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.