommended thatyou usetwo
harddriveswithidenticalmodeland capacity).If you do notwanttocreateRAID,you mayprepare
onlyone harddrive.
(b)Anemptyformatted floppydisk.
(c)WindowsXP/2000 setup disk.
(d)DriverCD foryourmotherboard.
(1)Installing SATAharddrive(s)inyourcomputer
Attachone end ofthe SATAsignalcabletothe rearofthe SATAharddriveand the otherend toavailable
SATAport(s)on the motherboard.(If therearemorethan one SATAcontrolleron yourmotherboard,you
maycheck the nameofthe SATAconnectortoidentifythe SATAcontrollerforthe connector.Forexample,
S_ATA1_SB/S_ATA2_SB iscontrolled bythe SATAcontrolleron South-Bridge.)Then connectthe power
connectorfromyourpowersupplytothe harddrive.

SATAHardDriveConfigurations(nForceseries)- 3-
(2)Configuring SATAcontrollermodeand bootsequence inBIOSSetup
You havetomakesurewhetherthe SATAcontrollerisconfigured correctlyinsystemBIOSSetup and
setBIOSbootsequenceforthe SATAharddrive(s)/RAIDarray.
Step 1:
Turnon yourcomputerand press DeltoenterBIOSSetup during POST(Power-OnSelfTest).If you want
tocreateRAID,makesurethatIDE/SATARAIDfunction underthe IntegratedPeripheralsmenu is
enabled (Figure1).Alsomakesurethatthe Serial-ATA1/Serial-ATA2areenabled (including SATA
1Primary/SecondaryRAID/SATA2Primary/SecondaryRAID),depending on whichSATAports
you connect. Forexample,ifyou wishtocreateRAIDwiththe harddisks on connectorsS_ATA0_SB
and S_ATA1_SB,assurethatthe Serial-ATA1isenabled (Serial-ATA2isforS_ATA2_SB and
S_ATA3_SB connectors)and SATA1Primary/SecondaryRAIDareenabled.
Figure1(ThisBIOSsetup screen iscaptured fromGA-K8NUltra-SLI, BIOSver.:F2a)
The BIOSSetup menusdescribed inthissection maynotshowthe exactsettingsforyour
motherboard.The actualBIOSSetup menu optionsyou will see shall depend on the motherboard
you haveand the BIOSversion.
CMOSSetup Utility-Copyright(C)1984-2005 AwardSoftware
IntegratedPeripherals
On-Chip IDE Channel0 [Enabled]
On-Chip IDE Channel1 [Enabled]
IDE DMA transfer access [Enabled]
On-Chip MAC Lan [Auto]
On-Chip LAN BOOT ROM [Disabled]
IDE/SATA RAID function [Enabled]
IDE Primary Master RAID [Disabled]
IDE Primary Slave RAID [Disabled]
IDE Secndry Master RAID [Disabled]
IDE Secndry Slave RAID [Disabled]
Serial-ATA 1 [Enabled]
SATA 1 Primary RAID [Enabled]
SATA 1 Secondary RAID [Enabled]
Serial-ATA 2 [Enabled]
SATA 2 Primary RAID [Enabled]
SATA 2 Secondary RAID [Enabled]
IDE Prefetch Mode [Enabled]
On-Chip USB [V1.1+V2.0]
USB Memory Type [SHADOW]
Item Help
Menu Level}
higf:MoveEnter:Select+/-/PU/PD:ValueF10:SaveESC:Exit F1:GeneralHelp
F5:PreviousValuesF7:OptimizedDefaults

SATAHardDriveConfigurations(nForceseries) - 4-
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Step 2:
If you do notcreateRAID,selectHardDisk BootPriorityunderthe AdvancedBIOSFeatures menu.
Inthe HardDisk BootPrioritysubmenu,selectthe modelofthe SATAharddriveontowhichyou wish
toinstall Microsoft Windows2000/XP.You shouldsee ascreen similartoFigure2below.
Figure2
CMOSSetup Utility-Copyright(C)1984-2005 AwardSoftware
HardDiskBootPriority
1. CH2 M. : S_ATA1-ST3120026AS
2. CH3 M. : S_ATA2-ST3120026AS
3. Bootable Add-in Cards
hi: Move PU/PD/+/-: Change Priority F10: Save ESC: Exit
Item Help
Menu Level }}
Use <h>or <i> to
select a device, then
press <+> to move it
up, or <-> to move it
down the list. Press
<ESC> to exit this
menu.
If you wishtocreateRAID,configurethe RAIDarrayinRAIDBIOS(refertopage 6)first. Afterfinished,
re-enterthe systemBIOSSetup tosetharddisk bootprioritybeforeOSinstallation.SelectHardDisk
BootPriorityunderthe AdvancedBIOSFeatures menu.Inthe HardDisk BootPrioritysubmenu,
selectthe RAIDarrayontowhichyou wishtoinstall Microsoft Windows2000/XP.You shouldsee a
screen similartoFigure3below.
Figure3
CMOSSetup Utility-Copyright(C)1984-2005 AwardSoftware
HardDiskBootPriority
1. SCSI-0: NVIDIA MIRROR 111.78G
2. Bootable Add-in Cards
hi: Move PU/PD/+/-: Change Priority F10: Save ESC: Exit
Item Help
Menu Level }}
Use <h>or <i> to
select a device, then
press <+> to move it
up, or <-> to move it
down the list. Press
<ESC> to exit this
menu.

SATAHardDriveConfigurations(nForceseries)- 5-
Step 3:
TobootfromWindowsinstallation CD-ROM,setFirstBootDevice underthe AdvancedBIOSFeatures
menu toCD-ROM(Figure4).
Step 4:
Saveand exitBIOSSetup.
Figure4
CMOSSetup Utility-Copyright(C)1984-2005 AwardSoftware
AdvancedBIOSFeatures
}Hard Disk Boot Priority [Press Enter]
First Boot Device [CD-ROM]
Second Boot Device [Hard Disk]
Third Boot Device [CDROM]
Boot Up Floppy Seek [Disabled]
Password Check [Setup]
Init Display First [PEG]
higf:MoveEnter:Select+/-/PU/PD:ValueF10:SaveESC:Exit F1:GeneralHelp
F5:PreviousValuesF7:OptimizedDefaults
Item Help
Menu Level}
Select Hard Disk Boot
Device Priority

SATAHardDriveConfigurations(nForceseries) - 6-
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(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
Step 2：
The Define aNewArrayscreen isthe firstoption screen when you enterthe NVIDIARAIDsetup utility.
(Figure6).You can press the TAB keytohighlightthrough options.
Step 3:
Inthe RAIDMode field,usethe UPorDOWNARROWkeytoselectaRAIDmode.The supported RAID
modesinclude Mirroring (default),Striping,Stripe Mirroring,and Spanning.The following isan example
ofRAID0arraycreation.
Step 4:
If RAID0(Striping)isselected,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 isfrom
4Kto128K.
Figure6
NVIDIA RAID IDE ROM BIOS 4.76
Copyright (C) 2004 NVIDIA Corp.
Detecting array ...
Press F10 to enter RAID setup utility ...
NVIDIA RAID Utility Nov 5 2004
- Define a New Array -
RAID Mode: Striping Striping Block: Optimal
FreeDisks
Loc Disk Model Name ArrayDisks Loc Disk Model Name
[g] Add
[f] Del
[ESC] Quit [F6] Back [F7] Finish [TAB] Navigate [hi] Select [ENTER] Popup
2.0.M ST3120026AS
2.1.M ST3120026AS

SATAHardDriveConfigurations(nForceseries)- 7-
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
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 targetharddrivesusing the UPorDOWNARROWkeyand usethe
RIGHTARROWkeytoadd the harddrivestothe ArrayDisks section (Figure7).
NVIDIA RAID Utility Nov 5 2004
- Define a New Array -
RAID Mode: Striping Striping Block: Optimal
FreeDisks
Loc Disk Model Name ArrayDisks Loc Disk Model Name
[g] Add
[f] Del
[ESC] Quit [F6] Back [F7] Finish [TAB] Navigate [hi] Select [ENTER] Popup
2.0.M ST3120026AS
2.1.M ST3120026AS
NVIDIA RAID Utility Nov 5 10 2004
- Define a New Array -
RAID Mode: Striping Striping Block: Optimal
FreeDisks
Loc Disk Model Name ArrayDisks Loc Disk Model Name
[g] Add
[f] Del
[ESC] Quit [F6] Back [F7] Finish [TAB] Navigate [hi] Select [ENTER] Popup
1.0.M ST3120026AS
1.1.M ST3120026AS
Clear disk data ?
[Y] YES [N] NO

SATAHardDriveConfigurations(nForceseries) - 8-
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Toread moreinformation aboutthe RAIDarray,press ENTERtoenterthe ArrayDetail screen (Figure
10),whereyou shouldsee 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.The Bootsection will showYes.
Array 2 : NVIDIA MIRROR 111.79G
- Array Detail -
RAID Mode: Striping
Striping Width : 1 Striping Block: 64K
Adapt Channel M/S Index Disk Model Name Capacity
1 0 Master 0ST3120026AS 111.79GB
1 1 Master 1ST3120026AS 111.79GB
[R] Rebuild [D] Delete [C] Clear Disk [ENTER] Return
Todeletethe array,press Dinthe ArrayDetail screen.When the "Deletethisarray?"message appears,
press YtoconfirmorNtocancel.Press ENTERtoreturntothe ArrayListscreen.
Toexitthe NvidiaRAIDutility,press ESCinthe mainmenu orCtrl+Xinthe ArrayListscreen.
Now,you can proceed toinstall the SATAcontrollerdriverand operating system.
NVIDIA RAID Utility Nov 5 2004
- Array List -
[Ctrl-X] Exit [hi] Select [B] Set Boot [N] New Array [ENTER] Detail
Boot Id Status Vendor Array Model Name
No 2Healthy NVIDIA STRIPE 111.79G

SATAHardDriveConfigurations(nForceseries)- 9-
(4)Making aSATAcontrollerdriverdisk
Toinstall Windows2000/XP ontoaSATAharddrive/RAIDarrayon the nVIDIAnForce4 Ultra/SLIcontroller
successfully,you need toinstall required driverforthe SATAcontrollerduring OSinstallation.Without
the driver,the harddrive/RAIDarraymaynotbe 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) - 10 -
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Figure13
Step 5:
Insertan emptyfloppydisk and selectthe nVIDIASeriesATAdriverbypressing the corresponding letter
fromthe menu(Note2)(forexample,fromthe menu inFigure13,press GtoselectnVIDIASeries ATA
(XP)ifyou wishtoinstall WindowsXP orpress ItoselectnVIDIASeries ATA(2K)ifyou wishtoinstall
Windows2000).Then itwill takeaboutone minutetocopythe SATAdriverfromthe motherboarddriver
CD tothe floppydisk.
Step 6:
Press 0toexitwhen the procedureiscomplete.
Step 4:
Double-click MENU.exe.AnMS-DOSpromptscreen similartoFigure13 belowwill appear(Note1).
(Note1):The nameofthe driversinthe menu mightdiffer,depending on the version ofyour
driverCD-ROMdisk.
(Note2):Selectthe driverbypressing the corresponding letteraccording tothe operating system
you wishtoinstall.The NvidiaParallelitemsinFigure13 areforIDERAIDharddisks.

SATAHardDriveConfigurations(nForceseries)- 11 -
Figure14
Windows Setup
Press F6 if you need to install a 3rd party SCSI or RAID driver.
(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 (Figure14).After
pressing F6,therewill be afewmomentsofsomefilesbeing loaded beforeyou see the nextscreen.
Figure15
Windows Setup
S=Specify Additional Device ENTER=Continue F3=Exit
Setup could not determine the type of one or more mass storage devices
installed in your system, or you have chosen to manually specify an adapter.
Currently, Setup will load support for the following mass storage devices(s)
<none>
* To specify additional SCSI adapters, CD-ROM drives, or special
disk controllers for use with Windows, including those for
which you have a device support disk from a mass storage device
manufacturer, press S.
* If you do not have any device support disks from a mass storage
device manufacturer, or do not want to specify additional
mass storage devices for use with Windows, press ENTER.
Step 2:
When ascreen similartothatbelowappears(Figure15),insertthe floppydisk containing the SATAdriver
and press S.

SATAHardDriveConfigurations(nForceseries) - 12 -
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Step 3:
If Setup correctlyrecognizesthe driverinthe floppydisk,acontrollermenu similartoFigure16 below
will appear.Usethe ARROWkeys toselectNVIDIARAIDCLASS DRIVER*(Figure16)and press
ENTER.Later,when ascreen similartoFigure17 appears,you mustpress Stoselectadditionaldriver.
The screen will returntopreviousscreen asshowninFigure16.SelectNVIDIAnForce Storage
Controllerand press ENTER.
Figure16
"*"If you wanttocreateRAID,selectbothNVIDIARAIDCLASS DRIVERand then NVIDIA
nForce StorageController.
If you do notcreateRAID,selectNVIDIAnForce StorageControlleronly.
Figure17
Windows Setup
S=Specify Additional Device Enter=Continue F3=Exit
Setup will load support for the following mass storage device(s):
NVIDIA RAID CLASS DRIVER (required)
* To specify additional SCSI adapters, CD-ROM drives, or special
disk controllers for use with Windows, including those for
which you have a device support disk from a mass storage device
manufacturer, press S.
* If you do not have any device support disks from a mass storage
device manufacturer, or do not want to specify additional
mass storage devices for use with Windows, press ENTER.
If amessage appearssaying one orsomefile(s)cannotbe found,pleasecheck the floppydisk
orcopythe correctSATAdriveragainfromthe motherboarddriverCD.
Windows Setup
ENTER=Select F3=Exit
You have chosen to configure a SCSI Adapter for use with Windows,
using a device support disk provided by an adapter manufacturer.
Select the SCSI Adapter you want from the following list, or press ESC
to return to the previous screen.
NVIDIA RAID CLASS DRIVER (required)
NVIDIA nForce Storage Controller (required)

SATAHardDriveConfigurations(nForceseries)- 13 -
Figure19
Step 4:
When the nextscreen (Figure18)appears,press ENTERtocontinue the SATAdriverinstallation from
the floppydisk.
Figure18
Windows Setup
S=Specify Additional Device Enter=Continue F3=Exit
Setup will load support for the following mass storage device(s):
NVIDIA RAID CLASS DRIVER (required)
NVIDIA nForce Storage Controller (required)
* To specify additional SCSI adapters, CD-ROM drives, or special
disk controllers for use with Windows, including those for
which you have a device support disk from a mass storage device
manufacturer, press S.
* If you do not have any device support disks from a mass storage
device manufacturer, or do not want to specify additional
mass storage devices for use with Windows, press ENTER.
Afterthe SATAcontrollerdriverinstallation iscompleted,you shouldsee ascreen similartothatbelow.
You can proceed withthe Windows2000/XP installation now.
WindowsXP Professional Setup
The following list shows the existing partitions and
unpartitioned space on this computer.
Use the UP and DOWN ARROW keys to select an item in the list.
lTo set up Windows XP on the seleted item, press ENTER.
lTo create a partition in the unpartitioned space, press C.
lTo delete the selected partition, press D.
ENTER= Install C=Create Partition F3=Quit
114471 MB Disk 0 at Id 0 on bus 0 on nvraid (MBR)
Unpartitioned space 114471MB

SATAHardDriveConfigurations(nForceseries) - 14 -
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CMOSSetup Utility-Copyright(C)1984-2005 AwardSoftware
IntegratedPeripherals
On-Chip IDE Channel0 [Enabled]
On-Chip IDE Channel1 [Enabled]
IDE DMA transfer access [Enabled]
On-Chip MAC Lan [Auto]
On-Chip LAN BOOT ROM [Disabled]
IDE/SATA RAID function [Enabled]
IDE Primary Master RAID [Disabled]
IDE Primary Slave RAID [Disabled]
IDE Secndry Master RAID [Disabled]
IDE Secndry Slave RAID [Disabled]
Serial-ATA 1 [Enabled]
SATA 1 Primary RAID [Enabled]
SATA 1 Secondary RAID [Enabled]
Serial-ATA 2 [Enabled]
SATA 2 Primary RAID [Enabled]
SATA 2 Secondary RAID [Enabled]
IDE Prefetch Mode [Enabled]
On-Chip USB [V1.1+V2.0]
USB Memory Type [SHADOW]
Item Help
Menu Level}
higf:MoveEnter:Select+/-/PU/PD:ValueF10:SaveESC:Exit F1:GeneralHelp
F5:PreviousValuesF7:OptimizedDefaults
(6)Configuring abootableRAIDarray withMicrosoft Windows2000
Problem:Userscannotinstall Windows2000 withServicePack 2(orpreviousversions)toabootable
RAIDvolume.
Therearetwosolutionstoresolvethisissue.
Solutions1:
Usethe NVRAIDtool(nForceDriverVersion 5.xx)toconvertthe bootvolumetoaRAIDarray.Here
arethe detailed step-by-step instructions:
Step 1:
Install Windows2000 ontoaselected harddrive.Download and install Windows2000 ServicePack 4
fromMicrosoft'swebsite.
Step 2:
Aftersystemrestarts,press DeltoentersystemBIOSSetup during POST(Power-OnSelfTest).Under
the IntegratedPeripheralsmenu (Figure20)assurethe SATAportconnecting the SATAharddisk (the
one containing the Windows2000)isEnabled(Figure20).Savesettingsand exitthe BIOSsetup.
Figure20 (ThisBIOSsetup screen iscaptured fromGA-K8NUltra-SLI,BIOSver.F2a)

SATAHardDriveConfigurations(nForceseries)- 15 -
Step 3:
Aftersystemrestarts,press F10 toenterthe NVIDIARAIDsetup utility.SelectStriping inthe RAIDMode
filed (Figure21).Movetothe Free Disks section withthe TAB key.Selectthe desired disk and usethe
RIGHTARROWkeytoadd ittoArrayDisks menu.
Figure21
Step 4:
Afterall the settings,press F7tocompletethe configuration.When prompted toClearDisk Data(Figure
22),press N.Then press CTRL+Xtoexitthe NVIDIARAIDBIOS.Restartthe computertobootinto
Windows2000.
Figure22
NVIDIA RAID Utility Nov 5 2004
- Define a New Array -
RAID Mode: Striping Striping Block: Optimal
FreeDisks
Loc Disk Model Name ArrayDisks Loc Disk Model Name
[g] Add
[f] Del
[ESC] Quit [F6] Back [F7] Finish [TAB] Navigate [hi] Select [ENTER] Popup
2.0.M ST3120026AS
2.1.M ST3120026AS
NVIDIA RAID Utility Nov 5 10 2004
- Define a New Array -
RAID Mode: Striping Striping Block: Optimal
FreeDisks
Loc Disk Model Name ArrayDisks Loc Disk Model Name
[g] Add
[f] Del
[ESC] Quit [F6] Back [F7] Finish [TAB] Navigate [hi] Select [ENTER] Popup
1.0.M ST3120026AS
1.1.M ST3120026AS
Clear disk data ?
[Y] YES [N] NO

SATAHardDriveConfigurations(nForceseries) - 16 -
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Step 5:
Install the NVIDIAnForceDriverPackage whileinWindows2000 and rebootthe system.Goto
START>Programs>NvidiaCorporation and selectNVRAIDmanager.You shouldsee the singledisk
RAIDarray(instriping mode)thatwascreated fromthe bootdisk.Selectthe singlebootdisk RAIDArray
byclicking on it. SelectConvertArray underthe SystemTasks and selectNextfollowing the instructions.
Selectthe desired type ofRAIDarrayyou wanttoconvertand then selectNext.You areprompted to
selectthe desired Free Disk(s)toadd tothe bootableRAIDarray.Press Finishthen NVRAIDwill start
converting the singledisk RAIDarrayintoamulti-disk RAIDarrayinabootableformat.
Note:Conversion maytake1~2hoursdepending on disk size.
Solutions2:
Usersmustcreateacombination installation CD thatincludesWindows2000 and ServicePack 3or
ServicePack 4fixesintegrated in.Tocreatethe combination installation CD,refertothe following
website:
http://www.microsoft.com/windows2000/downloads/servicepacks/sp4/HFdeploy.htm
Note:If userschoosenottoinstall Windows2000 ServicePack 3or4,RAIDisstill supported on Windows
2000.However,userswill notbe abletocreateabootableRAIDvolume.